And the Best of Non-Fiction

Today I bring you my list of favourite non-fiction books this year. It isn't a complete list, but it is a list of what I considered the best of the lot. Much of what I read was various classes, either at school or church. After I finish my degree in the spring, I'm going to have to be more deliberate about reading non-fiction since there won't be any required reading. That's going to take a bit more work. For now, though....

1. John Bunyan, The Acceptable Sacrifice. We read this one for Bible Study. We all enjoyed it, although it was a challenging read (well, after all: 17th Century literature).
2. Thomas Schreiner, Paul, Apostle of God's Grace in Christ. This one was for school. It looks at Paul's theology as revealed in his epistles.
3. Roger Olson, The Story of Christian Theology. This was another school book. It gives the history of Christian theology from the end of the apostles to the present age. It's a great book, and I really enjoyed it. I plan to read it again one day when I'm not worried about learning it all for an exam!
4. Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers. I stumbled upon Gladwell several years ago. I like the way he writes and the way he looks at the world and our assumptions about how things work.
5. Jerry Bridges, The Fruitful Life. This was for another Bible Study. I have always enjoyed his writing (we have done a few of his books before now). He talks about leading a godly life without making it all about works.
6. John MacArthur, Worship, the Ultimate Priority. I picked this one up at school one year and finally read it this year. He talks about the need for proper worship and having a life of worship.
7. James M. Hamilton, Jr., God's Glory in Salvation Through Judgment. I had this one on my list to read one day so I was happy when it showed up on a required list for a class. I love the way he writes.
8. Elyse Fitzpatrick, Because He Loves Me. This one was for a class at the church on women discipling women. It looks at the reason, the need, and the way to live a godly life.
9. Elyse Fitzpatrick and Carol Cornish, Women Helping Women. This was for the same class at church. It was a very good book, demonstrating the importance of same gender counseling and then the means. It's proper Biblical counseling, not straying into psycho-talk or humanistic teachings.
10. John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad. I read this one many years ago, and it showed up on a reading list this year so I read it again. I like his look at God's sovereignty over missions and how that makes them possible and important.
11. Mabel Williamson, Have We No Rights? This one was also for school. It's a short book and focuses on the "rights" that missionaries have to give up in order to serve well. Although the focus is missions, I think much of it can apply to all believers, at least the willingness to give up our rights.