Bible Study Resources

Hey Everyone!

This past Sunday, I preached a message about what the Bible is, why it matters, and how to read it. I got some questions from people about what resources I would recommend to help you when reading the Bible for yourself. I could probably write a series of blogs for weeks with my thoughts on this topic. We will also likely do some intentional classes and training on this topic in the future. But for now, I will briefly list several resources that might help you start this journey. Underlined words contain hyperlinks.

1. Bible Project Overview Series
This playlist of videos (around 5 minutes each) will help you learn to approach the Bible as one unified story pointing to Jesus.

2. NEW and OLD Testament Book Overviews
Before sitting down to read any book of the Bible for the first time or the first time in a long time, I’d encourage you to watch the brief book overviews compiled by the Bible Project. They do a great job of helping you grasp the book’s overall structure before you dive into the weeds.

3. Listeners Commentary Series
This is a podcast series structured like a commentary. The author works through books of the Bible a few verses at a time and gives helpful context to understand the text’s nuance better. Check out what books of the Bible he has covered and use them as you read the Bible for yourself.

4. The Bible Recap Podcast
This podcast is one of the most popular Christian podcasts in the world. It is set up to be used alongside a Bible in a year reading plan or a New Testament in 3 months reading plan. You start with around 15 minutes of Bible reading and follow it up with around 10 minutes of podcast explaining the context around the reading and addressing any difficult questions that come from the reading. This podcast has created a community of people who end up reading the Bible together and can interact with one another via social media.

5. Blue Letter Bible
BLB is an amazing free resource that allows you to look up the original language and access a lot of free commentaries and additional resources about the passage you are reading. It has a little bit of a learning curve. Please let me know if you start using it and run into any challenges!

6. Study Bibles
A study Bible is another great resource to consider when reading the Bible for yourself. Although there are several wonderful study Bibles out there, below are a few that I would recommend first:
-The Jesus Bible
-NIV Life Application Study Bible
-NLT Illustrated Study Bible
-Tony Evans Study Bible
-NET Bible… This is not a study Bible but has A LOT of translation notes that can give helpful insights and context for the slightly more experienced Bible reader.

7. Commentary Series
A commentary is a step up from a study Bible and is usually a single volume for each book of the Bible. There are also many excellent commentarys available, but below are a few that I would recommend first:
-NT for Everyone by NT Wright
-Story of God Commentary Series (Multiple Authors)
-The New Testament in Color
-The New Testament in its World

Don’t try to eat the elephant in one bite. Start slow and try out one of these at a time. Find the resource that is most helpful to you, and be consistent.

If you have any questions along the way, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Have a great week!
Pastor Ryan