BIBLE STUDY HELPS

At the root of the Christian life is knowledge of the Bible. Without Bible knowledge we cannot know Christ, for the Christ we seek to follow is just that Christ who is presented to us in the Bible. In the spirit of the Protestant Reformation, we seek to put the Bible in the hands of the people and commend to them its study to feed faith, hope and love. Listed below are Bible study tools that are useful to understanding the Bible.

The first tool is, of course, the Bible itself. There are many translations of the Bible into English today, ranging from those which seek to use simple vocabulary and ease of grammar construction to those which tend to be more word-for-word translations out of the original Hebrew and Greek in which the Old and New Testaments were written. Our Pastor's all-purpose translation is The English Standard Version. However, a variety of translations are referenced in his teaching and preaching ministry. You can view the various translations at www.biblegateway.com/

There are various study Bible's available as well.

A study Bible includes both the text of the Bible as well as explanatory notes that seek to illuminate the meaning of the text. Most study Bibles also include articles on basic Bible themes, history, customs, characters, etc. The most popular study bibles today are The English Standard Version Study Bible, The New International Version Study Bible, and The Life Application Study Bible (in several different versions).

A one volume Bible commentary, such as The New Bible Commentary.

A Bible Atlas. Most study Bibles have an extensive atlas section included.

Nave's Topical Bible. This work seeks to list all Bible verses that are directly related to a specific subject, such as Jesus Christ, salvation, creation, sin, etc. This is available at no charge at http://www.biblegateway.com/topical/

A concordance. This tool allows you to trace all Bible verses that use the particular word that you are interested in. The most complete concordance is Strong's Concordance, which not only allow you to trace all the uses of a single word but also offers a key to the Greek and Hebrew texts that underlie each English word. Strong's Concordance is tied to the King James Version. Here is a link to Strong's online.

A cross reference. This is a tool that allows you to look at other verses that are related to the verse which you are reading. Those other verses might not use the same words that are in the verse, but they bear upon its topic or meaning in some way. The Treasury of Scripture Knowlege is the all purpose tool for this. It is available online here. Many Bible come with a cross reference.

A one volume theology reference. Millard Erickson's Christian Theology is an evangelical guide to basic Christian theology that evidences a generous spirit to the various sides of disputed issues. While the word "theology" scares not a few people, the reality is that theology is a necessary and really unavoidable task. It is simply faith thinking about itself with an open Bible in hand.  I.Howard Marshall's "A Pocket Guide to New Testament Theology" is online here.

A Bible reading plan. Rather than skipping through the Bible, the Bible student should systematically move through the text on a plan of regular reading. There are many plans available. See here.