Favourite Books of 2023

 

Last year we compiled a list of the books that some of our staff and students had read and enjoyed during 2022, and this year we’ve done the same. We hope this will encourage you to pick up a book and spending a little more time this year reading!

 

Grounded in Heaven: Recentering Christian Hope and Life on God by Michael Allen. It’s a rich theological work that seeks to reorientate our hearts towards the beatific vision as the goal of the Christian life.

 

Embodied: Living as Whole People in as Fractured World by Gregg R. Allison. It’s a provocative treatment of an often-overlooked aspect of the Christian life.

 

The Kingdom of God Bible Storybook by Tyler Van Halteren. As the publisher claims, this is a children’s storybook Bible that they will grow into rather than grow out of. It is faithful to the text, well-illustrated, and has loads of helpful material for parents to make the most out of it with their children.

 

'The Path to being a Pastor: A Guide for the Aspiring' by Bobby Jamieson. This is a simple but a thought-provoking book which discusses many different elements of the preparation for pastoral ministry. It has very short chapters which makes it easy to read and allows time to think through the different topics at a good pace.

 

Speaking the Truth in Love: The Theology of John M Frame by John J Hughes. This chunky volume is a festschrift for John Frame who taught in various American seminaries over many years. It provides a detailed introduction to Frame’s theology with contributions from an extensive range of scholars. The thirty nine chapters beautifully capture the essence of Frame’s approach to theology, speaking the truth in love!

 

Dignity and Destiny: Humanity in the Image of God by John Kilner. As the title suggests Kilner thoroughly explains what the Bible teaches about humanity being in the image of God and shows how our creation in God’s image brings dignity and great hope. The book will enrich your understanding of this great topic and encourage your heart.

 

Galatians For You by Tim Keller. A wonderful book for study or devotional purpose. I enjoyed Keller's ability to make Scripture accessible for all and wonderful thought-provoking questions at the end of each explanation of the passage of Scripture.

 

The Whole Christ by Sinclair Ferguson. Ferguson offers a helpful summary of the Marrow Controversy as an introduction to the rest of the book, where he diagnoses the problems of antinomianism and legalism. He then prescribes the gospel of Christ as the only remedy for both.

 

Spurgeon's Sorrows by Zach Eswine. I couldn't recommend this book highly enough to those who desire to work with hurting people. Spurgeon's insight into physical, circumstantial and spiritual depression, along with his personal experience of flash backs, fear and anxiety, combine to create a powerful resource for anyone desiring to bring the light of God's grace, mercy and peace to those who are suffering with occasional or lifelong mental illness.

 

Women Who Risk Their Lives by Tom and JoAnne Doyle. Powerful testimonies from women in the Arab world who are coming to faith in Christ and witnessing for Him, even though everyday could be their last. Many must keep moving from city to city or country to country as relatives try to hunt them down and kill them for converting to Christianity. These women have little doctrinal teaching, but they know and love Jesus with all their hearts and go on telling others about him, often witnessing the signs, wonders and miracles that we read about in our Bibles. A truly heart wrenching yet heartwarming book of real, courageous, life-changing faith.  This book is not just for women!

 

Lessons from the Upper Room by Sinclair Ferguson. In this book, Ferguson ‘opens the door’ into the Upper Room, and we taste something of the intimacy of these five hours as Jesus prepares his disciples for his death, comforts their anxious hearts, and prays for them (and us) to the Father.  Ferguson combines a close treatment of the Farewell Discourse of John 13-17 with his hallmark pastoral applications. It’s a gem of a book, radiating the heart of Jesus in the shadow of the cross.

 

In Light of Eternity: The Life of Leonard Ravenhill by Mack Tomlinson. This is a stirring, well–written biography of the fiery evangelist and revivalist, Leonard Ravenhill, and the title fits his life well: Ravenhill lived in light of eternity. It’s the sort of book that shakes a man to the core, having him ask the question, “Are the things I am living for worth Christ dying for?”

 

The Mystery of Christ by Samuel Renihan. A clear break down of Baptist Covenant Theology but a helpful reminder that this should lead to praise and be a devotional exercise rather than lead to division.

 

Newton on the Christian Life by Tony Reinke. An incredibly encouraging summary of John Newton’s theology both through his letters and his hymns and an insight into his pastoral heart for his people!