Suggested Reading
SUGGESTED CHRISTIAN READING
♥ = A good place to start
Ï® = More technical and advanced work
Apologetics o Evidentialist
§ The Case For Christ, Lee Strobel♥
§ More Than a Carpenter, Josh McDowell
§ Evidence that Demands a Verdict, Josh McDowell
o Classical
§ Classical Apologetics, RC Sproul & John Gerstner Ï®
§ The Reason for God, Timothy Keller
§ Reasonable Faith, William Lane Craig
§ The Universe Next Door, James Sire Ï®
§ Love Your God With All Your Mind, J.P. Moreland♥
§ Scaling the Secular City: A Defense of Christianity, J. P. Moreland
§ Christian Apologetics, Norman Geisler
o Presuppositionalist
§ He is There and He Is Not Silent, Francis Schaffer
§ The God Who Is There, Francis Schaffer Ï®
§ Apologetics to the Glory of God, John Frame♥
§ Always Ready: Directions for Defending the Faith, Greg Bahnsen
Bible
o Formation of the Bible
§ The Canon of Scripture, F. F. Bruce
§ General Introduction to the Bible, Norman Geisler
o Intepretation of the Bible
§ How to Study the Bible, John MacArthur♥
§ Biblical Hermeneutics, Corley, Lemke, Lovejoy Ï®
§ How to Read the Bible for All It’s Worth, Gordon Fee & Douglas Stuart♥
§ New Testament Exegesis, Gordon Fee
§ Old Testament Exegesis, Douglas Stuart
§ Exegetical Fallacies, D. A. Carson Ï®
o New Testament
§ An Introduction to the New Testament, Carson, Moo, and Morris
§ A Theology of the New Testament, George Eldon Ladd Ï®
§ New Testament Theology, Leon Morris♥
§ New Testament Theology, Thomas Schreiner Ï®
§ Paul: Apostle of God’s Glory In Christ, Thomas Schreiner
§ The Message of the New Testament: Promises Kept, Mark Dever♥
§ The New Testament, Thomas D. Lea♥
o Old Testament
§ An Introduction to the Old Testament, Raymond B. Dillard
§ Towards a Theology of the Old Testament, Walter Kaiser♥
§ The Message of the Old Testament: Promises Made, Mark Dever♥
o Translation of the Bible
§ The Word of God in English: Criteria for Excellence in Bible Translation, Leland Ryken
§ The King James Only Controversy: Can You Trust the Modern Translations? James White♥
§ The King James Version Debate: A Plea for Realism, D. A. Carson
o Use of the Bible
§ The Shape of Sola Scriptura, Keith A. Mathison Ï®
§ Knowing Scripture, RC Sproul♥
§ Think Biblically, John MacArthur
Christian Classics
o A Bruised Reed
o The Bondage of the Will, Martin Luther
o City of God, Augustine
o Confessions, Augustine
o Cur Deus Homo? (Why Did God Become Man?), Anselm
o Ecclesiastical History, Eusebius
o Foxe’s Book of Martyrs
o Institutes of the Christian Religion, John Calvin
o Paradise Lost, John Milton
o Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan
o The Reformed Pastor, Richard Baxter
o The Mortification of Sin, John Owen
Church History
o Church History in Plain Language, Bruce L. Shelley♥
o The Baptist Heritage: Four Centuries of Baptist Witness, Leon McBeth
o The Reformation of the Sixteenth Century, Roland Bainton
o The Story of Christianity, Justo Gonzalez
o The Early Church, Henry Chadwick
o Renaissance and Reformation, William Estep
o Backgrounds of Early Christianity, Everett Ferguson
o Meet the Puritans, Joel Beeke
o A Hill on Which to Die: One Southern Baptist’s Journey, Judge Paul Pressler♥
Contemporary Classics
o Basic Christianity, John Stott♥
o Desiring God, John Piper
o Knowing God, J. I. Packer♥
o Knowledge of the Holy, A. W. Tozer
o Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis
o The Holiness of God, R. C. Sproul
o The Pursuit of God, A. W. Tozer
Evangelism/Missions
o Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God, J. I. Packer
o The Gospel and Personal Evangelism, Mark Dever
o Tell the Truth: The Whole Gospel to the Whole Person, Will Metzger♥
o Let the Nations Be Glad! John Piper♥
o And the Word Came With Power, Joanne Shetler
o Today’s Gospel, William Chantry
o Pentecost ---Today? Iain Murray
o For the Sake of His Name, David M. Doran
False Teaching
o Discernment
§ The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment, Tim Challies
§ Fool’s Gold: Discerning Truth in an Age of Error, John MacArthur, ed.
o Cults
§ Another Gospel: Cults, Alternative Religions, and the New Age Movement, Ruth A. Tucker
§ Kingdom of the Cults, Walter Martin♥
§ Jesus in Other Religions, Ravi Zacharias
o Critiquing Open Theism
§ Beyond the Bounds, John Piper, Justin Taylor, & Paul Kjoss Helseth Ï®
§ God’s Lesser Glory, Bruce Ware
§ No Other Name, John Frame
§ Their God is Too Small, Bruce Ware
§ Bound Only Once, Douglas Wilson♥
o Critiquing Darwinism
§ The Battle for the Beginning, John MacArthur♥
§ Defeating Darwinism, Phillip Johnson
o Critiquing the Emergent/Emerging Church
§ Why We Are Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be), Ted Klunk & Kevin DeYoung♥
§ Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church, D. A. Carson Ï®
§ Truth War, John MacArthur
§ The Courage to Be Protestant: Truth-Lovers, Marketers, and Emergents in the Postmodern World, David Wells Ï®
o Critiquing Postmodernism
§ Above All Earthly Powers, David Wells
§ Culture Shift, Al Mohler
§ God in the Wasteland, David Wells
§ Telling the Truth, D. A. Carson♥
§ The Gagging of God, D. A. Carson Ï®
o Critiquing Extreme Charismatics
§ Charismatic Chaos, John MacArthur♥
Family Christianity
o Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
§ Different By Design, John MacArthur♥
§ Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, John Piper & Wayne Grudem Ï®
§ Fifty Crucial Questions: An Overview of Central Concerns for Manhood and Womanhood, John Piper and Wayne Grudem
§ What’s the Difference?Manhood and Womanhood Defined According to the Bible, John Piper♥
§ Biblical Manhood
· From Boyhood to Manhood, Al Mohler (Pamphlet)
· Twelve Ordinary Men, John MacArthur
§ Biblical Womanhood
· Feminine Appeal, Carolyn Mahaney
· Women’s Ministry in the Local Church, J. Ligon Duncan & Susan Hunt
· A Woman After God’s Own Heart, Elizabeth George♥
· The Fruit of Her Hands, Nancy Wilson
· Lies Women Believe and the Truth that Sets them Free, Nancy Leigh DeMoss
· Twelve Extraordinary Women, John MacArthur
· Shopping for Time: How to Do It All and Not be Overwhelmed, Carolyn Mahaney et al.
· By Design, Susan Hunt
o Children
§ The Lightlings, RC Sproul
§ The King with No Shadow, RC Sproul
§ Dangerous Journey (A Children’s Version of Pilgrim’s Progress)
§ The Chronicles of Narnia, C. S. Lewis
o Marriage
§ Each for the Other, Bryan Chappell♥
§ Sex, Romance, and the Glory of God, CJ Mahaney
§ Sex and the Supremacy of Christ, John Piper & Justin Taylor
o Parenting
§ Don’t Make Me Count to Three, Ginger Plowman
§ Shepherding a Child’s Heart, Tedd Tripp
§ Future Men, Douglas Wilson
§ Family Driven Faith, Voddie Baucham
§ Teach Your Children to Pray, Denise George
§ Your Child’s Profession of Faith, Dennis Gundersen
§ Girl Talk! Mother-Daughter Conversations on Biblical Womanhood, Carolyn Mahaney & Nicole Mahaney Whitacre
§ Praise Her in the Gates: The Calling of Christian Motherhood, Nancy Wilson
§ Standing on the Promises: A Handbook of Biblical Childrearing, Douglas Wilson
o Teenagers
§ Don’t Waste Your Life, John Piper♥
§ I Kissed Dating Goodbye, Johua Harris
§ If You Could Ask God One Question, Paul Williams and Barry Cooper
§ Right From Wrong, Josh McDowell
§ Lies Young Women Believe and the Truth that Sets them Free, Nancy Leigh DeMoss
§ Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations, Alex & Brett Harris
§ The Look: Does God Really Care What I Wear, Nancy Leigh DeMoss
§ Chris Chrisman Goes to College: . . . and Faces the Challenges of Relativism, Individualism, and Pluralism, James Sire
Systematic Theology
o General
§ Abstracts of Theology, James Pettigrew Boyce Ï®
§ A Manuel of Theology, John Leadley Dagg Ï®
§ Bible Doctrine, Wayne Grudem♥
§ Christian Theology, Millard Erickson Ï®
§ Concise Theology, J. I. Packer♥
§ Integrative Theology, Bruce Demarest & Gordon Lewis Ï®
§ Systematic Theology, Wayne Grudem
§ Theology for Everyman, Jimmy Millikin♥
o The Doctrine of Mankind/w Sin (Theological Anthropology)
§ Created In God’s Image, Anthony Hoekema Ï®
§ Reasonable Sins, Jerry Bridges
o The Doctrine of God (Theology Proper)
§ Attributes
· The Holiness of God, R. C. Sproul♥
· The Doctrine of God: A Theology of Lordship, John Frame Ï®
· The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God, D. A. Carson
· The Pleasures of God, John Piper
· God the Father Almighty, Millard J. Erickson Ï®
§ Trinity
· Father, Son, & Holy Spirit: Relationships, Roles, and Relevance, Bruce Ware♥
· The Forgotten Trinity, James White
· Making Sense of the Trinity: Three Crucial Questions, Millard J. Erickson
· The Trinity, Augustine Ï®
o The Doctrine of Christ (Christology)
§ The Cross of Christ, John Stott
§ The Word Became Flesh, Millard Erickson Ï®
§ The Murder of Jesus, John MacArthur
§ The Truth of the Cross, RC Sproul♥
§ Pierced for Our Transgressions:Rediscovering the Glory of Penal Substitution, Michael Ovey et al.Ï®
§ Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came To Die, John Piper♥
§ In My Place Condemned He Stood, Packer and Dever
§ Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ, John Piper
o The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit (Pneumatology)
§ Showing the Spirit, D. A. Carson
§ The Mystery of the Holy Spirit, R. C. Sproul
§ Spurgeon on the Holy Spirit, Charles Spurgeon
o The Doctrine of Salvation (Soteriology)
§ Saved By Grace, Anthony Hoekema
§ Getting the Gospel Right, RC Sproul♥
§ God is the Gospel, John Piper
§ Redemption Accomplished and Applied, John Murray
§ Election
· Chosen By God, R.C. Sproul
· Putting the Amazing Back into Grace, Michael Horton♥
· The Potter’s Freedom, James White
· By His Grace and For His Glory: A Historical, Theological, and Practical Study of the Doctrines of Grace in Baptist Life, Tom Nettles
· Southern Baptists and the Doctrine of Election, Robert B. Selph
· Spurgeon Vs. Hyper-Calvinism, Iain Murray
§ Justification
· The God Who Justifies, James White♥
· Counted Righteous in Christ, John Piper
· The Lord Our Righteousness, Obadiah Grew
· The Future of Justification: A Response to NT Wright, John Piper Ï®
§ Sanctification
· The Gospel According to Jesus, John MacArthur
· The Gospel According to the Apostles, John MacArthur
· Humility, CJ Mahaney♥
· The Cross-Centered Life, CJ Mahaney♥
· Worldliness, CJ Mahaney, ed.
· True Spirituality, Francis Shaeffer
· The Disciplines of Grace, Jerry Bridges
· Holiness, J.C. Ryle
· Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, Donald Whitney♥
· A Quest for Godliness, J. I. Packer Ï®
· Assured By God: Living in the Fullness of God’s Grace, Burk Parsons
o The Doctrine of the Church (Ecclesiology)
§ A Display of God’s Glory, Mark Dever
§ Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, Mark Dever♥
§ Polity, Mark Dever Ï®
§ The Deliberate Church, Mark Dever
§ Elders in Congregational Life, Phil Newton
§ Biblical Foundations for Baptist Churches: A Contemporary Ecclesiology, John Hammett Ï®
§ Life in the Body of Christ, Curtis C. Thomas
§ Three Priorities for a Strong Local Church, Ray Ortlund
§ Stop Dating the Church, Joshua Harris♥
§ Believer’s Baptism, Thomas Schreiner & Shaun D. Wright Ï®
o The Doctrine of Last Things (Eschatology)
§ Heaven, Randy Alcorn♥
§ A Basic Guide to Eschatology, Millard J. Erickson
§ The Second Coming, John MacArthur♥
§ Progressive Dispensationalism, Darrell Bock & Craig Blaising Ï®
§ Future Grace, John Piper
§ Three Views of the Rapture, Gleason L. Archer Jr., ed. Ï®
§ Three Views on the Millennium and Beyond, Stanley N. Gundry, ed. Ï®
Pastoral Ministry
o The Cross and Christian Ministry, DA Carson
o Speaking Truth in Love, David Powlinson
o Brothers, We Are Not Professionals, John Piper♥
o The Faithful Preacher: Recapturing the Vision of Three Pioneering African-American Pastors, Thabiti M. Anyabwile
o Preaching
§ Christ-Centered Preaching, Bryan Chappell
§ Famine in the Land, Steve Lawson
§ The Expository Genius of John Calvin, Steve Lawson
§ The Supremacy of God in Preaching, John Piper♥
§ Expository Preaching, John MacArthur Ï®
§ Why I Preach the Bible as Literally True, WA Criswell
Worship
o Worship by the Book, Mark Ashton, R. Kent Hughes, D. A. Carson, Tim Keller
o Worship in Spirit and Truth, John Frame
o Worship Matters, Bob Kauflin ♥
o The Air I Breathe: Worship as a Way of Life, Louie Giglio♥
o Give Praise to God, James Montgomery Boice
o When I Don’t Desire God, John Piper
