Featured Favorite/most challenging book you have read?

TRUE DISCIPLESHIP/William MacDonald

 

1. Cost of Discipleship
2. Company of the Committed
3. New Man for Our Time
4. Beggars in Velvet
5. Faith In Conflict
6. Journey Inward, Journey Outward

 

Hmmm, don't know if we is comin or go in ehh?

Returning to the thread ---

 

Most challenging ?

Isaiah.

 

Not bad. I was thinking of his book on the resurrection since it is so long (and tedious thus challenging). But then I haven't read his magnum opus 2 vol. set on Paul yet.

Christopher Wright's Mission of God was quite challenging spiritually as well as academically. One of my favorites!

 

I second this one.

 

I read this many years ago and it was excellent. My most challenging and inspiring missions biography ever was The Life of Adoniram Judson by his son.

The best history of missions ever is From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya by Ruth A. Tucker.

I have mixed feelings about Finney. This book was quite interesting and challenging historically, but in grad school I read his systematic theology, which was not systematic and was very poor theology. (Please don't anyone turn this thread into a rant against Finney--that's obviously not Jordan's intent here.)

John R. Rice, the Captain of our Team, by Viola Walden, is an excellent bio of a much more Biblical evangelist than Finney, more complete than Man Sent from God by Bob Sumner, though that one is good too. My brother's book on the Rice family, Sword of the Lord by Andrew Himes, is hard to put down, though it has some liberal stances that we certainly disagree on.

 

On the Christian life, a novel named In His Steps by Charles Sheldon had a wonderful impact in its day and is still very challenging and well worth reading. It changed my grandfather's life and strongly influenced mine, and is the source of the question, "What Would Jesus Do?"

 

Can't Name Just One!

The CHALLENGE of Bible Translation --edited by Scorgie, Strauss and Voth.
(At least it had the word 'challenge' in the title

For about the first 16 years of my Christian life I don't think I read much that was very substantial aside from Tozer and some PB authors.

But the decade of 1979-1989 I discovered meaty works:

First of all 'Knowing God' by J.A. Packer was remarkable,edifying and eye-opening.

J.C. Ryle's 'Christian Leaders of the 18th Century; was not only informative but moving as to how the Lord laid His hand on those preachers.

Then, A.W.Pink's works :

The Attributes of God
Practical Christianity
Profiting From the Word
The Sovereignty of God

all contributed to my growth as a Christian.

But it was at the suggestion of a non-Calvinist prof from college who suggested that I read Dr.D-M-L-J to gain a deeper appreciation of the Word of God and His dealing with His people through the ages. I started taking notes of all the names from church History that the good doctor spoke of and then ... I went to town! I went to the college library and commenced reading his sermons on Romans.

 

Dallas Willard's, "The Divine Conspiracy"

 

I could also add on the list Piper's books Desiring God or even God is the Gospel. Very informative for my thinking.

As others said, just picking one is impossible. So many writers have influenced my thinking. Some of them were just journal articles, not books.

 

Get the following books.

The Gospel According to Jesus by John MacArthur
The Gospel's Power and Message by Paul Washer

 

Oh dear. Does he teach NPP theology in this one?

 

You have got to be kidding me. You read theology? Since when?