Several Of My Favorite Books of 2023

I read books for life and work. I do this because of the common saying: You are what you read.

There is a vast difference between knowledge and wisdom. Just about anyone can gain knowledge but not everyone has wisdom. Wisdom is something we must ask the Lord for (James 1:5-8). Wisdom is having a godly fear of the Lord Jesus in all of life (Prov. 1:7). Books certainly can give knowledge but only the Holy Spirit can transform that knowledge into wisdom. We can’t expect to grow in wisdom if we forsake knowledge but we also shouldn’t equate our knowledge with biblical wisdom. This is why we need the Holy Spirit and time to read. All books are only worth their weight in gold as they are faithful to The Book. And those are the books the Holy Spirit uses most.

This list is a mixture of several of my favorites from both work and life. Some of the resources here are from various sermon series preached in 2023. Others were personal and devotional.

It should go without saying that I am not giving a whole endorsement of every jot and tittle in these works. Every book deserves to be interacted with—and that is what made these reads so enjoyable. Nevertheless, I wholly recommend you buy these and read through them for yourself so that you might wrestle with the truth.

Most of these books were not published in 2023. Some of these were read for a second, third, or even fourth time. As with many books in my library, several of these have not been read all the way through but most of the content has been digested in all of them.

• The Doctrine of Scripture

  • Interpreting Scripture with the Great Tradition by Craig Carter

  • Biblical Reasoning by Tyler Wittman & R.B. Jameison

• What Is Reality?

  • Seven Brief Lessons on Magic by Paul Tyson

• The Doctrine of God

  • Divine Providence by Stephen Charnock

  • The Mystery of Providence by John Flavel

• Covenant Theology

  • Covenants Made Simple by Jonty Rhodes

• The Doctrine of Christ

  • The Glory of Christ by John Owen

  • Looking Unto Jesus by Isaac Ambrose

  • The Preeminent Christ by Paul Washer

  • On the Incarnation by St. Athanasius

  • On the Apostolic Preaching by Irenaeus

  • On The Cosmic Mystery of Jesus Christ by St. Maximus the Confessor

• The Holy Spirit & The Christian Life

  • The Gospel for Real Life by Jerry Bridges

  • God’s Battle Plan by David Saxton

  • The Select Letters of John Newton

  • Spiritual Mindedness by John Owen

  • Thoughts on Religious Experience by Archibald Alexander

• The Doctrine of the Church

  • The Mystery of the Lord’s Supper by Robert Bruce

  • Duties of Christian Fellowship by John Owen

  • Reformed Worship by Jonty Rhodes

  • Reformed Theology by Jonathan Master

  • Covenantal Baptism by Jason Helopoulos 

  • Well Ordered, Living Well: A Field Guide to Presbyterian Government by Guy Waters

  • Grounded In The Gospel by Packer & Parrett

• Vocation & Ethics

  • Vocation by Michael Berg

• The Doctrine of The Last Things

  • The Everlasting Rest by Richard Baxter

  • The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis

  • Seeing God: The Beatific Vision in Christian Tradition by Hans Boersma

• History, Biographies, Profiles, Memoirs

  • The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis by Jason Baxter

  • What Luther Says by Edward Plass

  • Church History by Simonetta Carr

  • Calvin’s Company of Pastors by Scott Manetsch

• General Doctrine, Creedal Theology, Law & Gospel

  • On the Orthodox Faith by St. John of Damascus

  • The Marrow of Theology by William Ames

  • Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism by Zacarias Ursinus

  • Law and Gospel by Michael Horton & Bob Hiller

• Commentaries

  • Romans by JV Fesko

  • Romans by John Murray

  • Romans by Charles Hodge

  • 1 & 2 Corinthians by Charles Hodge

  • The Second Epistle to the Corinthians by Paul Barnett

• Leadership, Public Speaking

  • Turn Around by Jason Allen

  • Thank You For Arguing by Jay Heinrichs

  • Thoughts on Preaching by James W. Alexander