Here's a list of quality books and suggestions to help you grow as a disciple of Christ. This is not exhaustive, but I'm always looking for ideas and many of these were recommended to or given to me.
NOTHING will help you grow more than availing yourself of the many resources God gives us to learn and mature. And NOTHING is of greater value than storing up eternal treasures - there's some stuff in the Bible about that, so we'll begin there. :)
Read Your Bible!
I can recommend this Bible Reading plan! This year I'm going a little less structured, but I used this last year and liked it.
If that's too much to start with or you'd prefer something more directed with questions, you may benefit from beginning with a Bible study guide, maybe from the list below.
Hear the Word Preached!
Sunday mornings, get yourself to a church where the Gospel is preached, God's people gather, and God is worshiped. In Cambridge, we attended a church were our pastor (love you, Rick!) connected his sermon EVERY SUNDAY to the death and resurrection of Christ. I will never be the same.
Bible Studies I Can Recommend!
- Every Day With Jesus Devotional Collection by Selwyn Hughes
- Lifeguide Bible Studies by lots of people on many books of the Bible and topics
Authors I Love!
JERRY BRIDGES
- The Discipline of Grace: God's Role and Our Role in the Pursuit of Holiness
- The Gospel for Real Life
- Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate
SINCLAIR FURGESON
PAUL MILLER
JOHN STOTT
RC SPROUL
Personal Suggestions (for what they're worth)
A couple of years ago, it occurred to me - I'm a little slow, so don't laugh too hard - that if I wanted to teach the Scriptures and encourage others with the Word, I'd better start getting to know the Bible better. How God has used this to change my life in such a short time! I grew up in the church, have always had exposure to God's word, would have quiet times to try to be a super-Christian, but never to simply deepen my relationship with God. So here I am, journeying with the Lord and with fellow believers. I'd like to share some things I've found helpful.
- COMMENTARIES - when you're studying anything in the Bible, you're bound to have questions. If you're in a specific book of the Bible, get a good commentary on it. People like Stott and Sproul have written many. James Montgomery Boice is another I can recommend. Ask your pastor or other scholarly friends for more good suggestions.
- A PLAN - a few years ago I decided that one of my new year's resolutions, to get myself reading more, would be to read a chapter of a book a day. You can often finish a book a month that way! It doesn't take much time, but if you don't make some plan to get Bible or other edifying reading into your day ... it won't happen.
- LOOK FOR GOD AT WORK - I know that my salvation is in no way due to any obedience on my part, but God has proven Himself faithful as I have moved toward Him: opportunities present themselves; things "fall into place"; I find myself praying more because He answers prayers I haven't even thought to pray. Walk with the Lord, seek His will in His word, and life will not be magically perfect and pain-free, but you will find He is who he says He is in those pages.
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