Saturday, May 21, 2011

Starting a Christian Home Library

If you are starting a Christian library in your own home, there are some good foundational books you will want to have. I have found every one of these books in good condition at a used bookstore. (I once found a King James Open Bible Study Bible for six dollars. Yippee!)

Books to help you study the Bible:

A Good Study Bible

This is a Bible that includes more than just the Scripture text. For study you will want a KJV, NKJV, or NASB. There may be notes, cross references, topical articles, maps, timelines, book introductions, a concordance, etc. (Examples: Scofield, Thompson-Chain, King James Study Bible, and many others. Not every study Bible is good, of course. You want one that interprets the Word literally.)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
Holman Pictorial Bible Dictionary
Halley's Bible Handbook  (not the new edition which deletes some church history)
Matthew Henry Commentary Set or The Bible Knowledge Commentary (though NIV based)

Some Classic Books to help you live the Bible:

The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
Foxe's Book of Martyrs
Morning and Evening (Devotional) by Charles Spurgeon
Renewed Day by Day (Devotional) by AW Tozer
In His Steps by Charles Sheldon
My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith

You may not use these everyday or even frequently, but you when you need them you'll be glad they're in your library. If you have been helped by these or other books, please let us know. I'm sure I have forgotten something. I appreciate your comments. Don't forget a good children's Bible storybook or Study Bible for them. Get them started early in the habit or digging deep into God's Word. They will be grateful for the rest of their lives.

Enjoy!

3 comments:

  1. Thank you for you kind comments on christianedification.blogspot.com. I've been writing since January, although I haven't posted for a month or so. Several of the latest articles have actually been written by teens. I'm a youth pastor in Chandler, AZ. Although I am retiring this week, I'll continue the blog. Thanks for the encouragement!

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  2. Hope you don't mind that I have this as a recommended blog on www.christianedification.blogspot.com

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  3. The Hiding Place and Foxes Book of Christian Martyrs are two of my favorites.

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