Reading is one of my favorite things to do. Not only is it a big part of my job, but I also genuinely enjoy it as a hobby. Every year, my goal is to read around 60 books from a wide range of genres. As we close out the year, I wanted to share my five favorite books I read in 2025 and that I would recommend to other believers.
These are not necessarily books that were published this year, but books I read this year. They are not listed in any particular order, but I found all of them formative, encouraging, and helpful for my walk as a believer.
Tim Keller on the Christian Life: The Transforming Power of the Gospel
Matt Smethurst
It is no secret that I am a big fan of Tim Keller. Few men have influenced my faith as deeply as Keller did through his preaching and writing. While this book is not exhaustive (nor is it meant to be), it serves as a wonderful summary of his teaching.
Smethurst does a fantastic job synthesizing Keller’s work by devoting each chapter to a key aspect of the Christian life such as grace, love, friendship, vocation, prayer, and suffering. The book is beautifully written, and Smethurst’s pastoral heart shines through, not merely echoing Keller’s ideas but thoughtfully extending them.
Hope in Times of Fear: The Resurrection and the Meaning of Easter
Timothy J. Keller
I know, I know… it’s Keller again. But this book really was fantastic.
To be honest, part of the reason it took me longer than expected to start reading this one was because I assumed it was an Easter devotional. I thought I had to wait until the right season. I was wrong. Very wrong.
In what would become his final published book, Keller beautifully captures the upside-down nature of the Kingdom of God and shows how the resurrection reshapes our everyday lives. This is classic Keller: clear, hopeful, deeply biblical, and profoundly pastoral. I will definitely be returning to this book in the years to come.
The Art of Disagreeing: How to Keep Calm and Stay Friends in Hard Conversations
Gavin Ortlund
This small book is one I would recommend to every Christian.
In an age marked by outrage and constant disagreement, I found this book to be especially timely and helpful. Ortlund writes with a pastoral tone and offers practical wisdom for navigating disagreement in a distinctly Christian way. It is a short read, but it is thoughtful, convicting, and well worth your time.
Lest We Drift: Five Departure Dangers from the One True Gospel
Jared C. Wilson
If you’ve ever looked at my bookshelf, you know I really appreciate Jared Wilson’s writing. In a culture of loud extremes, I consistently find his voice helpful, so I expected to enjoy this book. Even so, it surpassed my expectations.
As someone who was greatly influenced by the Young, Restless, and Reformed movement and the emphasis on gospel centrality, I appreciated the way Wilson evaluates both the strengths and the excesses of those moments. He manages to offer honest critique while still pointing us forward with hope rather than despair. Although the book is written with pastors in mind, I thoroughly enjoyed it and found it personally enriching.
Scrolling Ourselves to Death: Reclaiming Life in a Digital Age
Edited by Brett McCracken
This was another book that surprised me this year. I picked it up almost as an afterthought, mostly because I am not always a fan of multi-author volumes. But I found this book incredibly helpful in diagnosing one of the great maladies of our digital age: doomscrolling.
As the title suggests, this book draws heavily from Neil Postman’s now-classic Amusing Ourselves to Death. While it can feel a bit repetitive at times, McCracken and his team do an excellent job applying Postman’s warnings to our current moment. I found the book packed with useful insight, while also remaining practical and encouraging.
Anyone who has read my posts over the last year knows how strongly I believe we must prepare ourselves, both as parents and as believers, to engage the digital world wisely. Not by hiding from technology or isolating ourselves from it, but by growing in our understanding of it.
The Risen King: 40 Devotions for Easter from C. H. Spurgeon
Charles H. Spurgeon, edited by Jeff Medders
This final book is simply a joy to read.
Spending time with Spurgeon is always a delight, and Jeff Medders did a fantastic job putting this collection together. Sorting through Spurgeon’s writings has to be as overwhelming as it is enjoyable, and Medders clearly selected some real treasures. This is the kind of book you savor slowly and return to often.
Thanks, Jeff.
Final Word
Looking back on my reading this year, I’m grateful not just for good books, but for faithful voices that helped steady my heart, sharpen my thinking, and remind me of what really matters. Some books challenge us, others comfort us, and the best ones seem to do both at the same time. These did that for me.
As we look ahead to another year of reading, my encouragement is simple: read widely, but read deeply. Read books that stretch you, books that slow you down, and books that help you see Christ more clearly. But remember, no book, no matter how helpful or well written, can do what only the gospel does.
The goal of reading isn’t self-improvement or theological bragging rights. It’s formation. It’s becoming the kind of people who are more rooted in grace, more patient with others, and more hopeful in a weary world. If your reading leads you to love Christ more, trust him more deeply, and depend on him more fully, then it’s doing its job.
So as you plan your reading for the year ahead, don’t just ask, What should I read? Ask, Who is this shaping me to become? And above all, keep returning to the greatest story ever told. Every good book can point us there, but only the gospel can save, sustain, and transform us.
Happy reading.