Thursday, December 20, 2007

December Reading

1 Peter 2:2 says we should be like newborn infants in our desire for the Word of God. One of the dangers in reading lots of good Christian books is that they can take us away from the Word of God instead of doing what they are intended to do, in bringing us closer to it (and Him). If we spend time reading a book about the Bible instead of the Bible itself on a consistent basis somethings not right.

None the less, good Christian books can be very helpful in our pursuit of godliness...We should not throw the baby out with the bath water.

Here is the latest update of the stuff i am trying to read outside of Scripture... What have you guys been reading??? Did you ask for any good books for Christmas?

Books I am currently reading:
Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (Don Whitney)
Future Israel (Barry Horner)
The Exemplary Husband (Stuart Scott)
Shepherding a Child's Heart (Tedd Tripp)
Christian Living Beyond Belief (Cliff McManis)
The Message of the O.T. (by Mark Dever)
What Jesus Demands from the World (by John Piper)
Institutes of the Christian Religion, Vol. 1 (John Calvin) (Book 1, Ch 17)
Numerous Jude commentaries (for sermon preperation/various authors)

Books I’ve finished in the last year or so:
Pages from Church History (Stephen J. Nichols)
Assured by God: Living in the Fullness of God's Grace (various authors)
The Reformation (Stephen J. Nichols)
Spurgeon VS Hyper-Calvinism (Iain Murray)
A Scottish Christian Heritage (Iain Murray)
Meetings that Work (A Strauch)
The Truth War (By John MacArthur)
No Place for the Truth (by David F. Wells).
The Cross and Christian Ministry (D.A. Carson).
Women's Ministry in the Local Church (Ligon Duncan/Susan Hunt)
The Holiness of God (by R.C. Sproul)
Growing Up Christian (by Paul Graustein)
How America Lost Her Innocence (By Steve Gallagher)
From Pride to Humility (pamphlet by Dr. Stuart Scott)
Humility: True Greatness (by C.J. Mahaney)
Biblical Eldership (by A. Strauch)
Expository Preaching With Word Pictures (Jack Hughes)
The Reformed Pastor (by Richard Baxter)
Legacy of Sovereign Joy (by John Piper)
Whose Money Is It Anyways (By John MacArthur)
The Treasure Principle (by Randy Alcorn)
Baptist Life and Thought (By William Brackney)
By His Grace and For His Glory (Dr. Nettles) large sections
Knowing God (J.I. Packer) through ch 19
Way of the Master: Evangelism Training (Ray Comfort)
Evangelical Feminism & Biblical Truth (Wayne Grudem) large sections
Girl Talk (Carolyn Mahaney)
Various articles and commentaries on 1 Cor 11:2-16
Various articles and commentaries on 1 Tim 2:8-15
Various articles and commentaries on Titus 2

Books i recently purchased:
Future Israel (Barry Horner)
Preaching and Preachers (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
Commentary on the New Testament Use of the O.T. (D.A. Carson)
Resurrection and Redemption: A Study in Paul's Soteriology (Richard Gaffin)
By Faith, Not by Sight: Paul and the Order of Salvation (Richard Gaffin)
The Future of Justification (John Piper)
Genesis: A Commentary (Bruce Waltke)
Chosen for Life: The Case for Divine Election (Sam Storms)
Believer's Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ (Tom Schreiner)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

If we spend time reading Christian books instead of the Bible itself we have problems...

good point

Anonymous said...

I think the 80/20 rule would make sense here...80% bible...20% other...; however, I think we are being judgmental here since Preacher Boy could very well be reading the Bible more than auxiliary books but just happens to be an avid reader. I believe John McCarthur has alluded to reading apprx one book per week...

Caleb Kolstad said...

I have not heard of the 80/20 rule before...

Al Mohler reads one book a day but he also only sleeps 4 hours a night.

I def. don't read a book a week.

Happy New Year