Book Reviews, Reading, Recommendations
John Beeson
My Favorite Books I Read in 2025

In the age of social media, it’s easy to fill our days with words. But how many of them are lasting? How many will challenge and sharpen us? An intelligent author has the ability to make us not just cleverer, but wiser.

 

I am on track to read around 115 books this year (I’ve read 105 as I pen this). Here are some of my favorite books of 2025. I hope you try some of them out in 2026! What were your favorite books you read this year?

My Favorite Books I Read in 2025
Recommendations, Education, Church, Identity
John Beeson
This Week's Recommendations

  1. Three ways attending church could extend your life: Rebecca McLaughlin says, “What you almost certainly won’t hear is that weekly church attendance is one of the very best things you can do for both your body and your mind. But that’s what researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health have found. In fact, they have discovered that going to church can add multiple years to your life.”

  2. K-12 workers have highest burnout rate in US: Stephanie Marken and Sangeeta Agrawal report, “More than four in 10 K-12 workers in the U.S. (44%) say they "always" or "very often" feel burned out…

This Week's Recommendations
Identity, Recommendations, Sexuality
John Beeson
Resources for a Sexually Confused Time

How does a Christian make sense of a world where our understanding of sexuality and gender has turned into quicksand underneath our feet?

Here are four books I commend to you to help you engage some of the hardest questions relating to sexuality and gender.

Resources for a Sexually Confused Time
Gratitude
John Beeson
Injustice: The Gratitude Snatcher

I pray you had a blessed Thanksgiving. I hope your heart entered into this past week with a spirit of gratitude and that your time with friends, family, and God only heightened that gratitude.

No one wants to walk in ingratitude, and yet gratitude can be so quickly snatched from us.

What destroys thanksgiving? There are many threats: envy, pride, and selfishness. But one sneaky snatcher of gratitude is injustice. When the earth quakes with injustice, its tremors rattle our hearts and our trust.

 When we experience injustice, questions swirl: Why would God allow that wrong to happen? How could He let this grievance happen to me? Won’t the wrongdoer be punished? Won’t the victim receive restitution?

Injustice: The Gratitude Snatcher
Recommendations, Gratitude, Leadership, Nature
John Beeson
This Week's Recommendations

  1. How to practice gratitude (even when you don’t feel it): O. Alan Noble says, “We like to think of gratitude as an overflowing feeling directed at others—an outpouring of love and warmth. But sometimes warmth doesn’t come. Even still, another’s kindness deserves our gratitude. What are we to do when we don’t feel grateful but know we ought to be?”

  2. Fight burnout with thanksgiving: Ajith Fernando writes this to pastors, but it’s applicable to everyone. “I have come to notice that the most joyful people in my life and ministry are also the most thankful, and joyous people experience freshness as they go about their service. God’s grace is a means of freshness over the long haul.”

This Week's Recommendations

Identity

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. Three ways attending church could extend your life: Rebecca McLaughlin says, “What you almost certainly won’t hear is that weekly church attendance is one of the very best things you can do for both your body and your mind. But that’s what researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health have found. In fact, they have discovered that going to church can add multiple years to your life.”

  2. K-12 workers have highest burnout rate in US: Stephanie Marken and Sangeeta Agrawal report, “More than four in 10 K-12 workers in the U.S. (44%) say they "always" or "very often" feel burned out…

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Resources for a Sexually Confused Time

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Resources for a Sexually Confused Time

How does a Christian make sense of a world where our understanding of sexuality and gender has turned into quicksand underneath our feet?

Here are four books I commend to you to help you engage some of the hardest questions relating to sexuality and gender.

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The Worst Hall of Fame Ever!

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The Worst Hall of Fame Ever!

Just recently my sister was inducted into the Stanford Hall of Fame. Sarah is a phenomenal athlete who was a stand-out high school athlete in swimming and softball. She went on to play softball for Stanford University where she batted .350 with 28 home runs over her career and was a three-time All American, eventually playing on the US Women’s National Team.

You might be familiar with some of the other members of Stanford’s Hall of Fame: Tiger Woods and John Elway are two of the other inductees. Sarah My is also a member of the Pima County Sports Hall of Fame alongside Tucson greats like Steve Kerr, Lute Olsen, and Sean Elliott.

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. I’ve studied over 200 kids—here are six magic phrases that make kids listen to their parents: Good things to tell people, not just your kids. Reem Raouda says, “Parents are constantly searching for ways to get their kids to listen. But a lot of us focus too much on trying to get them to obey in the moment, rather than building genuine long-term cooperation.”

  2. Seven lies about our love lives: Eric Geiger shares, “’It’s just between us’: The world, especially in the West, paints relationships as just between the two people.

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Escape

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Escape

“What’s the thread between your addiction and your longings for your future?”

“Escape,” he responded.

Given his story, escape made perfect sense. How else could he cope with the overwhelming weight of life? When pain comes—as it inevitably does—we are tempted to seek escape. We often avoid hard conversations in hopes of escaping conflicts and let downs. In an attempt to numb the hurt, it’s easy to scroll, eat a bowl of ice cream, buy something on Amazon, or watch porn.

The global market for pain management drugs is substantial and rising. In 2023, the market was valued at $80.1 billion or $84.07 billion.

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Shame and Single Serve Vodka Bottles

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Shame and Single Serve Vodka Bottles

What is the most frequent item I pick up during my prayer walks around our campus?
Mini vodka bottles.

They’re everywhere — three billion of them are sold annually in the U.S. I’ll find them tossed onto the roadside, likely flung from moving cars. But more often, I find them in quiet clusters, tucked into corners of our church parking lot. Every bottle tells a story. Every bottle raises questions.

Why is the most common brand I find unflavored vodka?

Why would someone throw a mini bottle out of a moving vehicle?

Why pull into a church parking lot…just to drink?

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Does Systemic Sin Exist?

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Does Systemic Sin Exist?

Is America racist? I’m aware that the question itself likely creates a strong emotional reaction in you. But, if we set aside our temptation to make that question a political question and take our cues from scripture instead of political pundits, there is much we can learn from the question. Before we can answer the question, we have to ask an underlying question: does systemic sin exist?

In other words, is sin just an individual problem or are there elements of sin that are corporate in nature? Does the way a country organizes its government, for instance, have sin imbedded in its design?

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Who are You?

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Who are You?

Do you want to know God better? Know yourself better. You, after all, were made in his image. Do you want to know yourself better? Know God better.

My wife Angel and I wrote Trading Faces: Removing the Masks that Hide Your God-Given Identity in order to combat the lies we are tempted to believe about who we are and press into God’s Word to hear his truth.

Many have asked when the audiobook will release. We are delighted to share that the Trading Faces audiobook is now available!

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This Week's Recommendations

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This Week's Recommendations

  1. Three truths your daughter needs to hear about beauty: Kristen Wetherell begins, “The first comment we make to other women is usually about their looks.”

  2. Why did God command Abraham to sacrifice Isaac: Abraham Kuruvilla answers that question movingly in this video.

  3. How to know if your church is life-giving: Dustin DeJong begins, “I’ve worked at five different churches over the past few decades. They’ve ranged from small and scrappy to mega-sized and polished.

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Dads, First You Are a Son

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Dads, First You Are a Son

I’m a husband, a father, a pastor, a son, a brother, and a friend. If we lived in a world where an omniscient teacher handed out grades for our performance, I’m pretty sure I would get my highest marks as a dad. I love being a dad.

It’s supposed to be that way. God has granted us a gift in allowing us to take on the role of being a father. There is only one true Father. God graciously allows us to reflect his fatherly relationship with us to our children. What a weighty responsibility!

For some of you, that burden brings you shame this week. Father’s Day reminds you of the ways you have neglected your kids.

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