Resources for Growing Christians

You’re past the basics of the Christian faith and now want to grow deeper in your understanding of doctrine and discipleship.  The book and online resources recommendations will provide you some direction for where to look next.  If you don’t find what you’re looking for on this list, then try the mature Christian page.

Recommended books:

  • Bible Overview – hide the word in your heart
    • God’s Big Picture by Vaughan Roberts
    • Now That’s a Good Question by RC Sproul
  • Discipleship – set your mind on things above
    • Real Christianity by William Wilberforce: Clear explanation of the belief and resulting behavior from a famous British politician counseled by John Newton
    • The Pursuit of God by AW Tozer: Devotional type to calls to be read slowly and repeatedly
    • Voices from the Past by Richard Rushing: One page, daily devotional that’s better than Mornings & Evenings or My Utmost
    • Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald Whitney
    • The Weight of Glory by CS Lewis: A short, ‘weighty’ essay about our nature with a famous quote to end it
    • Desiring God by John Piper: Explains why our desires are too weak and what to do about it.  If you like this, you should read Future Grace and The Pleasures of God
    • Spiritual Growth by AW Pink
    • The Doctrine of Repentance by Thomas Watson: Explains what it means to turn from sin.  Review some of the most memorable highlights
    • How People Change by Timothy Lane
    • Tell the Truth by Will Metzger: Learn to tell others about Jesus
    • Smooth Stones Taken from Ancient Brooks by Charles Spurgeon
    • God’s Way of Holiness by Horatius Bonar
    • Chapel Library: Free classic books in pdf format
  • God – fear and love Him
    • Chosen by God by RC Sproul
    • Fear of God by John Bunyan
    • Jesus: Made in America by Stephen Nichols: Looks at the incorrect caricatures of Jesus through out history and corrects some of our cultural misconceptions of Him
  • Work and wealth – were do we store our treasures and how do we redeem our time?
    • Money, Possessions and Eternity by Randy Alcorn: Deals with a wide variety of financial topics though I think he goes too far on insurance and some other points near the end of the book
    • Your Work Matters to God by Doug Sherman: Explains why your work is meaningful
    • The Soul of the Firm by William Pollard
  • Suffering and trials – consider it all joy
    • Disappointment with God by Philip Yancey: Book explains how to handle life when it doesn’t work out the way we’d like it to and we being to question God
    • Trusting God – Even When Life Hurts by Jerry Bridges: Learn about God’s sovereignty, wisdom and love to trust Him through difficult circumstances
    • Spiritual Depression by Martyn Lloyd-Jones: Rediscover joy
    • A Grief Observed by CS Lewis: As the Problem of Pain deals with the intellect, this covers the emotions.  Good to give someone who lost a spouse
    • Lament for a Son by Nicholas Wolterstorff: Appears to be the best book to give to someone grieving over the loss of a child
  • Prayer – prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective
    • A Simple Way to Pray by Martin Luther: Provides a framework for how to pray along with examples of prayer in response to a request from a friend for guidance
    • Operation World by Jason Mandryx: Guides us to pray for the needs of each country by providing an overview and daily prayer points.  There’s also an online version
  • Worldviews and Ethics
    • Trilogy by Francis Schaeffer
    • Answering Islam by Norman Geisler
    • Pro-life Answers to Pro-Choice Questions by Randy Alcorn
  • Biography – follow others following Him
    • To the Golden Shore by Courtney Anderson: Biography of Adoniram Judson, missionary to Burma
    • Through the Gates of Splendor by Elizabeth Elliot: Biography of Jim Elliot, missionary to Ecuador
    • Rees Howells: Intercessor by Norman Grubb

Magazines:

  • Table Talk: Monthly devotional with topical articles from leading pastors
  • World Magazine: Weekly periodical similar to Newsweek, but from a Christian worldview
  • Free Grace Broadcaster: Free quarterly publication that provides sermons from leading ministers (e.g., Spurgeon, Ryle) on a specific topic.  The link also provides access to all of the back issues in pdf.  Great resource
  • Christian History: Free pdf based magazine covering key topics in the history of the church

Online resources:

Serious stuff:

  • Andrea Bocelli: His description of why he shouldn’t have been born