Whether your summer involves a trip to the beach, tiring your kids out at the neighborhood pool, or nights spent on your back porch enjoying the fireflies, chances are you will be cracking open a book in the next couple of months. Here is a list of books our pastors and staff recommend.

Mike Honeycutt

Sanctification

by Michael Allen

This is not a popular-level treatment of sanctification, but one well worth reading if you are willing to read slowly and think deeply. It is recommended by two of my favorite authors—Todd Billings and Sinclair Ferguson. From the back cover: "This book defines holiness in theological terms by tending to its connections with core Christian doctrines such as the character of God, the nature of creation, and the covenantal shape of life with God."

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The Steadfast Love of the Lord: Experiencing the Life-Changing Power of God’s Unchanging Affection

by Sam Storms

I love reading Sam Storms. He lifts up the name of Christ in a way that encourages the weary pilgrim. I generally read through a book as part of my devotions in the morning, and I am reading a chapter or so a day in this one. I have been very encouraged at points as I’ve more fully appreciated God’s sovereignty and his love in a way that helps me experience that love on a daily basis.

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Tim Keller on the Christian Life: The Transforming Power of the Gospel

by Matt Smethurst

This is not a biography but rather a very helpful summary of Keller’s overall approach to the Christian life. After listening to an amazing number of sermons and reading just about everything by Keller, Matt Smethurst has done a masterful job in summarizing Keller’s approach to living all of life in light of the gospel. He covers subjects like suffering, prayer, compassion for the least of these, work, sin, etc. If you want a quick, overall understanding of Keller’s thinking about how we should live in the various arenas of our lives, this book provides it.

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JT Hoover

The Gift of Being Yourself: The Sacred Call to Self-Discovery

by David Benner

In this short book, David Benner unpacks how a deeper knowledge your true self leads to a deeper understanding of God. A knowledge of yourself and God, Benner argues, are not independent of one another, but very much interdependent. So often we struggle to change because we are not seeing how God cares and changes us. Benner’s book is a helpful understanding of “self” as we wrestle with believing that God truly does love me.

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Between the Beginning and the End: A Radical Kingdom Vision

by J.H. Bavinck

I have a hard time stating precisely what this book is about because at times it seems all over the map. However, as another friend of mine put it “each sentence is a goldmine”. This book is short, but incredibly deep. J.H. Bavinck unpacks the idea of Christ as the fulfillment of Adam (humanity) in his role as prophet, priest, and king. In doing so, Christ has ushered in his kingdom and the restoration of all things. Bavinck draws parallels to things I have never seen before, but that show the goodness and glory of God’s wisdom in his plan of redemption.

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Marriage Matters: Extraordinary Change through Ordinary Moments

by Winston T. Smith

So much of life in our families and marriage is built in the ordinary moments. Winston Smith does an excellent job at helping us see our marriage and faith deeply intertwined. Our marital relationship displays our heart toward God. This shines forth in how we carry out our daily ordinary tasks. This book is helpful to go through on your own or as a couple. With each chapter, there are highlights at the start of the chapter and discussion questions at the end.

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Caleb Blow

Childproof: Parenting by Faith and Not Formula

by Julie Lowe

Christian Counselling and Educational Foundation (CCEF) faculty member and counselor Julie Lowe tackles some of the big questions for parents of all ages. In particular, she does a great job of teaching the need to balance trusting the Lord’s will for our children with our responsibility to raise them in the Lord. This book is a great accompaniment to her other parenting book, Safeguards.

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Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World's Largest Religion

by Rebecca McLaughlin

Did you know that Christianity is not declining in the modern world? In fact, it is growing faster than ever. In this book, Rebecca McLaughlin considers some of the most common critical questions asked of Christianity and responds with biblically informed arguments. While this book is written for adults, McLaughlin also has an accompaniment directed to teens called, 10 Questions Every Teen Should Ask (and Answer) about Christianity. This is a great summer to read and discuss some of these big questions together if you have a teenager.

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The Life We’re Looking For: Reclaiming Relationship in a Technological World

by Andy Crouch

While technology has contributed to society in positive ways, there has also been a devastating impact on human relationships, a rise in materialism, and a move away from traditional community patterns as our culture has become more reliant upon devices. In this book, Andy Crouch reflects upon these challenges and provides practical wisdom on moving out of the impersonal and into the personal to help us put down our devices and engage one another in community and real, biblical relationships.

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Ryan Thomas

The Bible and Ecology: Rediscovering the Community of Creation

by Richard Bauckham

This critical work explores how the Church should understand Genesis 1 in relation to God’s eternal purposes for creation. Richard Bauckham considers the concepts of “rule,” “have dominion over,” and “steward” and how various philosophical and interpretive principles have left the Church guilty of aiding in the depletion of our created home. Bauckham challenges believers to a biblical standard for participating in the community of creation – for both the flourishing of all created things as well as for the redemptive aims of the Creator.

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Food and Faith

by Norman Wirzba

If you love nature, agriculture, and theology then this is a must read for you. Norman Wirzba is an ecological theologian who offers poignant insight into the inter-dependent nature of all living things. By examining the common practice of sharing a meal together, Wirzba reveals how God wove his communal-based love into all creation. Both nature and humanity can respond in kind, living in a sacrificial way that redeems the way that death was meant to lead to life. This is a fascinating work that will challenge you to carefully consider the way you relate to our created home and its community.

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