Reformers Recommends: Books for New Christians

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When you are planning your wedding, organisation goes beyond a single day’s preparation. Once the festivities are done, you need a home to go to! A single bed and your parents’ fridge will no longer cut it; you need something for your new life.

When a person becomes a Christian, there is a new life that begins. The once-filled secular-stocked bookshelf begins to look awfully empty, with the question arising, “what should I read now that I’m a Christian?”

Here is a selection of books that we believe are beneficial to the heart, soul and mind of a new Christian. As with any book we would recommend, these are but secondary readings to God’s word. If you don’t have a Bible, stop reading this article now and get one! If you already have one, keep reading for our recommendations.

From now on... First steps for new Christians

by Chris Green

From Now On by Chris Green is a short booklet with life-long truths about what has been done for God’s people and the life given to God’s people. It introduces us to  and reminds us of basic gospel truths and is a call to walk in faithful obedience and to be witnesses, with the church, and with the Holy Spirit. Read the whole booklet online though the product page on our website.

Follow Me: A Simple Guide to Following Jesus

by Jeremy Treat

Jeremy Treat’s book Follow Me is a little book with the purpose of calling believers to follow Jesus - as the book appropriately suggests. It is beautifully presented with a direct call to faithful living as a disciple in “all of life”. We think this is a great resource for new and young Christians.

5 Things to Pray for Your Heart: Prayers that Change you to be More Like Jesus

by Rachel Jones

Part of the 5 Things to Pray series from The Good Book Company, 5 Things to Pray for your Heart is a great aid in promoting prayer in the lives of all Christians. Each prayer suggestion has a Bible passage with it and a reflection/thought/prompt towards guiding that prayer. This is not just a book for new believers, but for all who want to pray intentionally and seek further spiritual growth. (By the way, this book contains more than 5 prayers! There are 21 sets of 5 prayers under the sections “Praying for Spiritual Fruit”, “Praying that I would be...”, and “Praying for Growth when I’m...”.)

Five Points: Towards a Deeper Experience of God's Grace

by John Piper

Five Points by John Piper is a primer for understanding the five points of Calvinism: total depravity, irresistible grace, limited atonement, unconditional election, and perseverance of the saints (TULIP). With clarity, grace and scriptural support, it’s a great introduction to reformed theology, teaching what the Bible says about God and who we are before Him.

God's Big Picture: A Bible Overview

by Vaughan Roberts

God’s Big Picture by Vaughan Roberts is a highly popular title that gives a great overview of the Bible and the kingdom of God. If table, flow charts and Venn diagrams are your thing, this book contains them throughout to help visualise how everything fits together. If they aren’t: don’t worry! They’re only aids to the written content. This book also contains some study questions if that’s your thing too. What we’re trying to say is this book is great, and really should be on your bookshelf.

The Knowledge of the Holy

by A. W. Tozer

This next book is an older book, first published in 1976 by Aiden Wilson (A. W.) Tozer. The Knowledge of the Holy is an exploration of the attributes of God. The first chapter sets the purpose of this book: to think rightly about God. Before I proposed to my now wife, Jennifer, I wanted to know her (and for her to know me). I didn’t want to enter a marriage where I didn’t know her properly and it would be difficult to confidently say the words “I love you” if I didn’t actually know the person I was saying that to. How much more, then, should we consider that of the almighty God? Get this book, and let it build your love for the Lord even more!

EBB 90 Days in Genesis, Exodus, Psalms & Galatians: Explore by the book with Calvin, Luther, Bullinger & Cranmer

by The Good Book Company

The Good Book Company has been producing daily Bible reading notes for adults (Explore) for a long time. Here in their Explore By The Book title 90 Days in Genesis, Exodus, Psalms, Galatians (with Calvin, Luther, Bullinger & Cranmer), take time to read God’s word, reflect with these reformers’ thoughts, apply it to your life and pray. The devotions are fantastic, there are more books in the series, and these are a great aid to be regularly reading God’s Word.

The Radical Question & The Radical Idea

by David Platt

This book is one that poses a question of great importance, and that is very telling of the true desires of our hearts: “What is Jesus worth to us?” The Radical Question and A Radical Idea by David Platt will probably make you feel a bit uncomfortable, as you feel your conscience pricked about the Jesus we want him to be, not the Jesus who he actually is. For new believers this book will help show that to follow Jesus, it means “denying [ourselves] and picking up [our] cross and following [Jesus]” (Matthew 16 v 24).

There are a lot of great and useful books available!
If you would like more recommendations or advice, contact us in-store, by phone at 02 9564 3555 or by using our contact form.