This book will guide the reader through a variety of passages of Scripture recorded in the Gospel of Luke that placed Jesus at the dinner table. The stories represented in the passages of Scripture demonstrate a number of situations into which Jesus was either thrust, or into which he placed himself. My desire with this book is to encourage the reader to come back to what is important—the table—but more crucially to recognize the importance of engaging people around a proverbial table with whom you may not normally associate. The purpose of this book is to challenge your thinking as a believer regarding people’s needs and how you might meet them, and to challenge your view of contemporary Christianity and the hypocrisy with which we are so often accused. Finally, I hope to make Jesus’s table talk a welcome part of your faith and life as a believer.

This service requires little preparation and involves only three readers. The build up to Holy Communion is dramatic and scriptural, climaxing in the betrayal of Judas, the sense of corporate guilt, and the need for forgiveness. In Table Talk we hear conversations between Jesus and his friends, enemies, and those who are indifferent. These talks occur at tables where Jesus has come as a guest. The service culminates with Jesus serving as host to his disciples. In his own table story we learn that whether or not we come to the great banquet, the table of the Lord will be filled. It forces us to ask that if we do come and receive the bread and wine, what will Jesus say to us? What will we say to him? How can we not find our faith strengthened, our love enlarged, and our understanding deepened by the table talk of Jesus? Marion Fairman, wife of a pastor and mother of another, received her B.A. and M.A. from Miami University of Ohio, and her Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. She has taught literature and writing at Miami of Ohio, Westminster College (Pennsylvania), and the University of Pittsburgh. She currently writes curriculum and critiques manuscripts for The Writing Academy, an interdenominational group of Christian writers.

Complementing Table Talk's Volume 1 programs, this selection of devotions brings the message home and allows participants to apply the session's message to their own lives. Volume 2 presents the stories of The Beatitudes, The Least of These, The Great Commission, The Last Supper, Crucifixion, and Resurrection.

For nearly two thousand years followers of Jesus have gathered in churches to eat a meal called Communion in his memory. In Table Talk, Mike Graves claims if we could travel back to those earliest Christian gatherings, we would realize we are not just two thousand years removed; we are light-years removed from how they ate when gathered because eating was why they gathered in the first place, a kind of first-century dinner party. Four characteristics of their Communion practices would leap out at us, traits that are scattered throughout the New Testament, but that often go unnoticed: how the meal was part of a full evening together, promoting intimacy; how it was a mostly inclusive affair, everyone welcome at the table; how it was typically festive, more like a dinner party; and how afterwards they enjoyed a lively conversation on a host of topics. But Table Talk explores more than just Communion practices, because a new way of doing church is happening around the world, gatherings more horizontal than vertical. For two thousand years Christians have oriented themselves toward God in the presence of others; now a growing number of congregations, part of the dinner church movement, are orienting themselves toward each other in the presence of God. This book tells their story and helps us rethink our own.

Jay Cormier is the author of eight other books on prayer, scripture, and preaching. He is the editor of "Connections, " a newsletter of ideas and resources for homilists. Jay lives in New Hampshire where he also teaches at St. Anselm College.

Are you tired of fad diets and empty chatter that leave you unfilfilled? Do you crave more heartfelt conversations along with more carbs? Then pull up a chair and sample some of Joan Butman's original "soul food" in her new book, Table Talk: Food for Thought That's Easy to Swallow Her menu includes calorie-free thoughts on everything from motherhood to window cleaning, with faith as the main ingredient. "(Our kitchen table)...is a safe place where ideas are exchanged, values are challenged, and minds and hearts are influenced in a way that hopefully produces thoughtful, caring individuals. Let me add that our table talk at times involves strong disagreements, raised voices, tears, an occasional derogatory comment or two, and lots of indigestion. My mother used to say, 'Can't we just get through one meal with no crying?' However, the important thing is we always return to the table." This latest collection of essays from the author of Heart Murmurs is sure to delight your senses, fill your soul, and provide plenty of dishing to savor. So if you like your "soul food" served with a side order of smiles, come and sit at the kitchen table of Joan's heart and visit for a while... All proceeds from Table Talk go directly to FOCUS, the Fellowship of Christians in Universities and Schools, whose purpose is to share with independent school students a life rooted in God that is real, adventurous, intellectually sound, and eminently practical.