What Pastor Blair Has Been Reading

(from July 2026 through September 2026)

Athanasius, On the Incarnation. Updatedworks.com: Columbia, SC, 2025. 

Athanasius was a major Christian figure of the Fourth century. He was one of the primary defenders of orthodox doctrine against Arianism, leading to the formation of the Nicene Creed. And his Festal Letter was the first to name all 27 books of the New Testament helping establish those volumes as canon. In addition, he just so happened to be the bishop of Alexandria, the intellectual hub of the Roman empire (see the review on Alexandria below). On the Incarnation is his most famous work. I read it in seminary, but I wanted to read it in this new modern translation along with CS Lewis’ essay that came with it. When I first read Athanasius, I was enthralled, mainly because I was aware of what he was fighting. But now, I was able to read it with more wisdom and experience in the Bible. I see a few flaws that I didn’t notice before. Athanasius' main argument for the incarnation is that it was necessary to reconcile sinful man to a Holy God. He is correct. But in making his case, he focuses more on Jesus being the ultimate example for how humanity was supposed to live when actually, the emphasis should be that Jesus came to do the will of the Father first and foremost. This is what made Jesus the perfect sacrifice on our behalf- his sinless actions; not just seeking to be an example to us. Athanasius also alludes that Jesus, in his humanity, was unaware of his purpose. I would disagree (see John 6:38). Using a more allegorical interpretation (common for his era), he cites several Old Testament verses as referring to Jesus that we would consider fanciful at best. He also believed that making the sign of the cross warded off demons. Despite its flaws, it is still a remarkable work for its time. I am grateful for his contribution. Any deficiencies can be attributed to the period in which he lived and the zeal with which he fought heresy.  However, I would point modern readers towards better contemporary works on the doctrine of the incarnation. 

Chester, Tim. Enjoying Jesus: Experience the Presence and Kindness of the Son of God in Everyday Life. The Good Book Company: n.p., 2024.

A few years ago, Tim Chester wrote the book, Enjoying God. I found it incredibly useful learning to practice the presence of God. So much so, I recently went through it again with a group of friends. Now Chester has focused exclusively on the person of Jesus. I admit the novelty of the first book wore off on this one. But I still found it helpful. Chester provides 14 chapters of ways to focus on enjoying Jesus in everyday life (even including an interesting chapter entitled ‘Enjoying the Anger of Jesus’. Like the previous volume, the strength of the book is the exercises he provides at the end of each chapter. If you feel your relationship with Jesus feels a little stale, I commend this work to you. 

Davis, Dale Ralph. 2 Samuel: Out of Every Adversity. Christian Focus: Fearn, 1999.

As I have been working through 1 & 2 Samuel, I always begin by working through a text devotionally before I study. I used both volumes of the Focus on the Bible Commentary this time around. I can appreciate Davis’s books as he takes the reader to the main point rather than getting bogged down with the details. He also writes in a winsome and entertaining way using lots of anecdotes. However, I wasn’t as impressed with these volumes on Samuel. While I do not regret reading them, I wasn’t as edified as I was from his previous writings. Some of the author’s illustrations just didn’t fit the occasion and came across as a story for story sake. And the author is guilty sometimes of seeing chiasms everywhere. This would not be my first choice if I were to do this again. 

Edwards, James R. The Gospel According to Mark: The Pillar New Testament Commentary. Eerdmans Publishing: Grand Rapids, 2002. 

Our team taught the gospel of Mark at the seminary in Southeast Asia. We found out the topic what we were teaching only two months before! We needed to find a solid commentary to work from and keep us unified. We could not have found a better one than this. I would be as bold as to say this is the best commentary I have read on Mark. He covers all the major themes and deals with the thorny issues (such as what to do with the last 12 verses of the book). This is not light reading, but it is well worth the effort. I might hesitate to agree with Edwards’ view that it was written specifically to a persecuted church, but I very much enjoyed and grew personally from this commentary. 

Helm, David R. How Can I Begin to Teach the Bible?. Crossway: Wheaton, 2024. 

This is another booklet from the 9Marks Question Series. I was delighted to see that it was written by David Helm , who is also the author of One-to-One Bible Reading. I have been promoting those books for years as a means for basic discipleship. In this volume, Helm provides more encouragement that you- Christian- can learn how to teach the Bible to others. Yes, there are those who are especially gifted to build up the church, but all Christians are qualified to make disciples ‘teaching them to observe all I have commanded.’ The book is divided into three sections - 1) sound principles, 2) good preparation and 3) presentation. In the first section he discusses the right convictions one needs regarding the Bible. I enjoyed his acronym of A.R.T. I won’t spoil it for you, but it is really good. The preparation section builds on the one-to-one methods he used in his previous book. I appreciated that as the subject is often lacking in such books is on teaching in small groups. The intention of the book is to be brief. I wish he could have gone a little longer on this last portion, but he still does a fabulous job. Pick up this little book and learn to teach others the Word!

Issa, Islam. Alexandria: the City that Changed the World. Pegasus Books: New York, 2024.

Histories of a single city have been on the rise in the last four decades, While focused on a single location, they are a great way to learn history. I have read several volumes on places like London, Bath, and Jakarta. Of course, Alexandria is a city rich in history. Islam Issa takes the reader from the foundation of the city once to known as Pharos to the modern-day Alexandria we know today. In between he covers the influence of Alexander the Great, the great library and light house, Cleopatra, Rome, along with the Jewish, Christian and Muslim periods. And he does so exceptionally well. I would especially recommend readers on the chapters of the first centuries through medieval sections especially. I would say when he gets to the Islamic period, he may have been too broad as I felt myself overwhelmed by numerous names and transitions of the city. Perhaps he felt his readers would be more familiar with these figures. But overall, he has compiled a fascinating history of a city that had a significant influence on our world. 

Mabry, Adam. The Art of Rest: Faith to Hit Pause in a World That Never Stops. The Good Book Company: n.p., 2018. 

I struggle with rest. I tend to feel exhausted all the time. Some of it is related to my struggles with sleep. But I also find myself anxious and filling my day with activity with few pauses throughout and eventually that leads me to burn out. I need to remind myself often of the need to rest.  Not just physical rest, but also spiritual rest. I find Mabry’s thesis to be true. We don’t really rest ‘because we don’t really grasp what rest is. We see it as rules, when in fact rest is art.’ In this case, by ‘art’ Mabry means knowing how to apply the concept of rest in our situations rather than trying to mandate some type of regulation. He spends the first five chapters explaining the theological concept of rest and then the last chapter on application. There is nothing here I didn’t know. But there were many truths that I still needed to remind myself and apply. Rest is relying upon God’s absolute sovereignty. Do I believe he is in control, guiding events as he said to the outcome he desires? If so, I should rest in that and not feel as though I need to control all the variables. This is the right balance of rest and responsibility. I would recommend this primer for those who desire rest. 

MacKay, John L. ESV Expository Commentary: 1 & 2 Samuel. Crossway: Wheaton, 2019. 

In preparation for our upcoming series in 1 & 2 Samuel, I chose this volume as my initial commentary. I have found the ESV Expository Commentary to be easy to use. It provides the material on an intermediate level (For those familiar, I used to use The Expositor’s Bible Commentary for this, but I have been gravitating more towards the ESV). I found Mackay’s work to be adequate. He demonstrates a familiarity with the secondary sources, and I find he puts forth reasonable answers to difficult passages, such as Saul’s consultation with the witch at Endor. I appreciate that he tries to match the Davidic psalms to the temporal situations of David’s life. He takes a conservative inerrantist approach while acknowledging possible transmission errors. Overall, he provides a useful and thorough exposition. Perhaps the one flaw is MacKay’s need to comment on every verse rather than a block of texts. Most of the time, he restates what the verse said which makes reading through commentary cumbersome and tedious. If this was removed, it would be a wonderful introduction to 1 & Samuel.  

Spurgeon, Charles (ed. Geoffrey Chang). Your Only Comfort: Devotions for Hope in Suffering. New Growth Press: Greensboro, 2025.

The only thing better than a good book, is a FREE good book! This title was passed out to those who attended the ACME conference this past spring. Geoffrey Chang is one of the board members. Chang has taken portions of Spurgeon’s sermons and reduced them to 30 four-page devotions. If you have never read Spurgeon, I would encourage you to read Morning By Morning first, but this is a great compliment to other devotionals by the great preacher. You will be inspired and your faith will be strengthened. I used it for encouragement during my most recent mission trip. The only drawback in this book is that Chang doesn’t cite where the readings are found. There were times I wanted more, and it would have been nice to know the precise sermon. But of course, you can look it up by scripture reference online in the Spurgeon archives. 

Tripp, Paul David. Reactivity: How the Gospel Transforms Our Actions and Reactions. Crossway: Wheaton, 2022. 

This book emerged from Tripp engaging with a small group of young pastors. They informed him about the criticism they received both from emails by anonymous church members and through social media. The environment on the internet has grown toxic. The problem is that such criticism and negativity is not coming from the ‘world,’ but also from the Christian community. It seems many have lost their way in reacting to other people. In this volume Tripp reminds followers of Jesus how they should respond and how they should view their opponents while still holding on to the convictions of the truth. We are commanded to speak the truth in love. Many have forgotten what ‘in love’ looks like according to the Bible. I found this book to be helpful in my own engagement through social media. It gave me pause to consider if I am safeguarding the gospel when I post or comment. While I commend this book, I fear that Tripp’s intended audience will never read his words. Sadly, too many Christians have become narcissistic and polarized in their views that meaningful gospel engagement is lost to them. 

Vos, Howard F. Mark: Bible Study Commentary. Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 1978.

The Zondervan’s Bible Study Commentary is a wonderful lay commentary. They are dated, but they still provide an excellent general overview of books of the Bible by keeping the main point in the main. I like to read them when I feel I might be getting over the heads of my students- which was especially important when I taught students through an interpreter in Southeast Asia. Vos was good precisely for this reason. He writes concisely. However, a main flaw of his commentary was his avoidance of dealing with controversial issues.  I found his comments on Mark 16:9-20 to be totally inadequate. And he didn’t come down on an eschatological position in Mark 13, though unsurprisingly (since he was Dallas Theological Seminary trained) he has a dispensational leaning throughout the text. Good for an overview- not good if you are seeking answers to the hard questions.