Justice, Mercy and Humility explores the challenge of integral mission among the poor today. It locates the Christian response within a world of alternatives -- alternatives at the macro-level of policies and advocacy and the micro-level of lifestyle and affirms the need to integrate ourselves within a total missional response to the poor. Combing case studies from around the world with Jesus' own teaching and ministry, the book considers what it means for the church to be a countercultural ministry and in doing so raises new questions about what it means to be church. Included are contributions from Tom Sine, C. Rene Padilla and Elaine Storkey.

John Stott's definitive and passionate plea to the church to listen both to God's Word and to his world (double listening)

John Stott's definitive and passionate plea to the church to listen both to God's Word and to his world (double listening)

Scripture has brought us light in darkness, strength in weakness, comfort in sadness. It isn't difficult to endorse the Psalmist's experience that the words of God are 'more precious than gold... sweeter than honey'. So it's distressing to watch the Bible being dislodged from its position of authority, not only in our nation but also in the church. Here we focus on the urgent need to continue in, respond to, interpret and expound God's Word.

The title, Rediscovering Joy, derives from Galatians 4:15 (NLT). The Galatians had lost the joy of God's blessing because they had departed from the truths of the gospel. The Reformation - and the book - is an invitation to rediscover the joy of the gospel. Despite the common claim that the Reformation is either out-dated or divisive, its rediscovery of the apostolic message was a rediscovery of joy - a message that is as relevant today as it was 500 years ago and 2,000 years ago. The book has a strong focus on biblical exposition and pastoral application.

The church lies at the centre of God's purpose. Christ gave himself 'to purify for himself a people that are his own'. But when we think about church, there's the tension between the ideal and the reality. The former is beautiful: God's special treasure, the covenant community, a haven of love and peace. The latter? A motley rabble needing constant rebuke and exhortation. Here we focus on the ideal, on what God intends his church to be, while all the time keeping in view the reality, so that we can grasp the changes that need to be made.

How does the eschatological future impinge on the present? Is the kingdom of God present outside the confession of Christ in movements towards social justice? Is Christian hope a stimulus to social involvement or an alternative? And how does the present impinge on the eschatological future? What is the relationship between our actions now and the new creation? Is there eschatological continuity between the two? Jurgen Moltmann, one of our most influential contemporary theologians, has had much to say both on eschatology and its relationship to mission. This book explores his thought along with evangelical responses to it. Eschatology has been central to evangelical debates about social involvement ever since the Laussanne Congress in 1974. The book examines how evangelicals themselves have related hope and mission. The book highlights the important contribution Moltmann has made while offering a critique of his thought from an evangelical perspective. In so doing, it touches on pertinent issues for evangelical missiology. The conclusion takes John Calvin as a starting point, proposing 'an eschatology of the cross' which offers a critique of the over-realized eschatologies in liberation theology and triumphalistic forms of evangelicalism.

Of course the Bible matters. It is God's word to us. But how do we engage with its message? Tim Chester creates a sense of expectation, causing our reading of the Bible to become a living experience in which we encounter God. Amazingly, this God of the universe speaks to us each day! Here is a personal, clear, intentional and sufficient message for our lives. The Bible is truly unique; it speaks into a myriad of situations and brings us back to the deep joy of the gospel. 'Will enrich your encounter with God as you engage with his word.' Elaine Duncan 'This is more than useful; it's inspiring.' Julian Hardyman 'Tim Chester is one of the clearest, most useful and reliable Christian writers in the UK today . . . He comes alongside the reader to instruct and to apply his teaching to life in the modern world.' Peter Lewis 'Inspirational, profound, realistic . . . If you can buy only one book on the Bible, buy this one.' Tricia Marnham 'Buy, read, recommend, lend, give away!' James Robson

Drawing from six narratives in the Gospel of Luke, Chester shows how meals can be opportunities for serving others.

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. Author Tim Chester sums it up: "Food connects."

Chester argues that meals are also deeply theological--an important part of Christian fellowship and mission. He observes that the book of Luke is full of stories of Jesus at meals. These accounts lay out biblical principles. Chester notes, "The meals of Jesus represent something bigger." Six chapters in A Meal with Jesus show how they enact grace, community, hope, mission, salvation, and promise.

Moving from biblical times to the modern world, Chester 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.

Help them or tell them?

Be like Jesus or talk about Jesus?

Social action or gospel proclamation?

Quite often we find ourselves gravitating toward one of those modes over the other--at times going so far as to pit word against deed, as if the two were mutually exclusive. Yet Good News to the Poor shows us how both are integrated in the biblical vision of mission so that we may become both evangelists and activists--Christians who talk the talk and who walk the walk.

On 31 October 1517, Martin Luther posted his ninety-five theses on the castle church door in Wittenberg - the starting gun for the Reformation. Five hundred years later, the issues debated at the Reformation are still urgent. In this clear, incisive and accessible survey, Michael Reeves and Tim Chester show how the Reformation helps us answer questions like: How do we know what's true? Can we truly know God? How does God speak? What's wrong with us? How can we be saved? Who am I? At its heart, the Reformation was a dispute about how we know God and how we can be right with him. At stake was our eternal future - and it still is.

John Stott's definitive and passionate plea to the church to listen both to God's Word and to his world (double listening)

How do we respond to the silent appeal in the dark eyes of the child in the charity catalogue, or the blanketed figure in the cold shop-doorway? Should we share the gospel with them, or a bowl of soup? Throughout history, men and women such as Wilberforce, Shaftesbury, Carey and Booth have recognized a call to help the needy. Others have argued that our first task is evangelism, that Christians should not meddle in politics, that social action is a distraction. Do we serve Christ through preaching his Word, or should we use words only when necessary? Tim Chester argues passionately that evangelism and social action are inseparable as two arms of the church's mission. He presents a biblical case for truly evangelical social action that is shaped and inspired by the gospel. He urges conservatives not to marginalize those who uphold the cause of the oppressed, and those involved in social action not to neglect the preaching of the Word. 'Consistent, mission-minded evangelicals have always refused to choose between a commitment to gospel proclamation and an active concern for the poor. Tim Chester digs deep into the Bible to show us why both are vital, and what it means to be Christ's people in a world of need.' Keith Walker, Director of SIM-UK/N, Europe 'A must-read for those looking for a way to integrate word and deed mission to advance God's purposes in our needy world.' Tom Sine, author of Living on Purpose: Finding God's Best For Your Life Tim Chester is involved in The Crowded House, a church-planting initiative in Sheffield, England. He was previously Research and Policy Director for Tearfund UK. He is the author of a number of books, including The Message of Prayer (IVP, The Bible Speaks Today series).

If you're easily distracted when praying, you're not alone. In fact, if you struggle to pray in the first place, that's not unusual either. Tim Chester tells us how we can be great pray-ers. And he admits that that's a really bold claim. 'The secret of great praying has nothing to do with human effort or skill,' he explains. 'Lots of people would like to think that it does because they want to make prayer an achievement.' But the secret of great praying is ... Knowing three things about God: * That God the Father loves to hear us pray * That God the Son makes every prayer pleasing to God * That God the Holy Spirit helps us as we pray Tim looks at: why prayer is easy (how we pray), why prayer is difficult (why we pray) and the arguments and priorities of prayer (what we pray). Prayer is a child asking her father for help. And that's not beyond any one of us.

You long to be free but... Pornography has reached epidemic proportions. And in God's eyes porn is ugly. It devalues other human beings and the good gift of sex in favour of a destructive imitation. Tim Chester points us to something infinitely better, something that captivates without causing shame, remorse or embarrassment: the glory and beauty of Christ. We are made to be satisfied with God alone, and told to avoid the sin that hinders our relationship with him. Tim exposes the lies and deceptions of porn, inviting us to be fully free, and showing positively and practically how this can be possible in daily life. We can be captured by a better vision.

Do you say 'yes' to requests when really you mean to say 'no'- Do you feel permanently trapped by your 24/7 lifestyle- While offering practical help to busy Christians, Tim Chester also opts for root-and-branch treatment: you need to deal radically with the things that are driving you. If you're busy because of the following: 'I need to prove myself' 'Otherwise things get out of control' 'I like the pressure/money' think again! At the root of our 'slavery' are serious misunderstandings, often reinforced by our culture. If we want to be free, then we need to counteract them with God's word. It's important to manage our time, but it's more important to manage our hearts. God has promised his rest to all who are weary and burdened (Matthew 11:28). It's up to us to accept it

Many books on the practice of prayer seem to be informed more by the experiences of their authors than by Scripture. However, the Bible not only teaches us about prayer, it also gives us many examples of prayer. It is God's Word to us, and it teaches us how to respond to that Word. Tim Chester's insightful exposition of this central aspect of Christian living is driven by the conviction that we need to reform not only our thinking and behaviour in the light of God's Word, but also our praying. Drawing on a wide range of biblical texts, he explores the foundations and the practice of prayer, and shows that how we understand prayer is necessarily bound up with how we understand the gospel, and God himself.

Is everything a Christian does 'mission', or does it only count when we speak about Jesus and share the gospel? Does mission include volunteering at the food bank, campaigning for justice and providing aid overseas? As the needs around us multiply and opposition to the gospel intensifies, this question 'Is everything mission?' becomes even more important for us to wrestle with. Tim Chester's 2018 Keswick Convention lecture helps us unpack what mission is and the role that God wants you, your church, your mission agency, to play.