This Week in Christian Books (November 3, 2026)

We have forgotten what it means to be human. American men and women are feeling the despair of a counterfeit culture, one where polarization has replaced conversation, pornography is chosen over true intimacy, and marriage and family are postponed indefinitely. The resulting isolation has forced us to confront the truth: individualism and worldly systems cannot take the place of God’s design for humanity. This scholarly yet accessible study examines the effects of secularism, nihilism, and barbarism on culture today, and explains why a biblical worldview is essential for human flourishing. Andrew T. Walker skillfully confronts 10 pressing issues—including loneliness, sexual confusion, anti-institutionalism, and identity. Affirming that shared norms grounded in creation order are the solution to social decline, he champions a return to biblical standards of freedom, human nature, and purpose. Walker compares Western culture to the prodigal son in Scripture—a culture that has squandered its inheritance and must now decide whether it will return to the Father or continue living in squalor.

Nearly every teenager carries a smartphone in their pocket. What was once an innocent tool, providing a quick escape and a promise of connection, has now become a world that holds us captive. Looking up from the tiny pixels and refraining from the incessant scrolling may be the rest that our souls need. Scroll Less, Live More offers teens and families 10 practical habits for navigating the world of technology from a Christian perspective. From the author of the Christian Book Award winner, Digital Liturgies, tech-realist Samuel James applies his ideas into action steps to help teenagers keep digital tools in their proper place. By addressing how technology affects our social interactions, sleep patterns, critical thinking, and much more, James helps readers see the wisdom in God’s perfect design and, as a result, resist the temptations prevalent in the smartphone age.

Learn to avoid both passivity and burnout by discovering God’s glorious design for work—and how to labor, rest, and steward your time in ways that glorify God and maximize your joy. The average person will spend 90,000 hours working—a staggering third of their life. For many, these hours feel like a necessary burden, something we have to do. But what if work isn’t a punishment to endure, but a privilege to embrace—a divine “get to” rather than a grim “got to”? In a time of contradictory messages about work, hurry, and rest, pastor and author Jonny Ardavanis dives into Scripture to help you see work as a divine calling, guiding you to partner with God and find profound meaning and purpose in your daily work, whether you’re a plumber, a CEO, or a stay-at-home mom. Get to Work isn’t just another book about finding work-life balance or boosting productivity. It’s an invitation to rediscover what you were made for.

Pilgrim’s Progress has inspired the lives of countless believers for centuries. This winding allegory follows the tumultuous journey of a pilgrim traveling from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City. Brimming with hope and excitement while demonstrating the inevitable perils along the way, John Bunyan masterfully illustrates the Christian experience, helping readers of all ages understand the path to spiritual formation. This graphic novel, saturated with bold and expressive artwork, visually tells Bunyan’s well-loved story to a brand-new generation of readers. Adapted with the utmost care, this condensed edition retains the same rich and timeless language consistent with the original work. For lifelong readers of Pilgrim’s Progress and those picking up this work for the very first time, it will captivate the senses, reveal beauty and truth, and help fix their eyes on Christ.

On a cold January day in 1751, Jonathan Edwards—powdered wig, black robe, Geneva bands—stepped into the pulpit of a wooden mission church on the Massachusetts frontier. Before him sat several dozen Indians in breechcloths, leggings, and moccasins. He began to preach. For generations, history has treated this moment as an exile: Edwards, dismissed from the most prominent pulpit in New England, retreating to the wilderness to write philosophical treatises while largely ignoring the people he was sent to serve. The typical portrait of the Stockbridge Indians is hardly better: silent extras in Edwards’s drama, spiritually cowed by their colonial neighbors. Both accounts are wrong. Drawing on long-neglected sources, Brandon Crawford tells a richer story. Far from a disengaged exile, Edwards poured himself into the spiritual lives of a people navigating rivalries between English Puritans, Dutch merchants, French Jesuits, Mohicans, Mohawks, and others on the volatile colonial frontier. And the Indians were no silent extras. They embraced, adapted, and shaped the Christian faith in ways that were at once evangelical and distinctly their own. What emerges is a portrait of a pastor and a people who, against all odds, were earnest in their commitments to the gospel, the mission, and each other.

Though you know pastoral work is meant to feel like a joy and a privilege, it’s easy to lose sight of it during the everyday challenges of ministry. Whether you’re feeling discouraged or even burned out, gain encouragement for your high and holy calling. Using gentle humor, the wisdom of ministers in centuries past and relatable anecdotes, Fuller helps you recover the sense that you have the best job in the world. Come away from every chapter feeling reinvigorated and excited about the work God calls you to… without having to add anything to your long to-do list.

The Lord Is My Light invites you to anchor every day in the steady rhythm of prayer and Bible reading. Each daily liturgy arranges passages of God’s Word to highlight the themes and connections within Scripture, and then surrounds them with confessions and prayers voiced by believers across the centuries. Through the seasons of the church year, this pattern will help you declare your faith, confess your sin, praise your King, and intercede for others—never losing sight of the One who is our light and salvation. Whether prayed alone or with others, these pages will help you cultivate holy habits of attention and devotion until your heart beats in rhythm with the prayers of our forefathers and mothers in the faith. The Lord Is My Light features the highly readable, highly reliable text of the Christian Standard Bible® (CSB). The CSB stays as literal as possible to the Bible’s original meaning without sacrificing clarity, making it easier to engage with Scripture’s life-transforming message and to share it with others.

Pick up a King James Bible, and it’s easy to spot words we don’t use anymore, from bolled and bewray to hosen and hoised. The real trouble is the words that look perfectly normal to us, like study, sincere, offend, peculiar, and mansion. Mark Ward calls these “false friends”—words we don’t know we don’t know. In this enlightening and entertaining book, Ward considers thirty-eight false friends, showing how language shifts under our feet to change the meaning of words across the centuries. Far from critiquing the King James Bible, this book will make you a better reader of it. Ward helps you spot false friends, explains how words change, and gives you the tools to define hidden KJV archaisms on your own. Whether you grew up on the King James Version or use it for your Bible study today, this book will change how you read it—one word at a time.

Former atheist and astrophysicist Dr. Sarah Salviander came to faith in Jesus through her studies of the cosmos. While many assume science contradicts faith, including some Christians, Salviander discovered that science not only supports faith but stirs it. The Heavens Declare is a devotional that combines Scripture with inspiring reflections and breathtaking full-color images of the universe. Each meditation focuses on God’s creative brilliance, inviting readers into wonder and heartfelt praise. Your faith will deepen and be strengthened as you marvel and rejoice at the imaginative power, beauty, and genius of our triune God. The Heavens Declare invites you to see God’s hand in the stars—and so much more—and worship Him for it. This beautifully crafted book makes a wonderful gift.

Step into the vital ministry of deacons with this approachable, biblically rich guide designed specifically to equip today’s servant leaders. Whether you are just beginning in a deacon role or seeking to deepen your calling, this resource unpacks the New Testament vision of deacon ministry with clarity and encouragement. Through relatable stories, practical wisdom, and careful study of Scripture, readers will discover how deacons are called to embody Christ’s humility, compassion, and devotion in the everyday life of the church. The third edition of Deacons: Servant Models in the Church offers clear explanations of the qualifications, duties, and spiritual character of deacons, blending sound theology with actionable steps for service. By reinforcing messages from the previous editions, it serves as both a foundation and a toolkit—preparing deacons to meet needs, support pastors and elders, foster unity, and reflect the love of Jesus in tangible ways. Whether used individually or as part of a church leadership team, this resource will help deacons thrive in their God-given calling and build up the body of Christ.

The fourth edition of the renowned Nelson’s Complete Book of Bible Maps and Charts is your ultimate resource for bringing the stories, locations, and people of the Old and New Testaments to life. Ideal for small group leaders, Bible school teachers, or anyone curious about biblical history, this comprehensive, full-color guide offers a visually engaging overview of the entire Bible. Nelson’s Complete Book of Bible Maps and Charts, Fourth Edition references the New King James Version (NKJV) translation, but it may be used with any translation of the Bible. Whether you’re teaching or exploring on your own, this resource provides an immersive, enriching, and accessible experience to help you understand the Bible.

Our culture glorifies perfectionism in fitness and nutrition, often leaving women feeling guilty when they don’t meet unrealistic standards. Bombarded daily with messages about clean eating, diet fads, and the latest weight loss hacks, it’s no wonder women feel inadequate and exhausted, crushed beneath impossible cultural expectations. Fellow friend and fitness expert, Kate Horney understands. After years of striving for the world’s version of health, she discovered that while the world ties beauty and worth to a number on the scale, the Bible tells a better story. That’s the story she’s helped thousands of women rediscover. This is not another diet or fitness fad—because real hope isn’t found in the next health trend. Our hope and health are found in a person—Jesus Christ. Beyond Fit redefines health as a life-giving act of worship. It helps women reconnect faith with physical wellness, not through rules or restriction but through renewal and redemption. Kate guides you through the essential rhythms of health, rest, exercise, and nutrition, while showing how hormones influence metabolism, mood, and energy. She reveals how caring for your body is more than a routine; it can become an expression of gratitude and a tangible way to honor God in your everyday life. God has given you one body—beautifully designed and for a purpose. It’s the only body you’ll ever have in this life, and how you care for it directly impacts your ability to serve, love, and live out God’s calling. This is your invitation to care for it with grace, not guilt—and to embrace the goodness of God’s design.

Marriages are meant to last. So when a marriage is devastated by betrayal, abandonment, or abuse, painful questions follow: What does faithfulness look like now? Must I stay? Am I free to leave? Offering biblical wisdom to suffering spouses—and the pastors, counselors, and friends who walk beside them—Michael Gembola and Darby Strickland lay out a process of discernment for complex situations of infidelity and desertion. As readers consider the teaching of Scripture, assess the impact of the offenses, and look for repentance and change, Gembola and Strickland encourage them to trust God’s compassionate leading for each faithful step.

The possibilities are seemingly endless. In the new book Would You Rather Bible Challenges, each question provides an exciting opportunity for kids to imagine themselves in the Bible stories. This adventurous devotional, designed for children ages 8 to 12, helps kids explore their faith through thought-provoking questions and timeless biblical truths. With each highlighted story, your kids will be challenged to go deeper as they reflect on each question and weigh their decisions. Their initial answer may even change as they dig into the study! This kid-friendly devotional gets them thinking, talking, and engaging deeper in their faith. Combining Bible study with kids’ imaginations, this book will spark lively conversation in your homes and engage the hearts of your entire family. Get ready for hours of fun, laughter, and unforgettable memories.

In For Us and for Our Salvation, N. Gray Sutanto provides a comprehensive study of humanity created and fallen. Sutanto begins with biblical-theological foundations, then provides a dogmatic synthesis and application to contemporary issues like gender, sexuality, and race. This is a fresh and thorough investigation of what it means to be human and our need for Christ’s redemption, written from a confessionally Reformed perspective in dialogue with the historical authorities of the church. We Believe is a series of eight studies on the primary doctrines of the Christian faith as confessed in the Nicene Creed and received in the Reformed tradition. The series title is drawn from the first words of the creed, which introduce what has become the classic confession of the Christian faith. Series volumes examine the biblical foundations of the church’s faith, trace its development (especially in the Reformed tradition), and apply its truths to the worship, life, and mission of the church today.

This volume offers insightful commentary on Ezra-Nehemiah and explores its significance for today’s readers. Respected Old Testament scholar Gary Edward Schnittjer explains that although the Ezra-Nehemiah narrative begins well, it ends in disappointment for the returning exiles. From the first verse to the last, this commentary takes seriously the faithfulness of Yahweh as it crashes into the unfaithfulness of God’s people. Schnittjer pays special attention to the biblical connections and narrative coherence of Ezra-Nehemiah, opening it up for study, teaching, and preaching. Ezra-Nehemiah is the second volume on the historical books in the BCOT series, following Joshua by John Goldingay. Series editors are David G. Firth (Trinity College, Bristol) and Lissa M. Wray Beal (Wycliffe College, University of Toronto).

During the Reformation, theologians wrote, colleagues annotated, scribes recorded, and printers toiled, bringing Protestant doctrine and practice to life and transforming European society. Demonstrating the benefit of integrating histories of culture and scholarship with historical theology, this book invites readers to view the Reformation and its writings with fresh eyes. Instead of focusing solely on the printing press as an agent of change, Reading the Reformation recalls the forgotten methods of writing, annotating, publishing, and preserving texts by key Protestant reformers, from Martin Luther to John Calvin, from Martin Bucer to the Westminster Assembly. Zachary Purvis covers a broad range of topics, meticulously illuminating the physical and mental labor behind the texts that fostered the Reformation. This book is an indispensable resource for students, scholars, history enthusiasts, and anyone interested in the transformative power of the written word during one of the most pivotal eras of European history.

For all that they include, the New Testament gospels represent only a small portion of Jesus’ entire public ministry. The Gospel of John even notes that Jesus performed many other signs, which, had they been recorded, would have filled the world. As amalgamations of the greatest things that Jesus ever said and did, the gospels are, in a sense, his “Greatest Hits.” In this first volume of a four-volume series on the gospels, the father-son team of noted biblical scholar Frederick Dale Bruner and award-winning theologian and pastor Michael Mears Bruner explore both the popular hits and the deep cuts found in the gospels. In addition, while recent scholarship has often lamented the division between not only biblical studies and theology but also the separation between biblical commentary and the wider culture, this father-son team seeks to overcome false dichotomies by bridging the gap between disciplines and bringing the gospels and culture (literature, art, music, and philosophy) into deep conversation. In the process, they demonstrate that the gospels were not meant to be theological tracts but were intended to be manuals for living. Jesus wasn’t simply telling his followers what to believe but showing his disciples how to live. Inspired by a life-long conversation between father and son and representing decades of serious scholarship, each volume is written in a single, accessible voice that offers a resource for both the classroom and the study, for both learning and living. Press play. Listen. Enjoy.

A new commentary for today’s world, The Story of God Bible Commentary explains and illuminates each passage of Scripture in light of the Bible’s grand story. The first commentary series to do so, SGBC offers a clear and compelling exposition of biblical texts, guiding everyday readers in how to creatively and faithfully live out the Bible in their own contexts. Its story-centric approach is ideal for pastors, students, Sunday school teachers, and laypeople alike.

For nearly a century, A.T. Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament has been a foundational and trusted resource in New Testament Greek scholarship. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the release of this esteemed classic, the original six-volume set has been thoughtfully refreshed and re-formatted as Word Pictures in the New Testament, 100th Anniversary Edition, 3-Volume Set. Each book of the New Testament includes chapter-by-chapter commentary by A.T. Robertson, a renowned expert on the Greek New Testament. Word Pictures in the New Testament, 100th Anniversary Edition, 3-Volume Set is great for display and the perfect addition to any library. This intentionally crafted set will help readers engage more deeply with the New Testament as Robertson’s trusted commentary and scholarly excellence have made it an invaluable resource for generations. Perfect for students, scholars, pastors, and more, the profound insights offered by Robertson will enhance understanding of the New Testament and assist readers on their journey into New Testament Greek studies.

Essential to a proper understanding of the Old Testament is a knowledge of the political, historical, and theological environment of the ancient Near East. While there is an abundance of material explaining this environment, primary source texts are often unavailable or inaccessible to beginning Old Testament students. Even as sources have become more widely available online, introductory-level students still struggle to know where to begin and to understand how these ancient texts contribute to an understanding of the Old Testament. This collection of primary source documents guides students through a wide variety of texts relevant to understanding the Old Testament. The second edition has been thoroughly updated with new readings and with new translations of many readings from the previous edition. Compiled with the beginning Old Testament student in mind, the selections are intended to move a learner from little or no knowledge of the ancient Near East to a basic understanding of its significant texts and authors. It is designed as a companion volume to Encountering the Old Testament by Bill T. Arnold and Bryan E. Beyer, but it can be used alongside any standard Old Testament introduction. It can also be used as the main textbook for a course on the literature and culture of the Old Testament world.