Recommended Reading List
Updated: 4 days ago
How to Use This Reading List
This reading list reflects the books that have most significantly influenced the teaching and study of Scripture at FCCF Ministries. It brings together works that have shaped our understanding of the Bible and informed our approach to theology, worship, and church life. Inclusion does not imply agreement with every conclusion of every author. Instead, each resource has earned a place because it has contributed to our pursuit of faithful biblical interpretation and a deeper understanding of the Christian faith. We hope these books will help readers engage Scripture with greater clarity, appreciate its historical setting, learn from the witness of the early church, and continue growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. As always, read every book with discernment and test it in light of Scripture.
Foundations for Biblical Study
Bird, Michael F. Seven Things I Wish Christians Knew About the Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2021.
Fee, Gordon D., and Douglas Stuart. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. 4th ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2014.
Goldsworthy, Graeme. According to Plan: The Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2002.
Spangler, Ann, and Lois Tverberg. Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewishness of Jesus Can Transform Your Faith. Rev. ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009.
Tverberg, Lois. Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus: How a Jewish Perspective Can Transform Your Understanding. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2018.
Wilson, Marvin R. Our Father Abraham: Jewish Roots of the Christian Faith. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989.
Wright, N. T. The New Testament and the People of God. Vol. 1 of Christian Origins and the Question of God. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992.
Biblical Interpretation
Blomberg, Craig L. Can We Still Believe the Bible? An Evangelical Engagement with Contemporary Questions. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2023.
Carson, D. A. Exegetical Fallacies. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1996.
Kaiser Jr., Walter C., and Moisés Silva. An Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics: The Search for Meaning. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007.
Keener, Craig S. Spirit Hermeneutics: Reading Scripture in Light of Pentecost. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2016.
Osborne, Grant R. The Hermeneutical Spiral: A Comprehensive Introduction to Biblical Interpretation. 2nd ed. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2006.
Thiselton, Anthony C. Hermeneutics: An Introduction. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009.
Wright, N. T. Scripture and the Authority of God: How to Read the Bible Today. Rev. and expanded ed. New York: HarperOne, 2013.
Historical and Cultural Context
Brisco, Thomas V. Holman Bible Atlas: A Complete Guide to the Expansive Geography of Biblical History. Rev. and updated ed. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2014.
Evans, Craig A. Jesus and the Remains of His Day: Studies in Jesus and the Evidence of Material Culture. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2015.
Ferguson, Everett. Backgrounds of Early Christianity. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003.
Keener, Craig S. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. 2nd ed. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2014.
Neyrey, Jerome H., and Eric C. Stewart. The Social World of the New Testament: Insights and Models. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2008.
Rasmussen, Carl G. Zondervan Atlas of the Bible. Rev. ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010.
Rosner, Jennifer M. Finding Messiah: A Journey Into the Jewishness of the Gospel. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2022.
Stern, David H. Jewish New Testament Commentary. Clarksville, MD: Jewish New Testament Publications, 1992.
Stern, David H. Restoring the Jewishness of the Gospel: A Message for Christians. Rev. ed. Clarksville, MD: Messianic Jewish Publishers, 2010.
Walton, John H. Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament: Introducing the Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2018.
Young, Brad H. Jesus the Jewish Theologian. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1995.
Second Temple Judaism
Bauckham, Richard. The Jewish World Around the New Testament: Collected Essays I. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008.
Cohen, Shaye J. D. From the Maccabees to the Mishnah. 3rd ed. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2014.
Collins, John J., and Daniel C. Harlow, eds. Early Judaism: A Comprehensive Overview. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012.
Evans, Craig A. Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2010.
Grabbe, Lester L. A History of the Jews and Judaism in the Second Temple Period. 4 vols. London: T&T Clark, 2004–2022.
Sanders, E. P. Judaism: Practice and Belief, 63 BCE–66 CE. London: SCM Press, 1992.
VanderKam, James C. Introducing Early Judaism: A Topical Approach. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001.
VanderKam, James C. The Dead Sea Scrolls Today. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010.
Vermes, Géza, trans. The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English. Rev. ed. London: Penguin, 2012.
Old Testament Studies
Alexander, T. Desmond. From Paradise to the Promised Land: An Introduction to the Pentateuch. 4th ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2022.
Goldingay, John. Old Testament Theology: Israel's Gospel. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2003.
Goldingay, John. Old Testament Theology: Israel's Faith. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2006.
Kaiser, Walter C., Jr. The Promise-Plan of God: A Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008.
Sailhamer, John H. The Pentateuch as Narrative: A Biblical-Theological Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992.
Walton, John H. Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament: Introducing the Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2018.
Walton, John H. The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2009.
Walton, John H., and Andrew E. Hill. Old Testament Today. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2019.
Wright, Christopher J. H. Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament. 3rd ed. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2014.
Wright, Christopher J. H. Old Testament Ethics for the People of God. Rev. ed. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2019.
New Testament Studies
Bauckham, Richard. Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2017.
deSilva, David A. An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods & Ministry Formation. 2nd ed. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2018.
Dunn, James D. G. Jesus Remembered. Vol. 1 of Christianity in the Making. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003.
Keener, Craig S. Christobiography: Memory, History, and the Reliability of the Gospels. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2019.
Strauss, Mark L. Four Portraits, One Jesus: A Survey of Jesus and the Gospels. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2020.
Wright, N. T. Jesus and the Victory of God. Vol. 2 of Christian Origins and the Question of God. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1996.
Wright, N. T. Paul and the Faithfulness of God. 2 vols. Vol. 4 of Christian Origins and the Question of God. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2013.
Wright, N. T. The Resurrection of the Son of God. Vol. 3 of Christian Origins and the Question of God. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2003.
Wright, N. T., and Michael F. Bird. The New Testament in Its World: An Introduction to the History, Literature, and Theology of the First Christians. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2019.
Biblical Languages
Bauer, Walter. A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3rd ed. Revised and edited by Frederick William Danker. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.
Black, David Alan. Learn to Read New Testament Greek. 3rd ed. Nashville: B&H Academic, 2009.
Brown, Francis, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs. The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996.
Jobes, Karen H., and Moisés Silva. Invitation to the Septuagint. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2015.
Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene A. Nida. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains. 2nd ed. 2 vols. New York: United Bible Societies, 1989.
Mounce, William D. Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar. 4th ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2019.
Pratico, Gary D., and Miles V. Van Pelt. Basics of Biblical Hebrew Grammar. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2019.
Silva, Moisés. Biblical Words and Their Meaning: An Introduction to Lexical Semantics. Rev. and expanded ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994.
Wallace, Daniel B. Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996.
Worship and Liturgy
Bradshaw, Paul F. Early Christian Worship: A Basic Introduction to Ideas and Practice. 2nd ed. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 2010.
Bradshaw, Paul F., Maxwell E. Johnson, and L. Edward Phillips. The Apostolic Tradition: A Commentary. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2002.
Dawn, Marva J. Reaching Out without Dumbing Down: A Theology of Worship for the Turn-of-the-Century Culture. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995.
Dix, Gregory. The Shape of the Liturgy. New ed. London: Continuum, 2005.
McGowan, Andrew B. Ancient Christian Worship: Early Church Practices in Social, Historical, and Theological Perspective. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2014.
Peterson, David G. Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 1992.
Schmemann, Alexander. For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy. Rev. ed. Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1973.
Stevenson, Kenneth. Worship in the Early Church: Patterns of Life from the First to the Seventh Centuries. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2010.
Tverberg, Lois. Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewish Words of Jesus Can Change Your Life. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012.
White, James F. Introduction to Christian Worship. 3rd ed. Nashville: Abingdon, 2000.
Biblical and Systematic Theology
Beale, G. K. A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011.
Bird, Michael F. The Gospel of the Lord: How the Early Church Wrote the Story of Jesus. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2014.
Gorman, Michael J. Apostle of the Crucified Lord: A Theological Introduction to Paul and His Letters. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2017.
Gorman, Michael J. Inhabiting the Cruciform God: Kenosis, Justification, and Theosis in Paul's Narrative Soteriology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009.
McCall, Thomas H., and Jason E. Vickers. Love Divine: A Wesleyan Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2026.
Oden, Thomas C. Classic Christianity: A Systematic Theology. 2nd ed. New York: HarperOne, 2009.
Soulen, R. Kendall. The God of Israel and Christian Theology. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1996.
Wright, Christopher J. H. The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible's Grand Narrative. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2006.
Wright, N. T. How God Became King: The Forgotten Story of the Gospels. New York: HarperOne, 2012.
Wright, N. T. Justification: God's Plan and Paul's Vision. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2009.
Wright, N. T. Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church. New York: HarperOne, 2008.
Wyschogrod, Michael. The Body of Faith: God in the People Israel. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2000.
Church History
Chadwick, Henry. The Early Church. Rev. ed. London: Penguin, 1993.
Ferguson, Everett. Church History: From Christ to the Pre-Reformation. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2013.
González, Justo L. The Story of Christianity. Rev. and updated ed. 2 vols. New York: HarperOne, 2010.
Hall, Christopher A. Learning Theology with the Church Fathers. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2002.
Juster, Daniel C. That They May Be One: A Brief Review of Church Restoration Movements and Their Connection to the Jewish People. Clarksville, MD: Messianic Jewish Publishers, 2009.
Kelly, J. N. D. Early Christian Doctrines. Rev. ed. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1978.
Oden, Thomas C. The Rebirth of Orthodoxy: Signs of New Life in Christianity. San Francisco: HarperOne, 2003.
Pelikan, Jaroslav. The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine. 5 vols. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1971–1989.
Shelley, Bruce L. Church History in Plain Language. 5th ed. Edited by Marshall Shelley. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2020.
Wilken, Robert Louis. The Spirit of Early Christian Thought: Seeking the Face of God. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2003.
Williams, D. H. Retrieving the Tradition and Renewing Evangelicalism: A Primer for Suspicious Protestants. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999.
Commentaries and Background Resources
Beale, G. K., and D. A. Carson, eds. Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007.
Evans, Craig A., and Stanley E. Porter, eds. Dictionary of New Testament Background. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2000.
Green, Joel B., ed. The Two Horizons New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005–present.
Keener, Craig S. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. 2nd ed. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2014.
Oden, Thomas C., gen. ed. Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. 29 vols. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 1998–2014.
Silva, Moisés, ed. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1992–present.
Walton, John H., ed. Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: Old Testament. 5 vols. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009.
Walton, John H., Victor H. Matthews, and Mark W. Chavalas. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament. 2nd ed. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2020.
Witherington, Ben, III, gen. ed. The New Cambridge Bible Commentary. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006–present.
Reference Works
Alexander, T. Desmond, and David W. Baker, eds. Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2003.
Arnold, Bill T., and H. G. M. Williamson, eds. Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2005.
Attridge, Harold W., ed. The NRSV HarperCollins Study Bible, Revised and Updated with Apocryphal and Deuterocanonical Books. San Francisco: HarperOne, 2006.
Dobson, Kent. NIV First-Century Study Bible: Explore Scripture in Its Jewish and Early Christian Context. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014.
Douglas, J. D., et al., eds. The New Bible Dictionary. 3rd ed. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1996.
Freedman, David Noel, ed. The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary. 6 vols. New York: Doubleday, 1992.
Green, Joel B., ed. Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. 2nd ed. The IVP Bible Dictionary Series. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2013.
Hawthorne, Gerald F., Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid, eds. Dictionary of Paul and His Letters. 2nd ed. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2023.
Kaiser, Walter C., Jr., and Duane Garrett, eds. NIV Archaeological Study Bible: An Illustrated Walk Through Biblical History and Culture. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006.
Keener, Craig S., and John H. Walton, eds. NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016.
Rubin, Barry, and David H. Stern, eds. The Complete Jewish Study Bible. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2016.
Wood, D. R. W., et al., eds. New Bible Atlas. 4th ed. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2006.
