Description: This seven-week guide aims to aid Christians, individually or in small groups, to take a closer look at seven of the meals Jesus attended, focusing on what Jesus was trying to communicate through them, either in the food eaten or in the social interactions he had whilst dining.

Verdict: Each session examines set bible passage(s), frequently considering them through the lens of the stories and teachings which bookend the meal. The sessions also prioritize posing questions to support Christians in reflecting upon their own lives and how they can further incorporate Jesus� teachings into them.

This guide brings into one user-friendly volume a range of ideas that these meals explore, including God�s grace, what real purity means, how Jesus equips us to further his Kingdom, the purpose of Jesus� miracles and the nature of Jesus� Messiahship, as well as current interpretations of these occasions of commensality and the relevance of their historical and social context, in a language that is easy to understand.

Providing a rather insightful look at what most all agree to be the most important meal times in the Bible, whilst at the same time bringing forth dutifully insightful, and wholly creative ideas for interaction, Dining with Jesus: A Seven Course Bible Study Unpacking the Key Meals Jesus Attended by author Kate Jackson is one of the most intriguing works on the subject that I myself have had the pleasure to come across.

The meals in Luke 10, 11, 14, 19 and 24 are unique to the Gospel of Luke. The feeding of the 5,000 (Luke 9) and the Last Supper (Luke 22) can be found in all four gospels. The accounts in Luke 5 and 7 have some form of parallel in another gospel.

Furthermore, as I am sure we are all well aware by now, meals, food and drink serve as occasions for other teachings throughout the gospel, with some of the more notable examples include the following:

The First Temptation of Jesus (4:1-4)
Question about Fasting (5:33-39)
Disciples Pluck Grain on Sabbath (6:1-5)
Mission of the Seventy (10:1-9)
Lord�s Prayer and Perseverance in Prayer (11:1-13)
Parable of Lost Son and Elder Brother (15:11-32)
The Rich Man and Lazarus (16:19-31)

An excellent resource for groups of any size, or simply for individuals wanting to not only want to know more about a subject matter they may have skipped over earlier in life, and would now like to have a deeper, more spiritually attached encounter with Jesus Christ, perhaps what this book can also do is have people come together not only to discuss, but eat together, as Jesus himself once did, with his own flock.

About the Author - Kate Jackson has been a house group leader/teacher for the past four years and has created materials for her local Methodist church. For this role she utilised the skills she gained through obtaining a first-class English Literature degree and a distinction for her PGCE with a literacy and ESOL specialism. She lives in Hexham, UK.

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