These are some books that have helped and that I’d highly recommend:
The Bible (ESV translation)
The English Standard Version (ESV) Bible is a new, essentially literal Bible translation that combines word-for-word precision and accuracy with literary excellence, beauty, and depth of meaning.
What makes the ESV Bible unique and special?
First and foremost, the ESV is special because the Bible itself is like no other book. The words of the Bible are the very Words of God. As Jesus said, “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (John 6:63).
Second, the ESV is special because it is a “word-for-word” translation. The Bible says every word was “breathed out by God” (2 Timothy 3:16). For this reason, the ESV seeks to translate the original Greek and Hebrew words with the greatest possible accuracy and precision.
Third, the ESV is special because it carries forward the great historic stream of Bible versions in English—with literary excellence, beauty, and depth of meaning, in a fresh and compelling way. The ESV is unique and special. It’s the Bible to read and treasure through all your life—a great choice for young and old, for daily reading and personal study, for church and family, for teaching and preaching, and for memorizing the words of life.
Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist
By John Piper
Scripture reveals that the great business of life is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever. In this paradigm-shattering classic, newly revised and expanded, John Piper reveals that the debate between duty and delight doesn’t truly exist: Delight is our duty. Readers will embark on a dramatically different and joyful experience of their faith.
Also see:
Desiring God Study Guide for Groups
Mere Christianity
By C.S. Lewis
Mere Christianity is the most popular of C. S. Lewis’s works of nonfiction, with several million copies sold worldwide.
Heard first as radio addresses and then published as three separate books– The Case for Christianity, Christian Behavior, and Beyond Personality–this book brings together Lewis’s legendary broadcast talks of the war years, talks in which he set out simply to “explain and defend the belief that has been common to nearly all Christians at all times.”
It is a collection of scintillating brilliance which remains strikingly fresh for the modern reader, and which confirms C. S. Lewis’s reputation as one of the leading Christian writers and thinkers of our age.
Overcoming Sin and Temptation
By John Owen
John Owen’s three classic works on sin and temptation are profoundly helpful to any believer who seeks to become more like Jesus Christ. In this volume, the editors have made Owen’s language more accessible without sacrificing any of his wonderful content. It is a uniquely accessible edition of John Owen’s previously daunting work.
The writings of John Owen are a challenge to any reader, to say the least. His intricacy and complexity are intimidating and his language is downright befuddling at times. However, the depth of thought and the immense value of Owen’s works cannot be quantified. His three classic works on sin and temptation are profoundly helpful to any believer who seeks to become more like Jesus Christ.
In this volume, the editors have made updates to the language, translated the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew and footnoted difficult or unknown phrases, all without sacrificing any of the wonderful content of Owen’s work. It is a uniquely accessible edition of John Owen’s previously daunting work.
Rockstanding 