Arron Chambers - Eats with Sinners: Loving Like Jesus

If your heart beats passionately for people who have wandered far from God, you need to read this book today! In Eats with Sinners, Arron Chambers reminds us of the power of love in reaching people for Jesus. He reminds us that love is always the best context through which to share the truth. And he reminds us that there are no lost causes.

MARK BATTERSON

New York Times bestselling author of The Circle Maker and lead pastor of National Community Church

I love that each chapter of this book focuses on a character trait that Christians should cultivate. God always wants to do work in us before he works through us. Let this book help mold your heart as the Spirit changes you and then he may just use you to change the lives of the people around you.

KYLE IDLEMAN

Bestselling author of Not a Fan and Grace Is Greater

Its so easy to forget that the people who live on our streets, who we see on the news, who believe differently than we do, whose lifestyles may make us uncomfortable, all bear the holy image of God and carry the same fears, the same loneliness, the same ultimate longings that Christians do. Eats with Sinners is a gentle call to emulate a God who, when we were still far off, met us in Christ and brought us home.

ANDREW PETERSON

Singer/songwriter

Arron Chamberss passion and heart for people come through powerfully in Eats with Sinners. This is a fantastic resource for all of us to be reminded and challenged by the way of Jesus. Arron points to how we can engage people with the purpose of Jesus in practical and inspiring ways.

JUD WILHITE

Senior pastor of Central Church

Jesus was called a friend of sinners. We are supposed to be friends with sinners. In fact, if youre not close to people who are far from God, you may not be as close to God as you think you are, because Gods heart is always with those who are far from him. In Eats with Sinners, Arron Chambers will inspire you to get closer to some people who are far from God and love them as Jesus did.

VINCE ANTONUCCI

Lead pastor of Verve Church and author of God for the Rest of Us

Thanks for your book. Thanks for your heart. My wife mentioned the other day on the way home from church, How can one book make such an impact on our whole church?

ALLEN GONZALEZ

Preaching minister at Capital City Christian Church

Our series on Eats with Sinners is going great. People are being baptized, joining the church, and reaching the lost. Exciting times! I cannot truly express the impact Arrons book is having on our church. It is changing hearts and changing lives.

JOHN FAULKNER

Director at Northside Christian Academy

NavPress is the publishing ministry of The Navigators, an international Christian organization and leader in personal spiritual development. NavPress is committed to helping people grow spiritually and enjoy lives of meaning and hope through personal and group resources that are biblically rooted, culturally relevant, and highly practical.

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Eats with Sinners: Loving like Jesus

Copyright 2017 by Arron Chambers. All rights reserved.

First edition 2009 by Arron Chambers. Published by Standard Publishing.

A NavPress resource published in alliance with Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

NAVPRESS and the NAVPRESS logo are registered trademarks of NavPress, The Navigators, Colorado Springs, CO. TYNDALE is a registered trademark of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Absence of in connection with marks of NavPress or other parties does not indicate an absence of registration of those marks.

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Cover illustrations by Free Design File. All rights reserved.

Published in association with The Blythe Daniel Agency, Inc., P.O. Box 64197, Colorado Springs, CO 80962.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version,NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Some of the anecdotal illustrations in this book are true to life and are included with the permission of the persons involved. All other illustrations are composites of real situations, and any resemblance to people living or dead is purely coincidental.

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Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN 978-1-63146-832-2

ISBN 978-1-63146-783-7 (ePub); ISBN 978-1-63146-784-4 (Kindle); ISBN 978-1-63146-782-0 (Apple)

Build: 2017-05-25 17:56:44

To Journey Christian Church a body of devotees who are friendly with sinners.

Thanks for eating with this sinner every week and for doing your part to make sure the banquet hall in heaven is full.

Foreword

I remember when I first met Arron Chambers. At the time, I was leading a church that was growing at a fast pace. The increasing attendance, however, didnt compare to the increasing frustration that kept me up at night.

The influx of people was from other churches; very few identified as non-Christian. In my sermons, personal conversations, newsletters, social media updates, and in other ways, I tried to cast a vision of engaging people far from God with the love of God. While some church members grabbed hold of the vision, far more seemed comfortable with not sharing the message of Jesus.

When my disappointment was at its highest, I decided to attend a leadership conference for some encouragement. Between the conferences main sessions, I became acquainted with Arron. After the last session of the day, we grabbed dinner. That evening, in a small restaurant at an Irvine, Texas, hotel, I poured out my heart. While my monologue may have seemed unending to most people, Arron sat patiently across the table and listened. After I was done venting, he conveyed some of the foundational points of this book. Inspired by his insight, wisdom, and passion for all people, I returned to my church with renewed excitement! Even today, I regularly leverage the principles Arron shared to help others love the people Jesus loved. Ive had many meals with people, but that dinner is one I wont soon forget.

Before you begin this journey with Arron, let me prepare you a little. If you consider yourself a Christian, then approach this book with an open mind, a compassionate heart, and a willingness to change your life. Why? Because Arron isnt content with any Christian doing life as usual if that involves indifference toward those far from God. He wont allow us to hide behind powerful words or lengthy prayers for people when we do nothing to reach them. And Im sure you care too much about your loved ones to keep the gospel a secret.

I believe its almost impossible to read this book and not develop an excitement to introduce people to God.

For those who might not be following Jesus, let me encourage you. It could be that when you first saw the title of this book, you took offense at the word sinners. Maybe youve been called a sinner because you dont follow Jesus, or maybe someone you know has been called that. The word