I need more resources!
Looking for more resources? We got you covered! I know there feels like an endless list of resources out there, especially with all the information we have access to. The weekly guides are meant to be just that, a guide. But what if we want to go further in understanding a passage or learned something in a passage not in the guide? Below are a handful of trusted (and low cost) resources that will hopefully enhance your time in the Word and in preparation for leading Community Group discussion!
Blue Letter Bible is one of my favorite Bible study tools, as it lets me get into the nitty gritty of a passage. It gives me access to the original language and helps me find the original meaning of the word, when the English translation might miss some original meaning or context. A great example of this is the word “Love” in English. We generally have a universal idea of what this word means, but in Greek there were six words that fit our wider definition: Agape (affection or unconditional love), Eros (intimate love), Philia (friendly or brotherly love), Storge (familial love, particularly with parents and children), Philautia (self-love/one’s own happiness), and Xenia (love for a guest or friendship). All these have different meaning and can drastically change how we read the original intention of a passage, so sometimes having an original-language context can shed a lot of light on the meaning. This is my favorite use for the BLB— as a bonus, it’s free and has a great website and mobile app as well!
If you haven’t checked out the Bible Project, they’re awesome. They have so many free resources, with a lot of them on YouTube, so they’re really user friendly. They’ve got videos all the way from how do I read the Bible to breakdowns of some of the more confusing subjects in Scripture, like a study on dragons. They’re well done, engaging, and perfect for new believers all the way to seasoned saints.
TGC is a resource we’ve used as a church since we began, as they have many many great articles, videos, podcasts, and more all available for free. They have in-depth studies of passages, whole books of the Bible, and even more cultural-specific topics. We trust their theology and perspective, so they come highly recommended if you’re wanting more resources!
If you’re a super nerd like me and want a new tool to take your studying to the next level, I can’t recommend LOGOS enough. They’ve got just about every book you could imagine available in their store (they’re mostly paid, but I do still recommend them). I’m normally a hardcopy kinda guy, but the advantage of the digital versions here is that you can link resources together, so as you’re scrolling through the book of Mark in your CSB Bible on the program, your commentary or study notes will follow along so you always have your reference available. There are so many little tools and study features that are excellent and well done. They have a desktop, phone, and iPad app, as well as an in-browser version if that’s more your speed. As an added bonus, they have one free book on their store every month, so you can start building a library instantly. I use it to write every discussion guide, and I even got JP on it and he uses it for sermon prep now!