Dear Cornerstone family,
Happy first Lord’s Day of 2025!
Every year I publish a curated favorite books list. Before we look at this year’s list, let me give you a caveat. By “favorite reads,” I don’t mean I agree with everything in each book, nor am I recommending each book for every reader. We’re all at different places along life’s journey, and each of us must make hard decisions about what to read, watch, listen to, etc. So, be discerning.
I’ve exercised immense self-control and limited myself to only eight books. A tremendous feat! Maybe you’ll find something of interest. Enjoy!
Eight Favorite Reads of 2024
On Getting Out of Bed: The Burden and Gift of Living by Alan Noble – Speaking from experience, Noble explores the different ways and different degrees mental pain affects us and the ones we love. Poetic and instructive, Noble skillfully navigates the depressive mind and proves to be a careful and wise guide for anyone groping in the darkness for the light.
Daily Doctrine by Kevin DeYoung – Designed as a one-year study in doctrine, DeYoung treats every major tenant of systematic theology in very brief (2-3 pages) but surprisingly thorough entries. It’s vintage DeYoung—clear, thoughtful, edifying. A worthy addition to any Christian’s library.
Why Liberalism Failed by Patrick Deneen – A professor at Notre Dame, Deneen takes on Enlightenment assumptions embedded in modern democracies—especially individual autonomy—and shows ironically why liberalism’s success is liberalism’s failure. Regardless of political prejudices, this work will challenge your thinking.
The Good Gift of Weakness by Eric Schumacher – From Genesis to Revelation, Schumacher shows how human frailty is not an obstacle to overcome but a gift to embrace. Vulnerable and convicting, this work will free you from the delusion of self-sufficiency and press home the beauty of God’s strength perfected in weakness. I needed this one.
Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies by Marilyn Chandler McEntyre – Because we live in a spoken world and are made in the image of a speaking God, words are central to life, personhood, and meaning. In a world increasingly deconstructive of language, McEntyre urges Christians to be keepers of words—to cultivate a rich vocabulary for naming reality, communicating truth, and strengthening the social fabric. A lovely and needed work.
Glorifying and Enjoying God by William Boekestein, Jonathan Cruse, and Andrew Miller – A devotional commentary on the Westminster Shorter Catechism that takes you through the catechism in 52 weeks. Chapters are short, substantive, and accessible. A great aid in personal devotions and family worship. Glad to see this in print.
The Anxious Generation: How the Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt – The decrease in traditional forms of play alongside the malformities of screens is rewiring the brains of children (and adults) and the effects are devastating. Haunting and helpful, we must come to terms with Haidt’s diagnosis and prescription, hard as that may be.
C.S. Lewis in America: Reading and Reception, 1935-1947 by Mark Noll – I love C.S. Lewis and Mark Noll, so it was impossible to keep me away from this one. It’s an interesting look at how Lewis’s influence in the U.S. grew among the Catholics to the secular media and, finally, Protestant evangelicals. Well researched and illuminating, Noll provides a unique glimpse into why Lewis’s early reception sheds light on his enduring witness.
Your servant,
