Life with Jesus: A Discipleship Course for Every Christian (Let the gospel and God's grace shape your attitude to church, Bible reading, prayer, ... or small-groups. Confirmation/baptism)

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open your home and look for opportunities to throw a party for various occasions (personal, sporting, seasonal, cultural); "You don't have to give a little sermon—just be attentive to people and open about your faith"

Jesus enjoyed eating and drinking so much that he was accused of being a glutton and a drunkard (Luke 7:34)

Discovering grace, community and mission around the table

The book concludes with a leader's guide, thus it's able to be used in a solo setting or a group setting. Chester's call to use meals as a means to breaking down barriers is a little muddled. On the one hand he notes that, metaphorically, we are all poor, blind, crippled, and lame (p. 79), yet he scolds Christians who gather together as a "cozy support group" rather than in "adventurous mission" (p.82). Surely there's room and need for both. He identifies the traditional category of the elite as the wealthy and self-righteous, but does that necessarily fit in our culture? I don't think our in/out divide is strictly or even mostly a rich/poor divide. "Coolness" is a powerful kind of elitism in our culture, and the self-righteousness of political correctness is potent and hard to see. hospitality is worth the "collateral damage" (mess, cost, time); meals are "a microcosm of social reality"

Disclaimer, I'm a big fan of Tim Chester's books and came into this looking for the positives, but I'm pretty sure I found plenty! Matt Smethurst, Gospel Coalition reviewer and Master of Divinity student at The Southern Baptist Theological SeminaryThe Son of Man came eating and drinking" (Luke 7:34; statement of method/how)—we usually think of "The Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45) and "The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10)—statements of purpose/why In this devotional, Tim Chester covers a variety of topics that are fundamental to the Christian faith, church life, and personal holiness. Each section includes an imaginary anecdote, a Scripture reading and explanation, comprehension questions, and suggested action steps. This is appropriate for individuals to work through by themselves, but the author primarily designed this for people to go through with a friend or in a discipleship group. At the end of the book, Chester includes advice for group leaders, suggesting different ways that they can adapt the material for their group's use and foster meaningful conversations. Look at the Head, Heart, Hands application as they're a good opportunity to really ground the application for the young people, perhaps using the whiteboard to draw these symbols and then talk about the possibilities for each, or giving them an opportunity to draw/write responses as something more creative. Great Course for a Homegroup, Youth Discipleship Group or Individual Use” (Review written for 'Life with Jesus')

Incorporating Bible study, clear explanations, and thought-provoking discussion questions, these sessions can be completed in around an hour and are designed to be used flexibly in different contexts. In ‘Life With Jesus’, Tim Chester provides a course for new believers who want to know the next step in their journey with Jesus, or for the more mature follower of Christ who simply wants a refresher.Here at Covenant Life Church, we have greatly benefitted from the small group resources from The Good Book Company. Many small groups in our family life ministry have used "Colossians: Confident Christianity" in their study of scripture. Additionally, our youth ministry has used "Romans 1-5: God and You" in their small groups. Both resources were very easy to use, helped the reader engage directly with the scriptures, and had a wonderful pastoral emphasis demonstrated in all the questions.