Take Up and Read
Books Recommended by Mark Harrod
In 1 Timothy 3:14-16, Paul teaches that the mystery (that is, the revelation) of godliness is found in the life and ministry of Jesus. Godliness is found in Jesus. Therefore, the key to living godly is to know and love Jesus. Knowing Jesus is to abide in him, to be saturated in him so that our thoughts are on Him and directed by Him. The Bible points to Jesus. The Bible is the primary source on knowing Jesus.
Listed below are numerous books that are secondary to the Scripture. These books will help you to understand Jesus better as you read the bible. The books vary in nature. Some are scholarly and others more devotional. All of them will help as you seek to know and love Jesus.
- The Incomparable Christ by John Stott
- The Cross of Christ by John Stott
- On the Incarnation by Athanasius
- What was God Doing on the Cross? by Alister McGrath
- The King Jesus Gospel by Scott McKnight
- For Us and For Our Salvation by Stephen J. Nicols
- Above All Earthly Powers by David Wells
- The God Who Became Human by Graham A. Cole
- The Person of Christ by Donald Macleod
- The Cross and Salvation by Bruce Demarest
- The Glory of Christ by John Owen
- Immanuel: Reflections on the Life of Christ by Michael Card
- Who Is This King of Glory? by Tony Evans
- Just Give Me Jesus by Anne Graham Lotz
- God Came Near by Max Lucado
- Our Sufficiency in Christ by John MacArthur
- It is Well by Mark Dever and Michael Lawerence
- Jesus the Son of God by D.A. Carson
- Precious Blood: The Atoning Work of Christ by Carl Trueman
- In Christ Alone by Sinclair Ferguson
Books Recommended by Chris McDonald
I was not a big reader until college, and I feel my relationship with God didn't really begin to take off until that same time. Coincidence? I think not. Reading books, and not just any book on Christian living, but good, Bible-saturated books, are a means of God's grace to sanctify and shape us more into the image of Christ. Allow other believers who have walked where you have not yet walked teach you and help you to learn more about God and applying God's Word to your life. In that spirit, I recommend highly the following books:
- Gentle and Lowly - Dane Ortlund
- The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness - Tim Keller
- Praying Through the Psalms - Don Whitney
- Life in 4 Stages - Albert R. Mohler, Jr.
- Sacred Marriage - Gary Thomas
- Family Worship - Don Whitney
- The Evangelistic Zeal of George Whitefield - Steven J. Lawson
- The Pilgrim's Progress - John Bunyan
- 10 Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health - Don Whitney
- Christ-Centered Worship - Bryan Chapell
- Radical - David Platt
- Mere Christianity - C. S. Lewis