Ignite UK

Before listing my favorite books, I had to come up with some scheme to select them since I have read so many great titles.  In order for a book to be a favorite, I had to read all of it.  In other words, only reading a part of a book does not count.  The book had to be good enough for me to make it all the way through.  The second requirement was that I had to remember the content of the book based on the title.  If you cannot remember a book, unless you have a legitimate sickness, I cannot classify it as a favorite.  This being said, my top five books and why they are my top five books in order of “favoriteness” are below.

The Holy Bible

The Bible is hands down my favorite book of all time simply because it the word of God.  It is the word of the almighty creator God who made me to glorify Him.  It is a book that I read and study daily.  It is the book that showed me I was a sinner doomed to Hell, but it was also the book that showed me forgiveness and grace in Jesus Christ.  It is the book that teaches me how to live pleasing to God in all things.  It is relevant, inerrant, inspired, and fully true.  There is no book that compares to the Bible.

The Reformed Pastor, by Richard Baxter

Richard Baxter was a Puritan during the colonial days of America.  This book was written to pastors during his time urging them to be biblical pastors.  The first half of the book is written to make sure that you are sure of your salvation.  He encourages men to make their salvation true lest they be the ones needing the gospel of their messages themselves.  The rest of the book is devoted to upholding biblical principals of the pastor from praying over members, maintaining good relationships in and out of the church, and making the edification of the saints a priority.  His call is to be reformed from the ways of the old English and Catholic churches pastors into the ways of a biblical pastor.

Let the Nations Be Glad, by John Piper

This book was written by Pastor John Piper to address the necessity of missions from the Church.  The idea is that God is glorified the most when we are most satisfied in Him.  Therefore, when the nations are glad in God for their salvation, God receives the glory He is due.  Thus, the idea is that since God has ordained that some from all nations will be saved and that the Church is responsible for taking the gospel to the nations, we must go into the nations bringing the good news of salvation to them so that in their salvation they may be glad for the glory of God.  This book is also important in that God used this book to help bring me salvation that I might be glad in Him.

Hard to Believe, by John MacArthur

Pastor John MacArthur wrote this book as an exposition of Luke 9:23 which says, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.”  In this book, Dr. MacArthur explains why the gospel is a difficult message to believe.  The gospel is not some get-out-of-Hell free card.  It’s not some feel good message.  It’s not something to believe if you expect life to all of a sudden be perfect.  The gospel is a tough message because it demands our all.  It demands that we deny ourselves, our pride, and our desires.  It demands we take up our cross.  In other words, we must be willing to suffer and die if necessary for Christ.  It also demands that we follow Christ.  We follow His example of humility, servanthood, sacrifice, love, forgiveness, etc.  The gospel is in fact hard to believe when the gospel is preached as the Bible teaches.

The Power of Prayer in a Believer’s Life, by Charles Spurgeon

My fifth favorite book was written by Pastor Charles Spurgeon on prayer.  The title of the book pretty much says it all.  In this relatively short book, Spurgeon teaches the readers on what prayer is, what it does, and the power that is displayed through the use of it.  If any one man could write such a book outside of God, it would be Spurgeon.  In his church, someone prayed 24 hours a day 7 days a week.  The blessings of the kingdom shown to Pastor Spurgeon included a massive church faithful to the gospel.  Spurgeon accredits it all to God through His power in prayer.