I really appreciate Brian Key’s reflection on “What to Do Before You Read the Bible.” He decribes his request to God to comfort me, confront me, and conform me. We would all do well to consider such prayers.
The Gospel of Zephaniah
I appreciate Daniel Timmer’s summary of the message of Zephaniah in his piece “Why We Need Zephaniah.” He boils it down to three aspects:
- Sin and its consequences
- Grace and repentance
- God’s love and presence
This brief Old Testament book packs quite a punch, exhibiting to goods new God’s grace in vibrant color.
Your Buying Guide for Bible Study Resources: Updated for 2024
If you’re in the market for gifts to encourage Bible study, here are our top recommendations. We’ve reviewed most of these products on this site at many times and in many ways, but here they are in one place for you.
Bibles
You can’t beat a good Bible. Our top recommendation is to get yourself or someone you love one of the best editions of the Bible to hit the western world: the ESV Reader’s Bible, 6 Volume Set.
Our first review. Second review.
Get it at Amazon | Westminster
And while we use the ESV translation more than any other, we must mention that the 4-volume NIV Sola Scriptura Bible Project has perhaps the most innovative layout and presentation of the Scriptures, which make it a sheer delight to read.
If 6 volumes seem too much to you, the single volume ESV Reader’s Bible is still well worth picking up.
Cloth over board: Get it at Amazon | Westminster
Reader’s Bibles are arriving with increasing frequency in other translations as well. See our reviews of the CSB, NIV one-volume, NIV 4-volume, and ESV Gospels. They’re even starting to come out with editions for kids.
And for something completely different, consider getting an entire book of the New Testament on a single page spread, with the ESV Panorama New Testament.
Chronological Bible
The ESV Chronological Bible is worth your attention. It’s not what you want for deep study, but it’s wonderful for extended reading or reference. Here is our review. Get it at Amazon | Westminster
Study Bibles
There are so many options. See our buying guide for recommendations about which ones succeed at promoting OIA Bible study.
Markup Bibles
For something you can write in with greater ease, see our recommendations. Also consider large print and journaling Bibles. Or Scripture journals. If you prefer more space between lines of text, see the Inductive Version of the Journaling New Testament.
Journibles
If you or a loved one like the idea of copying out the Scriptures by hand, you might want to consider a Journible.
Audio Bibles
The Dwell app for mobile devices is a remarkable tool designed completely for listening to the Bible. NIV Live is a terrific dramatized audio Bible.
Bible Study
For a snapshot of the OIA process, see this blog post.
For a little more explanation of the principles, see our free booklet.
To go even further, with lots of illustrations, examples to follow, and exercises to practice, see One-to-One Bible Reading or Peter’s book Knowable Word (now revised and expanded).
If you’re familiar with the OIA model, and you’d like to hone your skills to perfection, consider getting Methodical Bible Study by Robert Traina. This book is dry and doesn’t tell many stories. But it delves the depths of the model like nothing else.
Leading
If you’d like to grow as a Bible study leader see Peter’s book Sowable Word or Colin Marshall’s terrific book Growth Groups.
Commentaries
See our page with recommended commentaries that promote OIA Bible study skills. We don’t have recommendations for every Bible book yet, but we update this page as we come across helpful volumes.
Beginners
Great places for beginners to start in gaining familiarity with the Bible’s layout and message are The Beginner’s Guide to the Bible (see Peter’s review), The Visual Theology Guide to the Bible (see Ryan’s review), and The Visual Word (see Ryan’s review).
Software
Peter still happily recommends Logos Bible Software, as it has drastically improved the speed and quality of his Bible study. See his reviews of Logos 7, Logos 8, and Logos 9 for details. Logos is now more affordable than ever through subscriptions (see Peter’s review of this latest development). Here is a link for a 30-day trial.
While Logos is remarkable with its reference libraries and powerful features, it’s not for everyone. If you are more interested in slimmer, free software, you may want to check out E-Sword or STEP Bible.
Children’s Resources
The best thing you and your church can do for your children is to buy them a Bible and teach them to use it. In my household, that means we buy ESV pew Bibles (the cheapest we can find) almost by the case. These things will get beat up and need to be replaced often, so there’s no use in getting the authentic-porpoise-leather-imported-from-Mars-heirloom-editions just yet.
When children are first learning to read, it may be helpful to give them the NIrV. This builds their confidence in reading the very words of God in their own language. Remember, the story Bibles are good, but God’s undiluted word is even better.
And before dipping into the supplemental resources below, perhaps you’d consider printing out a few simple devotional pages for your kids, so they can explore the Scriptures for themselves before hearing what others have to say about the Scriptures.
Ages 0-2
The Big Picture Story Bible – A marvelous overview of the Bible’s rich storyline: The people of God under the rule of God in the place God gives. Get it at Amazon | Westminster
Read Aloud Bible Stories – Brief Bible stories that draw in young children, letting the children know these are their stories. Get it at Amazon.
Ages 3-5
The Gospel Story Bible – Retellings of 156 Bible stories, synchronized with the Gospel Story for Kids curriculum, and devotionals Long Story Short and Old Story New. The best part of these stories are that much use is made in the retelling of the actual text of Scripture. Get it at Amazon | Westminster
God’s BIG Promises Bible Storybook – Traces 5 major promises through the Bible from beginning to end. Great to read aloud to preschoolers, or to have young elementary students read themselves. See our review. Get it at Amazon | Westminster
The Jesus Storybook Bible – Gripping gospel focus, though it sometimes seems to suggest that Bible stories are not meant to serve as examples (contrast with 1 Cor 10:6, 11, etc.). Get it at Amazon | Westminster
Ages 5-7
Mark’s Marvellous Book – I still hope this becomes more of a trend: A children’s story Bible that follows the shape and themes of a book of the Bible (rather than cherry-picking certain stories, ignoring the fact that they were written to an audience in a context). See my review. Get it at Amazon.
God’s Daring Dozen – Similar to Mark’s Marvellous Book, these short volumes each follow the shape and theme of a book of the Bible. These sets work through the twelve minor prophets, from Hosea to Malachi. And they are simply extraordinary. See my review. Get box 1 (Amazon | Westminster), box 2 (Amazon | Westminster), or BRAND NEW box 3 (Amazon).
The Big Picture Story Bible – A marvelous overview of the Bible’s rich storyline: The people of God under the rule of God in the place God gives. Read this to your kids at ages 0-2; then have them read it to themselves at ages 5-7. Get it at Amazon | Westminster
Ages 8-14
The Radical Book for Kids – This is the kind of gift you get for your kids, but it’s also, sort of, partly, perhaps, for you. You know, like Legos, football tickets, or family room surround sound systems. It’s an engaging and delightful handbook of the Christian faith. See my review. Get it at Amazon | Westminster
The Really Radical Book for Kids – Just as wonderfully radical as the first one, only really so. See my review. Get it at Amazon | Westminster. Or get a deal on both Radical books at Westminster.
Or perhaps you’d like to consider getting them their own beginner reader’s Bible.
Family Devotions
I highly recommend the series of devotionals by Marty Machowski. These volumes don’t merely communicate Christian truth, as important as that is; they train children to study the Bible and find that truth for themselves. In addition, the “daily” family devotions take only 5 days/week, and they truly take only 10 minutes per day. The payoff is high, but the price of entry is low. This makes it more likely you’ll be able to stay consistent with them. Every volume in this series has the same high quality; each also has the same basic structure for each day’s devotion. See my review.
- Long Story Short – 78 weeks in the Old Testament. Get it at Amazon | Westminster
- Old Story New – 78 weeks in the New Testament. Get it at Amazon | Westminster
- Prepare Him Room – 4 weeks in Advent season. Get it at Amazon | Westminster
- Wise Up – 12 weeks in Proverbs. Get it at Amazon | Westminster
- Listen Up – 13 weeks in the parables of Jesus. Get it at Amazon | Westminster
Happy gift shopping!
Disclaimer: Links in this post to Amazon, Westminster, and Logos are affiliate links, which means this blog receives a small commission when you click those links. Doing this helps us to cover our costs, enabling us to continue recommending decent resources. Thank you.
When Biases Drive Your Interpretation of the Bible
Stephen Kneale has a brief but provocative piece on “Three ways we might find our biases driving our biblical interpretation.” Of course, I don’t ever think I bring my biases to the study. But shouldn’t I take note when the fruit of my study matches one of Kneale’s signs?
- The Bible always agrees with you
- The Bible always affirms your politics
- You cannot fathom why Christians in different contexts do things differently
This is worth your time to consider.
Context Matters: Romans 8
Romans 8 is one of the most beloved chapters of the New Testament, with many staggering promises and assurances for the people of God. But could it be that some of them tend to take on meanings Paul didn’t intend, when we cite them out of context?
Joshua Greever tackles 3 such verses from the chapter, employing the context of Paul’s argument to explain some familiar verses and phrases:
- What does it mean to be “led by the Spirit” in Rom 8:14?
- What is the “good” that “all things work together for” in Rom 8:28?
- In what way are those loved by God “more than conquerors” (Rom 8:37), and in what way can no-one be “against us” (Rom 8:31)?
Greever’s work on these texts is worth considering and modeling how to answer such interpretive questions from a close examination of the train of thought.
Context Matters: The Least of These
Consider one of the most chilling statements Jesus ever made:
‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matt 25:45-46)
It sounds as though the way a person treats “the least of these” is—if not the cause—at least the evidence of a person’s eternal fate. But do we understand who those people are whom Jesus wishes us to feed, clothe, welcome, and visit? It prevails on us to get this right.
Kevin DeYoung recently republished a helpful piece where he examines the phrase “least of these” from the context. He looks at Jesus’ usage not only in Matt 25:45 but also Matt 25:40, along with the logical flow of Jesus’ discourse and the literary connections back to Matthew 10.
I won’t quote his conclusion here, to entice you to go and read how he arrives at it.
When Gospel Accounts Include Different Details
J. Warner Wallace, a cold-case homicide detective, writes about why we should expect witnesses to disagree.
There are many factors that contribute to one’s perception of an event. Physical location, past experience, familiarity with a feature of the crime scene; a witness’ physical, emotional and psychological distinctives play a role in what they see and how they communicate this testimony after the fact. No two people are alike, so no two people experience an event in precisely the same way. If you’ve got three witnesses in a murder case, expect three slightly different versions of the event. Don’t panic, that’s normal. In fact, when three different witnesses tell me the exact same thing, I start to get suspicious.
He then traces out the implications of this fact (among others) on our reading of the Bible’s four gospels.
Who Wrote the Bible
If you’d like a brief explanation and defense of the traditional Christian doctrine of dual authorship, check out this excellent piece by Robert Cara.
Who wrote the Bible? Yes, God did. He is the divine, ultimate, and primary author. But in His providence He used humans, the secondary authors.
Glorious Gospel Stories
The Lord gave us not one but four accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry. Steve Burchett wants to help you appreciate and understand them better. He explains that the stories of the gospels:
- Are God’s revelation to us.
- Proclaim truths that make believers increasingly holy.
- Are both gripping and Christ exalting — a powerful combination when evangelizing the lost.
Burchett goes on to offer practical suggestions for reading and understanding these stories rightly.
When the Prophet Declares Peace on Pagan Temple Attendance
Susan Tyner has a thoughtful piece wondering “Why Did Elisha Allow Naaman to Bow to an Idol?” Naaman the Syrian, cleansed of his leprosy, asks the prophet for the Lord’s pardon on his participation in the worship of the god Rimmon.
Elisha’s response? “Go in peace” (2 Kings 5:18-19).
Tyner explores the implications, comfort, and conviction offered to us through this narrative.
Living in today’s society can be a lot like the Israelites living in exile then. We struggle with various questions: Should I teach a school curriculum that goes against my beliefs? Should I quit a job that has LGBT+ stickers on its storefront window? Will my boss understand if I ask for the Lord’s Day off? In this story from the ancient world, we sense God’s compassion for us as we try to figure out how to be in the modern world but not of it (John 17:14, 15).
Tyner examines the story’s context, along with the contrast between Naaman and Elisha’s servant Gehazi to draw implications for true worship and obedience.
