It’s really easy to feel guilty about how little you’ve read, isn’t it? Here are some suggestions for a (relatively) easy read over the summer. Why not pick one, order it, and aim to read it if you have any time off?
If God already knows, why pray? Douglas F. Kelly
It’s great theology, but it doesn’t stay up in the heavens. He gets really practical too. If I ever say anything helpful at prayer meeting, it’s normally robbed straight out of this book. This is hands down the best book on prayer I know. Highly recommended.
The Call, by Os Guinness
This is a classic. It’s quite long (30 chapters), but the chapters are very short. It’s a good introduction to the whole subject of calling – i.e. “what does God want me to do with my life?”. It’s got lots of stories, some of them will probably appear in a sermon soon!
The Book Your Pastor Wishes You Would Read, by Christopher Ash
This book has a cheesy title & subtitle, but, despite that, is a helpful book discussing seven virtues of church members. I think some of these virtues are already on display, but we can all do with sharpening them. Anything by Christopher Ash is worth reading. It’s also nice and short.
I’ve recommended this before. It’s a little old-fashioned in style, but it contains 107 questions and answers, which cover the full sweep of the Bible’s truth. It’s the kind of thing that’s worth reading regularly, over and over again, meditating on, and using it to guide your prayer.
Christians in the Community of the Dome, Julian Mann
This is a bit of a weird book, but it’s a very short (under 100 pages) reflection on the de-Christianised public square. He finishes with three imaginary scenarios of Britain in 2050, one in which Islam has taken over, another in which secularism has banned religion, and another in which revival has broken out. All of them are stimulating to think about.
Raiding the Lost Ark, by Jonty Rhodes
This one is from IPC’s very own Jonty Rhodes, who shared a bit about it at evening prayers recently. Beneath a lot of our discussions about why we do things a certain way in church lies the deeper issue of “covenant”. Jonty walks through the issues really clearly. This will get you spotting all kinds of connections between the Christian life and God’s covenant.
