Tim Chester Quotes & Sayings

Our sin warps our understanding because we all tend toward self-justification. Studying — Tim Chester

In Luke's Gospel Jesus is either going to a meal, at a meal, or coming from a meal. — Tim Chester

An authentic experience of the Spirit is an experience in response to the gospel. — Tim Chester

Before they are preachers, leaders or church planters, the disciples are to be lovers! This is the test of whether or not they have known Jesus. This remains the case today: this cross-love is the primary, dynamic test of whether or not we have understood the gospel word and experienced its power ... It is our cross-love for each other that proclaims the truth of the gospel to a watching and skeptical world. Our love for one another, to the extent that it imitates and conforms to the cross-love of Jesus for us, is evangelistic.
pp. 56-7 — Tim Chester

Deep down in all of us there is a tendency to want to prove ourselves, to base our worth on what we do. — Tim Chester

Professionalism is always the enemy of authentic gospel leadership. Leaders — Tim Chester

Friendship evangelism is great, but it does not enable the gospel to travel beyond our social networks, unless there are intentional attempts to build friendships with people who are not like us. John Mark Hobbins of London City Mission says, 'Many people live in networks which take precedence over their address, and many churches have grown because of this. But the reality for many people living in social housing or in cheaper housing is that their address is very likely to define their daily life. — Tim Chester

It is often out encounter with culture that first reveals to us our own culture. — Tim Chester

It is bad enough when rich Christians shoe little concern for the poor, but when they moan about their lot, they show contempt not only for the poor but also for the generosity of God. — Tim Chester

The gospel is good news - a message to be proclaimed, a truth to be taught, a word to be spoken, and a story to be told. — Tim Chester

Holiness is as much about what you do on a Monday morning on the factory floor as it is about what you do on a Sunday morning in a church gathering. Holiness is as much about the kind of neighbour you are as it is about the kind of church member you are. It is as much about who you are when you are holding a steering wheel as who you are when you are holding a Bible. — Tim Chester

And domestic aspects of life. That would be to forsake the universal claim of the kingdom of God. Newbigin looks to the pattern of Jesus who exercised the sovereignty of God's kingdom through servanthood. How is it possible for the church truly to represent the reign of God in the world the way Jesus did? The answer, he believes, lies in the local congregation. I have come to feel that the primary reality of which we have to take account in seeking for a Christian impact on public life is the Christian congregation. How is it possible that the gospel should be credible, that people should come to believe that the power which has the last word in human affairs is represented by a man hanging on a — Tim Chester

The main thing that prevents us from understanding the Bible aright is not a lack of hermeneutical skills but our sin. Our — Tim Chester

The word "companion" comes from the Latin "cum" ("together") and "panis" ("bread"). — Tim Chester

External activities can't change us, says Jesus, because sin comes from within, from our hearts. Our rituals might change our behavior for a while, but they can't change our hearts. And so they can't bring true and lasting holiness. We need heart change. — Tim Chester

The secret of gospel change is being convinced that Jesus is the good life and the fountain of joy. Any alternative we might choose would be the letdown. — Tim Chester

Often when people think of social involvement, they think of providing something that will meet people's needs in some way. We will do something for the poor. We will provide for them food, furniture, help, education, skills, or whatever. These can all be good starting points. But we need to go further. Poverty is about marginalization and powerlessness. And some forms of charitable intervention can leave people marginalized. They can reinforce a sense of powerlessness. Something is done for the poor. They remain passive. They are not becoming contributors to society. They become more dependent on others. So social involvement is more than presenting people with solutions. Good social involvement is helping people to find their own solutions. We want people to be proactive in their lives and to regain their God-given dignity as human beings made to contribute to community life. So at the heart of good social action is the participation of those in — Tim Chester

we need to think through issues in terms of the Bible's big story - a biblical worldview. Our social involvement should be set in the framework of a biblical worldview shaped by the story of redemption. We should explore issues by looking at them in the light of creation, humanity's fall into sin, God's redemption - promised in the Old Testament and accomplished through Christ - and the return of Christ and the transformation of all things. Being biblical, then, means ensuring that our actions are related to our biblical framework rather than appending isolated biblical texts to each action. — Tim Chester

When we think "mission" we must think "church." And the best way to link church and mission is through church planting. — Tim Chester

The task is to become church for them, among them and with them, and under Spirit of God to lead them to become church in their own culture. — Tim Chester

The challenge for us is to make the gospel the center of our lives not just on Sunday mornings but on Monday mornings. This means ending distinctions between "full-timers," "part-timers," and people with secular employment in our team and leadership structures. We need non-full-time leaders who can model whole-life, gospel-centered, missional living. It means thinking of our workplaces, homes, and neighborhoods as the location of mission. We need to plan and pray for gospel relationships. This means creating church cultures in which we see normal, celebrating day-to-day gospel living in the secular world and discussions of how we can use our daily routines for the gospel. — Tim Chester

We were not made to look inward for self-realization, but to look outwards in love. I — Tim Chester

Studying the text with other people reduces the impact of sin on our thinking. — Tim Chester

American Christians spend more on dieting than on world missions.5 We spend more curing our overconsumption than we do feeding the physically and spiritually hungry of the world. — Tim Chester

Look to Jesus to be enough for you, and there will never, ever come a day when he is not enough. — Tim Chester

Jesus is handing out God's party invitations. They read: You're invited to my party in the new creation. Come as you are. — Tim Chester

As far as the Pharisees were concerned, if you gave a dish to the poor it became unclean, because the poor were the great unwashed who didn't fulfill ceremonial washing. But Jesus says the dish becomes clean because it expresses love. — Tim Chester

We may not long for bread, but we long for meaning, intimacy, fulfillment, community, purpose, and joy. — Tim Chester

Jesus does what legalism can never do: he gives us a new heart and a new spirit. Without — Tim Chester

But we can never change enough to impress God. And here's the reason: trying to impress God, others, or ourselves puts us at the center of our change project. It makes change all about my looking good. It is done for my glory. And that's pretty much the definition of sin. Sin is living for my glory instead of God's. — Tim Chester

Your identity isn't dependent on your change. You're a child of the heavenly King. — Tim Chester

We also have a new motivation to battle with sin: we're no longer under law, but under grace. This is counterintuitive. People think that law and legalism will best motivate us to strive to do what's right. But it's grace that enables us to live for God. "For — Tim Chester

An Australian study entitled 'Who Uses Facebook?' found a significant correlation between the use of Facebook and narcissism. 'Facebook users have higher levels of total narcissism, exhibitionism, and leadership than Facebook nonusers', the study reported. 'In fact, it could be argued that Facebook specifically gratifies the narcissistic individual's need to engage in self-promoting and superficial behaviour. — Tim Chester

Jesus the Savior can't do his work unless he's with sinful people. — Tim Chester

We are God's representatives on earth. We are God's glory, displaying his likeness. After each day of creation God declares what he has made to be 'good'. But only after the 6th day God's verdict on a world that now includes humanity is 'very good'. God's work wasn't finished until there was something in the world to reflect his glory in the world. We often excuse our actions by saying, 'I'm only human.' There is nothing 'only' about being human: we're truly human as we reflect God's glory. — Tim Chester

Loving Jesus is not a technique. Do not think about how you can communicate a passion for Jesus to others. Be passionate about him. Meditate on Jesus until he captures your heart afresh. — Tim Chester

So we do not read the Bible simply to fill our minds, but to change our hearts. We do not read the Bible simply to be informed, but to be conformed to the image of Jesus. We read the Bible to stir our affections: our fear, our hope, our love, our desire, our confidence. We read it until our heart cries out, 'The Lord is good! — Tim Chester

G.K. Chesterton said: People are equal in the same way pennies are equal. Some are bright, others are dull; some are worn smooth, others are sharp and fresh. But all are equal in value for each penny bears the image of the sovereign, each person bears the image of the King of Kings. — Tim Chester

The Christian community demonstrates the effectiveness of the gospel. We are the living proof that the gospel is not an empty word but a powerful word that takes men and women who are lovers of self and transforms them by grace through the Spirit into people who love God and others. We are the living proof that the death of Jesus was not just a vain expression of God's love but an effective death that achieved the salvation of a people who now love one another sincerely from a pure — Tim Chester

That's the scandal of grace. It means that if you've been working hard to be right with God, then you've been wasting your time because God welcomes everyone - righteous and unrighteous alike. — Tim Chester

We need to shift our focus from putting on attractional events to creating attractional communities. — Tim Chester

We have become outsiders just as Jesus was an outsider. We are marginal in our culture because Jesus is marginal. The cross is the ultimate expression of marginalization and to follow him is to take up our cross daily. It is daily to experience marginalization and hostility. Being on the margins is normal Christian experience. Christendom was the aberration. Rather than assume we should have a voice in the media or on Main Street, we need to regain the sense that anything other than persecution is an unexpected — Tim Chester

Christianity is word-centered because God rules through his gospel word. — Tim Chester