Seventeen82.com 2022 Reading Challenge - by Kyle E. Sims





Everyone needs to be a reader! This year I have put together several suggestions as you plan your reading for 2022. 

First, everyone needs a plan for reading the Bible. At a minimum, I suggest that you read a least one chapter from both the Old and New Testaments each day. There are many good plans, and I have three listed below. 


Another good daily habit is to find something to be studied daily throughout the year. I have recommended Vos’ Commentary on the Larger Catechism to students of theology for years. It has short chapters to be read and studied daily. It would be a great help to any Chrisitan. P&R’s 31-days series would be a good option as well. In addition to your daily Bible reading and study, any good devotional is helpful. 


Beyond these devotional readings, you should be reading good Christian literature. Below I have given a prompt for each month and three suggestions in that theme. Reading is a way to challenge yourself to grow in your knowledge and practice.


What other methods and ideas do you use to help get more reading in your life? Please put ideas and suggestions in the comments. 


You can purchase most of these books at Cumberland Valley Books and Bible Service (CVBBS). I would encourage you to support Solid Christian book stores. There could soon be a day when major retailers may not carry Christian Biblical literature. Here are three of my favorite Christian retailers and publishers:


CVBBS

Reformation Heritage Books

Banner Of Truth


Disclaimer: I do not claim to be an expert in Christian Literature. I made this list one afternoon. I based this list on my reading over the years, and on recommendations. Also, my easy, moderate, and challenging categories are probably open to debate. However, I wanted to try and give different levels of reading. The big idea here is to make sure that you are reading in 2022!





2022 Reading Challenge 


Through The Bible in a Year Bible Plan

The Five Day Bible Reading plan 

The M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan 

The Ben Shaw Chronological Bible Reading Plan 



Books and Series for Daily Devotional Study (Days)

Prayers of the Bible: 365 Devotionals to Encourage your prayer life - Gordon Keddie (365)

31-Day Devotional For Life Series by P&R Publishing (31)

Morning and Evening - Daily Readings with Charles H. Spurgeon (365) 

The Westminster Larger Catechism: A Commentary by Johannes G. Vos (196) 



A Year of Reading Prompts and Suggestions 


January - A book on Prayer 

Easy - Developing A Healthy Prayer Life by James and Joel Beeke  

Moderate - A Praying Life by Paul Miller

Challenging - A Way to Pray by Matthew Henry 


February - A book on Evangelism 

Easy - The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert - Rosaria Butterfield 

Moderate - Evangelicalism and the Sovereignty of God by JI Packer 

Challenging - The Art of Man Fishing - Thomas Boston (AMZ)


March - A book on Modern Issues 

Easy - Fault lines by Voddie Baucham, Jr 

Moderate - Christianity and Wokeness by Owen Strachan 

Challenging - The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl R. Trueman


April - A book on Christ person and work 

Easy - Who is Jesus? RC Sproul (AMZ)

Moderate - Jesus Is Both God And Man by Stuart Olyott 

Challenging - The Cross of Christ by John Stott 


May - A book about or by an early church father 

Easy - Basil of Caesarea by Marvin Jones 

Moderate - Rediscovering The Church Fathers by Michael Haykin

Challenging - The City of God by Saint Augustine 


June - A Puritan Paperback book 

Easy - Doctrine of Repentance by Thomas Watson 

Moderate - The Mystery of Providence by John Flavel 

Challenging - Sinfulness of Sin by Ralph Venning 


July - A Christian Biography 

Easy - Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss 

Moderate - Preachers with Power by Douglas Kelly

Challenging - Jonathan Edwards by Iain Murray


August - A book on the Sacraments 

Easy - Covenantal Baptism by Jason Helopoulos

Moderate - The Lord’s Supper by Malcolm Maclean

Challenging - Treatises On The Sacraments by John Calvin 


September - A book on Spiritual Growth 

Easy - Developing Healthy Spiritual Growth - James and Joel Beeke 

Moderate - Spiritual Disciplines For the Christians Life - Donald S. Whitney  

Challenging - Communion with God by John Owen 


October - A book about the Reformed Faith  

Easy - The Reformed Faith by Loraine Boettner 

Moderate - What is Reformed Theology by RC Sproul

Challenging - A Body of Divinity - Thomas Watson 


November - A book that is a Christian Classic 

Easy - Knowing God by J.I. Packer 

Moderate - Pilgrims Progress (BOT) by John Bunyan 

Challenging - 1541 Edition of Calvin’s Institutes by John Calvin 


December - A book about church  

Easy - The Church by Edmund Clowney 

Moderate - The Glorious Body of Christ by R. B. Kuiper 

Challenging - The Church of Christ by James Bannerman


(AMZ) available on Amazon 

Most books are available at CVBBS, Banner of Truth, or Reformation Heritage Books. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Reluctant ARP Pastor's Take on Synod

Image
  I am a reluctant ARP pastor. Don’t get me wrong, I love being Presbyterian (see my love letter to Presbyterianism at https://seventeen82.blogspot.com/2022/09/i-love-being-presbyterian-james-mcmanus.html?m=1 ). Yet, in that love is some amount of reluctance.  When I say I am a reluctant ARP pastor, I am mainly thinking about the meetings of presbytery and Synod. My personality is very much geared to getting things done. When I go to a meeting, I want to get to work and get the work done so I can move on to what is next. If you are familiar with the workings of a presbytery and/or Synod meeting, you know that doesn’t always happen. It’s a time for every voice that wants to be heard, to be heard. It’s the occasion where when you speak, people have to listen (or at least pretend to). You can stand up and say the same thing you’ve already said before. You can say what the previous 16 people before you said. You can go to the mic and ask the moderator a question that has other people scra
Read more

A Friendly Response to “A Reluctant ARP Pastor's Take on Synod” - Andy Webb

Image
(Note to Readers: authors who do not send a pic get my favorite pic of them as the pic for the article. Love you Andy)   Dear James,  I wanted to thank you for speaking so honestly in your recent letter/essay in  S eventeen82  and although I am on the other side of the female deacon issue, I wanted to offer some reasons why I wasn’t discouraged by the recent Synod and why I don’t think you necessarily should be either. Let  me begin by confessing that I too was once something of a reluctant presbyter. While I enjoyed most session meetings, for several years I found myself dreading going to presbytery meetings and absolutely hated going to the PCA General Assembly ,  which I found to be immensely discouraging year after year . One year I  actually asked  my session if I could give it a miss entirely, and they wisely answered, “No.” As a result , from the time I was first ordained as a Ruling Elder in 1997 till my departure from the PCA in 2020 ,  I believe I only missed  one  Assembly ,
Read more

Evening Worship Services and the ARP by Rev. Benjamin Glaser

Image
Good Morning, Recently a friend of mine compiled a list of churches, presbytery-by-presbytery, in the Presbyterian Church in America who offer a second service (whether that be in the afternoon or in the evening) on the Lord’s Day. The PCA currently has 1,930 worshipping congregations. 238 of them have morning and evening services on the Sabbath, or roughly 11% of the denomination. Not to be left behind I went about and did my own sleuthing to see what the situation looks like in our beloved Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. Similar work done for the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (the OPC) and the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (the RPCNA) showed in those respective communions a near/above 60% rate for evening worship. Our Dutch Reformed brothers (CanRC, URC, etc...) are closer to 90%. I figured we would not be anywhere near those numbers, and I was correct. As with all investigative reporting I am sure my findings are not 100% on the nose accurate, however, I thi
Read more