This continues my series on the best books I read this past
year. In this post, we cover the books
relating to Christian living and ministry.
Sexual Sanity for Men:
Recreating your Mind in a Crazy Culture by David White. Sexual Sanity is workbook designed for
men struggling with sexual sin. The
focus is very gospel oriented. White
does a great job, chapter by chapter, of exposing the ugliness of our sexual
sin and then applying gospel principles to bring change in that area of life.
Martin Luther: The
Man who Rediscovered God and Changed the World by Eric Metaxas. Metaxas’ biographies are always well done – I
especially recommend the ones of Bonhoeffer and Wilberforce. Luther is another excellent
effort. Metaxas is quick to lay bare the
facts of Luther’s life, even if it means exposing some of what we think we know
as myth, to give us a wonderful portrait of this flawed but vital man.
The Glory of Christ:
His Office and Grace by John Owen.
Originally titled Meditations of the Glory of Christ and
published in 1684, one year after Owen’s death, this wonderful book is a
slightly modernized edition of Owen’s classic work. Even after all these years, it is still rich
in theological truth. It is a slow read
with much to digest, but it is well worth it.
Christ Formed In You:
The Power of the Gospel of Personal Change by Brian G. Hedges. My associate and I read this book together
and both of us were struck by its wisdom and power. Hedges has written a wonderful handbook for
anyone who is serious about applying the gospel to their lives and seeking
spiritual transformation as a result.
Out of a Far Country:
A Gay Son’s Journey to God, A Broken Mother’s Search for Hope by
Christopher Yuan and Angela Yuan. I had
the privilege of hearing the Yuans in person at a conference this past
year. This is their autobiographical story,
a tale of the power of Christ to change lives.
Christopher’s story forms the springboard for his new book, Holy
Sexuality and the Gospel: Sex, Desires and Relationships Shaped by God’s Grand
Story, which I am reading currently.
Missions: How the
Local Church goes Global by Andy Johnson.
This little book is part of a series put out by the 9 Marks
Ministry. It was recommended to me by my
daughter – thanks Kyla – and is an excellent volume on how a church can begin
or re-examine its support for missions.
It was so good, I bought copies for my elder board and we are reading it
right now.
2nd Tier Reads, still very good, recommended:
Faith
Alone: The Doctrine of Justification
by Thomas Schreiner
Encountering
God Through Expository Preaching by Jim Scott Orrick, Brian Payne, and Ryan Fullerton
The Mingling
of Souls: God’s Design for Love,
Marriage, Sex and Redemption by Matt Chandler
Living Life
Backward: How Ecclesiastes Teaches Us to
Live in Light of the End by David Gibson
2000 Years of
Christ's Power, vol 2 – The Middle Ages by Nick Needham
The Gospel for
Real Life by Jerry Bridges
Christ
Alone: The Uniqueness of Jesus as Savior
by Stephen Wellum
Long Before
Luther: Tracing the Heart of the Gospel
from Christ to the Reformation by Nathan Busenitz
The
Emotionally Healthy Leader by Peter Scazzero
Conscience: What it is, How to Train it, and Loving those
who Differ by Andrew D. Naselli and J. D. Crowley
A Vine-Ripened
Life: Spiritual Fruitfulness through
Abiding in Christ by Stanley D. Gale
The Fruitful
Life: The Overflow of God’s Love through
You by Jerry Bridges
The Fruit of
the Spirit: Becoming the Person God
wants You to Be by Thomas E. Trask and Wayde I. Goodall
Cultivating
the Fruit of the Spirit: Growing in
Christlikeness by Christopher J. H. Wright
Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles that can Radically
Change your Family by Paul David Tripp
The Imitation
of Christ: Classic Devotions in Today’s
Language by Thomas a Kempis and James Watkins
The One True
Light: Daily Reading for Advent from the
Gospel of John by Tim Chester
Love Came Down
At Christmas: Daily Readings for Advent
by Sinclair B. Ferguson
Grace
Alone: Salvation as a Gift of God by
Carl R. Trueman
Benjamin
Franklin: The Religious Life of a
Founding Father by Thomas S. Kidd
3rd Tier Reads, somewhat disappointing:
Recovering Eden:
The Gospel According to Ecclesiastes by Zack Eswine
Craftsmen:
Christ-Centered Proverbs for Men by John Crotts
Spirit Life: Living, Loving, Learning and Growing in the
Lord by Stuart Briscoe
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