The Five Best Resources for Bible Study
The Five Best Resources for Bible Study
For a long time I was convinced you didn’t need anything to read your Bible. Just a Bible, a pen, and a notebook. However, over time I realized I didn’t understand everything I was reading! Yes, I was reading and understanding some of it, but what if I really wanted to grasp what each verse and chapter was talking about? I had questions. It doesn’t take long for us to run into questions. Instead of letting those questions keep us from reading God’s word, let’s find ways to answer our questions!
Tweet ThisI love this time we live in. We have so many options for Bible study these days. It can be a little overwhelming. Where do you even start if you want to study the Bible on your own? Here are five of the best resources! Some of these are free, others you might have to purchase. Whatever money you invest in studying God’s word will indeed be worth it!
1. Commentary
One of the best things I’ve used over the years is a commentary. Commentaries are books or articles that take a verse or chapter from the Bible and gives the opinion of the author. A respected and valued commentary will be written by someone who has done a lot of study on this particular passage. They might have researched the historical background, the author, the original Greek or Hebrew. Basically they have read a lot about this part of the Bible and now they are sharing what they learn. No one is immune to bias, so commentaries should not be used to discover truth, but they can help us understand God’s Word! Where do we find commentaries? I recently found this website and it is has been amazing.
If you follow that link you will find a list of commentaries you can read! Not all of these commentaries will line up with what you believe, but they are listed with the denomination the author would identify with. I have found reading from various sources (even if I might not agree with everything) has expounded my knowledge of the Bible ten fold. I encourage you to check it out!
2. Bible Reference
Have you ever been reading God’s word and thought, “Where have I heard this idea or phrase before?” Or maybe you are curious about all of the times Paul mentions “the Spirit” in Romans. A good Bible reference tool to use is a concordance. When I was younger the only way to be able to look up a word and see how many times or where it was found in the Bible was to get this huge book. Now, we have this online! Some good ones are:
Both of these work like a concordance. You can even check different translations! Having this book marked on my “favorites” on my computer has saved me a lot of time looking up Bible verses. Maybe I want to write down all of the verses on “hope” or “joy.” All I need to do is go here and type in those words. The special thing about the Blue Letter Bible is that it also gives the meaning of Greek and Hebrew words! I plan to do a webinar soon on how to use the Blue Letter Bible website!
3. Read About How to Study
What else would you use to study the Bible? You might try getting a book explaining how the Bible was written or what it means to study God’s word. Both of these book are excellent and I highly recommend both!
How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth
Understanding the Bible isn’t just for the few, the gifted, and the scholarly. The Bible is meant to be read and comprehended by everyone from casual readers to seminary students. Even a few essential insights into the Bible can clear up a lot of misconceptions and help you grasp the meaning of Scripture and its application to your twenty-first-century life.
Women of the Word: How to Study the Bible with Both Our Hearts and Our Minds
This book changed how I looked at the Bible – and Bible study! Jen does a fantastic job breaking down how to understand and study the Bible. She will step on your toes and tell you how you’ve been doing it wrong – but then she breaks down how you can study any passage in the Bible on your own!
4. Online Resources
Help Me Teach the Bible – This podcast has expounded my knowledge of Scripture in a wonderful way. Nancy Guthrie teamed up with The Gospel Coalition and has provided this rich resource. This podcast is like a commentary, but one you get to listen to. If I’m starting to read a new book of the Bible, I’ll search the website and find the periods where she talks about that book. It helps me get the big picture. You don’t have to teach the Bible (or even want to teach the Bible) to gain so much from these episodes! If you are an auditory learner you will love this.
ESV Bible – I love this website! It is a great, quick resource for when you are reading. I highly recommend reading these introductions before starting a new book of the Bible! You can also search commentaries, and cross references. This is a great Bible to read online!
The Bible Project – This is one if you have kids as well. Although I’ve learned a lot myself, this is a great resource to help children visualize ideas, themes, and books of the Bible. If you are a visual learner, this is perfect for you!
5. Let’s Read the Bible
I wanted to create a space where women could read and understand the Bible without a Bible degree. Maybe Bible study feels daunting, I wanted a place where you could come and sit and not have to stress. The “Let’s Read the Bible” membership helps you read through the Bible – without the stress of having to know it all. I’ve done research, I’ve reached out to friends, and together we have put together this course that is a go-at-your-own-pace course.
In this membership you will receive 30-page reading and study guides for entire books of the Bible. With those we have two teaching videos available to show you how to study each book. We prepare you before you start reading by going over background information for each book. We even have a video that teaches a concept or passage from that book. So far there are eight books of the Bible to choose from. The good news is a new study guide is released every month. For the month of September we have Ezra and in October we have Matthew coming out! Check it out here!
At the end of fall we will be raising our price, but you can lock in the base price if you sign up today! In addition to the videos and study guides, starting this month I will be going live for just members to just discuss the book! It will be a combination of teaching but also a place to bring your questions. Sign up here before the price increases.