Throughout 2025, I read 15 books. That may not be an impressive number to some, but for me, it represents a year of intentional and diverse reading. Most of this reading happened in between spending time with my family, leading worship, editing podcasts, and trying to stay awake past 9:30 p.m.
If you already jumped to my Goodreads for some reason, you’ll notice that three of those books are children’s books. Some of you may wonder, “Do those count?”
Yes, they absolutely do.
This list is ranked in order, with my favorite at the top. There’s poetry, theology, Christian living, and the reminder to simply sit and enjoy a story. These were the books that most shaped my thoughts, habits, and love for God this year.
1. Goodnight, House and C is for Coffee by Haley Archer
Am I starting my list with children’s books? And two books in the #1 slot? And they are written by my wife? Yes, yes, and yes. This was a big year for my wife, and I’m so proud of the work she put into writing and illustrating these two books. When I look at them, I think of the countless hours she spent brainstorming, writing, illustrating, editing, reworking, and figuring out the entire process of self-publishing on Amazon. Haley has dreamt of writing a book for a while, and 2025 was the year. I couldn’t be more thrilled about it!
The first book, Goodnight, House, features a tired dad who is dedicated to serving his family late at night by cleaning, putting the kids BACK to bed, and much more. I personally love this one because the main character, the dad in the red shirt, is me! It’s a heartwarming book that champions hard-working dads.
C is for Coffee was Haley’s second book this year, and the coffee snob in me loved helping Haley come up with ideas for the book. If you’re a coffee lover or know someone who is, this is an amazing ABC book that kids and parents will both enjoy. I also loved testing out the recipes that she included in the back of the book, so now kids have their own “coffee” drinks to enjoy alongside mom and dad.
Who These Books Are For: Dedicated dads and coffee-loving parents of little ones
2. Raising Passionate Jesus Followers: The Power of Intentional Parenting by Phil and Diane Comer
At the beginning of this year, I was thinking I should try to read one parenting book every year. While perusing the shelves of Half Price Books, I stumbled upon this one by John Mark Comer’s parents. After a quick internet search, I saw people raving about this one, and my choice was made for me.
I love how this book is laid out. They break down periods into 5-6 year windows and give detailed goals and items to focus on for each season of your child’s growth and development. Each section ends with a summary and a checklist that helps you quickly refer back to the main points of the chapter. With parenting books, I find there to be so much advice and so many tools that it can feel overwhelming (especially trying to decide if it’ll work for your child). This has so much good content that it will just take discernment to know what to try and apply to your own parenting. Bonus: There’s even a section on parenting your adult children!
One thing I love is the short anecdotes scattered throughout the book. Phil and Diane look back through each stage of parenting and express the lessons they learned, humorous moments, and milestone moments they had. These are valuable, enjoyable, and make the reading pace feel quick.
Who This Book Is For: Parents at every stage who want ideas on how to disciple their kids
How This Book Shaped Me: I slowed down, put my distractions aside, and became more intentional with my kids (and I’m still working on this!)
3. Ephesians: An Introduction and Commentary (Volume 10) (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries) by Darrell L. Bock
I’ve got into a rhythm of reading a short commentary once a year while I read and scribble through my ESV Scripture Journals. The TNTC series from IVP Academic has become a go-to for this study method.
Bock’s commentary on Ephesians fits right in with the series, providing great expository verse-by-verse commentary, historical context, language notes, and the occasional discussion of theological conundrums. I find this series to be great for a variety of readers, from new Christians dipping their toes into commentaries to seasoned theologians.
Who This Book Is For: anyone wanting to dig into Ephesians
How This Book Shaped Me: A detailed study of Ephesians 1-3 caused me to really slow down and meditate on the spiritual riches we have in Christ
4. Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God by Tim Keller
After years of listening to sermons and interviews, and even reading excerpts from other books, I finally read through a Tim Keller book!
I ended up reading this book with my small group this semester, which meant reading one chapter per week, followed by an hour-long discussion. I’m thankful for the discussions and time to really digest the contents of this book.
After establishing the foundation for the book, Keller spends a lot of time looking back at popular figures of church history and the prayer practices they implemented. Then the book moves to a more practical section with an insane amount of steps you can put into practice. It would seriously take so long to go through all of them and try them out, but it would be worth it! The chapter on meditating on Scripture was so helpful for me, and that chapter alone is worth buying the book.
All of Keller’s information on prayer is constantly wrapped in the thought that prayer is always a conversation and response to Scripture, God’s written word to us.
Who This Book Is For: people wanting to grow their prayer life and habits
How This Book Shaped Me: Praying more consistently, responding to Scripture, and slowly down in my Bible reading
5. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
I didn’t read fiction for years. I still don’t read fiction very often, but that has slightly changed as of late. The Lord of the Rings has stood the test of time. The movies ushered in a new era of fans. I figured there had to be a reason people loved it. Also, since C.S. Lewis and Tolkien were friends, and I love Lewis, I thought it was time to give Tolkien a shot.
After reading The Hobbit last year, it was now time to jump into the trilogy. I must admit, the first half of the book was slow-moving, and it held a weak grip on my attention. But I kept telling myself, “There has to be a reason people love this.”
Once I got to the second half of the book and the chapter entitled “The Council of Elrond”, I was hooked. Tolkien’s world-building had completely gripped my attention; the tension was increasing, and I was on edge, eager to see what would happen to my friend Frodo.
I have an ever-growing stack of non-fiction books to read, but I’m eager to squeeze in The Two Towers in 2026.
Who This Book Is For: someone wanting to get lost in a fictional world (who also has a little extra doses of patience)
How This Book Shaped Me: It was honestly just plain fun to get lost in a fictional tale
6. My Heart Cries Out: Gospel Meditations for Everyday Life by Paul David Tripp
I’ve grown to love poetry over the last few years, and this book was a launching point. I have been slowly reading through this book over the course of nearly 3 years, mainly using it as a Sunday morning devotional as I get ready to lead worship.
I’ve always loved the honesty and transparency of Tripp’s writing, and it continues to shine through in these poems. Each poem is also paired with Scripture, extra Bible reading for you to look up, reflection questions, and beautiful photography. The gospel is always at the heart of each poem and reflection that Tripp writes.
Who This Book Is For: someone wanting to find biblical truth expressed through poetry, reflection, and paired with photography
How This Book Shaped Me: It caused me to look inward, wrestle with Scripture, and meditate on the gospel
7. The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life In God by Dallas Willard
I read so much John Mark Comer in the past two years that I figured it was time to just go directly to Willard (if you’ve read Practicing the Way, you know what I’m talking about).
Going into this, I was unaware that it would be a walk-through of the Sermon on the Mount, which ended up as a nice surprise. As I guessed, it felt like I was reading a slightly more academic and long-winded version of John Mark Comer, mainly due to similar language and approach to being an apprentice of Jesus. It’s a great book, but I found myself losing steam toward the end (that’s probably just a “me thing”).
One section that really stuck out to me was Willard’s approach to reworking the “what would Jesus do” question into “what would Jesus do if he were I”, which I wrote more about here. It was helpful for me to repackage the question and look at my roles as husband, father, and pastor.
Who This Book Is For: someone wanting to grow in their apprenticeship to Jesus
How This Book Shaped Me: It helped to reshape how I think about Jesus working through the “mundane” moments of everyday life (spoiler: they aren’t as mundane as you think)
8. God’s Big Picture Bible Storybook: 140 Connecting Bible Stories of God’s Faithful Promises by N.T. Wright
When Haley and I learned that N.T. Wright was coming out with a children’s Bible, we immediately got on Amazon to preorder. Thomas Nelson approached Wright about writing this Bible, knowing that as a grandparent, he was already telling Bible stories to his own grandchildren.
I love that this Bible helps kids see connections and themes throughout all of Scripture. It does this by placing linking passages with each story, which then opens up the Bible to be seen as a story unfolding, and not just isolated stories with a lesson. It truly does help the reader engage in the story of God and marvel at God’s promises to us. The illustrations and writing make this Bible a great one for older kids.
Who This Book Is For: Kids 6 years and up
How This Book Shaped Me: This was like reading N.T. Wright “lite” and I loved being reminded of God’s promise to bring renewal to all things
9. The Christian Atheist: Believing in God But Living As If He Doesn’t Exist by Craig Groeschel
This was another book that I read with my small group, and I highly recommend it for that setting. Each chapter hits on different topics – shame, prayer, happiness, discipleship, etc. Groeschel then digs into why a believer might be shying away or struggling with these specific things in their life.
Through the honesty of his own struggles, Groeschel does an excellent job of encouraging the believer to pursue Jesus with their whole life, especially in the pieces that seem to be struggling. Personally, I found myself convicted and encouraged by the chapter on worry.
Who This Book Is For: Someone wanting to bring things to the light and work on different parts of their walk with God
How This Book Shaped Me: I know I can be quick to worry, and this book pointed it out and moved me toward being quick to trust God
10. Divine Marriage from Eden to the End of Days: Communion with God as Nuptial Mystery in the Story of Salvation by André Villeneuve
This book came to me as I was researching for a potential book idea I’ve had for a couple of years now (don’t get too excited, I’ve hardly spent time hashing it out). But the imagery of marriage between Jesus and the Church has really had a grip on me lately, so this book was very fun for me.
Villeneuve spends the first part of the book looking back at ancient Jewish literature and investigating how they saw the nuptial imagery throughout the Bible. It blew me away. Even in Genesis 1, nuptial imagery was being woven into Scripture, but that imagery is lost on our 21st-century Western minds.
The second half of the book goes through New Testament Scriptures that hold nuptial imagery. Some of this was obvious to me, while other passages held a more nuanced and detailed message of the nuptial theme.
This book opened my eyes to look closer for nuptial imagery throughout Scripture and will likely be a close companion if I ever get around to writing that book.
Who This Book Is For: Someone wanting a very in-depth study on nuptial imagery in the Bible
How This Book Shaped Me: It caused me to read Scripture with a fresh lens and quickly see God’s love for humanity
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by Craig Archer
Craig is a worship pastor at Wallula Christian Church and the creator of Active Theology. He loves coffee dates with his wife, reading, and riding his bike. A few of his favorite things are third wave coffee, vanilla ice cream, and plain t-shirts.
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