The follow article by Ricky Alcantar was pulled from our SGC Pastors website. To read the full post or to access more resources like this one, click the button below…
Several great books were mentioned in the last Sovereign Grace Journal, The Books that Shaped Us. We wanted to provide a full list of those books and where to get them. We have also included the summary of each book. We hope this serves you as you look for your next read!
1. The Holiness of God by R. C. Sproul
Central to God’s character is the quality of holiness. Yet most people struggle to define what God’s holiness precisely is. Many preachers today avoid the topic altogether because people don’t quite know what to do with words like “awe” or “fear.”
R. C. Sproul, in this classic theological work, puts the holiness of God in its proper and central place in the Christian life. Drawing from both the Old Testament and the New Testament, he paints an awe-inspiring vision of God that encourages Christians to become holy just as God is holy. With depth and eloquence, this timely book addresses:
What Sproul calls the “trauma of holiness”
How we reconcile God’s justice with his love
How to know if we are moving forward in our pursuit of righteousness
Once you encounter the holiness of God, your life will never be the same.
2. Knowing God by J. I. Packer
For half a century, J. I. Packer's classic has helped Christians around the world discover the wonder, the glory, and the joy of knowing God.
Stemming from Packer's profound theological knowledge, Knowing God brings together two key facets of the Christian faith―knowing about God and knowing God through a close relationship with Jesus Christ. Written in an engaging and practical tone, this thought-provoking work seeks to renew and enrich our understanding of God.
3. Transforming Grace by Jerry Bridges
Isn’t it time to stop trying to measure up?
Too many of us embrace grace for our salvation but then leave it behind in our everyday lives. We base our relationship with God on our performance rather than on His love for us. But our performance can never earn us the love we so desperately crave. Renowned author Jerry Bridges’s Transforming Grace is a fountainhead of inspiration and renewal that will show you just how inexhaustible and generous God’s grace really is. Live confidently in God’s unfailing love, as you learn about:
The sufficiency of grace
Holiness as a gift of God’s grace
What it means to appropriate God’s grace
Our calling to be free
Now with an added study guide for personal use or group discussion so you can dive deeper into this staple of Jerry Bridges’s classic collection. Abandon the treadmill of performance and step into a daily life of guilt-free intimacy with our Creator.
4. The Cross and Christian Ministry: Leadership Lessons from 1 Corinthians by D.A. Carson
In this exposition of 1 Corinthians, D. A. Carson presents a comprehensive view of what the death of Christ means in preaching and ministering to God's people. He explains the key biblical principles for dynamic, cross-
centered ministry and how to put the cross at the center of Christian life.
5. How Long, O Lord? Reflections on Suffering and Evil by D.A Carson
This clear and accessible treatment of key biblical themes related to human suffering and evil is written by one of the most respected evangelical biblical scholars alive today. Carson brings together a close, careful exposition of key biblical passages with helpful pastoral applications. The second edition has been updated throughout.
6. Showing the Spirit: A Theological Exposition of 1 Corinthians 12–14 by D.A Carson
Eschewing extremes, Bible scholar D. A. Carson explores the controversial subject of the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer and in the life of the church. Unpacking 1 Corinthians 12-14, as well as touching on relevant passages in Acts, Carson faithfully follows the evidence of the text and offers an honest look at the strengths and weaknesses of both charismatic and non-charismatic viewpoints.
7. A Call to Spiritual Reformation: Priorities from Paul and His Prayers by D.A. Carson
Carson calls believers to revolt against superficiality and find again the deeper knowledge of God at Paul's school of prayer. Strong expositional study.
8. Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor: The Life and Reflections of Tom Carson by D.A Carson
D. A. Carson's father was a pioneering church-planter and pastor in Quebec. But still, an ordinary pastor-except that he ministered during the decades that brought French Canada from the brutal challenges of persecution and imprisonment for Baptist ministers to spectacular growth and revival in the 1970s.
It is a story, and an era, that few in the English-speaking world know anything about. But through Tom Carson's journals and written prayers, and the narrative and historical background supplied by his son, readers will be given a firsthand account of not only this trying time in North American church history, but of one pastor's life and times, dreams and disappointments. With words that will ring true for every person who has devoted themselves to the Lord's work, this unique book serves to remind readers that though the sacrifices of serving God are great, the sweetness of living a faithful, obedient life is greater still.
9. The Cross of Christ by John Stott
"I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the cross. . . . In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it?" With compelling honesty John Stott confronts readers with the centrality of the cross in God's redemption of our pain-filled world.
Can we see triumph in tragedy, victory in shame? Why should an object of Roman distaste and Jewish disgust be the emblem of our worship and the axiom of our faith? And what does it mean for us today?
From one of the foremost preachers and Christian leaders of his generation, The Cross of Christ is a classic, accessible, and compelling look at the work of Christ. At the cross Stott finds the majesty and love of God disclosed, the sin and bondage of the world exposed. More than a study of the atonement, this book brings Scripture into living dialogue with Christian theology and contemporary issues. What emerges is a pattern for Christian life and worship, hope and mission.
In honor of John Stott's one hundredth birthday, this centennial edition includes an updated foreword by Alister McGrath and a new timeline of Stott's life. A study guide equips individuals and groups to more deeply reflect on and apply the book's message.
10. Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist by John Piper
Experience the Lifelong Pleasures of Knowing God!
Satisfaction…Happiness…Joy. According to John Piper, the pursuit of pleasure in God is not only permissible, it’s essential.
Desiring God is a paradigm-shattering work that dramatically alters common perspectives on relating to God. Piper reveals that there really is no need to choose between duty and delight in the Christian life. In fact, for the follower of Jesus, delight is the duty as Christ is most magnified in His people when they are most satisfied in Him.
Constantly drawing on Scripture to build his case, Piper shows why pursuing maximum joy is essential to glorifying God. He discusses the implications of this for conversion, worship, love, Scripture, prayer, money, marriage, missions, and suffering.
Piper beckons us to approach God with the hedonist’s abandon. Finally, we are freed to enjoy Jesus—not only as our Lord and Savior, but also as our all-surpassing, soul-satisfying Treasure.
Desiring God may turn your Christian world upside down. And that will be a good thing, for the glory of God, and for your deepest joy.
Includes a study guide for individual and small group use.
