Recommended Books

Art & Aesthetics

75 Masterpieces Every Christian Should Know: The Fascinating Stores behind Great Works of Art, Literature, Music, and Film by Terry W. Glaspey. I appreciate the works that Glaspey discusses. It is easy to get stuck in one genre, but Glaspey’s book helps you think across artistic genres to view the arts as a whole.

Art and the Bible: Two Essays by Francis Schaeffer. This book helps a Christian think deeply and thoroughly about beauty and the arts. It is a treasure trove of wisdom.

Imagination Redeemed: Glorifying God with a Neglected Part of Your Mind by Veith & Ristuccia. Learn how God created our imaginations to work, and how we can redeem them for His glory.

Rembrandt is in the Wind: Learning to Love Art through the Eyes of Faith by Russ Ramsey. Goodreads review. Ramsey’s book helps non-artists approach and view art through the lens of Scripture. He shows why beauty is important, and gives practical steps in developing an appreciation of beauty in the life of a believer.

Seeing Beauty and Saying Beautifully: The Power of Poetic Effort in the Work of George Herbert, George Whitefield, and C. S. Lewis by John Piper. Being told how to write is one thing, but reading the examples of great writers and orators is incomparable.

Words of Delight: A Literary Introduction to the Bible by Leland Ryken. This was an assigned reading in a seminary class and my introduction to Leland Ryken. I highly recommend any of his books, but this one helps you read the Bible with fresh eyes attuned to the beauty of its structure.

Biography

Asahel Nettleton. Asahel Nettleton: Life and Labours by Bennet Tyler and Andrew Bonar. Nettleton is a forgotten preacher of the Second Great Awakening. This book was written by his ministry assistant, Bennet Tyler.

Early church fathers. Rediscovering the Church Fathers: Who They Were and How They Shaped the Church by Michael A. G. Haykin. Haykin helpfully places the church fathers in order chronologically, and shows who had great influence upon other early church leaders.

Charles and Susie Spurgeon. Yours, till Heaven: The Untold Love Story of Charles and Susie Spurgeon by Ray Rhodes, Jr. Rhodes provides a lovely telling of the Spurgeons behind closed doors. He shows how they loved and supported each other through every season of their marriage.

John Newton. Out of the Depths by John Newton. Goodreads review. I find myself recommending this book to anyone looking for a new biography to read. This is Newton’s story from his own personal writings and correspondence.

George Whitefield. George Whitefield, the Life and Times of the Great Evangelist of the Eighteenth-Century Revival by Arnold A. Dallimore. This is an excellent two-book series that describes in detail the life of one of the world’s greatest revival leaders.

Biographical Collections

Devoted: Great Men and Their Godly Moms by Tim Challies. Goodreads Review. As the mother of a boy, a thoroughly enjoyed this book. God has used many women in the spiritual growth of their sons across the centuries. Challies chose excellent women and sons to examine.

Eight Women of Faith by Michael A. G. Haykin. Haykin examines some well known, and a few lesser known, women and details their lives of conviction. The women do not all come from the same time period or the same walk of life. It is a short, enjoyable book.

The American Puritans by Dustin Benge and Nate Pickowicz. The authors do a great job of condensing broad biographical information into fully-developed chapters that help you get to know the Puritans better. This book dispels myths and shows how the Puritans lived their convictions.

Christian Living

All Things for Good by Thomas Watson. Watson is one of my favorite Puritan authors. His writings, like this book, help us step out of our modern age and examine our lives from a Godly perspective.

Everyday Faithfulness: The Beauty of Ordinary Perseverance in a Demanding World by Glenna Marshall. This book brought me great encouragement as a wife and mother. It is an easy read that is full of wisdom.

Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age by Rosaria Butterfield. Like always, Butterfield tackles the hard cultural issues today, but does it with the authority of Scripture. Not only does she explain why the cultural issues are unbiblical, she explains how to engage in conversations on these topics with unbelievers.

Maturity: Growing Up and Going On in the Christian Life by Sinclair B. Ferguson. I used this book in a book club with a group of women one summer and it created many opportunities for deep discussions.

The Creedal Imperative by Carl R. Trueman. Trueman explains the value and purpose of creeds in our weekly worship, as well as our daily lives. This is a helpful read for those who were not raised in a tradition that utilizes creeds and confessions in its weekly worship.

Church History

Emergence of the Catholic Tradition: 100-600 by Jaroslav Pelikan. This is a series on all of church history, but this particular volume was helpful to me in explaining the formation of our creeds and confessions, and the contexts in which they were developed.

Revival and Revivalism: The Making and Marring of American Evangelicalism, 1750-1858 by Iain H. Murray. Murray details the First and Second Great Awakenings in America by examining the leaders, theology, and methodology of each movement. Goodreads review.

Music & Worship

Changed from Glory into Glory: The Liturgical Story of the Christian Faith by Scott Aniol. Goodreads review. Aniol’s text provides a broad understanding of the function and purpose of music in church services. His dialogue on the use of affections in worship helps distinguish between the engagement of emotions in worship and the over-emphasis upon emotionalism in many church contexts today.

Christ-Centered Worship: Letting the Gospel Shape our Practice by Bryan Chapell. Goodreads review. Chapell situates the story of Christian worship in all of history from biblical times forward. As the title suggests, Chapell shows how the Gospel is found in the entirety of Scripture, and where Christ’s story is revealed in historical liturgies.

Counterfeit Kingdom: The Dangers of New Revelation, New Prophets, and New Age Practices in the Church by Holly Pivec and R. Douglas Geivett. The authors provide helpful information regarding the New Apostolic Reformation and its dangers to the church today.

Lovin’ on Jesus: A Concise History of Contemporary Worship by Swee Hong Lim and Lester Ruth. Goodreads review. Based on years of research, this book details the progression and development of the contemporary worship movement. If you have ever wondered how the current state of worship in America came into being, this is your book. There’s also a great review from a friend of mine found at the Artistic Theologian.

Recalling the Hope of Glory: Biblical Worship from the Garden to the New Creation by Allen P. Ross. Goodreads review. It is saturated with Scripture and definitions, and clearly articulates the purpose of everything God instituted in biblical worship.

What Happens When We Worship by Jonathan Landry Cruse. Cruse shows us how biblical worship is anything but boring. He details the purpose of our gathering as believers and explains in Scripture where God has issued his commands.

The Puritans

John Bunyan. The Pilgrim’s Progress. If you have not read Bunyan’s book yet, begin here in reading a work from the hand of a Puritan. It is an allegorical tale of a Christian learning to travel the road less traveled and withstanding temptation in its many forms.

Jeremiah Burroughs. The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment and A Treatise on Earthly-Mindedness. Like other Puritan writers, Burroughs helps me evaluate my modern life in light of Scripture, not cultural standards.

Thomas Watson. All Things for Good and The Art of Divine Contentment are two of my favorite writings by this author. Both help quite the modern quest for more and “better” than what God provides.

William Bradford and others. Of Plymouth Plantation, 1620-1647. I always enjoy reading or listening to this book in autumn as it reminds me of why we celebrate Thanksgiving in America, and I re-live the stories of early Americans.

Following God Fully: An Introduction to the Puritans by Joel R. Beeke. This is a great text to begin reading about the Puritans. It gives you a taste of how the Puritans lived and why their faith was vital to them.

Reformation

The Whole Church Sings: Congregational Singing in Luther’s Wittenberg by Robin A. Leaver. I wrote a review of this book for the Artistic Theologian.

Reformation Women: Sixteenth-Century Figures Who Shaped Christianity’s Rebirth by Rebecca VanDoodewaard. I venture that you will not be familiar with any of these women before you read this book. It was eye-opening, encouraging, and convicting.

Women

Men and Women in the Church by Kevin DeYoung. This is a short book but it is packed with essential truths about a woman’s role in life and in the church.

Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism by John Piper and others. This is not a light read, but it is a necessary read for all Christians. It is easy to be swayed by the loudest voices in society, but those are not the voices we need to obey.

The Excellent Wife: A Biblical Perspective by Martha Peace. I know this book is controversial, but I think there is a lot of good in it. When women hear a steady diet of “you got this” and “you do you,” Peace’s book is a great antithesis to those voices.

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NOTE: Please familiarize yourself with my stance on biblical worship and make sure your post will fit within the scope of Acceptable Worship.