Top 10 Books I've Read this Year (In no particular order)

A lot of bloggers tend to give a "Top 10" list at the end of the year.  While I am in no way a consistent blogger, I've read quite a few books in the last year both for personal edification and for school.  I thought I would post the top 10 from this past year with a run down on each one.  So, here goes:

1. Isaiah's New Exodus in Mark by Rikki Watts:

This book has literally revolutionized how I see not only the gospels but also Biblical Theology in general.  It's a quite technical read but is worth the effort in order to understand Jesus' significance and to feed your faith!

2. The Temple and the Church's Mission by G.K. Beale:

If you're not familiar with the writings of Dr. Beale, you need to get familiar as quickly as possible!  While also on the technical side, Beale gives a maximalist account of Biblical Theology in light of the Temple theme.  Has massive implications for how we read the Bible and how we function as a Church.

3. When I Don't Desire God by John Piper:

This MAY be the best book that John Piper has ever written on the Christian life.  It combines his robust theology of Christian Hedonism with the practical nuts and bolts of striving after God to enjoy Him even while our passions are pathetically weak.

4. The Peacemaker by Ken Sande:

I had the privilege of reading through this great book this summer in a couples bible study at my church.  It is ostensibly a book on Biblical conflict resolution (which it is) but it has much wider implications for my life than simply conflict resolution.  This is really a manual on how to apply the Gospel to every relationship in your life!

5. The Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin:

While I have read portions of the Institutes before this year, I was able this fall, to read through the entire institutes over the course of a semester.  It has been breathtaking to see the broad-brush overview of Calvin's thought.  It has also served to reinforce in my mind the dictum that there is nothing new under the sun!  Most if not all of the controversies that Calvin was involved with in his day have some sort of contemporary representation among the theological challenges to Orthodox, Reformed teaching.

6. God Crucified by Richard Bauckham:

All I can say about this book is "WOW!"  In such a short book Bauckham manages to weave an incredible picture of Jesus' divinity in light of OT and first century Jewish thought.  This is not a dry scholarly work, it will feed your faith and cause you to worship Jesus in new and greater ways!

7. Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics by Graeme Goldsworthy:

Extremely helpful for seeing how the entire Bible relates to Jesus.  This is not simplistic I-See-Jesus in every passage of the Old Testament.  The Gospel message about Jesus Christ is not simply the result of our Biblical Interpretation, it is also the grounds of our interpretation!

8. The Mission of God by Christopher J.H. Wright:

I technically read this book last fall but I'm including it here because I'm beginning to take my college guys small group through it this year.  This is probably one of my top 5 all time books.  If you haven't read it, you need to... 'Nuff said!

9. The Glory of the Atonement edited by Charles Hill and Frank James:

A collection of Biblical and Theological essays defending a classic penal-substitutionary view of the atonement.  Extremely helpful for clarifying the discussion of the atonement.  Most of the authors in the work see penal-substitution as the central facet of the atonement but also have a healthy understanding that it is not the only facet of the atonement that the Bible presents.

10. How to Pray for Your Wife by Mark Weathers:

This is a 31 day devotional guide intended to help men pray for their wives by using... what else... Proverbs 31!  While I can't stand behind all of his exegesis of Prov 31, his suggestions on prayer for wives are extremely helpful.  God has used this to help me be more faithful in praying for Katie.