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Read as an act of worship.

Read to be elevated into the great truths of God so that you may worship the Trinity in Spirit and in truth. Be selective about what you read, however. Measure all your reading against the touchstone of Scripture. Time is too precious to waste on nonsense. Read more for eternity than time, more for spiritual growth than professional advancement. ~  Joel R. Beeke

Theology Proper (The Doctrine of God)

  •  Sinclair B. Ferguson, The Holy Spirit
  • John M. Frame, The Doctrine of God
  • John M. Frame, No Other God: A Response to Open Theism
  • Robert Letham, The Holy Trinity: In Scripture, History, Theology and Worship
  • J.I. Packer, Knowing God
  • A.W. Pink, The Sovereignty of God
  • John Piper, The Pleasures of God
  • A.W. Tozer, Knowledge of the Holy

Christology (The Person and Work of Jesus Christ)

  • Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah
  • Sinclair B. Ferguson, The Sermon on the Mount: Kingdom Life in a Fallen World
  • Gary R. Habermas, The Historical Jesus
  • Gary R. Habermas & Michael R. Licona, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus
  • Charles E. Hill & Frank A. James, III, Editors. The Glory of the Atonement
  • Simon J. Kistemaker, The Parables
  • J. Gresham Machen, The Virgin Birth of Christ
  • John Piper, Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die
  • Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ

Pneumatology (The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit)

  • D.A. Carson, Showing the Spirit: A Theological Exposition of 1 Corinthians 12-14
  • Sinclair B. Ferguson, The Holy Spirit
  • John W. Sanderson, The Fruit of the Spirit

Systematic Theology

  • Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology
  • James Montgomery Boice, Foundations of the Christian Faith
  • John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion

Soteriology (Study of Salvation)

  • Lorraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination
  • Leon Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross
  • John Piper, The Justification of God: An Exegetical & Theological Study of Romans 9:1-23
  • Thomas R. Schreiner & Ardel B. Caneday, The Race Set Before Us: A Biblical Theology of Perseverance & Assurance
  • Stephen Smallman, What is True Conversion? (Booklet)
  • Guy Prentiss Waters, Justification and the New Perspectives on Paul: A Review and Response
  • Guy Prentiss Waters, The Federal Vision and Covenant Theology: A Comparative Analysis

Covenant Theology

  • Anthony A. Hoekema, The Bible and the Future
  • Philip Johnston & Peter Walker, Editors. The Land of Promise: Biblical, Theological and Contemporary Perspectives
  • O. Palmer Robertson, Christ of the Covenants
  • O. Palmer Robertson, The Israel of God
  • Guy Prentiss Waters, The Federal Vision and Covenant Theology: A Comparative Analysis

Eschatology (Study of the Last Things/Times)

  • Robert G. Clouse, Editor. The Meaning of the Millennium: Four Views
  • Anthony A. Hoekema, The Bible and the Future
  • Philip Johnston & Peter Walker, Editors. The Land of Promise: Biblical, Theological and Contemporary Perspectives
  • George Eldon Ladd, The Blessed Hope: A Biblical Study of the Second Advent and the Rapture

Evangelism

  • Jerram Barrs, The Heart of Evangelism
    Robert Coleman, The Master Plan of Evangelism
  • Bruce A. McDowell & Anees Zaka, Muslims and Christians at the Table: Promoting Biblical Understanding Among North American Muslims
  • Will Metzger, Tell the Truth
  • J.I. Packer, Evangelism & The Sovereignty of God
  • David A. Reed, Jehovah’s Witnesses Answered Verse by Verse
  • David A. Reed & John R. Farkas, Mormons Answered Verse by Verse

Missions

  • Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Missions in the Old Testament
  • John Piper, Let the Nations be Glad!
  • John R.W. Stott, Christian Mission
  • Ruth A. Tucker, From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya: A Biographical History of Christian Missions

Apologetics (Defense of the Faith)

  • John M. Frame, Apologetics to the Glory of God
  • Gary R. Habermas & Michael R. Licona, The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus
  • C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
  • Douglas F. Kelley, Creation and Change: Genesis 1.1-2.4 in the Light of Changing Scientific Paradigms
  • Bruce A. McDowell & Anees Zaka, Muslims and Christians at the Table: Promoting Biblical Understanding Among North American Muslims
  • David A. Reed, Jehovah’s Witnesses Answered Verse by Verse
  • David A. Reed & John R. Farkas, Mormons Answered Verse by Verse
  • Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ

Worldview

  • Nancy R. Pearcy, Total Truth: Recovering Christianity from Its Cultural Captivity
  • Nancy R. Pearcey and Charles B. Thaxton, The Soul of Science: Christian Faith and Natural Philosophy
  • Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., Engaging God’s World: A Christian Vision of Faith, Learning, and Living
  • Philip Graham Ryken, What is the Christian Worldview? (Booklet)
  • Francis Schaeffer, He is There and He is Not Silent
  • James W. Sire, The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog

Ethics

  • John Jefferson Davis, Evangelical Ethics: Issues Facing the Church Today
  • John M. Frame, Perspectives on the Word of God: An Introduction to Christian Ethics
  • John M. Frame, Medical Ethics: Principles, Persons and Problems
  • John Murray, Principles of Conduct: Aspects of Biblical Ethics

Ecclesiology (Study of the Church)

  • Edmund Clowney, The Church
  • Stephen Smallman, What is a Reformed Church? (Booklet)

Church History

  • Roland Bainton, Early Christianity
  • Harold O.J. Brown, Heresies: Heresy and Orthodoxy in the History of the Church
  • F.F. Bruce, New Testament History
  • Eusebius, The History of the Church
  • Everett Ferguson, Backgrounds of Early Christianity
  • John Foxe, Book of Martyrs
  • Timothy George, Theology of the Reformers
  • Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., A History of Israel
  • J. Gresham Machen, Christianity and Liberalism
  • Francis A. Schaeffer, The Great Evangelical Disaster
  • Kennedy Smartt, I Am Reminded: An Autobiographical, Anecdotal History of the Presbyterian Church in America
  • Ruth A. Tucker, From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya: A Biographical History of Christian Missions

Sacraments (Baptism & Lord's Supper)

  • Robert Letham, The Lord’s Supper
  • Richard D. Phillips, What is the Lord’s Supper? (Booklet)
  • John Murray, Christian Baptism
  • John Sartelle, Infant Baptism (Booklet)
  • Gregg Strawbridge, Editor. A Case for Covenantal Infant Baptism

Devotional

  • Samuel Bagster, Daily Light
  • Arthur Bennett, Valley of Vision
  • Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest
  • Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening

Prayer

  • Bryan Chapell, Praying Backwards
  • Douglas F. Kelley, If God Already Knows Why Pray?
  • Richard L. Pratt, Jr., Pray With Your Eyes Open

Marriage

  • Bryan Chappell, Each for the Other: Marriage as It’s Meant to Be
  • Ken Sande, The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict
  • Paul David Tripp, Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands: People in Need of Change Helping People in Need of Change

Bible History

  • Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., A History of Israel
  • F.F. Bruce, New Testament History

Old Testament Studies

  • T. Desmond Alexander, From Paradise to the Promised Land: An Introduction to the Main Themes of the Pentateuch
  • Raymond B. Dillard and Tremper Longman III, An Introduction to the Old Testament
  • Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Toward An Old Testament Theology
  • Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Toward Old Testament Ethics
  • Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Missions in the Old Testament
  • Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., A History of Israel
  • Vern S. Poythress, The Shadow of Christ in the Law of Moses
  • Richard L. Pratt, Jr., He Gave Us Stories: The Bible Student’s Guide to Interpreting Old Testament Narratives
  • O. Palmer Robertson, Christ of the Covenants
  • John H. Sailhamer, The Pentateuch as Narrative: A Biblical-Theological Commentary

New Testament Studies

  • Craig L. Blomberg, The Historical Reliability of the Gospels
  • F.F. Bruce, New Testament History
  • D.A. Carson and Douglas J. Moo, An Introduction to the New Testament
  • George Eldon Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament

Pauline Studies

  • F.F. Bruce, Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free
  • Herman Ridderbos, Paul: An Outline of His Theology
  • Guy Prentiss Waters, Justification and the New Perspectives on Paul: A Review and Response

On Reading Good Books

“Master those books you have. Read them thoroughly. Bathe in them until they saturate you. Read and reread them, masticate and digest them. Let them go into your very self. Peruse a good book several times and make notes and analyses of it. A student will find that his mental constitution is more affected by one book thoroughly mastered than by twenty books he has merely skimmed. Little learning and much pride comes from hasty reading. Some men are disabled from thinking by their putting meditation away for the sake of much reading. In reading let your motto be “much not many.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon