Seven Favorite Christian Books of 2025

Welcome to 2026! I hope that the year ahead is full of joy and thankfulness for all that God has done in the past year and will do in the year ahead!

Let me offer a quick backward look at 2025 before 2026 really takes off….  I read lots of good books in 2025. Narrowing down to my favorite seven this year has been difficult. In the end, though, I think the books listed below were my seven favorite Christian books from 2025. I’ve ordered them from least academic to most academic.

Daily Liturgy Devotional: 40 Days of Worship and Prayer by Douglas Sean O’Donnell. Forty sets of guided prayers following the ACTS pattern: adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication. Included in each devotional reading is a prayer of illumination, a scripture passage, a concise commentary on the chosen scripture, a prayer prompt, a memory verse, and the words of a hymn. I used the readings in this book to turn my heart toward the Lord in the middle of multiple nights when I struggled to fall—or stay—asleep.

A Light on the Hill: The Surprising Story of How a Local Church in the Nation’s Capitol Influenced Evangelicalism by Caleb Morell. An engaging narrative history of Capitol Hill Baptist Church from its founding around 150 years ago to the present. Contains lots of lessons that can be applied to modern-day church life & ministry.

A Heart Aflame for God: A Reformed Approach to Spiritual Formation by Matthew Bingham. An insightful analysis of devotional practices and perspectives found among early-modern Christian writers in the Reformation stream (including Calvin, Dutch & Italian Reformers, and especially English Puritans…but also bits and pieces from Princetonians and modern Reformed authors). Emphasis on Scripture reading and teaching, meditation, and prayer—with additional discussions of self-examination, the natural world, Christian relationships, and some thoughts on whether a Reformed approach to spirituality is overly intellectualized. See my interview about this book with the author HERE.

Trusting God in the Darkness: A Guide to Understanding the Book of Job by Christopher Ash. A devotionally rich walk through the book of Job by a scholar with pastoral sensitivity. I have a few questions about Ash’s take on Elihu, but could be persuaded to his position in the future…still thinking about it. Overall, a thoughtful and engaging—and not too long!—read about the biblical book of Job.

Everything is Never Enough: Ecclesiastes’ Surprising Path to Resilient Happiness by Bobby Jamieson. Bobby Jamieson describes Ecclesiastes as a three-story building. On the first floor, everything is vaporous—Jamieson often uses the word “absurd” to describe this perspective. On the second floor, the author of Ecclesiastes focuses on God’s basic gifts to be enjoyed (food, meaningful word, marriage, etc.). On the third floor the emphasis is upon reverence for God and keeping future judgment in mind. Excellent for focusing one’s mind and actions upon what ultimately matters—and what doesn’t.

The Fathers on the Future: A 2^nd-Century Eschatology for the 21^st-Century Church by Michael Svigel. Drawing upon early-church statements about eschatology (esp. Irenaeus) in tandem with in-depth exegesis of relevant biblical texts, Svigel lays out a premillennial vision for the future. Nearly 300 pages of serious theological reading with links to more in-depth studies online. See my interview with the author HERE.

Josephus and Jesus: New Evidence for the One Called Christ by T. C. Schmidt. In this academic monograph, Schmidt argues that Josephus’s famous paragraph about Jesus is both genuine and informed by people who personally encountered Jesus. Josephus is our earliest extant non-Christian testimony to Jesus. I think that this was my favorite book of the year—among a lot of books I really enjoyed. See my short review article HERE.

I hope you get the opportunity to enjoy one or more of these excellent books in the year ahead.

Here is my list for 2024.

Here is my list for 2023.

Here is my list for 2022.

Here is my list for 2021.

Here is my list for 2020.

Here is my list for 2019.

Here is my list for 2018.