A Christian man that is battling cancer is compiling a list of ten books that he wants the next generation to be sure to read. He has sought my top 10.
Rather than just giving a top 10 books I think it might be more beneficial to say what 10 “types” of books I’d want to leave to the next generation. It is my hope that these books would ground the next generation and give them a passion for digging further. Because of that aim most of these are more introductory type of books to inspire further reading.
I’ll give an example or two of each of these. These are in no particular order.
- How to read the Scriptures: 40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible by Robert L. Plummer
- What is the gospel?: Gospel for Real Life by Jerry Bridges or God is the Gospel by John Piper
- How to apply the gospel: How People Change by Paul Tripp and Timothy Lane
- How to live the Christian life: Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Don Whitney
- Who is God?: Knowing God by J.I. Packer
- Something to break me: The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul
- Something to introduce you to a deep well like the Puritans: The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes.
- Someone to model: The Works of John Newton (I would suggest also stockpiling biographies of Newton and his letters. Wise Counsel by Grant Gordon is also a great resource).
- How to fight for joy: Pleasures Evermore by Sam Storms or Desiring God by John Piper
- How to share the gospel: Tell the Truth by Will Metzger or The Gospel and Personal Evangelism by Mark Dever
I feel like the author of Hebrews must have felt when writing his eleventh chapter. I don’t have time to tell you of Dever’s 9 Marks, or Lloyd-Jones, or all the great books to help with preaching and ministry, or suffering, or the immensely helpful Puritans, or McCheyne’s diary. I didn’t even scratch the surface of church history. But my hope is that the aforementioned books would create a solid foundation and cause the next generation to seek further helps.
More than anything, though, it is my prayer that the next generation will have a hunger for knowing and living God’s Word.
Mike, thanks for the links to the resources. Always a joy to get insight on not only what to read, but why to read it.
ReplyDeleteQuick comment: Liking the new blog layout/design. Did you have to switch it or did Google do it for you? How hard is Blogger to work with?
Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI had to switch over. Blogger is great for those like myself that aren't very design savvy. But you are limited in what you can do.