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Top 5 Books I Read in 2024


“It cannot be that the people should grow in grace unless they give themselves to reading. A reading people will always be a knowing people. ” - John Wesley


Ever since I graduated from seminary I thought the extra time on my hands would lend to more content I could write for this blog. That never became reality as I realized that ministry has a way of occupying most of your time. Nonetheless the Lord has been kind to me the last few years in turning my attention away from writing and instead towards reading. I am by no means a voracious reader but I have come to enjoy the process of sitting down with a coffee, opening up a book, and giving my attention to everything I can learn from the pages of said book. I have always been somewhat of a poor reader, I don't believe it comes naturally, so if you are like me in any way and need some motivation to read, I hope that this list will be exactly that for you. Please take my recommendations as simply that, a recommendation and nothing more. This is not a prescribed list of books that I think everyone must read, but simply a list of books that I enjoyed and I would hope could be enjoyable to another. These are also not titles that released this year, just books I happened to finish reading in 2024. With that said, happy new year and may this coming 2025 be a year of much reading.



Union With the Resurrected Christ. By G. K. Beale.


This is the sequel or follow-up book to perhaps Beale's most famous work A New Testament Biblical Theology. Both books I would say are must-reads for the die hard theology nerds out there. But even for the casual reader, this is a dense book that will take time to read but it is worth while if you are interesting in knowing the theological details that we tend to miss in our daily bible reading. This is a great companion for those of you who want a deeper dive into bible reading and it is one of the best books I have on this most crucial New Testament teaching of union with Christ.




The Gospel According to Mark. By James R. Edwards.


Our church completed a sermon series on the gospel of Mark this past year which began over a year ago. This was the commentary that had me gripped the most. It was a great friend to me in my sermon preparations and a surprisingly greater friend to me in my personal devotion to the Lord. Edwards does a fine job of treading the line between being too technical and very digestible. I appreciate his common language and care to appeal to a wide audience of readers with different levels of understanding. I felt like he was personally doing a Mark bible study with me each week. This is not going to give you the most intricate details of Mark's gospel, other commentaries do that very well, but this book is great at just getting to the point and letting you steep in its teaching.




Things Unseen. By J. Gresham Machen.

For those who know, this is simply a classic and treasure of the Christian faith. Machen was a 20th century theologian and teacher and what this book is, is a record of his teachings of the Christian faith over a radio broadcast that he began in Philadelphia. You might call it a systematic theology on reformed faith and apologetics. This is both an approachable book for the masses and a detailed enough book for the more advanced. There is a reason that this book is considered by many to be a must-read for all Christians. I concur and echo those sentiments as my heart was filled with much joy in devouring the contents of this book. You might easily call this book a masterpiece.




Christianity and Liberalism. By J. Gresham Machen.

The year 2024 was perhaps the year of Machen for me as I knew the name but did not know the works. The quality of writing and speech in his articulation is not only impressive, it is compelling for someone who appreciates the art of communication. Machen is a mastermind in teaching complex concepts in the most simple of ways for anyone to grasp. This book was his assessment of trends in society and culture that he observed to be leaning liberal, that includes the church. He observed this many decades ago and much of what he thought would be true of the church in the future became reality. I think this book teaches the Christian to understand that our most basic doctrines are what protects us from the most dangerous patterns of the world. This book is another classic by Machen that all of you should read.




In the Fullness of Time. By Richard B. Gaffin Jr.

In honesty this book is more of a textbook for seminarians, but I found this book to be one of the most interesting texts I read all year. Gaffin does a deep dive into Pauline theology and the general importance of the doctrines that we find in our New Testament. Even for someone who is familiar with Paul's teaching, Gaffin has something to offer to either shed light or explain further for the benefit of everyone who reads this book. I was most intrigued by the connective tissue of all the New Testament and all it has to say to modern believers who perhaps don't see those connections clearly enough. Use this book to study and further enhance your knowledge of your bible.


 
 
 

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