Recommended Reading List

FCCF Ministries

How to Use this Reading List

This reading list reflects the books that have most influenced the teaching and study of Scripture at First Century Christian Fellowship. It is not intended to be exhaustive, nor does inclusion imply agreement with every conclusion of every author. Rather, these works have been selected because they encourage careful biblical study, historical awareness, and thoughtful theological reflection. We encourage every reader to examine all things in light of Scripture and to continue growing in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Foundations

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.

Keener, Craig S. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. 2nd ed. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2014.

Spangler, Ann, and Lois Tverberg. Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewishness of Jesus Can Transform Your Faith. Revised 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. Christian Origins and the Question of God 1. 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.

Duvall, J. Scott, and J. Daniel Hays. Grasping God's Word: A Hands-On Approach to Reading, Interpreting, and Applying the Bible. 4th ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2020.

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.

Plummer, Robert L. 40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible. Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic, 2010.

Stein, Robert H. A Basic Guide to Interpreting the Bible: Playing by the Rules. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011.

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. Revised and expanded ed. New York: HarperOne, 2013.

Historical and Cultural Background

Brisco, Thomas V. Holman Bible Atlas: A Complete Guide to the Expansive Geography of Biblical History. Rev. and updated ed. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2014.

Evans, Craig A. Jesus and His World: The Archaeological Evidence. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2012.

Ferguson, Everett. Backgrounds of Early Christianity. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003.

Gower, Ralph. The New Manners and Customs of Bible Times. Chicago: Moody, 1987.

Keener, Craig S. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. 2nd ed. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2014.

Magness, Jodi. The Archaeology of the Holy Land: From the Destruction of Solomon's Temple to the Muslim Conquest. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012.

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. Revised ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010.

Rosner, Jennifer M. Finding Messiah: A Journey Into the Jewishness of the Gospel. Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2022.

Soulen, R. Kendall. The God of Israel and Christian Theology. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1996.

Stern, David H. Restoring the Jewishness of the Gospel: A Message for Christians. Revised ed. Clarksville, MD: Messianic Jewish Publishers, 2010.

Tilling, Chris. Paul's Divine Christology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2015.

Tverberg, Lois. Listening to the Language of the Bible: Hearing It through Jesus' Ears. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2022.

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.

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.

deSilva, David A. Introducing the Apocrypha: Message, Context, and Significance. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2018.

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.

Tverberg, Lois. Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewish Words of Jesus Can Change Your Life. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012.

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, Geza, trans. The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English. Revised 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.

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. Revised ed. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2019.

New Testament Studies

Blomberg, Craig L. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels. 2nd ed. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2007.

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.

Dunn, James D. G. The Theology of Paul the Apostle. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998.

Keener, Craig S. The New Testament in Its World. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2019.

Levine, Amy-Jill. The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus. Revised and updated ed. San Francisco: HarperOne, 2006.

Strauss, Mark L. Four Portraits, One Jesus: A Survey of Jesus and the Gospels. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2020.

Witherington, Ben, III. New Testament History: A Narrative Account. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001.

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. The Challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering Who Jesus Was and Is. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1999.

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

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.

Danker, Frederick W., ed. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3rd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.

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.

Metzger, Bruce M., and Bart D. Ehrman. The Text of the New Testament: Its Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration. 4th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.

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. Revised 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.

Oden, Thomas C. Ancient Christian Worship. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2011.

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. Revised 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.

White, James F. Introduction to Christian Worship. 3rd ed. Nashville: Abingdon, 2000.

Theology

Gorman, Michael J. Inhabiting the Cruciform God: Kenosis, Justification, and Theosis in Paul's Narrative Soteriology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009.

Green, Joel B., and Mark D. Baker. Recovering the Scandal of the Cross: Atonement in New Testament and Contemporary Contexts. 2nd ed. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2011.

Marshall, I. Howard. Beyond the Bible: Moving from Scripture to Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004.

McCall, Thomas H., and Jason E. Vickers. Love Divine: A Wesleyan Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2026.

McKnight, Scot. The King Jesus Gospel: The Original Good News Revisited. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011.

Oden, Thomas C. Classic Christianity: A Systematic Theology. 2nd ed. New York: HarperOne, 2009.

Witherington, Ben, III. The Problem with Evangelical Theology: Testing the Exegetical Foundations of Calvinism, Dispensationalism, and Wesleyanism. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2005.

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.

Church History

Chadwick, Henry. The Early Church. Revised ed. London: Penguin, 1993.

Ferguson, Everett. Church History: From Christ to the Pre-Reformation. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2013.

González, Justo L. A History of Christian Thought. Revised ed. 3 vols. Nashville: Abingdon, 1987.

González, Justo L. The Story of Christianity. Revised and updated ed. 2 vols. New York: HarperOne, 2010.

Hall, Christopher A. Learning Theology with the Church Fathers. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2002.

MacCulloch, Diarmaid. A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years. New York: Penguin, 2011.

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.

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

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.

Osborne, Grant R., ed. Cornerstone Biblical Commentary. 18 vols. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2003–2009.

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: Cambridge University Press, 2006–present.

Reference Works

Arnold, Bill T., and H. G. M. Williamson, eds. Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2005.

Bromiley, Geoffrey W., ed. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Revised ed. 4 vols. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979–1988.

Danker, Frederick W., ed. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3rd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.

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.

Longman, Tremper, III, and Peter Enns, eds. Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2008.

Myers, Allen C., ed. The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987.

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.