Top 9 of '09

So it’s the end of another year. The end of a decade in fact. And since I had nothing but time over the past week, I thought it might be good to do a little thinking back, and looking forward. That kind of good stuff that the end of a year compels us to do.

One thing I did was compile a list of the best books, sermons, and Christian resources I’ve come across over the year (9 in fact!). I have plenty of time to search, explore, and study, so I’m happy to pass along the “best of” my findings and what has been passed along to me. SO, in no particular order…

1) Tim Keller’s Sermon Work and Rest. I’ve listened to some great sermons this year, and I would put this near the top of the list.

2) A Better Way, by Michael Horton. One of the best books I read this year, and it really challenged me to think through ‘why’ we do what we do in church- from baptism and communion to praise and worship- and how to inject Christ into it all.

3) Justin Taylor’s Blog, The Gospel Coalition. It’s great because he writes about all the “intellectual” things going on the Christian world- conferences, interviews with pastors, books, CDs, other blog entries that are solid, commentaries, etc. It’s a great way to keep a pulse on what’s new and going on in the Christian world.

4) Covenant Life Church’s sermon series on the Proverbs, in particular Self-Control in a Wired World and Do Not be Slothful in Zeal. You can subscribe to Covenant Life Church’s podcast in iTunes or get them free online here. Great series, really applicable and practical. On a similar note, something a few people told me they do and I started doing in the summer was to read a chapter of Proverbs every day- there are 31 chapters, perfect for going through once a month. It’s been a simple addition to my daily quiet times, and really fruitful, convicting, and refining

5) M’Cheyne Bible Reading plan. I’d never done a “read the bible in a year plan” but some of my teammates were doing it, so I thought I’d give it a try. I like this one because you don’t just read straight through (which is fine and good, too) but work through 4 different sections at a time. I know I should love all of God’s word, but when I’ve tried to read straight through, I would totally give up in Deuteronomy or Chronicles. With 4 chapters a day you get through the OT once and NT and Psalms twice over the year. I felt really satisfied (and way more knowledgeable about the Word) when I finished.

6) Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. What can I say, he’s just awesome. This is a short but jam-packed book about life in Christian community. It’s stellar.

7) Worldwide-Classroom. One of my teammates knew about this, and as I have been interested in taking some courses about OT History and other Bible topics, I found this to be a great resource to do so. They have FREE online courses- actual college courses give by professors at seminary. There are “only” about 20 on this site, but they’re quality.

8) Got Questions? Great online resource for alllll those random questions you (or your friends) may have. Curious if the Bible actually says anything about tattoos? Or dying to know who Cain’s wife was? This is your place. Also “bigger” questions like the trinity, divorce, consumption of alcohol etc.

9) Talks from the Next 2009 conference. It’s 6 talks on Jesus- His Preeminence, Incarnation, Life, Death, Resurrection, and Return… given by CJ Mahaney, DA Carson, Kevin DeYoung, Joshua Harris and 2 by Sinclair Ferguson. Good stuff.

Hope you enjoy these. If you have any particularly noteworthy books, sermons, etc that you've come across in the past year, please do let me know!