May we recommend … Book List

We recommend the following books for your growth in faith and life. These books are generally written at a “popular level,” for lay people rather than for scholars and theologians, although of course some are more difficult than others.

Please note that this list is a work in progress, and will be supplemented from time to time.

Biblical Interpretation

• James Jordan, Primeval Saints: Studies in the Patriarchs of Genesis (Canon Press, 2001). Both easy to read and challenging, this little book will help you understand what God was doing in the lives of early saints such as Jacob.
• Peter Leithart, A House for My Name: A Survey of the Old Testament (Canon Press, 2000). Don’t be intimidated by the rather difficult preface; most of this book is lay level, and very valuable in helping you understand the patterns of the Old Testament and how they fit into an overall biblical typology.
• N. T. Wright, New Testament For Everyone commentary series. These little commentaries are clearly-written, succinct, exegetical, and devotional.

Theology, Sacraments, and Church

• Tim Gallant, Feed My Lambs: Why the Lord’s Table Should Be Restored to Covenant Children (Pactum Reformanda, 2001). The most comprehensive book-length approach to paedocommunion available in English.
• Peter Leithart, Against Christianity (Canon Press, 2003). A profound book that will help you see that the life of faith is not a private religion, but a thoroughoing alternative life.
• Peter Leithart, The Baptized Body (Canon Press, 2007). Is baptism just a symbol of our human commitment to God? Utterly compelling and thoroughly biblical, this little book unpacks the power of baptism.
• Peter Leithart, Blessed are the Hungry: Meditations on the Lord’s Supper (Canon Press, 2000). A wonderfully reflective and fruitful book on the rich imagery of the Supper and its gifts.
• Peter Leithart, The Kingdom and the Power: Rediscovering the Centrality of the Church (P&R, 1993). A timely antidote to the marginalization of the Church, which frequently occurs in Christian fixation upon gaining political power and exercising a non-ecclesiological faith. A must-read.
• Keith A. Mathison, The Shape of Sola Scriptura (Canon Press, 2001). A clear, balanced presentation that explains the historic Protestant view of Scripture, contrasting it to modern misunderstandings as well as Roman Catholic misrepresentations.

Worldview and Defense of the Faith

• N. D. Wilson, Notes From the Tilt-a-Whirl: Wide-Eyed Wonder in God’s Spoken World (Canon Press, 2009). Wilson helps us look anew at the creation — and in so doing, recognize the demonstration God makes of himself wherever we look.

Christian Living

• Tedd Tripp, Shepherding a Child’s Heart (Shepherd Press, 1995). A helpful and practical work that attempts to make the gospel the heart of childrearing.
• Douglas Wilson, Standing on the Promises: A Handbook of Biblical Childrearing (Canon Press, 1997). A practical approach to childrearing, heavily saturated with the content and atmosphere of the biblical promises concerning the children of believers.