Photo by J. Kelly Brito on Unsplash
The resource page of this site mentions some books, podcasts, and study tools, but I thought I’d put some of my favorite Bible study tools and apps here in a post as well.
Some websites and recently found Christian entertainment sources aren’t noted in the resources section yet.
(The list of favorites will stretch over two or three posts. I won’t get them all in today).
Favorite podcast: Wretched Radio
I have found a few good Christian podcasts, but by far my favorite is still Wretched with Todd Friel. The podcasts are freely available and available to listen on the web or with a variety of different podcast apps. The main website for Wretched is Wretched.org where you can also watch Wretched TV episodes.
Also, Wretched can be found on radio at these stations and on satellite radio systems.
Favorite podcast app: Podcast Republic
Not a “Christian” resource, but for years, I have used the free podcast app Podcast Republic. It is available on Android and is ad supported. The ads are not intrusive but if you want to remove ads, you can do so for a very small fee. It has all the features I need, like sorting podcasts into played and unplayed and which ones are downloaded (for when I think I may hit an area with a spotty internet connection). It’s easy to forward or rewind a few seconds within a podcast and has a sharing feature as well. I include the link to Podcast Republic here, opened to the page where you can listen to the Wretched Radio podcast.
Favorite Bible Study tool/app: Blue Letter Bible
Blue Letter Bible is available on the web at BLB.org and in an app that is available on both iOS and Android platforms. You can read the Bible in various English translations, use the Interlinear tool to find the original Hebrew and Greek words, access text and audio commentaries on almost every verse of the Bible, make notes, highlight passages, read devotionals, and more. I have not made use of all the tools available at BLB and am still learning about what is available there. Check it out! You won’t be disappointed.
Favorite Sermon and Commentary websites:
(There are too many websites that I use for me to narrow it down to just one website. Also, please be diligent to study your Bible prayerfully, no matter which site you use. I don’t agree with all the teaching found on these sites. These ministries are good, solid resources but are put together by fallible men. Let the Bible be your final authority on all matters! Pray for discernment and wisdom always).
- Grace To You – the Bible teaching ministry of John MacArthur and others at Grace to You are available here. There is a huge collection of sermons and blog articles along with the ability to search on a wide variety of topics for Christian living.
- Got Questions – easily search on thousands of subjects and get answers from the Bible.
- Answers in Genesis – So many good articles about the Bible and Christianity are here with, as the name suggests, an emphasis on the book of Genesis. I subscribe to the ministry’s Answers Magazine which is available in print, online, or audio formats. Each issue comes every two months with an insert especially for kids. From the AIG about page:
Answers in Genesis is an apologetics (i.e., Christianity-defending) ministry, dedicated to enabling Christians to defend their faith and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ effectively. We focus particularly on providing answers to questions surrounding the book of Genesis, as it is the most-attacked book of the Bible. We also desire to train others to develop a biblical worldview, and seek to expose the bankruptcy of evolutionary ideas, and its bedfellow, a “millions of years old” earth (and even older universe).
- Living Waters – Get equipped to share your faith and purchase some of the best Gospel tracts around. The free evangelical videos produced by the ministry (see Fully Free Films) are outstanding!
- Religious Affections Ministries – This website is the one I read the most lately. Have you ever been disappointed with the music that is described as “worship music” these days? Have you ever wondered why music can be such a divisive factor in churches? Do you feel you could benefit from learning what the Bible has to say about worship, emotions, music, and proper affections? If so, browse this website. And, if not, but you call yourself a Christian, browse this website. A good place to start is with the articles that are categorized as Essential Resources.
I was about to add a list of some of my favorite Twitter accounts to follow, but instead I’ll leave that for another post along with the Christian entertainment source I found.
Please share your favorite Bible study tools, websites, apps, and other resources with me by commenting on this post. Thank you!
Sermon notes
One of my intentions had been to start a category on this blog whereby I make notes of the sermons of my church. We have a new Pastor at my church and I’ve heard several weeks of sermons now. I’ve made notes, asked questions, but hesitated to make any posts.
The reason is that I’ve found that the man who has been called to pastor our church is not qualified to preach the Scriptures. An example of this claim is as follows: upon asking him his position on women being pastors and teaching over men in the church, he stated that the scriptures that deal with that issue were about a cultural issue that the apostle Paul was addressing. He admitted that the qualifications for an elder do not permit a woman to lead as pastor but that the forbidding of teaching and speaking in church was a cultural problem and not a command for today.
There’s a problem with his interpretation of Scripture, however, as Paul mentions Adam and Eve following his admonition that “A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. ” 1 Timothy 2:11-12 NIV
In mentioning Adam and Eve, we see that Paul is setting a precedent of God’s appointed order of how things should run, rather than addressing some local, cultural issue. The full passage is as follows:
I am saddened that this is far from the only example I have of how the man has failed to properly teach the Scriptures.
So as not to cause disruption and agitation at my church, and to keep from the temptation to be a source of division in that church, I have prayerfully decided to start looking elsewhere for Sunday worship. I’ve found some churches in my area noted on the 9Marks website (church search section is here: 9Marks Church Search ) and, Lord willing, will be visiting those places in the coming Sundays.
Prayerfully,
patricia grace
Posted by patricia grace on August 7, 2017 in church, Commentary, Sermon Notes, Uncategorized