Books and Misc. Recommendations for August 2026

  • The Puritan Treasures for Today series by Reformation Heritage. My wife has several in the series, and I picked one up after hearing the series editor explain why they lightly edited and rereleased them. The reason they lightly edited and rereleased them is because they want the truth of the series to get out and be accessible to a wider audience. I was curious and ended up loved Triumphing Over Sinful Fear by John Flavel. I plan to start another one in the series soon. A lot of people would be helped by that short book (I'm always looking for short, helpful books to recommend and giveaway). It is short and clear enough that I can recommend it widely.
  • Aeropress for coffee. I just bought my third Aeropress in around 15-17 years. I have several other methods of brewing coffee but nothing is as forgiving and versatile as the Aeropress. I can make a good cup of black coffee for the morning and a good iced coffee in the afternoon. I have several gadgets that make the Aeropress even more versatile, but you don't have to have the carafe, metal screen, or flow control valve. The reason I bought my third is because I tend to use it 2x a day and after 7 years the seal breaks down and starts slipping. Buying a $35 coffee press once every 7 years is a pretty good investment.
  • Keep Bible lists. I saw a headline suggesting people keep bible lists; I didn't watch the video, so I put my own twist on the suggestion. I have really enjoyed it. I use a pocket notebook that I had lying around and keep it with my normal list-keeping notebook. I preached an evening series of sermons on every book of the Old Testament. In each sermon, I explained how that book pointed to Christ. I gathered all of those into a list of how each book of the OT points to Jesus. I have a list where I write down every instance of robes in the Bible because I want to see the theme of robe (robe of righteousness, etc.). I have a list of chapter summaries as I read through Ezekiel because I don't know that book very well, and I want to see at a glance how the book develops. I also started a list of the dates of each of the NT letters. I want to see the chronology for myself. Many of these could be made by Logos really fast, but I want to learn them for myself. Seeing a list doesn't help me in the same way as making the list does. 
  • Read 90's pastor books. I really enjoyed Erwin Lutzer's Pastor to Pastor. It is good to get a perspective on the challenges of pastoring from a pastor who didn't blow up his ministry, and who pastored in a different time that is still not far removed from our current time. 

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