Recommended publishersThese titles have been included for different maturity levels. Each level covers a different aspect of the topic so that there is minimal overlap if you read both books for each. Do be discerning. I have not read every title, but have included some on the consistent testimony of others. I have noted the century of the older works, although their printings are modern.
| Foundations | ||||||
Topics | Rare readers | Regular readers | ||||
| Why be a Christian? [General] | What God wants us to know (Roger Carswell, Christian Focus) | A fresh start (John Chapman, St. Matthias Press) | ||||
| Why be a Christian? [Philosophical] | [For regular readers] Mere Christianity (CS Lewis, Penguin) | The Universe next door (James Sire, IVP) | ||||
| Objections to Christianity answered | Know why you believe (Paul & Marie Little, IVP) | Does God believe in atheists (John Blanchard) | ||||
| Evidence for the resurrection | Jesus on trial (Kel Richards, The Goodbook Company) | Who moved the stone (Frank Morrison, Zondervan) | ||||
| Struggling with doubt? | Struggling to believe (Dave Burke, Crossway) | God in the dark (Os Guinness, Crossway) | ||||
| Struggling with suffering? | The bumps are what you climb on (Warren Wiersbe, Baker Books) | Is God in control? Trusting God when life hurts (Jerry Bridges, NavPress) | ||||
| Overview of Christian truth | A faith to live by (Donald MacLeod, Christian Focus) | Know the truth (Bruce Milne, IVP) | ||||
| Understanding the bible | Get into the bible (John Richardson, Goodbook Company) | God's big picture (Vaughan Roberts, IVP) | ||||
Christian Living | ||||||
Topics | Rare readers | Regular readers | ||||
| Daily bible reading | Explore bible notes (The Goodbook company) | Search the Scriptures (IVP) | ||||
| Prayer | Too busy not to pray (Bill Hybels, IVP) | A call to spiritual reformation (Don Carson, IVP) | ||||
| Devotional thought | Morning & evening [Revised modern english version] (Charles Spurgeon, Whitaker House) | The saint's everlasting rest [17th century & weighty] (Richard Baxter) | ||||
| Biography | A chance to die: A biography of Amy Carmichael (Elizabeth Elliot) | Here I stand: A life of Martin Luther (Roland Herbert Bainton, Lion) | ||||
| Understanding our culture | A guide to contemporary culture (Gene Veith, Crossway Books) | Trilogy (Francis Schaeffer, IVP) | ||||
| Christian life | Making life work (Bill Hybels, IVP) | Discipleship (David Watson, Hodder and | ||||
| Worship | True Worship ( | Sing a new song (David Montgomery, Handsel Press) | ||||
| Holiness | Holiness (Jerry Bridges, NavPress) | What every Christian needs to know about temptation and putting sin to death (John Owen, Presbyterian & Reformed) | ||||
| Ethics & social action | Good news about injustice (Gary A Haugen, IVP) | Issues facing Christians today (John Stott, IVP) | ||||
Work | Thank God it’s Monday (Mark Greene, Scripture Union) | The callings (Paul Helm, Banner of Truth) | ||||
| Relationships & singleness | [Relationships] The relationships revolution (Nigel Pollock, IVP) | [Singleness] The single issue (Al Hsu, IVP) | ||||
| Getting married | Looking up the Aisle (David & Joyce Aymes, Kingsway) | One flesh: Honeymoon sex and beyond (Amelia & Greg Clarke, Matthias Media) | ||||
| Being married | Strengthening your marriage (Wayne Mack, Presbyterian & Reformed) | Married for God (Christopher Ash, IVP) | ||||
| Parenting | A celebration of children (Edith Schaeffer, Baker Books) | Shepherding a child's heart [Be discerning over the section on discipline!] (Tedd Tripp, Shepherd Press) | ||||
| Baptism | Salvation’s sign and seal (Roger Crooks, Christian Focus) | Children of the promise (Robert R Booth, Presbyterian & Reformed) | ||||
| Christian caring | What could I say? (peter Hicks, IVP) | Ready to restore (Jay Adams, Presbyterian & Reformed) | ||||
| Preaching | Setting hearts on fire (John Chapman, The Goodbook company) | Speaking God’s words (Peter Adam, IVP) | ||||
| Considering church leadership | The work of the pastor (William Still, Christian Focus) | Shepherding God's flock (Jay Adams, Zondervan) | ||||
Sharing our Faith | ||||||
Topics | Rare readers | Regular readers | ||||
| The need of evangelism | God that’s not fair [about hell & those who haven’t heard] (Dick Dowsett, OMF) | Let the nations be glad: The supremacy of God in missions (John Piper, IVP) | ||||
| World evangelism | Don’t just stand there (Martin Goldsmith, IVP) | The church is bigger than you think (Patrick Johnstone, Christian Focus) | ||||
| Personal evangelism | Becoming a contagious christian (Bill Hybels, Paternoster Press) | Know and tell the gospel (John Chapman, St. Matthias Press) | ||||
| Defending the faith | Evangelism made slightly less difficult (Nick Pollard, IVP) | Bridgebuilding (Alistair McGrath, IVP) | ||||
Learning from the Past | ||||||
Topics | Rare readers | Regular readers | ||||
| Church history | Turning points (Mark Noll, IVP) | Evangelicalism in | ||||
| The Puritans | A golden treasury of Puritan devotion [17th century] (ed. Mariano Di Gangi, Presbyterian & Reformed) | Among God's giants (Jim Packer, Kingsway) | ||||
Key Christian Truth | ||||||
| Topic | Rare readers | Regular readers | ||||
| Overview of Christian truth | A faith to live by (Donald MacLeod, Christian Focus) | Know the truth (Bruce Milne, IVP) | ||||
| Understanding the bible | Get into the bible (John Richardson, Good Book Company) | God's big picture (Vaughan Roberts, IVP) | ||||
| The trustworthiness of the bible | Is all scripture inspired? (J C Ryle, Banner of Truth) | God has spoken (J I Packer, Hodder & Stoughton) | ||||
| God | Experiencing God (Michael Eaton, | Knowing God (Jim Packer, Hodder & Stoughton) | ||||
| God the Father | Adopted by God: From wayward sinners to cherished children (Tobert A Peterson, Presbyterian & Reformed) | The pleasures of God (John Piper, Christian focus) | ||||
| God the Son | Steps of understanding (Gerald Bray, Christian Focus) | The glory of Christ (Peter Lewis, Paternoster Press) | ||||
| God the Holy Spirit | Baptism and fullness (John Stott, IVP) | The Holy Spirit (Sinclair Ferguson, IVP) | ||||
| The cross and resurrection | Cross examined (Mark Meynell, IVP) | The cross of Christ (John Stott, IVP) | ||||
| Understanding God’s grace | Putting the Amazing Back into Grace (Michael Horton, Baker books) | Grace unknown (RC Sproul, Baker books) | ||||
| Topical Topics (For the Christian reader) | ||||||
| Title | Topic | |||||
| The New Testament Documents: Are they reliable? (FF Bruce, IVP) | The historical reliability of the gospels | |||||
| Three views on creation and evolution (Counterpoints series) | Creation and evolution | |||||
| Straight and narrow (Thomas Schmidt, IVP) | Homosexuality | |||||
| How Long O Lord (Carson, IVP) | Suffering and evil | |||||
| | Predestination | |||||
| Is Jesus the only saviour? (Ronald Nash, Zondervan) | Other religions | |||||
| Two view on hell (Fudge & Peterson, IVP) | Hell | |||||
| Are miraculous gifts for today: Four views (Counterpoints series) | Spiritual gifts | |||||
Top Ten Books for New Christians (Best read in this order) | ||||||
| Title | Topic | |||||
| A fresh start (John Chapman, Good Book company) | Getting clear about the central Christian message | |||||
| Know why you believe (Paul Little, IVP) | Tackling common objections or questions | |||||
| Mere Christianity (CS Lewis, Penguin) | An introduction to Christian thought | |||||
| Discipleship (David Watson, Hodder & Stoughton) | An overview of Christian living | |||||
| Know and tell the gospel (John Chapman, St. Matthias Press) | Why and how to speak about Christ to others | |||||
| A faith to live by (Donald MacLeod, | An overview of Christian belief | |||||
| Issues facing Christians today (John Stott, Hodder and | An overview of Christian ethics | |||||
| God’s big picture (Vaughan Roberts, IVP) | An overview of the whole bible | |||||
| How long O Lord (Don Carson, IVP) | Getting clear about how to view suffering before suffering it | |||||
| Search the scriptures (Ed. Alan Stibbs, IVP) | Questions to help you read any or all of the bible in daily chunks | |||||
Basic Commentary Recommendations | ||||||
| Abbreviation | Series and Publisher | |||||
| FOB | Focus on the bible (Christian Focus) | |||||
| TOTC | Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (IVP) | |||||
| BST | Bible speaks today series (IVP) | |||||
| IVPNTC | IVP New Testament Commentary (IVP) | |||||
| NIVAC | NIV Application Commentary (Zondervan) | |||||
| New Testament | ||||||
| Gaps show where a commentary covers a number of bible books. | ||||||
| Bible book | Author and series | |||||
| Matthew | Keener (IVPNTC) | |||||
| Mark | | |||||
| Luke | Bock (IVPNTC) | |||||
| John | Milne (BST) | |||||
| Acts | Stott (BST) | |||||
| Romans | Moo (NIVAC) | |||||
| 1 Corinthians | Blomberg (NIVAC) | |||||
| 2 Corinthians | | |||||
| Galatians | Stott (BST) | |||||
| Ephesians | Liefield (IVPNTC) | |||||
| Philippians | Fee (IVPNTC) | |||||
| Colossians | Lucas (BST) | |||||
| Philemon | ||||||
| 1 Thessalonians | Stott (BST) | |||||
| 2 Thessalonians | ||||||
| 1 Timothy | Towner (IVPNTC) | |||||
| 2 Timothy | ||||||
| Titus | ||||||
| Hebrews | Guthrie (NIVAC) | |||||
| James | Motyer (BST) | |||||
| 1 Peter | Marshall (IVPNTC) | |||||
| 2 Peter | Lucas/Green (BST) | |||||
| Jude | ||||||
| 1 John | Burge (NIVAC) | |||||
| 2 John | ||||||
| 3 John | ||||||
| Revelation | Wilcox (BST) | |||||
| Old Testament | ||||||
| Gaps show where a commentary covers a number of bible books. | ||||||
| Bible book | Author and series | |||||
| Genesis | Chs 1-11: Atkinson BST, 12-50: | |||||
| Exodus | Enns NIVAC | |||||
| Leviticus | Averbeck NIVAC | |||||
| Numbers | Brown BST | |||||
| Deuteronomy | Block NIVAC | |||||
| Joshua | Ralph Davis FOB | |||||
| Judges | Ralph Davis FOB | |||||
| Ruth | Atkinson BST | |||||
| 1 & 2 Samuel | Ralph Davis FOB | |||||
| 1 & 2 Kings | Ralph Davis FOB | |||||
| 1 & 2 Chronicles | Wilcox BST | |||||
| Ezra | Kidner (includes Nehemiah) TOTC | |||||
| Nehemiah | Brown BST | |||||
| Esther | Jobes NIVAC | |||||
| Job | Atkinson BST | |||||
| Psalms | chs 1-72, 73-150 Wilcox BST | |||||
| Proverbs | Alden (Proverbs: Commentary on an ancient book of timeless advice) Baker | |||||
| Ecclesiastes | Provan NIVAC | |||||
| Song of Songs | ||||||
| Isaiah | Webb BST | |||||
| Jeremiah | Kidner BST | |||||
| Lamentations | ||||||
| Ezekial | Duguid NIVAC | |||||
| Daniel | Tremper-Longman III NIVAC | |||||
| Hosea | Smith NIVAC | |||||
| Amos | ||||||
| Micah | ||||||
| Joel | Prior (includes Micah) BST | |||||
| Habakkuk | ||||||
| Obadiah | Baker, Alexander, Walke (includes Micah) TOTC | |||||
| Jonah | ||||||
| Nahum | Baker (includes Habakkuk) TOTC | |||||
| Zephaniah | ||||||
| Zechariah | Webb BST | |||||
| Haggai | | |||||
| Malachi | ||||||
