Book recommendations for a prison inmate.

[Santos]

I'm not sure if this is the proper forum for this. But could I get some recommendations for books for my family member who is headed to prison. He is a slow reader so nothing too heavy please. For a little background he is 21 and has had a rough life. His mother, my 1st cousin, was murdered last year during a drug deal gone bad. He also stuggled with drug addiction. I try to visit him every week while he is in county jail waiting for his transfer and he is seemingly very humbled and receptive to the Gospel. He does have a heavy heart for the loss of his mom and all the harm he has done to his loved ones, especially his grandparents. Any recommendations would be very much appreciated. One last thing, the books can only come from a publisher. So if the book is obscure please let me know who the publisher is. Thank you all so much.

Grace and peace,
Santos

 

[RJ Spencer]

Knowing God by JI Packer is good and it's easy to follow. I'd try to find a book with a very clear gospel message to start off. I would actually recommend that he try to listen to Thi'sl if it's at all possible. He's a Christian rapper, but his story is very much like your friends story. The album that would be most relevant is Chronicles of an ex hustler.

 

[RJ Spencer]

Anyone know how hard John Calvin's Justification by Faith would be for someone that is a slow reader?

 

[Tom Hart]

I always recommend the Heidelberg Catechism as an excellent introduction to Reformed truth. Banner of Truth has a nice pocket-sized edition, although the language might be challenging for your relative. Perhaps a version in fairly simple English would be best.

 

[Stephen L Smith]

John Bunyan's Pilgrims Progress is a great introduction to the gospel, Reformed theology, and the many trials of life. https://www.heritagebooks.org/Search.html#/Search.html?search=Pilgrims+progress

Another wonderful gospel presentation by Bunyan is "Come and welcome to Jesus Christ"

 

[TylerRay]

The Christian Life: A Doctrinal Introduction by Sinclair Ferguson (the older, shorter edition) would be an excellent choice. It's as rudimentary as it is edifying.

 

[PuritanCovenanter]

As someone who came from a background similar to this young man's situation, I wouldn't recommend anything previously suggested. I would recommend a biography that would identify with his life. That would be suggested along with a translation of the scriptures that is very easy to read. I got saved reading the four Gospels from a New Testament Living Bible in October of 1981.

The biography needs to be short with short chapters if possible. It will most likely have to be a paper back book also.

Something like this...
https://www.christianbook.com/john-...ene-howat/9781781913505/pd/913501?event=ESRCQ

 

[Pergamum]

Just some good literature would also be nice. Send him Robinson Crusoe. There is the gospel in there, also, plus simply a good story of God blessing a man even despite bad circumstances.

As an unsaved teen I was captivated by him finding the bible among the recovered shipwrecked items. I heard the Gospel, in part, because I loved Robinson Crusoe.

When I came to this part, I must have reread it five times as a youth:

"JULY 4. - In the morning I took the Bible; and beginning at the New Testament, I began seriously to read it, and imposed upon myself to read a while every morning and every night; not tying myself to the number of chapters, but long as my thoughts should engage me. It was not long after I set seriously to this work till I found my heart more deeply and sincerely affected with the wickedness of my past life. The impression of my dream revived; and the words, "All these things have not brought thee to repentance," ran seriously through my thoughts. I was earnestly begging of God to give me repentance, when it happened providentially, the very day, that, reading the Scripture, I came to these words: "He is exalted a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance and to give remission." I threw down the book; and with my heart as well as my hands lifted up to heaven, in a kind of ecstasy of joy, I cried out aloud, "Jesus, thou son of David! Jesus, thou exalted Prince and Saviour! give me repentance!" This was the first time I could say, in the true sense of the words, that I prayed in all my life; for now I prayed with a sense of my condition, and a true Scripture view of hope, founded on the encouragement of the Word of God; and from this time, I may say, I began to hope that God would hear me.

Now I began to construe the words mentioned above, "Call on Me, and I will deliver thee," in a different sense from what I had ever done before; for then I had no notion of anything being called DELIVERANCE, but my being delivered from the captivity I was in; for though I was indeed at large in the place, yet the island was certainly a prison to me, and that in the worse sense in the world. But now I learned to take it in another sense: now I looked back upon my past life with such horror, and my sins appeared so dreadful, that my soul sought nothing of God but deliverance from the load of guilt that bore down all my comfort. As for my solitary life, it was nothing. I did not so much as pray to be delivered from it or think of it; it was all of no consideration in comparison to this. And I add this part here, to hint to whoever shall read it, that whenever they come to a true sense of things, they will find deliverance from sin a much greater blessing than deliverance from affliction."

http://www.literaturepage.com/read/robinsoncrusoe-96.html

I marveled at this passage. It blessed and moved me immensely. He was trapped on an island with no way out. A prison of sorts. And yet God blessed him with salvation, and he later became sort of a missionary.

 

[RobertPGH1981]

If they write the Chapel Library they will send free material to them while in prison. Here is the link https://www.chapellibrary.org/about/distributors. Maybe include this if they want follow-up material.

 

[RobertPGH1981]

Here is the inmate order form https://www.chapellibrary.org/prison