What theological books or commentaries have helped you the most?

Future Grace, John Piper.
The Life and Works of Christ, Dwight Pentecost.

 

Along with the unabridged Henry I would add these that I refer to often:

Wilson's Old Testament Word Studies (better than the companion Vine's of the NT)
Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics - Wallace
Greek-English Lexicon of the NT - Thayer
Berkhof

Of the Commentaries I often go to:
Calvin's - Very good, but uneven in some of the books. Daniel and the Minor Prophets is excellent, for instance.
Spurgeon's Treasury of David
Matthew Poole's Commentary
Hendriksen's are usually very helpful
John Owen's on Hebrews. This huge commentary (7 volumes) has much to study ranging over all of the major themes of the Bible. These are found in his "exercitations".
Anything by Arthur Pink.

I'm sure I am missing some, but these are the books that I consult from time to time.

Oh yes, Josephus's second book especially (too lazy to go to the cold bookshelf room to check the title).
And Ussher's Annals. This book is well worth plodding through - and plodding is the word for parts of it. It is a gold mine of helpful background material. I plan to read it through again n a little bit.

 

I don't 'reference' Hassell as much as I used to, but I do 'read' in it quite often. I am particularly fond of his (their) account given from Christ through the dark ages and the reformation and the early Church in America.

 

Does Ussher go into any detail of the history of the Teutonic Tribes, i.e the descendants of Japheth that settled Europe?

 

The Annals only go up to AD 73, for one, and generally has more of a focus on the Greek and Roman sphere. He uses many of the classical authors. I know that Tacitus wrote extensively on the Germans.

Offhand I can't remember anything that would help you. You know, you might take a look at Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. I remember that it had - I think - a whole chapter on early Germany and the Teutons in general..

 

Paul Tillich, Systematic Theology 3 vols.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Discipleship; Ethics; Christ the Center; Life Together / Prayerbook of the Bible

James William McClendon, Jr., Systematic Theology, 3 vols.: 1. Ethics; 2. Doctrine; 3. Witness.

Stanley Hauerwas, The Peaceable Kingdom; Resident Aliens; Unleashing the Scriptures; Matthew

H. Richard Niebuhr, Christ and Culture; The Responsible Self; Faith on Earth; Radical Monotheism and Western Culture

Walter Brueggemann, Theology of the Old Testament; The Prophetic Imagination; The Message of the Psalms; Genesis

Gordon Kaufman, In Face of Mystery

Clarence Jordan, The Substance of Faith: Cotton Patch Sermons

Carlyle Marney, Priests to Each Other; The Suffering Servant; Faith in Conflict

Anchor Bible Commentaries

The New Interpreter's Bible commentaries


Tim Reynolds

 

It's hard to say which one has helped the most, but right now I'm reading "Types of the Levitical Offerings" by Thomas Newberry and it's really helpful.

 

I like Matthew Henry's commentaries, but I have started to buy the separate NT commentaries from John MacArthur, I think they are great. I have Grudem's Systematic Theology and I like it very well also.

I would say if you are going for serious study don't just get a one volume commentary, but get the larger type commentaries that come in sets. Also research for a good Systematic Theology, there are several good ones to choose from listed in this thread, besides that it's truly how you approach theology as to how you set up your library. :type:

 

John Gill Commentary on the whole bible. He brings a lot of history and background not usually found in other places.

 

Desiring God: An earth-shaking book for me. I think this will be the Pilgrim’s Progress of the next 200 years. John Piper sets forth his vision of Christian Hedonism which can be summarized as seeking your ultimate pleasure in God Himself.

Recalling the Hope of Glory: A fantastic book on worship by Allen Ross


Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine: A monstrous work of fantastic scholarship. This theology by Wayne Grudem is a must-have for serious Bible study and serious Bible students.


Knowing God and Concise Theology: A classic (Knowing God) and a must-have ready-reference (Concise Theology) by J. I. Packer

A Basic Guide to Interpreting the Bible: Playing by the Rules: A great book on biblical hermeneutics by Dr. Robert Stein which is a very easy and educational read.


Jonathan Edwards: A Life: One of the best books I have ever read. By all accounts, George M. Marsden has written the definitive Edwards biography. I was genuinely sad when I finished reading this book because there were no more pages to read.


9 Marks of a Healthy Church and The Deliberate Church: Building Your Ministry on the Gospel: A radical and wonderful way to “do” church by Mark Dever, Pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC.


Preaching with Bold Assurance: A Solid and Enduring Approach to Engaging Exposition: A wonderful book by Hershael York that teaches the art of expository preaching. This is a must-read for any preacher, experienced or aspiring.

There are more, to be sure. These were on my "recommended reading" section of my blog...and I do recommend them!

Blessings,

The Archangel

 

Chosen by God - R.C. Sproul

The Gospel of Redemption - W.T. Conner

Thinking about God - Fisher Humphreys

Has our Theology Changed? - Southern Baptist Thinking since 1845 - edited by Paul Basden

 

[SIZE=+1]Jack Sequeira[/SIZE]
http://www.jacksequeira.org/jacklist.htm

The Gospel in a Nutshell

Beyond Belief

 

Welcome to the BB!
Pull up chair, grab a chips, and put on your hard hat on. It might be a bumpy ride but it is sure is a fun ride

 

For commentaries, probably The Wycliffe Bible Commentary and The Bible Knowledge Commentary. I tend to use them for starters, then branch out from there. I have so many others that I can't even remember them all, but I agree with a previous poster that the older commentaries available *free* from e-sword are very useful.

I am re-reading Chafer's Systematic Theology and find it very helpful. I also have Hodge's and Berkhof's theologies, and will be re-reading them after I finish Chafer, just to get a different perspective.

For the past several years, the most helpful thing has been simply reading and re-reading the Scriptures. Sometimes I'll read the notes in a "study Bible" if that's what I happen to be reading at the time, but I usually don't take the time for that unless I want to get their understanding of a difficult passage, or one whose meaning is disputed (I have study Bibles done by proponents of several different Theological systems).