Uses the meals recorded in Luke to examine Jesus' use of food, and the place of the meal in salvation history.
Meals have always been important across societies and cultures - a time for friends and families to come together. An important part of relationships, meals are vital to our social health. Or as author Tim Chester puts it, Food connects.
Tim argues that meals are also deeply theological - an important part of Christian fellowship and mission. He observes that Luke's Gospel is full of stories of Jesus at meals. And these meals represent something bigger. In six chapters Tim shows how they enact grace, community, hope, mission, salvation and promise.
Moving from New Testament times to today, the author applies biblical truth to challenge our contemporary understandings of hospitality. He urges sacrificial giving and loving around the table, helping readers consider how meals can be about serving others and sharing the grace of Christ.
Introduction: The Son of Man Came Eating and Drinking
1. Meals as Enacted Grace: Luke 5
2. Meals as Enacted Community: Luke 7
3. Meals as Enacted Hope: Luke 9
4. Meals as Enacted Mission: Luke 14
5. Meals as Enacted Salvation: Luke 22
6. Meals as Enacted Promise: Luke 24
Notes
| Contributors | Tim Chester |
|---|---|
| ISBN | 9781844749515 |
| Format | eBook |
| First published | October 2011 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | IVP |
Tim Chester has a keen ability to reflect on gospel, community, and mission, making them accessible to the common person through the mess and movement of everyday life. Tim certainly accomplished this again in A Meal with Jesus. With each meal, my convictions about how the gospel informs all of life and relationships went deeper, and my affections for Jesus grew stronger. I want everyone in my church to read this book.
Overall, this book shares a compact biblical theology of hospitality, focusing on meals. Chester makes a compelling argument that we would do well to view our meals through a biblical lens and to see each one as an opportunity to discover grace, community and mission. And since most of us eat 3 meals per day, we have endless opportunities to put into practice what we discover. So why don’t you give this one a read?... continue reading
Another cracker from TC! We see Jesus' heart for the outsider and the importance he placed on table fellowship, while also hearing the challenge of how our lives can be changed through the Spirit's work as we seek to reflect Christ's priorities.
The only book that has managed both to get me excited about Scripture and get me to rearrange my living room simultaneously! A great book to get us all thinking about howJesus used his meal times and how we can use ours. And for people, like me, who aren't naturally talented at hospitality, it's a great spur to get stuck in and enjoy the opportunities that good food and good conversation can bring.
“This is a feast of a book, I have so far learnt that Jesus truly wants us to know who He is and why He came, and He says to do this around the table; in church, in our homes, having a coffee (Starbucks style) with a friend or neighbour. In this book you discover how easy it is to share God’s grace around the table: just as Jesus did….this book is a treasure!”
