This year I may have read more than ever while making it through fewer books cover-to-cover than I have in the past. Below is a list of 10 of my favorite reads from 2023. Since it’s difficult to say which was my “favorite,” they’re listed in the order I finished them throughout the year.
I’d love to hear what your favorite reads were this year–maybe it will help inform my reading next year! Drop me a note in the comments below.
Uncommon Unity: Wisdom for the Church in an Age of Division
By Richard Lints
I had the privilege of reviewing this excellent book for Modern Reformation in January.
The appeal to the Trinity is oriented to the oneness of the church, not principally its diversity. The repetition of “one” in the Ephesians text must drive the interpretative task, rather than being subsumed under a preexisting assumption about the “persons-in-community” of the Trinity. Likewise, the language of “same” in 1 Corinthians 12 hammers home the point not of unity-in-diversity, but of oneness.
p. 143
Covenant and God’s Purpose for the World
By Thomas R. Schreiner
This is a great little book in this biblical theology series.
Before the covenant stipulations are declared [to Israel], the Lord’s covenant mercy is rehearsed. The God who calls for covenant loyalty in keeping his commands is the God who showered his love on Israel by freeing them from slavery. His grace and mercy precede and undergird his demands.
p. 61
The Death of Porn: Men of Integrity Building a World of Nobility
By Ray Ortlund Jr.
As usual, Ortlund fills the pages of this book with the overwhelming grace of Jesus for sinners and he paints a picture for anyone snared in sexual sin with the life-giving hope offered by Christ’s substitutionary death and triumphant resurrection.
Here’s why you cannot possibly fail. Jesus builds his new world of nobility not by men parading their virtues but by men admitting their failings.
p. 89
The Pentateuch as Narrative: A Biblical-Theological Commentary
By John H. Sailhamer
You won’t be able to read the first five books of the Bible (or the Bible as a whole) the same way again after steeping yourself in Sailhamer’s methodology.
The author’s purpose in drawing out the list of specifications for the ark in [Genesis] chapter 6, as with the details of the building of the tabernacle, is not that readers might be able to see what the ark or the tabernacle looked like, but rather that readers might appreciate the meticulous care with which these godly and exemplary individuals went about their tasks of obedience to God’s will. They obeyed God with “all their hearts.”
p. 125
Bully Pulpit: Confronting the Problem of Spiritual Abuse in the Church
By Michael J. Kruger
Whether you’re a pastor or parishioner, knowing how to identify (and avoid) spiritual abuse is a necessary tool in today’s church.
Jesus is declaring that he is the Lord God keeping the promise of Ezekiel 34 to shepherd his people. And he will do the opposite of what the bad shepherds of Israel did. They saved their lives at the expense of the sheep, whereas Jesus will save the sheep at the expense of his own life.
p. 46
Never Cast Out: How the Gospel Puts an End to the Story of Shame
By Jasmine L. Holmes
This was the runner-up for TGC’s annual book awards in the category of “Christian Living,” and it certainly lives up to the rank.
I am a woman who has been called to abundance in spite of that hurt, and who experiences it every day, on the other side of the shame-spirals that used to define me.
p. 52
The Secret Place of Thunder: Trading our Need to Be Noticed for a Hidden Life with Christ
By John Starke
I have a forthcoming review of this book over at TGC (so stay tuned), but this book was phenomenal. This is a much needed invitation into the beauty and joy of a deep, hidden life with God.
If you consider the end of John’s gospel when the praises of man were no more and the people cried, “Crucify him!” and wanted to exchange his life for that of Barabbas, Jesus could quietly embrace the cross because his life never depended on the praise of others.
p. 24
Friendship with God: A Path to Deeper Fellowship with the Father, Son, and Spirit
By Mike McKinley
McKinley gives us an accessible overview to John Owen’s Communion with God. And, as a happy side note, the book is printed on paper that feels wonderful to the fingertips.
If you find your love for Jesus at a low point right now, all is not lost. You can be certain that his love for you hasn’t changed in the slightest, and there is plenty of grace to be found in him. Right now, take time to study him a little. Spend a few moments thinking about the grace of Jesus’s person, and let your heart be moved toward him in love.
p. 48
Friendship with the Friend of Sinners
By Jared C. Wilson
This may come as a surprise to exactly no one, but Jared Wilson is an excellent writer. Friendship with the Friend of Sinners is a gift to weary and lonely people everywhere who want to dive deep into friendship but keep bringing their scuba gear to the private pool of their smartphone.
At the lowest moment of my life, I came face-to-face with my real self. And I came face-to-face with the truest friend.
I found him true because at that moment I had the least to offer him.
p. 14
Literarily: How Understanding Bible Genres Transforms Bible Study
By Kristie Anyabwile
This is an excellent primer to anyone interested in understanding how to read their Bible as the literature it is. Literarily is a wonderful resource for individual use or for distribution to your church members.
…the Bible is, in part, a literary work and there is great value in studying it literarily, according to the literary style presented in a particular book, chapter, or passage.
p. 11
Honorable Mentions:
A Captive Mind: Christianity, Ideologies, and Staying Sane in a World Gone Mad, Chris Nye
For the Love of God’s Word: an Introduction to Biblical Interpretation, Andreas J. Köstenberger
Talking About Race: Gospel Hope for Hard Conversations, Isaac Adams
The Drawing Board 