Resource Type: Puritans

Classic Puritan works and accessible guides that open up Puritan theology and spirituality for today’s readers.

Facing Grief (8.2)

Mid-levelBusy pastorsStrong recommendation
Author: John Flavel
Series: Puritan Paperbacks
Publisher: Banner of Truth
Theological Perspective: Reformed
Resource Type: Puritans

Summary

We read this as pastoral help for believers who are learning, often painfully, how to suffer as Christians.

John Flavel speaks with spiritual realism, and he labours to bring the heart under God’s wise providence without turning grief into a moral performance.

Why Should We Read This Resource?

We are helped because Flavel does not deny the weight of loss. He acknowledges sorrow, tears, and the confusion that can follow, and he still insists that the Lord is good and purposeful.

We also gain a Scripture led way of thinking about providence. Flavel aims to steady the mind and quiet the heart by bringing God’s character, promises, and fatherly rule into view.

For pastors, this can assist the tone of our ministry. We are reminded that comfort is not rushed, and that counsel should be both tender and truthful, helping people to grieve honestly and to hope steadily.

Closing Recommendation

We recommend this as a thoughtful companion for grief, especially for pastoral use and personal strengthening.

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Glorious Freedom (8.2)

Mid-levelBusy pastorsStrong recommendation
Author: Richard Sibbes
Series: Puritan Paperbacks
Publisher: Banner of Truth
Theological Perspective: Reformed
Resource Type: Puritans

Summary

We find here a careful, pastorally sensitive work that aims to lead believers into the freedom of a well grounded conscience.

Richard Sibbes writes as one who understands bruised hearts, and he keeps pressing us toward Christ as the source of comfort and strength for holy living.

Why Should We Read This Resource?

We are helped because Sibbes refuses both harshness and softness. He does not excuse sin, yet he will not treat weak believers as if they were enemies. He aims to restore, steady, and strengthen.

We also gain clarity on the difference between true gospel liberty and careless looseness. Sibbes helps us see that freedom is not the absence of obedience, but the presence of grace, a conscience set at rest in Christ, and a heart made willing to follow.

For pastors, this can shape our tone. We are reminded to preach with truth and tenderness together, and to apply Scripture in a way that builds up rather than bruises.

Closing Recommendation

We recommend this as a wise and warming guide for cultivating gospel shaped freedom with reverent seriousness.

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The Glory Of Christ (8.4)

Mid-levelBusy pastorsStrong recommendation
Author: John Owen
Series: Puritan Paperbacks
Publisher: Banner of Truth
Theological Perspective: Reformed
Resource Type: Puritans

Summary

We come to this work for one main reason, it teaches us to look at Christ, and to keep looking.

John Owen writes with gravity and reverence, aiming to lift our hearts above distraction and into the steady delight of the Saviour’s person and work.

Why Should We Read This Resource?

We are helped because Owen refuses shallow comfort. He argues that true spiritual strength grows as we behold the glory of Christ by faith, through the Word. The aim is not religious feeling, but settled worship, obedience, and endurance.

We also benefit from doctrinal clarity. Owen’s Christology is careful and church shaped, and he keeps the reader close to Scripture’s own claims about the Son.

For pastors, the book can deepen our preaching and our priorities. We are reminded that lasting change in a congregation is not produced by pressure, but by clear proclamation of Christ that stirs faith and love.

Closing Recommendation

We strongly recommend this as a weighty, Christ exalting read that repays careful attention.

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Letters Of Samuel Rutherford (8.4)

Mid-levelBusy pastorsStrong recommendation
Author: Samuel Rutherford
Series: Puritan Paperbacks
Publisher: Banner of Truth
Theological Perspective: Reformed
Resource Type: Puritans

Summary

We read these letters as pastoral ministry under pressure, written to real people in real trouble.

Samuel Rutherford speaks with a rare blend of doctrinal confidence and Christward affection, and he repeatedly teaches us to interpret hardship through the Lord’s faithful kindness.

Why Should We Read This Resource?

We are helped because the letters make the gospel feel near. They do not deny pain, yet they refuse to let pain have the last word. Rutherford keeps drawing us back to Christ as sufficient, present, and worthy of trust.

We also learn the shape of steady pastoral counsel. Even when he writes warmly, he does not float away from Scripture. We are urged toward prayer, repentance, and patient obedience, with the promises of God placed under our feet.

For preaching and pastoral work, we gain language for hope that does not sound thin. We will want discernment with expression and tone, but the spiritual profit is hard to deny.

Closing Recommendation

We strongly recommend these letters for pastors and believers who need courage, comfort, and a bigger view of Christ.

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The Great Gain Of Godliness (8.1)

Mid-levelBusy pastorsStrong recommendation
Author: Thomas Watson
Series: Puritan Paperbacks
Publisher: Banner of Truth
Theological Perspective: Reformed
Resource Type: Puritans

Summary

We find Watson writing with spiritual sharpness, showing that godliness is not a cosmetic extra, but the true gain of a life lived before God.

He is direct, searching, and full of practical wisdom for ordinary Christian obedience.

Why Should We Read This Resource?

We are helped because Watson gives us a clear picture of what godliness looks like, and why it matters. He presses beyond outward respectability to the heart, the affections, and the fear of the Lord.

We also benefit from the way doctrine and practice are kept together. Watson calls us to holy living, but he does so in a way that keeps grace and gratitude in view, not mere self improvement.

For pastors, this can strengthen preaching toward growth in holiness. We are given language that is plain and pointed, and application that aims at genuine change in the church.

Closing Recommendation

We commend this as a strong, sanctifying read for those who want clear, Scripture shaped pursuit of godliness.

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The Heart Of Christ (8.3)

Mid-levelBusy pastorsStrong recommendation
Author: Thomas Goodwin
Series: Puritan Paperbacks
Publisher: Banner of Truth
Theological Perspective: Reformed
Resource Type: Puritans

Summary

We read this as a focused meditation on Christ’s disposition toward His people, especially when they feel weak, sinful, and weary.

Goodwin’s aim is not sentiment. He wants us to know Christ truly, and to draw near with confidence and repentance.

Why Should We Read This Resource?

We are helped by the way Goodwin holds together holiness and tenderness. He does not minimise sin, yet he keeps pressing us to see that Christ’s mercy is not reluctant.

We also benefit from his careful reasoning. The book repeatedly asks us to consider what Scripture teaches about Christ’s priestly heart, and how that changes our prayer, our assurance, and our endurance.

For pastors, this is useful for counselling, and for preaching that aims at both conviction and comfort. We are given help in speaking to those who assume Christ must surely be tired of them.

Closing Recommendation

We strongly commend this as a rich and tender guide for cultivating confident, humble communion with Christ.

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Heaven On Earth (8.2)

Mid-levelBusy pastorsStrong recommendation
Author: Thomas Brooks
Series: Puritan Paperbacks
Publisher: Banner of Truth
Theological Perspective: Reformed
Resource Type: Puritans

Summary

We find Brooks speaking directly to a problem many believers carry quietly, the ache of assurance, and the fear of being cast off.

He writes to help us see how God gives comfort through Christ, and how settled assurance strengthens holiness rather than weakening it.

Why Should We Read This Resource?

We are helped by Brooks’s pastoral instinct. He understands the arguments of the heart, and he answers them with Scripture, with wise questions, and with gospel clarity.

We also benefit from the way assurance is handled as a spiritual issue, not a psychological trick. Brooks presses us toward repentance, watchfulness, and ordinary means of grace, while repeatedly directing us to Christ.

For pastors, this is a deep storehouse for caring for anxious believers. We gain language for gentle reassurance, and also for confronting self deception where it is needed.

Closing Recommendation

We strongly recommend this for anyone doing the slow work of helping believers grow in assurance and joyful obedience.

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The Holy Spirit (8.2)

Mid-levelBusy pastorsStrong recommendation
Author: John Owen
Series: Puritan Paperbacks
Publisher: Banner of Truth
Theological Perspective: Reformed
Resource Type: Puritans

Summary

We meet Owen here as a theologian who wants the church to know the Spirit rightly, not as a vague influence, but as the divine Person who applies Christ to us.

The work carries doctrinal weight, yet it aims at worship, assurance, and holy living.

Why Should We Read This Resource?

We are helped because Owen brings clarity to the Spirit’s work in conversion, sanctification, and perseverance. He presses us to see that Christian life is not self powered morality, but Spirit worked communion with God.

We also gain steadiness in an area where confusion is common. Owen guards us from both neglect and excess, leading us to honour the Spirit in a way that magnifies Christ.

For pastors, this strengthens preaching and teaching on the Christian life. We are given a framework for speaking about assurance, holiness, and spiritual growth with doctrinal accuracy and pastoral sensitivity.

Closing Recommendation

We recommend this as a serious, strengthening read for those who want a richer, clearer grasp of the Spirit’s work.

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Indwelling Sin In Believers (8.3)

Mid-levelBusy pastorsStrong recommendation
Author: John Owen
Series: Puritan Paperbacks
Publisher: Banner of Truth
Theological Perspective: Reformed
Resource Type: Puritans

Summary

We come to Owen expecting seriousness, and we find it. He teaches us to face remaining sin with honesty, vigilance, and dependence on Christ.

This is not light reading, but it is deeply strengthening for those who want to grow in holiness without self deception.

Why Should We Read This Resource?

We are helped because Owen refuses to treat sin as a minor inconvenience. He shows how indwelling sin works, how it entangles affections and habits, and how it resists the life of faith.

We also learn how to fight without sliding into either despair or self righteousness. Owen presses us to take sin seriously, while keeping the believer’s hope anchored in Christ and the Spirit’s work.

For pastors, this gives weight to preaching and counselling. We gain categories for shepherding those who are weary of their own failures, and those who have learned to make peace with sin.

Closing Recommendation

We strongly recommend this to pastors and serious readers who want a deeper, more honest pursuit of holiness.

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The Jerusalem Sinner Saved (8.5)

Mid-levelBusy pastorsTop choice
Author: John Bunyan
Series: Puritan Paperbacks
Publisher: Banner of Truth
Theological Perspective: Reformed
Resource Type: Puritans

Summary

We read Bunyan here as an evangelist of the heart. He sets before us the wideness of Christ’s mercy, and he speaks directly to those who feel beyond hope.

The book is urgent, compassionate, and unwavering in its insistence that Christ receives the guilty who come to Him.

Why Should We Read This Resource?

We are helped because Bunyan understands how sin, shame, and fear can lock a soul in despair. He does not minimise sin, yet he refuses to make sin bigger than the Saviour.

We also see a model of persuasion shaped by Scripture. Bunyan reasons, urges, comforts, and warns, always seeking to bring the reader to Christ with honest faith.

For pastors and evangelists, this is a valuable pattern. We are shown how to speak with both firmness and tenderness, holding out Christ freely, while still pressing repentance and obedience.

Closing Recommendation

We strongly commend this as a gospel drenched work for personal reading, evangelistic use, and pastoral care.

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