Favorite Books in 2025

By Jeremy Craft

I always look forward to the end-of-year booklists that various websites and bloggers release around this time of the year. They pique my interest in new or important books that I need to read, and inspire me to read widely. However, they also remind me of how little I actually read. This is not for a lack of effort. Personally, I have always struggled to read more, partly because I read slowly and partly because there are so many books to read. Since I’m a pastor, most of my reading revolves around sermon preparation. Having small children also means much of my spare time goes to my family and rest.

With that said, here are some books I read this year. These books are not new, but they are books I thoroughly enjoyed. Some of these I acquired for sermon preparation. Others either interested me or had been on my bookshelf and I finally got around to reading them.

W. Phillip Keller, A Shepherd Looks as Psalm 23

I am not claiming too much by calling this book a classic. According to the copyright information in my copy, Zondervan first published this book in 1970. I acquired this little treasure for a sermon series I was doing on Psalm 23. I had known about it, so I used the sermon series as an opportunity to read it. Boy, I was not disappointed. Some passages like Psalm 23 can be so familiar to us that they lose their wonder. Keller’s book brings the Psalm to life in fresh ways that imprinted on my soul. If you have not done so, I would highly encourage you to read it. The chapters are short enough to make it a part of your daily devotions.

Susan Hunt, Sammy and His Shepherd: Seeing Jesus in Psalm 23

I once listened to an interview where the late R. C. Sproul claimed that the children’s books he had written were some of his greatest theological works. Sadly, children’s books are often underappreciated. This was a book I first read to my daughter a few years ago. Then I picked it up again to stir my own imagination as I prepared for my sermon series on Psalm 23.

People often say that if you cannot explain something in a way a child can understand it, then you do not adequately understand that subject yourself. Well, Susan Hunt certainly has a grasp of Psalm 23. The book is imaginative and substantive at the same time. Each chapter explains a phrase in Psalm 23 in ways I had not contemplated. If you have children or grandchildren, or perhaps you serve in your church’s children’s ministry, read this book to them. They will benefit from it and so will you. Even if none of that is the case for you, read it for yourself anyway. I assure you that it will not disappoint.

Sinclair Ferguson, The Sermon on the Mount: Kingdom Life in a Fallen World

This is another book I acquired for a preaching series on Matthew’s Gospel. Sinclair Ferguson writes like a modern-day Puritan. He mixes theological depth with a devotion-like quality, perfect for any teacher of Scripture. In his preface to the book, Ferguson mentions how Jonathan Edwards’ doctrine was all application, and his application all doctrine. I would apply the same to Ferguson. If you want a better understanding of Jesus’ most well-known teaching, or you just want balm for the soul, you cannot go wrong with this book.

Mark Jones, Knowing Christ

What J. I. Packer’s Knowing God is for the doctrine of God, Mark Jones is for the doctrine of Christ. This popular work of theology has been on my shelf for years. I finally pulled it off and read it. What a gem! Mark Jones takes theology and makes it doxological. Each chapter reflects on an aspect of Christology and shows why teasing out the fine details is important to the Christian faith and necessary for our spiritual life. Indeed, after reading certain parts of the book, I found myself in awe of the person and work of Christ—a response all good theology should produce in us.

David Gibson, Living Life Backwards: How Ecclesiastes Teaches Us to Live in Light of the End.

For popular level treatments of Ecclesiastes, this book should be at the top of your list. Gibson has helped me understand Ecclesiastes far better than any other commentary or popular level work I have read to this point (I have not yet read Bobby Jamieson’s new book, which has been featured on a few best books lists this year). Gibson explains via Solomon how death really causes us to ask: What’s the point of life if we’re going to die? His point (and Solomon’s) is that death, strangely, is God’s tutor in teaching us about the good life. My only qualm with the book is that it doesn’t deal with every chapter of Ecclesiastes. My hope is that a second edition, if one is ever produced, will remedy this problem. If you want help understanding Ecclesiastes, this resource is a good place to start.

Robin Phillips, Gratitude in Life’s Trenches: How to Experience the Good Life Even When Everything is Wrong

Recently, I wrote an article on thanksgiving for the Commission. Although I did not reference this work, it has given me much food for thought when it comes to the necessity of gratitude for the Christian life. I first heard of this book when I listened to Ken Myers interview Robin Phillips in a volume of the Mars Hill Audio journal. The interview intrigued me enough to buy the book.

At first glance, it might appear that this is just another self-help book, but once you’re a few pages in, you’ll quickly discover that it is not. Phillips draws from Scripture, the Church Fathers, psychological research, neurophysiology, testimonials, and his own experiences to show how Christians can achieve the good life even when life is difficult. His analysis is thought provoking and probing. One caveat – Phillips tackles gratitude and the problem of suffering from an Eastern Orthodox perspective, which nuances his discussion in certain places. But, generally speaking, there is much to be commended here.

Often, Christians talk about gratitude in very cliché ways, which makes people turn a deaf ear to anything they say. Far from having a pie-in-the-sky theology, Phillips shows how gratitude is not escapism, but is actually essential for finding meaning and happiness in life. Gratitude forces us to lean into pain and accept what life gives, and it teaches us how to be thankful for the smallest of mercies. This book left me wanting to develop the virtue of gratitude more in my own life. If you read it, perhaps it will do the same for you.

While none of the books I listed were recently published, all of them were beneficial to me personally. While not every book may appear relevant to you, perhaps one of them will make it on your future reading list.