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Dear Reader,
It’s easy to go through life without seeing the world around us. Especially in the busyness of the Christmas season, we race from work to home to shopping to church to parties. We can go days without marveling at the world God has made: a glorious winter sunset, the tranquility of an early snowy morning, the way the birds flutter around the backyard feeder.
“The heavens declare the glory of God,” but we’re often too busy checking our phones to see it (Ps. 19:1). Seth Lewis’s recent book, The Language of Rivers and Stars, reminds us of the goodness of God’s general revelation. So many of the metaphors and illustrations in the text of Scripture depend on understanding how creation works. We’re missing something when we ignore the world around us.
However, as Hadden Turner reminds us in his review, “Exposure to creation is easier than we often think.” We don’t have to climb to the top of a mountain, watch the sunset from a beach, or find a quiet grove in an old-growth forest to read general revelation. We simply have to pay attention to where we are.
Most importantly, though, as we admire the creation, we should give praise to the one who made it. The heavens are crying out in praise to God; the least we can do is join in.
Happy Reading!
Andrew Spencer
Associate Editor
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New from TGC
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Book Review
Hadden Turner
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“Evangelicals rightly prize Bible-believing and Bible-expounding churches. This is a blessing not to be taken for granted. Yet many of us ignore the messages God sends us every day through his creation. It’s time we changed that.” Read the review.
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Book Review
Jeremy Bell
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“Though sex robots may seem like a fringe topic to many Christians today, the technology is already available and is raising significant ethical concerns even as it grows in popularity. Just as Huxley warned that his concerns came true much faster than expected, so might the church end up behind in our ethical reasoning if we don’t tackle topics like this one early.” Read the review.
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Book Review
Amy Mantravadi
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Book Review
Seth Troutt
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Links for the Reading Life
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Andrew Spencer, “TGC Editorial Staff: Books We Enjoyed in 2025” (The Gospel Coalition)
“In the waning days of 2025, the editorial team at The Gospel Coalition want to share some of the favorite books we read this year. We’ve covered some of these books here at TGC with book reviews or podcasts. Some were included in our annual book awards. But we found many of them through recommendations from friends. We offer them as recommendations for you in the coming year.”
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Thomas Kidd, “My Top Books of 2025” (The Gospel Coalition)
“Most of the books I read this year were not published in 2025, but a few were. These books are separate from the hundreds of books and articles that I consulted for research, which is a somewhat different category of reading for me. Most of the books I read for pleasure or edification are history, theology, or current events. As you will gather from the list, my personal reading habits are pretty eclectic.”
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Ivan Mesa and Michael McEwen, “On My Shelf: Life and Books with Michael McEwan” (The Gospel Coalition)
“In my recent book, The Devil Reads Nietzsche, I try to invite the reader into a posture of hearing Nietzsche well. We know him as the atheist philosopher who advocated for the death of God, and we unfortunately stop there.
“Within the book, I’m dialoguing with six topics intimately familiar to Nietzsche and especially to us today: theology, identity, meaning/morality, truth, faith, and hope. I excavate Nietzsche’s take on these areas to illustrate the various ways he has undeniably influenced how we now imagine these categories in modern American stories, practices, and perspectives.”
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Tim Challies, “My Top Ten Books from 2025” (Challies)
“As another year draws to a close, I wanted to take some time to consider the books I read in 2025 and to assemble a list of my top picks. Apart from the first book, which I consider the best (defined as the most helpful to me and my life) I read this year, the rest are in no particular order. In each case I’ve included a brief excerpt from my review.”
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The Gospel Coalition
8520 Allison Pointe Boulevard, Suite 220, Indianapolis, IN, 46250
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