Category: Bible Study Notes

Notes from personal Bible study; articles covering specific themes and topics of the Christian life.

Bible Study Notes

More Favorite Resources

patricia grace

Although I knew that  my Amazon Prime membership came with more than just the two-day shipping perk, I haven’t really explored the benefits. I totally ignored the video section as I rarely watch movies anymore. Too many times I abandon a flick before I finish watching because of the coarse language, blasphemy, and sexually explicit images. [Edit: I am no longer subscribing to Amazon Prime, but keeping this page up for those who do].

I can’t remember if it was a tweet, blog article, or podcast, but someone mentioned the Torchlighters series on Amazon Prime that included Christian content. I had a look through my Amazon account and found this description of  The Torchlighters – Heroes of the Faith programs:

The Torchlighters is a series of animated programs with strong values and educational content for youth ages 8-12. Each 30-minute episode presents the story of a true-life hero from Christian history. Kids will be challenged to shine the light of Jesus while learning about the history of our faith.

I watched an episode about John Bunyan and enjoyed it. I’ll be recommending this series to parents.

john bunyan the people's pilgrim dvd cover
DVD available at Christianbook.com also

After watching, I had several more recommended videos presented to me. I was pleasantly surprised to find many choices of documentaries and dramatized accounts of Christians from the past. I have enjoyed biographies of John Bunyan, Charles Spurgeon, as well as a dramatized account of the life of John Wycliff.

If you are disappointed with the offerings at your local theatre, stay at home and browse through the selections on Amazon Prime Video. (If you don’t subscribe to Amazon Prime, these videos are available to rent or purchase.)

If you don’t want to use Amazon, you can try two other sources for Christian films. The two websites I’ve used are Pureflix (pureflix.com) and ChristianCinema (christiancinema.com/digital).

I haven’t found a ton of offerings that I’d recommend. So many “Christian” films are just syrupy moral tales, but these sites offer more wholesome choices than your neighborhood movie house. Pureflix is a subscription site with a current monthly price of $10.99 [Edit June 2021: Currently listed at $9.99], discounted if you purchase an annual plan. Christian Cinema has no subscription. You purchase or rent as you see fit. If you didn’t see Gosnell in the theatre, you can rent in digital format for $4.99 [Edit June 2021: Price has dropped to $3.99 to rent ]currently on Christian Cinema or purchase (also digital format) for $9.99.

 

My favorite Christian fiction movie by far is The Secrets of Johnathan Sperry. I love to recommend this to church groups and families with youngsters! The Gospel is spoken, hell is mentioned, and folks are urged to evangelize. It’s touching, funny, and clean. Rent or buy, you won’t regret it! I’m not even going to give a synopsis, just watch it!

screengrab from amazon prime page for movie The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry

I had planned to make a list of suggested Twitter followers; however, I’m wondering how much time should be spent on social media. My time is often eaten up mindlessly scrolling through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and then I don’t often leave more encouraged or enlightened.  I’ll leave off the social media recommendations for now.

What about you? What are your favorite Christian films? Any Christian entertainment resources that you recommend?

Thanks for reading!

Bible Study Notes

Favorite Christian Resources

patricia grace

woman writing on notebook with laptop computer nearby

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 focusparticularly 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!

 

Bible Study Notes, Cultural and Current Events

What I *Won’t* Do in the New Year

patricia grace
happy new year 2019

It’s the time for New Year’s Resolutions, which usually includes something you want to DO in the New Year. For now, I’ve formulated a list of actions that I want to keep from doing instead.

Chasing Sleep

Although sleeping too much is definitely something that I want to avoid, that’s not exactly what I mean here. Whenever I can’t sleep (a situation that occurs more often lately), I tend to just lie in bed for hours praying for sleep.

This habit isn’t helping me to rest and I’ve decided to just get out of bed when it happens. I keep fearing that if I get up and do something else then I won’t feel rested; however, lying in bed for hours mentally chasing sleep hasn’t helped me a bit!

Tweet from Paul Washer reads 3am...cannot sleep...One thing I have in common with the Apostle Paul. Many sleepless nights.

I’ve read that evangelist Ray Comfort has spent hours in prayer when he can’t sleep. And one of my favorite Bible teachers Paul Washer has reminded us that while Jesus was God in the flesh, He still sacrificed sleep and relied on His Father in prayer. (Luke 5:16, 6:12) We are made to need sleep, but we can sacrifice some bodily rest to receive spiritual rest and refreshing.

(If insomnia is a problem for you, you may want to read Ray’s book Overcoming Insomnia*. And for more on Paul Washer and prayer, check out his sermon on the I’ll Be Honest YouTube channel).

Failing to Submit

This resolution is not simply a good idea, a goal, or part of a life enhancement plan. Being submissive is a command of the Lord to all of His children, and I’m referring particularly to the command to wives to submit to their husbands.

 

…submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Ephesians 5:21 ESV

 

Immediately after writing the heading for this section, my resolve was tested. I enjoy my solitude, especially when writing, and my husband frequently interrupts with questions. Obeying the Lord’s command to serve my husband trumps my desire for quiet work, however, and this resolution is going to be the most difficult to fulfill. The Lord is worthy of my obedience and my husband, as a brother in Christ and fellow image bearer is worthy of my respect.

 

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.

Ephesians 5:22 ESV

 

We’re enjoying some new devices we received for Christmas, and he often has a million questions for me since I’m much further along in technology knowledge than he is. Instead of being grateful for these wonderful inventions, I am tempted to succumb to aggravation and an ungenerous spirit. Failing to submit is definitely something that needs to go.

Lack of discipline

My life is blessedly full. I have several self-paced online computer courses which I’ve undertaken, an active church membership, family obligations and events, along with a love of Bible study. The problem is that I float along from one task to another, often leaving projects unfinished. It’s well past time to do something about the lack of disciplined time management in my life.

With all the aforementioned technology tools, I have zero excuse. There are apps for time management, reminders, and event scheduling. And, whether or not I make use of technology to help, I have the gift of the Holy Spirit Who is a promised counselor and guide.

My first step after closing this article will be to take some time to actually schedule my day tomorrow, instead of lazily drifting into the stream of obligations with no plan or goal. With God’s help, I’ll be leaving a few sinful, bad habits in the past and greeting the New Year rested, submissive, and fruitful!