Resource Roundup: Best Books To Gift A Friend
Welcome to our Resource Roundup!
In every edition, we'll be curating resources that we hope will be of great help to you and your ministry.
We’ve gathered a selection of short, accessible books perfect for those exploring Christianity or looking to grow deeper in it. These are easy to read and easy to share.
Keep a few copies on hand at church or at home so you’re always ready when an opportunity to share a book with a friend arises. Browse the full list and choose a few to keep ready!
Books to Encounter Jesus
1. Man on the Middle Cross
The Man on the Middle Cross by Alistair Begg introduces three people who had their lives changed when they met Jesus. Each was given hope, restoration and a way back to God: the woman at the well, the paralysed man, and the thief on the cross.
With characteristic clarity, Alistair Begg explains how this offer is open to all who come to Jesus, the man on the middle cross.
2. Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ (available in English & Bahasa Malaysia)
How can we know who Christ really is? That question has been pondered through the ages. Yet the answer is simply that Jesus, as He is revealed through God's Word, has a glory - an excellence, a spiritual beauty - that speaks to our souls and says, "Yes, this is truth." It is like seeing the sun and knowing that it is light, or tasting honey and knowing it is sweet. There is no more important issue in life than seeing Jesus for who He really is, and savoring Him above all else. Let this book be your companion as you discover Him.
John Piper has written for both Christians and non-Christians in the hope that all will see Jesus for who he really is and will come to enjoy him above all else.
3. Hope in an Anxious World
Whether mildly, moderately or severely, feeling anxious is something most of us experience at some point in our lives. It drags us down and it leaves us unequipped for the day ahead.
This short, sympathetic, and warm book will help both Christian and non-Christian readers understand anxiety better, learn some useful techniques to cope with it, and, most importantly, show how the living God can liberate us from its grip.
Books You Can Read In Under 1 Hour
1. The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness
In this short and punchy book, best-selling author Timothy Keller shows that gospel-humility means we can stop connecting every experience, every conversation with ourselves and can thus be free from self-condemnation. A truly gospel-humble person is not a self-hating person or a self-loving person, but a self-forgetful person.
This freedom can be yours.
2. Enjoy Your Prayer Life
Taking his cue from Calvin's definition that 'prayer is the chief exercise of faith,' Reeves helps us understand that prayer should be a natural expression of our faith. Just as faith is awakened as we grasp the wonders of the gospel, so prayer follows as our hearts respond to these glorious truths.
Enjoy your prayer life is a delightful read; and as you turn the pages, it'll show you that prayer doesn't have to be a duty to be performed, but is rather a gift to be enjoyed.
3. Right with God
How do we become right with God? Michael Reeves warmly and clearly introduces what the Bible teaches about justification by faith alone. For anyone who does not know Christ or is lacking confidence in their salvation, the Bible has good news of comfort and joy.
4. The Trinity
Beautifully written so that even a young believer can benefit, this book leads us to worship the Father, Son, and Spirit as it enhances our appreciation of our wonderful, Trinitarian gospel.
5. Scripture is Supreme
“Here is rock: all else is sand,” was J.C. Ryle’s description of the Bible in the 18th century.
Whether the challenge has been tradition or reason, or experience in more recent times, the Scriptures are still supreme today, God-breathed, reliable and trumping all other authorities.
Yet the supremacy of Scripture is not some dictate imposed by a faceless despot. Far from it! Scripture’s words are those of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who laid down his life for his people.
6. The New Birth
Peter Mead shows us something of the excitement and joy of becoming “a new creation.” Because of God’s gracious and generous heart, we can have true and abundant life: in Christ. Nothing could be more necessary or more wonderful than the gift God is offering you—don’t settle for less!
7. It Is Finished
When Jesus cried, “It Is Finished” from the cross, what did he mean? And why is this so significant today?
Ironically, this cry wasn’t about defeat but about triumph. And it wasn’t just good news but the best news ever!
Jesus is not simply a notable person from history. He’s the divine Son of God and the living Saviour. He meets our greatest need by providing salvation and rescue. He wins our hearts and our adoration, filling us with deep and lasting joy.
