The most recommended books about Jesus

People have called Henri Nouwen many things: a priest, an author, a spiritual guide, a natural mystic. His books have sold millions of copies and continue to resonate deeply with people from all walks of life. In 2000, when asked to share the book that had most influenced her life, Hillary Clinton chose Nouwen’s The Return of the Prodigal Son. The following sentence, in particular, she said in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, hit her “like a lightning bolt”: "The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a "gift to be celebrated with joy." 

“I had never thought of gratitude as a habit or discipline before,” she explained, “and I discovered that it was immensely helpful to do so.” I first discovered Henri when I was eighteen years old and gifted with… show more.

I know how it feels to believe you don’t belong, to see the world differently than most, and to stand out when you want more than anything to fit in.

Nova Hawthorne, the primary protagonist, embodies this misguided belief about herself, too. But Nova has to set aside her fears when she learns that magic is real and the people she loves most and the whole world are in danger.

Through Nova’s story, readers are shown that no one must prove themselves worthy of love, we’ve all already been redeemed, and we are loved just as we are. Not only are there wonderful, poignant lessons beautifully woven into this young adult portal fantasy narrative, but there is disabled and neurodivergent representation as well!  

We believe that at the heart of Christian theology is the truth that God has chosen to reveal himself definitively in Jesus Christ. This is how we know what God is like!

We don’t just love our enemies as an abstract ethic that we hope will work. In looking at Jesus, we now know that this is also what God is like. This book is a beautiful introduction to the theological truth that Jesus really is the image and nature of God. 

Sometimes you need a good read to curl up with on a rainy day, one that’s a bit melancholic yet romantic at the same time. I know I do, and The Lost Melody checked both those boxes. My heart ached for heroine Vivienne Mourdant, for have we not all struggled with reality now and then? And who wouldn’t if trapped within an insane asylum? This one kept me guessing until the very end as to how poor Vivienne would ever escape in one piece. 

Definitely more Jane Eyre than Jane Austen.

What I like about this book is that it is one of the few historical past-life books that weaves together the past-life memories of eight people that corroborate each others accounts. In their current life none knew each other, had no previous knowledge of each other’s accounts beforehand and lived in different parts of the world. 

What unfolds is a tale of family, friends, empowerment, survival, spirituality, connection, sacrifice, and at the core love. It is about what happened before, during, and after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. And that past life accounts differs, sometimes drastically from the fundamental beliefs of Christianity as we know it, they are supported by the latest biblical research.

I love Max, he always makes me laugh because he is so naughty and mischievous. He is utterly unafraid of going against the grain of social propriety, or admitting to his own selfish motives, jealousies, and contrariety. He has a wonderfully conversational style that engages the reader without pandering. (I should also admit that I wrote the introduction to this collection).

This heart-warming tale is a true Christmas classic. A lonely old shoemaker dreams that Jesus will come and visit him, so he eagerly anticipates the event, hoping to make him a special pair of shoes. Instead, his heart is tugged by others in need, and he helps three different people, from a street sweeper to a beggar. Finally, he gives up waiting for Christ to visit and realizes it was only a dream. But then he hears the voice of Jesus and learns that Jesus came to him in every person he helped that day.

“I wish I was any animal but a giraffe,” said Raffi. Disappointment melts through this little(or not so little) guy like butter in the sun. When children set up hope for something and it doesn’t work out, they are devastated. Raffi realizes that while he is not suited for some things, he is just the right answer for another. Where there is a will there is a way.

As a long-time fan of Eugene Peterson, I intentionally sought out his book. I was attracted by the title, the praying imagination. I came hungry to Revelation for more understanding and he masterfully sets the table with a feast of Jesus’ last words each one to be continually savored and enjoyed. It’s as if I am ushered into the heart of Revelation to linger and pray and sing and reflect on the wonder and grace of the crucified and risen Lamb. And among all these riches, I found additional confirmation for my own dramatic interpretation of Revelation! 

Imagine you and a band of others begin living out what Steve Addison describes, and as a result, more people you’re talking to embrace Jesus and start following his way with you. Your group has changed; now what do you do?

Neil Cole is a leading practitioner of a model known variously as “organic,” “simple,” or “house church”—networked groups with scant formal organization meeting in homes and public spaces. In Church 3.0, Cole argues for and describes the practicalities of this church style. Although in our book Future Church Will Mancini and I contend that there is still a valid and valuable role for the institutional church today, Cole’s work stimulates important thinking about how to evolve it to make disciples where people actually live, work, and play.