Every new year, we enjoy sharing with you a few select books that we’ve read over the past year, hoping that you will find encouragement in the writings of other godly men and women that have encouraged us. 
Charles Spurgeon once preached a sermon on 2 Timothy 4:13, which says “When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments.”
 Of this, Spurgeon said:
“We do not know what the books were about, and we can only form some guess as to what the parchments were. Paul had a few books which were left, perhaps wrapped up in the cloak, and Timothy was to be careful to bring them. Even an apostle must read…

He is inspired, and yet he wants books!
He has been preaching at least for thirty years, and yet he wants books!
He had seen the Lord, and yet he wants books!
He had had a wider experience than most men, and yet he wants books!
He had been caught up into the third heaven, and had heard things which it was unlawful for a men to utter, yet he wants books!
He had written the major part of the New Testament, and yet he wants books!

You need to read. Renounce as much as you will all light literature, but study as much as possible sound theological works… 
We are quite persuaded that the very best way for you to be spending your leisure, is to be either reading or praying. You may get much instruction from books which afterwards you may use as a true weapon in your Lord and Master’s service.”
In light of Spurgeon’s exhortation, here are a few pastoral recommendations to help you kickstart your 2024 well. Perhaps they will encourage you in ‘your Lord and Master’s service’ as they have us. 
We also thought it helpful to make a few suggestions regarding bible reading plans and thoughts on personal prayer strategies.

Bible Reading Plans

McCheyne Bible Reading Plan: Takes you through the Bible once in a year, the Psalms twice.

Five Day Bible Reading Plan: Read the Bible semi-chronologically in a year, reading each day for 5 days, giving you Saturday and Sunday off, or any two days of your choosing. This plan also gives you two days to catch up and allows you to bring books into your reading diet.

Grant Horner’s Bible Reading Plan: This plan is not for the faint of heart! In this plan you will read ten chapters from 4 different books of the Bible each day, but it promises to be a great plan if you desire the intake of a lot of Scripture.

The Bible Recap: This is a bible reading plan that goes through the Bible chronologically. Each day you’ll read the scripture assigned to you, and then you’ll listen to a short 8-minute podcast that will highlight and summarize that day’s reading. You’ll not only read through the bible in a year, you’ll love doing it. Many of our ladies already are using this method. 

Cultivating Your Prayer Life

Apart from the daily habit of hearing God speak to us through His word, we also want to encourage you to speak back to Him in prayer. Below are some helpful tips to cultivate your prayer life.
  1. Utilize index cards. Take each card and make it a separate category to pray about. Very simple, and you can keep your index cards near the same place you read your bible. This plan is described in more detail here.
  2. Concentric circles. Closest relationships first, then extended family, friends, Grace City Church, co-workers, neighbors around you, the city of Wilmington, global missions, etc. This is one way to utilize your list—no need to pray about everything on the same day. Spread it out during the week.
  3. Use the Word of God. Pray the word of God over the people on your list. This will keep your prayers from being merely repetitive. Read the Word of God first. Meditate on it. Pray on it. Then pray what God shows you from the Word for the people that are appointed to be prayed for that day.

    A great resource to check out is Donald Whitney's Praying the Bible. We should have a few copies left at the church building.
  4. General and Specific Prayers. A general prayer may go something like, “Draw the city of Wilmington to Yourself, Lord...” and a specific prayer may be “Lord, please draw Tim to Yourself as I share about Jesus with him.” 
  5. Be quiet.  Be silent after reading scripture and think about how God wants to answer your prayers in light of what you’ve read.

Create a Book List for 2024

Aside from the daily habits of hearing God speak to us from His word and us talking back to Him in prayer, it’s also a healthy habit to think through where you are now and where you’d like to be spiritually. Reading good, theologically sound books is one way to cultivate personal discipleship. We recommend using this site for choosing good books to read. All ebooks and audiobooks are $2.99 through January 5th for Crossway+ Members! (Free to signup)  

One way to develop your reading list is to pray about where you feel God wants you to grow this coming year and then put a book list together. For instance, if this past year you really wanted to grow in evangelism or in cultural assessment, here is a suggested book list:
Or if perhaps you experienced marital difficulties, struggles at work or in parenting, you might choose a book that you can read together with your spouse or coworker. 

Sharing a book with others squeezes the most juice out of it, so consider asking someone within GCC if they’d like to read a book together, or gather regularly for coffee to share what you’re learning in the book you’ve been reading.

Children’s Books

As parents we are given the wonderful responsibility to shepherd our children’s hearts. Below are some great options we recommend.

Bibles:
Books:
Tons of great resources for children can be found at New Growth Press and Westminster Kids.

Time Management

We know that time management (how to prioritize and best use your time) is very difficult. We are so distracted. Below are three helpful resources that have benefitted your pastors.

Book Recommendations from the Pastors and their Wives

Sharon:   
Michelle:
Andrea: 
Jim:
Joshua:
Aaron: