“What books are you reading in seminary?” This is a question I’ve been asked a lot over the past couple of years. As often as I’ve been asked this question, I thought it might be helpful to put together the entire list of books.
Couple caveats:
1. This list is required reading for MDiv students at Covenant Theological Seminary from fall, 2016 to spring, 2019 based on the classes I took. This list is not meant to curate all the books read at every seminary.
2. This list represents the Master of Divinity degree only.
3. Professors sometimes change the books they assign, which means one could do the same program I did and have, say, 10-15% different books required to read.
4. Most of these books were required. However, I’ve added some of the recommended books from professors if I thought they were worth mentioning.
[callout]Note: If you’d like to know which books were my favorites, see my post entitled: Top 20 Best Books I Read in Seminary.[/callout]
Categories:
1. Apologetics, Evangelism, and Missions
2. Applied Theology
3. Church History
4. Counseling
5. Covenant Theology
6. Greek
7. Hebrew
8. New Testament
9. Old Testament
10. Preaching
11. Systematic Theology
12. Miscellaneous
You can find the books below.
Seminary Books: A Complete Lists of Required Reading for my MDiv Studies
1. Apologetics, Evangelism, and Missions
Apologetics and the Christian Imagination: An Integrated Approach to Defending the Faith by Holly Ordway
A Wilderness of Mirrors: Trusting Again in a Cynical World
Chameleon Christianity
Evangelism in the Early Church
Evangelism: How the Whole Church Speaks of Jesus 
Fool’s Talk: Recovering the Art of Christian Persuasion
Many Colors: Cultural Intelligence for a Changing Church
Reasons of the Heart: Recovering Christian Persuasion
The Heart of Evangelism
The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia–and How It Died
Translating the Message: The Missionary Impact on Culture 
2. Applied Theology
[callout]“Applied” is a bit ambiguous. Essentially it just means classes that are more practical in nature and less academic.[/callout]
Children of the Living God
Christ-Centered Worship: Letting the Gospel Shape Our Practice
Christian Spirituality: Five Views of Sanctification
Gilead: A Novel
In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership
Kingdom Calling: Vocational Stewardship for the Common Good
Letters of Francis A. Schaeffer: Spiritual Reality in the Personal Christian Life
Resilient Ministry: What Pastors Told Us About Surviving and Thriving
The Imperfect Pastor: Discovering Joy in Our Limitations through a Daily Apprenticeship with Jesus
Transforming Grace: Living Confidently in God’s Unfailing Love
Union with Christ: Reframing Theology and Ministry for the Church
What Is Your Church’s Personality?: Discovering and Developing the Ministry Style of Your Church
With One Voice: Discovering Christ’s Song in Our Worship
3. Church History
A History of the Church in the Middle Ages
Church History, Volume One
Church History, Volume Two
How (Not) to Be Secular: Reading Charles Taylor
4. Counseling
Close Calls: What Adulterers Want You to Know About Protecting Your Marriage
Descriptions and Prescriptions: A Biblical Perspective on Psychiatric Diagnoses and Medications
Generation to Generation: Family Process in Church and Synagogue
Strategic Pastoral Counseling: A Short-Term Structured Model
Suffering and the Heart of God: How Trauma Destroys and Christ Restores
The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God
The Leader’s Journey: Accepting the Call to Personal and Congregational Transformation
What Am I Feeling?
When Life Goes Dark: Finding Hope in the Midst of Depression
5. Covenant Theology
Bible and Mission: Christian Witness in a Postmodern World
Far as the Curse Is Found: The Covenant Story of Redemption
Introducing Paul: The Man, His Mission and His Message
Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament 
Proper Confidence: Faith, Doubt, and Certainty in Christian Discipleship
Redemptive History and the New Testament Scriptures
The Mission of God’s People: A Biblical Theology of the Church’s Mission
Words of Life: Scripture as the Living and Active Word of God
6. Greek
A Handbook of New Testament Exegesis
A New Testament Greek Primer
The Complete Vocabulary Guide to the Greek New Testament
Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament
Novum Testamentum Graece: Nestle-Aland
The Concise Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament
[special]Related: How to Learn Biblical Greek Without a Seminary Degree [/special]
7. Hebrew
Beginning Biblical Hebrew
A Guide to Biblical Hebrew Syntax
Student’s Vocabulary for Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic
The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon – Coded with Strong’s Concordance Numbers
[special]Related: How to Learn Biblical Hebrew Without a Seminary Degree[/special]
8. New Testament
An Introduction to the New Testament
Acts (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (IVP Numbered))
John (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament)
Letters to the Church: A Survey of Hebrews and the General Epistles
Paul, Apostle of God’s Glory in Christ: A Pauline Theology
Readings from the First-Century World: Primary Sources for New Testament Study
The Heresy of Orthodoxy: How Contemporary Culture’s Fascination with Diversity Has Reshaped Our Understanding of Early Christianity by Andreas Kostenberger and Michael Kruger
The Theology of the Book of Revelation by Richard Bauckham
Theology of the New Testament: A Canonical and Synthetic Approach
Pastoral Epistles, Volume 46 (Word Biblical Commentary)
9. Old Testament
A Biblical History of Israel
An Introduction to the Old Testament Historical Books
An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophetic Books
Forgotten Songs: Reclaiming the Psalms for Christian Worship
From Paradise to the Promised Land: An Introduction to the Pentateuch
Is God a Moral Monster?: Making Sense of the Old Testament God
Leviticus: An Introduction and Commentary
Old Testament Ethics for the People of God
Proverbs (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries)
Psalms 1-72 (Kidner Classic Commentaries)
Psalms 73-150 (Kidner Classic Commentaries)
The God of Miracles: An Exegetical Examination of God’s Action in the World
The Interpretation of Prophecy
The Biblical Psalms in Christian Worship: A Brief Introduction and Guide to Resources
The Wisdom of Proverbs, Job & Ecclesiastes
10. Preaching
Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon
Preaching the Old Testament
How to Preach and Teach the Old Testament for All Its Worth
Preaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism
Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture: The Application of Biblical Theology to Expository Preaching
Preaching That Speaks to Women by Alice Mathews
Preaching to a Post-Everything World: Crafting Biblical Sermons That Connect with Our Culture
Preaching with Cultural Intelligence: Understanding the People Who Hear Our Sermons
Recapturing the Voice of God: Shaping Sermons Like Scripture
Recovering Eden: The Gospel According to Ecclesiastes by Zack Eswine
11. Systematic Theology
A Light to the Nations: The Missional Church and the Biblical Story
A New Heaven and a New Earth: Reclaiming Biblical Eschatology
By the Renewing of Your Minds: The Pastoral Function of Christian Doctrine
Christ, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper: Recovering the Sacraments for Evangelical Worship
Ecumenical Creeds and Reformed Confessions
Justification and the Gospel: Understanding the Contexts and Controversies
Living in God’s Two Kingdoms: A Biblical Vision for Christianity and Culture
On the Incarnation
Our Reasonable Faith
Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin
The Doctrine of God
The Doctrine of Humanity
The Doctrine of the Christian Life (A Theology of Lordship)
The Holy Spirit
The Freedom of a Christian
The Westminster Confession of Faith
Why I Am Not an Arminian
12. Miscellaneous
[callout]These are books from elective classes or books that do not fit neatly in the above categories. They are by no means academic books and are not representative of what seminary students typically read, although many of them are helpful nonetheless.[/callout]
Christian Reflections
From Weakness to Strength
God in the Dock
Knowing God
Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian in Community
Mere Christianity
Playing God: Redeeming the Gift of Power
Reflections on the Psalms
The Imperfect Disciple: Grace for People Who Can’t Get Their Act Together
The Nuts and Bolts of Church Planting: A Guide for Starting Any Kind of Church
The Weight of Glory
You may also like:
- 10 Christian Books to Look out for in 2019
- 10 Classic Christian Books That Are Ridiculously Cheap on Kindle
