Recommended Reading List

The following resources are suggested books based on various topics of interest.

Index of Topics

Doctrine of God: Who is God?	Doctrine of Christ: Who is Jesus?
Doctrine of the Holy Spirit: Who is the Holy Spirit?	Doctrine of the Church: What/Who is the Church?
Christian Living	Missions
Evangelism	Marriage & Family
Christian & Pastoral Ministry	Contemporary Issues
Christianity and Culture	Christianity and Racial Reconciliation
Christianity and Politics	What is the Gospel?
Christian Apologetics	Christian Biographies

Biblical Theology	New Testament Theology
Christian Ethics	Christian Philosophy
Old Testament Studies	New Testament Studies

Old Testament Theology	The Gospels
Biblical Archeology	Christianity and Other Religions
New Testament Textual Criticism	Old Testament Textual Criticism Race Relations Social Justice

 

Doctrine of God 

• The Attributes of God by A. W. Pink
• Biblical Theology: The God of the Christian Scriptures by John Goldingay
• The Doctrine of God (A Theology of Lordship) by John M. Frame
• Knowing God by J.I. Packer
• Pleasures of God by John Piper
• The Forgotten Trinity by James R. White
• God’s Passion for His Glory by John Piper
• The Doctrine of God: A Global Introduction by Veli-Matti Karkkainen
• The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul
• The Holy Trinity: In Scripture, History, Theology, and Worship by Robert Letham
• The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God by John M. Frame
• God in New Testament Theology by Larry Hurtado              

Doctrine of Christ

• God the Son Incarnate: The Doctrine of Christ by Stephen J. Wellum
• The Incomparable Christ by John Stott
• The Atonement: Its Meaning and Significance by Leon L. Morri
• The Person and Work of Christ by Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield
• Jesus And The Gospel In Africa: History And Experience by Kwame Bediako
• Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity by Larry W. Hurtado
• The Person of Christ by Donald Macleod
• Incarnation: The Person and Life of Christ by Thomas F. Torrance
• The Person of Christ by G. C. Berkouwe
• Jesus Divine Messiah: The New and Old Testament Witness by Robert L. Reymond

Doctrine of the Holy Spirit

• He Who Gives Life: The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit by Graham A. Cole and John S. Feinberg
• Flame of Love: A Theology of the Holy Spirit by Clark H. Pinnock
• Gift & Giver: The Holy Spirit in the Church by Craig S. Keener
  
• God’s Empowering Presence by Gordon Fee
• The Holy Spirit: A Pentecostal Perspective by Anthony D. Palma
• The Holy Spirit: In Biblical Teaching, through the Centuries, and Today by Anthony C. Thiselton
•  The Holy Spirit by Sinclair B. Ferguson
• Spirit Hermeneutics: Reading Scripture in Light of Pentecost by Craig S. Keener
• The Spirit Poured Out on All Flesh: Pentecostalism and the Possibility of Global Theology by Amos Yong
• Pneumatology: The Holy Spirit in Ecumenical, International, and Contextual Perspective by Veli-Matti Karkkainen

                                         Doctrine of the Church

a) General

• Sojourners and Strangers: The Doctrine of the Church by Gregg R. Allison and  John S. Feinberg 
• Nine Marks of a Healthy Church by Mark Dever
• Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Church by Don Whitney
• What Is the Mission of the Church?: Making Sense of Social Justice, Shalom, and the Great Commission by Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert 

b) Church Leadership and Governance

• The Cross and Christian Ministry: Leadership Lessons from 1 Corinthians
  by D. A. Carson
• Deacons: Answering Key Questions by John MacArthur

b) Christian Education

The Bible

• The Doctrine of the Word of God  by John M. Frame
• The Enduring Authority of the Christian Scriptures
  by D. A. Carson
• A Peculiar Glory: How the Christian Scriptures Reveal Their Complete Truthfulness
  by John Piper
• Inspiration and Authority of the Bible
  by Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield
• The Inerrant Word: Biblical, Historical, Theological, and Pastoral Perspectives by John MacArthur
• A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament: The Gospel Promised
  by Miles V. Van Pelt
• A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the New Testament: The Gospel Realized
  by Michael J. Kruger  

• Scripture Alone: Exploring the Bible’s Accuracy, Authority and Authenticity
  by James R. White
• Biblical Authority after Babel: Retrieving the Solas in the Spirit of Mere Protestant Christianity
  by Kevin J. Vanhoozer
• Scripture and the Authority of God: How to Read the Bible Today
  by N. T. Wright

   Christian Living     

a) Spiritual Disciplines

• Desiring God by John Piper
• Future Grace by John Piper
• Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper
• The Doctrine of the Christian Life by John M. Frame 

b) Devotionals

 

• My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
• Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon
• Valley of Vision by Arthur Bennett
• Pierced by the Word by John Piper
• My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
• Valley of Vision: A Collections of Puritan Prayers and Devotions

 

c) Worship

• Worship by the Book by D.A. Carson
• Worship in Spirit and Truth by John Frame
• For the Glory of God: Recovering a Biblical Theology of Worship by Daniel I. Block
• We Become What We Worship: A Biblical Theology of Idolatry by G. K. Beale

d) Prayer & Fasting

•   The Call to Prayer by J.C. Ryle
• Power of Prayer in a Believer’s Life by Charles Spurgeon
• A Hunger for God by John Piper
• The Complete Works of E.M. Bounds on Prayer
• Praying with Paul: A Call to Spiritual Reformation by D. A. Carson

e) Conversion

• Religious Affections by Jonathan Edwards
• The Race Set Before Us: A Biblical Theology of Perseverance and Assurance by Thomas Schreiner and Ardel Caneday
• Redemption Accomplished and Applied by John Murray

 

 

Missions           

• Introducing World Missions: A Biblical, Historical, and Practical Survey
  by A. Scott Moreau and Gary R. Corwin            

• Let the Nations Be Glad! by John Piper
• Salvation to the Ends of the Earth by Andreas Kostenberger
• Through Gates of Splendor by Elizabeth Elliot
• The Life and Diary of David Brainerd by Jonathan Edwards
• The Mission of God’s People: A Biblical Theology of the Church’s Mission by Christopher J. H. Wright
• The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative by Christopher J. H. Wright
• The Temple and the Church’s Mission: A Biblical Theology of the Dwelling Place of God by G. K. Beale
• Developing a Strategy for Missions: A Biblical, Historical, and Cultural Introduction
  by J. D. Payne and John Mark Terry
• Crossing Cultures in Scripture: Biblical Principles for Mission Practice
  by Marvin J. Newell and Patrick Fung

   Evangelism

• Evangelism Handbook: Biblical, Spiritual, Intentional, Missional by Alvin Reid and Thom S. Rainer
• Tell the Truth by Will Metzger
• Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J.I. Packer
• The Soul Winner by Charles Spurgeon

Marriage and Family

a)The Christian Man & Husband

• Disciplines of a Godly Man by R. Kent Hughes

b) The Christian Woman & Wife

• Women Helping Women by Elyse Fitzpatrick
• The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace
• Feminine Appeal by Caroline Mahaney
• Women’s Ministry in the Local Church by Ligon Duncan and Susan Hunt

c) Parenting & the Christian Family

• Treasuring God in our Traditions by John Piper
• Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Ted Tripp
• Parenting in the Pew: Guiding Your Children into the Joy of Worship by Robbie Castleman
• The Duties of Parents by J.C. Ryle

d) Courtship, Gender, and Marriage

• Sex, Romance, and the Glory of God by C.J. Mahaney
• Discovering Biblical Equality: Complementarity Without Hierarchy
  by Ronald W. Pierce, Rebecca Merrill Groothuis, and Gordon D. Fee
• Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (Redesign): A Response to Evangelical Feminism by John Piper and Wayne Grudem 
• God, Marriage, and Family (Second Edition): Rebuilding the Biblical Foundation  by Andreas J. Köstenberger and David W. Jones 

 

Christian and Pastoral  Ministry      

a) Pastoral Ministry : General

• Pastoral Ministry by John MacArthur
• Spiritual Depression, Martyn Lloyd-Jones

 

b) Biblical Preaching

• Preaching and Preachers by Martyn Lloyd-Jones
• Between Two Worlds by John Stott
• Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon by Bryan Chapell 
• Preaching by John MacArthur
• Doctrine That Dances: Bringing Doctrinal Preaching and Teaching to Life
  by Robert Smith
• Our Sufficiency Is of God: Essays on Preaching in Honor of Gardner C. Taylor by Timothy George and James Earl Masse
• Preaching with Sacred Fire: An Anthology of African American Sermons, 1750 to the Present by Martha Simmons and Frank A. Thomas
  
• Preaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism
  Timothy Keller
• Designing the Sermon: Order and Movement in Preaching by James Earl Massey
• The Supremacy of God in Preaching by John Piper
• Biblical Preaching: The Development and Delivery of Expository Messages
  by Haddon W. Robinson

c) Biblical Counseling

•   Biblical Counseling by John MacArthur
• A Theology of Christian Counseling by Jay Adams
• Foundations for Soul Care: A Christian Psychology Proposal by Eric L. Johnson
• Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage in the Bible by Jay Adams
• Counseling and Psychotherapy: A Christian Perspective by Siang-Yang Tan   
•   Psychology & Christianity: Five Views by Eric L. Johnson   

The Gospel

• The Gospel According to Jesus by John MacArthur
• Ashamed of the Gospel by John MacArthur
• Today’s Gospel: Authentic or Synthetic?, Walter Chantry
• Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die by John Piper
• Saved from What? by R.C. Sproul
• The Death of Death in the Death of Christ by John Owen
• God Is the Gospel by John Piper
• The King Jesus Gospel: The Original Good News Revisited
  by Scot McKnight
• What Is the Gospel? by Greg Gilbert and D. A. Carson
•  The Enduring Authority of the Christian Scriptures by D. A. Carson

Contemporary Issues

a) General

• The Gagging of God by D.A. Carson
• God in the Wasteland by David Wells
• No Place for Truth by David Wells
• Above All Earthly Powers by David Wells
• Christ and Culture Revisited by D.A. Carson
• The Gospel in a Pluralist Society by Lesslie Newbigini  

b) Divorce and Remarriage

c) Christianity and Homosexuality

•  What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality? by Kevin DeYoung
• The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics by Robert A. J. Gagnon
• Slaves, Women & Homosexuals: Exploring the Hermeneutics of Cultural Analysis by William J. Webb

d) God, suffering, and the problem of evil

• The God I Don’t Understand: Reflections on Tough Questions of Faith
  by Christopher J. H. Wright and John R. W. Stott
• God Behaving Badly: Is the God of the Old Testament Angry, Sexist and Racist?
  by David T. Lamb
•  Is God a Moral Monster?: Making Sense of the Old Testament God by Paul Copan 
• Is God a Moral Monster?: Making Sense of the Old Testament God by Alvin Plantinga
• The Problem of Pain by C. S. Lewis
• Evil and the Justice of God by N. T. Wright
• The Many Faces of Evil (Revised and Expanded Edition): Theological Systems and the Problems of Evil by John S. Feinberg
• Is God to Blame? Moving Beyond Pat Answers to the Problem of Suffering
  by Gregory A. Boyd

Christianity and Culture

• Onward: Engaging the Culture without Losing the Gospel by Russell D. Moore
• The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity by Soong-Chan Rah
• American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us by Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell
• Many Colors: Cultural Intelligence for a Changing Church by Soong-Chan Rah
• Reconciling All Things: A Christian Vision for Justice, Peace and Healing by Emmanuel Katongole and Chris Rice
• Prophetic Lament: A Call for Justice in Troubled Times by Soong-Chan Rah
• The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity by Soong-Chan Rah
• The Intolerance of Tolerance by D. A. Carson

 

Christianity and Racial Reconciliation   

 

• From Every People and Nation: A Biblical Theology of Race by J. Daniel Hays
• One New Man: The Cross and Racial Reconciliation in Pauline Theology by Jarvis Williams
• Bloodlines: Race, Cross, and the Christian  by John Piper
• Heal Us, Emmanuel: A Call for Racial Reconciliation, Representation, and Unity in the Church by Doug Serven
• Oneness Embraced: Reconciliation, the Kingdom, and How We are Stronger Together by Tony Evans
• Transcending Racial Barriers: Toward a Mutual Obligations Approach by Michael O. Emerson and George Yancey
• Transcending Racial Barriers: Toward a Mutual Obligations Approach by Michael O. Emerson and George Yancey
• People of the Dream: Multiracial Congregations in the United States by Michael O. Emerson
• More Than Equals: Racial Healing for the Sake of the Gospel by Spencer Perkins and Chris Rice
• The Elusive Dream: The Power of Race in Interracial Churches by Korie L. Edwards

     

 

Christian and Politics             

• Politics – According to the Bible: A Comprehensive Resource for Understanding Modern Political Issues in Light of Scripture by Wayne A. Grudem

Christian Apologetics

• Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics by William Lane Craig
• The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism
  by Timothy Keller
• Fool’s Talk: Recovering the Art of Christian Persuasion by Os Guinness
• The Case for Christ: A Journalist’s Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus
  by Lee Strobel
• The Case for a Creator: A Journalist Investigates Scientific Evidence That Points Toward God
  by Lee Strobel 
• The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity
  by Lee Strobel  
• More Than a Carpenter
  by Josh D. McDowell
• Jesus Among Other Gods: The Absolute Claims of the Christian Message
  by Ravi Zacharias
• To Everyone an Answer: A Case for the Christian Worldview
  by Francis J. Beckwith, William Lane Craig, and  J. P. Moreland
• Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith
  by Douglas Groothuis

Church History

a) General Church History

• How Africa Shaped the Christian Mind: Rediscovering the African Seedbed of Western Christianity by Thomas C. Oden
• The Story of Christianity, Vol. 1: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation by Justo L. Gonzalez
• The Story of Christianity, Vol. 2: The Reformation to the Present Day by Justo L. Gonzalez
• Documents of the Christian Church
  by Henry Bettenson and  Chris Maunder
• Church History in Plain Language
  by Bruce Shelley

b) Global Church History

• Black Fire: One Hundred Years of African American Pentecostalism  by Estrelda Y. Alexander
• The Black Church in the African American Experience by C. Eric Lincoln and
   Lawrence H. Mamiya
• Black Church Studies: An Introduction by Stacey Floyd-Thomas and Juan Floyd-Thomas
• A History of Christianity in Africa: From Antiquity to the Present by Elizabeth Isichei
• The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia–and How It Died by Philip Jenkins
• Christianities in Asia by Peter C. Phan
• The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity  by Philip Jenkins
• Christianity in Latin America: A History by Justo L. González and Ondina E. González
• Christianity in the Caribbean: Essays on Church History by Armando Lamp
• The First Thousand Years: A Global History of Christianity by Robert Louis Wilken
  
  

Christian Biographies

• Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther, Roland Bainton
• Jonathan Edwards: A New Biography, Iain Murray
• The Life and Times of Howell Harris, Edward Morganr
• Spurgeon: A New Biography, Arnold Dallimore
• The Life of Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Iain Murray
• The Life of Arthur W. Pink, Iain Murray
• The Hidden Smile of God: The Fruit of Affliction in the Lives of John Bunyan, William Cowper, and David Brainerd, John Piper
• The Roots of Endurance: Invincible Perseverance in the Lives of John Newton, Charles Simeon, and William Wilberforce, John Piper
• The Legacy of Sovereign Joy: God’s Triumphan Grace in the Lives of Augustine, Luther, and Calvin, John Piper

 

Biblical Theology

a) Systematic Theology: General

• Systematic Theology by Louis Berkhof
• Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine by Wayne Grudem
• Christian Theology by Millard J. Erickson

b) Biblical Theology

• Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments by Geerhardus Vos
• The King in His Beauty: A Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments by Thomas R. Schreiner
• God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment: A Biblical Theology by James M. Hamilton Jr.
  
  

New Testament Theology

• A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New by G. K. Beale
• New Testament Theology: Many Witnesses, One Gospel by I. Howard Marshall
• A Theology of the New Testament by George E. Ladd
• New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ by Thomas R. Schreiner
• Lord Jesus Christ: Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity by Larry W. Hurtado

Old Testament Theology

• Old Testament Theology. 2 vols by G. Von Rad
• An Old Testament Theology: An Exegetical, Canonical, and Thematic  by Bruce K. Waltke
• Old Testament Theology: Israel’s Gospel. Volume 1 by John Goldingay
• Old Testament Theology: Israel’s Faith. Volume 2 by John Goldingay
• Old Testament Theology: Israel’s Life. Volume 3 by John Goldingay
• Theology of the Old Testament: Testimony, Dispute, Advocacy by Walter Brueggemann
•   Old Testament Theology: An Introduction by Walter Brueggemann
•  Old Testament Theology. 2 vols by W. Eichrodt
• Old Testament Theology: A Thematic Approach by Robin Routledge

• Kingdom through Covenant: A Biblical-Theological Understanding of the Covenants by Peter J. Gentry, Peter J., and Stephen J. Wellum

                                             Old Testament Textual Criticism

• Holy Writings, Sacred Text. The Canon in Early Christianity by John Barton
•  Invitation to the Septuagint by  Karen H. Jobes and Moisés Silva
• The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research: Completely Revised and Expanded Third Edition by Tov Emmanuel
  
• Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible by Tov Emmanuel
• The Text of the Old Testament by Ernst Würthwein

Christian Ethics

• The Moral Vision of the New Testament by Richard Hays
  
• The Indelible Image: The Theological and Ethical World of the New Testament, 2 vols by Ben Witherington III
• Old Testament Ethics for the People of God by Christopher J. H. Wright

Christian Philosophy

• A History of Western Philosophy and Theology by John M. Frame
• Warranted Christian Belief by Alvin Plantinga
• Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview by J. P. Moreland and William Lane Craig

Biblical Archeology

•  The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East. Five vols by Eric M. Meyers
• Life in Biblical Israel. Library of Ancient Israel by Philip J. King and Lawrence E. Stager
• On the Reliability of the Old Testament by Kenneth A. Kitchen
• The Archaeology of Society in the Holy Land by Thomas E. Levy
• The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land by Ephraim Stern