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What’s up from Crossway

What’s up from Crossway

Last updated on: October 16, 2026 at 8:00 am by Coyle Neal

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What’s up from Crossway 2026-10-11T18:35:32-06:00 Coyle Neal

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What’s up from Crossway: Reviewing some of their latest

A few weeks ago I got a long and not-at-all-AI-generated email from HQ suggesting that rather than writing short-to-medium reviews of books, TV, and movies, I should write long ones. And since I am gainfully employed and have friends, family, and church, I suggested that such would be a large time investment. To which they replied (in yet another personal and definitely not AI email) that I should combine the reviews together.

Image: Amazon

Which sounds bonkers to me, but since the algorithm is never wrong, here are a few thoughts on the books I’ve been reading (all courtesy of Crossway, as it happens–which they generously provide for free but for which I am not obligated to write a positive review; fortunately they generally put out good stuff, so…)

Create in Me a Clean Heart: Experiencing God’s Abundant Mercy in Psalm 51 by Matt Boswell is possibly the weakest offering in this list (but only possibly: see below). And you know what? That’s fine. He’s a hymn-writer and pastor, not a book writer. These are not the same skill set. Besides, to say it’s the “weakest” is not to say it’s “bad.” It is in fact a deeply pastoral exposition of Psalm 51. You will be challenged and encouraged, and this is a fine book to read.
Immanuel: The Story of Jesus, God with Us by Paul Tripp and Robert Doares is also possibly the weakest offering in this list, but that too needs to come with two big fat disclaimers. First, I am not any kind of judge of the quality of art. Maybe this is the bestest art ever, maybe not so much. Unfortunately, I’m also not much for devotionals. Maybe this is the bestest devotional writing ever, maybe not so much. That said, it is a great idea and folks I know who do like those sorts of things are excited. And certainly Tripp is the guy to write something like this–I’ve appreciated many of his works, so if you’re an art and/or devotional person, this might be for you.
10 Questions about Growing in Christ: 30 Devotions for Kids, Teens, & Families by William R. Osborne has the clunkiest title, but is an excellent little devotional that is worth having on your shelf and trotting out to read around the dinner table or bedside or wherever you normally do family devotions. Or just to hand to the kid and say “pitter patter” (IYKYK).
Finally Home by Dane Ortlund is excellent and a solid addition to Ortlund’s growing list of excellent titles. (If you haven’t read Deeper or especially Gentle and Lowly, shame on you for continuing to read this blog rather than going out and reading those!) But you can’t have too many books about heaven on your shelf. Sure, you can have bad books about heaven on your shelf. But of the good ones, the sky’s the limit. And this is a good one.
Church History for Everyone: The Story of Christianity from the Fall of Jerusalem to the Dawn of the Reformation by Kevin DeYoung is a book that has me highly conflicted. On the one hand, DeYoung is an excellent writer with thoughtful and faithful things to say. The model here is also interesting, given that DeYoung gives his big picture overview by zooming in on a few key actors from history (Gregory the Great, Boniface VIII, Augustine, etc). All well and good. That’s not why I’m conflicted. I’m conflicted because I’m not entirely sure this book needs to exist. There are already many excellent books out there on church history of both the single volume and two volume variety. Still, it is an interesting book, and it will never hurt us to read another book on church history…
Future Grace by John Piper is a reprint as Crossway brings out Piper’s works in uniform hardback editions. Piper is… well, Piper. We know him, unless you’re under the age of 30. In which case: you should read Piper. Seriously, read him. I was sitting in a coffee shop the other day when a customer struck up an Evangelistic conversation with the barista, asking him what he thought the point of life was. This springboarded into “what is the chief end of man?” which became a comment about Piper’s revision of the answer at the beginning of Desiring God. This in turn was followed by the question “have you heard of John Piper?” To my horror, the teenager behind the till said “no.” Because I am old.
All this to say, go read some Piper. Better yet, listen to his sermons and then read some Piper. You will be blessed by it.

So there you have it, the latest haul from Crossway (so far, anyway–my review stack is a work in progress!) all in one place. We’ll see how this new format works out, but for now I hope these reviews are a blessing to those who are looking for something to read!

Dr. Coyle Neal co-hosts the City of Man Podcast, blogs here on Schaeffer’s Ghost, and is an Amazon Associate (which is linked in this blog). He teaches Political Science, Philosophy, and History in Southwest Missouri.

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