My Top 10 Reads of 2025
Top 10 Reads of 2025
This year I read 53 books, 13,922 pages. That is seven fewer books and about 1700 fewer pages. There were some gems this year.
I always read through the Bible in a year. That is the best book every year. So my list won’t mention it. If I were stranded on a desert island, I would take the Bible. It is gold, honey, bread, water, and life to me. If you have never read it, or it has been a while. Try reading a bit of it this year. The Psalms and Proverbs are great places to start.
Here is a brief list of the top 10 books I read, along with why I liked them so much.
10. Expositional Preaching: How We Speak God's Word Today by David Helm is the second of two books that 9Marks published with Crossway that made it to my top 10 list this year. I have worked with these principles through Word Partners and love them. This is a short, easy, and essential read for anyone seeking to get at the heart of God’s Word in their preaching and teaching.
9. The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War by Michael Shaara, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and New York Times Bestseller. I read this book because my kids had to read it in school. I can see why. It was an extraordinary tale of the lives behind Gettysburg, going back and forth between the North and South. It humanized the battle.
8. Hope and Holiness: How the Gospel Enables and Empowers Sexual Purity by John Fonville is a critical book exploring change. As we come to a new year and resolutions, perhaps purity and holiness interest you. This book moves away from strategies and rules to a shift in mindset, a gospel perspective based on the Bible. I highly recommend it.
7. Harriet Tubman: A Life in American History by Kerry Walters offers a well-researched book on Harriet Tubman. I am shocked by how some African Americans were treated. The book was a helpful introduction to Harriet Tubman's life and context.
6. Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom by Catherine Clinton was an excellent biography of Harriet Tubman. I shared in a Sunday School class recently about her life. It moved me to tears. She was a fantastic woman. This book will help you understand why.
5. The Imprisoned Guest: Samuel Howe and Laura Bridgman, the Original Deaf-Blind Girl by Elisabeth Gitter. I stumbled upon this book and was delighted. It explained some fascinating history of Boston and the 1800’s. It also introduced me to the colorful life of Samuel Howe.
4. The Art of Parenting: Aiming Your Child's Heart toward God by Dennis and Barbara Rainey and Bob Boehi. Family Life Today released this resource a while back. My wife and I were looking for a book to work through with people from our church. We were stuck. But this book proved to be a gem. It covers from birth to adulthood and contains lots of helpful suggestions. I highly recommend this as one of the parenting books on your shelf.
3. Brave Companions: Portraits in History by David McCullough. David McCullough is a masterful storyteller. He shares short biographies of famous and not-so-famous people with the reader. Some are people he met who had a profound impact on him. Most are people he encountered in his research. This was a captivating read, introducing me to neat people and events in the last several hundred years.
2. Church Membership: How the World Knows Who Represents Jesus by Jonathan Leeman. This short book, only 144 pages, offers some very compelling reasons to become a member of a church. I am definitely biased as a pastor. But before becoming a pastor, I sought membership in the churches I attended. This is a crucial book for people to consider in our commitment-adverse culture.
1. My favorite book this year was first written in 1978 by LeRoy Eims called The Lost Art of Disciple Making. It reminded me of The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert E. Coleman. I loved the book. I am a task-oriented person. This book puts people first. It challenges a person to build deep relationships, like Jesus, and to put the Bible out there as a tool for spiritual conversations. The book concludes with some direction on where to start in the Bible. I tried using the concept and found it personally encouraging to be studying the Bible with friends who don’t see things exactly the way I do.
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Here are some of my top reads of the year:
ReplyDeleteSalvation: How Christ Brings Us to Life, Robert L. Reymond
The Story of Grace: An Exhibition of God's Love, Horatius Bonar
Signed, Sealed, Delivered: An Introduction to Covenant Theology, J.V. Fesko
Daily Doctrine: A One-Year Guide to Systematic Theology, Kevin DeYoung
The Mysteries of God, Maurice Roberts
Covenant Foundations: Understanding the Promise–Keeping God of the Bible, Alec Motyer
Give Them Truth: Teaching Eternal Truths to Young Minds, Starr Meade
The Christian Life: A Doctrinal Introduction, Sinclair B. Ferguson
A Field Guide on False Teaching, Ligonier Ministries
For Christmas:
Christmas Thoughts, J.C. Ryle
The Advent of Glory: 24 Devotions for Christmas, R.C. Sproul
Historical:
Fair Sunshine: Character Studies of the Scottish Covenanters, Jock Purves
Richard Halliburton's Book of Marvels
Riders of the Pony Express, Ralph Moody
Fiction:
The Mark of Zorro, Johnston McCulley
And if you need a little help with Bible reading or it is your first time, consider The One Story Bible: Tracing the Thread of Redemption Through God's Word, reading straight through, beginning to end. I read it and thought it was helpful.
Wow! Those sound like some thoughtful books. I will copy them down and put them on my list of books to consider for 2026.
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