4 of My Favorite Biblical Resources
Once I started reading the Bible, I couldn’t get enough. I wanted to be able to defend my beliefs in Christianity and to better equip myself to actually live like a Christian. The Bible is a huge book with a lot of wisdom that can be overwhelming to try to comprehend. Thankfully, we don’t have to try to understand everything on our own. Many people have gone before us that are willing to share their biblical knowledge. All we have to do is seek it out and hold it up to the word of God to ensure that we are not being led astray from the truth. As of this writing, here are my top four biblical resources:
The Living on the Edge Ministry and Podcast
One of my favorite podcasts to listen to is by Chip Ingram. I first heard his message on the Christian Radio station here in Tennessee, by accident, honestly. Or maybe divine design, now that I think of it. My old car radio would sometimes reset to the local Christian channel when I would turn it on. To be fair, prior to living in Tennessee, my car would automatically switch to this same radio station, whether it was the Christian Radio station or not, I don’t really know. In Tennessee, it happened to be the Christian Radio station. Something I didn’t know existed until falling upon it by accident.
One day, when I turned on my car to head to school, my car had switched to this station and I didn’t automatically change it like I normally would. I am sure I was running late and didn’t even think about the radio until I realized that it was a sermon, halfway through my commute. Well, once I realized it was a recorded sermon being broadcast on the radio, after I had started studying the Bible, I decided to give it a listen. Soon I stated to look forward to the sermon aired by Chip Ingram. I quickly realized that I could listen to his message every day via podcast, without having to tune into the radio, I was hooked. And I have been recommending his daily, Monday through Friday, podcasts to anyone who will listen.
This podcast has been life changing and life saving for me. Everyone has their favorites, I am sure, but him and his wife are beacons of truth and light that I am so thankful to God for. Their story resonants with me because neither of them really grew up Christian, or at least didn’t really know God until their twenties. I could probably tell you their life story because I have been listening to his podcast for almost four years now, regularly, but instead I’ll encourage you to check out his podcast and find out for yourself. I don’t think you’ll be let down!
In addition, The Living on the Edge Ministry has many other resources like small group study guides, books, YouVersion programs, and more. You can also get the Chip Ingram App where you can hear each daily podcast along with show notes. There is a lot that Chip Ingram’s ministry offers, but my favorite is his daily podcast.
The Bible Project
Now if you prefer visuals and enjoy watching videos over listening to podcasts, then the Bible Project may just be for you. I found them when I was going through a Bible Study with an online community and have turned to them a number of times ever since. Especially for Book Overviews from the Old Testament. They have plenty of other resources that I haven’t personally utilized yet, but I have found their overviews to be extremely helpful. Especially when I want to gain an understanding of a book I am reading that I find a bit more challenging. The first video I ever watched of theirs was on the book of Job, which helped me understand the truths being shared in the book that I most likely would have missed through my own understanding.
They have so much more that I would like to explore, like their classroom and theme videos, that I encourage you to take a look around for yourself to see what you find!
Crossway Books
If you know me, then you know I love books. And my favorite publisher to go to for pretty good theologically sound books is Crossway Books. It is also the publisher that has my favorite Study Bible. Every time I go to their website, I end up finding more books that I’d like to add to my bookshelf. Their selection is fantastic and they even have great books for children!
One additional perk is that when you create a free account with them, you get 30% off their books any time. Around different holidays they will offer discounts to everyone, but who could argue with a free account that instantly provides savings?! In addition, when you purchase a physical copy of a book, you get the E-book for free instantly. Meaning you don’t have to wait to read it, if you don’t want to! Now that is my kind of publisher.
If you’re not sure where to begin with their large book selection, here are a few that I would highly recommend:
Reactivity: How the Gospel Transforms Our Actions and Reactions by Paul David Tripp
Blessed: Experiencing the Promise of the Book of Revelation by Nancy Gurthie
Passionate Penny Pincher’s Bible Journals
I don’t know how I found Laurie and her Passionate Penny Pincher blog and shop, but somehow I found her home planners, which I fell in love with. This find brought me to her Bible Journals. I didn’t use these when I first got them. I actually just started using them this year, despite having bought them for the first time a few years ago. But, when I decided to start reading through the New Testament this year, I decided I would also use her journals to help my progress. What I like about the journals is that they are simple and, being a woman, cute!
The New Testament Journals have a prompt for each chapter of the New Testament. The prompts are the same for each chapter: write a key verse, what you learned, prayer concerns, and one way that you’ll respond today. The Old Testament Journals dedicate each page of the journal to three or four chapters of the Old Testament. Being that I enjoy writing and I find it extremely helpful when I want to remember things that I find important, these journals have been a wonderful addition to my daily Bible study.
Once I have filled up each journal, I am not sure if I will buy them again. I guess once I work through the Old Testament, I can report back. But for those who want to take their Bible study a bit further and make it a bit more personal, I highly suggest adding these to it!
Also, if you want a Bible reading schedule and want help getting your home-life more organized, check out her home planners! She has a Bible verse listed for each day along with helpful checklists to keep your house in order. Each year it is a different reading plan, so in time you’ll get through the Bible while maintaining your household!
And if you’ve never studied the Bible before, check out my post on how to do just that here!
Extras!
Although I am frequently utilizing the resources mentioned above, I couldn’t complete this post without mentioning these two:
Ken Ham is the founder and CEO of Answers in Genesis. He also is known for his two popular attractions: Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter. For questions on creation, evolution, dinosaurs, and more, his website and the additional resources by Ken Ham and his organization are really great.
Relatable Podcast with Allie Beth Stuckey
I need to give the credit of my conversion to Christianity to Allie Beth. Without her, and her book, You Are Not Enough (And That’s Okay), I would not be where I am now. In addition to her book, is her wonderful podcast that explores political topics of the day through a Christian lens. She discusses a range of topics from misunderstood bible verses, apologetics, to current events. She is a wonderful source for women. I highly encourage checking her podcast and book out! What you’ll find linked is her YouTube channel, but you can also find her podcasts wherever you listen to them!