August Book Recommendations

Dr. Hershael York

Jesus in Jerusalem: The Last Days by Eckhard Schnabel

This is a fantastic study of Jesus’ final days leading up to the crucifixion. Schnabel profiles the seventy-two people and groups in the seventeen places that are listed in the passion narratives of each of the four gospels. Placing the events in chronological order, he then points out the theological significance of each person and event. It is a marvelous overview combined with magnifying glass examination of the details that make this book so worthwhile.

Chris Parrish

Habits of Grace by David Mathis

Most Christians struggle, to some degree, with personal spiritual disciples: reading the Bible, praying, memorizing scripture, etc. In this book, Mathis offers brief but overall helpful instruction on enjoying Christ through the disciplines. This is a great work for anyone looking to grow in the disciplines.

Scott Riessen

A Praying Life by Paul E. Miller

Are you content with your prayer life? I never am. Miller’s book has become a popular prayer resource and for good reason. In this work you’ll be motivated to pray through understanding why prayer is important, here personal testimony of prayer, and, most helpfully, figure out what prayer can look like for you in the real world. My copy has become pretty worn as I open to different parts of it regularly and if you pick it up I think your experience would be quite similar.

Adrian Mathenia

Worship Matters by Bob Kauflin

Bob’s quintessential work on worship ministry is a must-read for anyone considering the call to serve in the role of worship leadership. But even if that is not God’s calling on your life, Worship Matters will help you have a better understanding of how worship ministry serves the local church and how you can worship God more fully with your brothers and sisters in Christ.

Will Morris

The Apostles’ Creed by R. Albert Mohler Jr.

The Apostles’ Creed is a really, really old statement of faith that has stood the test of time. It outlines the most basic beliefs of Christianity. Going line-by-line through this old confession, Mohler helps us know the central doctrines that should unite Christians. He shares the basics of the faith that was held by the early Church and how they still apply to us today.

Matt Morvay

People Are the Mission: How Churches Can Welcome Guests Without Compromising the Gospel by Danny Franks

When it comes to engaging guests, churches tend to lean in one of two directions- let us entertain you, over the top, shock, and awe, or some people just showed up, underwhelming, and an impersonal experience. Both extremes have drawbacks because, on the one hand, impressing people becomes the center of the universe while on the other hand, hospitality is effectively ignored in deference to the seriousness of worship. Franks shows us why honoring the stranger doesn’t stand in opposition to honoring the Savior. People are the mission that Christ has called us to, and Franks helps the reader think through how churches can be both guest-friendly and gospel-centric.

Dr. Wesley Noss

50 Crucial Questions, An overview of Central Concerns about Manhood and Womanhood, by John Piper and Wayne Grudem
In this short and easy to understand book, you will find answers to key questions concerning biblical Manhood and Womanhood. Written by two of the evangelical community’s minds, Piper and Grudem, through a pragmatic arrangement of 50 crucial questions, give answers firmly rooted in the authority and sufficiency of Scripture. In the culture of today, where there is breathtaking confusion and distortion regarding gender and marriage, these answers are needed more than ever. I have found this to be very easy to understand and helpful in ministering in today’s world.

Dave Parks

New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional by Paul David Tripp
I know I have heard this book mentioned in at least one of our church’s several chats we’ve had over the months, but I’m not sure it has ever been recommended in writing. If it has, you may have missed it, so here it is again. This book is titled after Lamentations 3.22-23, “His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning” and contains 365 page-long daily readings or “Daily Gospel Devotionals.” But, these devotionals are very robust Gospel expositions and commentaries on how the Grace of God transforms the ways we think about and live our daily lives. They are deep in doctrinal truth and rich in practical application. Life is daily, it is real, and it is hard, and Tripp is a Biblical counselor in what I call “street-level Grace.” He will provoke and challenge you to think and act like one whose life has been radically born again and transformed by Jesus Christ. Every day’s reading is accompanied by a short, pithy life principle to be applied from the Scripture reading. Reading Tripp is like firing thought-synapses or opening thought-capillaries you haven’t used in a long time. Whatever it is you’re dealing with or struggling with, Tripp will help you “get a grip” on it – the grip of God’s Grace.