Bible study resources

by purelytwins
Bible study resources

Below you will find the resources, tips and tools we use to study the Bible.

This is not an exclusive lists, but just what we have or are currently using. We will continue to update this page as discover more things, so bookmark it. And make sure you check out our end times resource page too!

We want you to know and understand we are not experts.  

We don’t know everything about the Bible. We are still learning and growing.

We also want to make sure we are giving credit to others that deserve it more than as. We are simply sharing what we use to study the Bible and then share what we discover.

We don’t want to share the wrong information or lead you astray from the truth.  

We do pray over the Bible before we read and film our videos. But just know we still might make mistakes, say the wrong thing etc.

This is our first time reading and studying the Bible so please give us grace.

We are sharing our journey because we feel into false beliefs and new age practices, and want to know the truth. We want to know what God words says and what it meant to the originally audience.

We are in a season of life where we want to go deep into studying the Bible, so we are taking our time with it.

We are here to encourage you to read and study God’s word – as it is alive and active.

Most of all it tells you about the ONE who died to save you – JESUS

We don’t know where you stand on your beliefs, but let’s grow and learn together.

Bibles:

We currently have 3 Bibles:
NLT Reflections Bible 
She Reads Truth Bible
New King James Version

We do read other versions off Bible APPs like the ESV, NASB, KJV, and NIV.

And most recently Legacy Standard Bible – they have a free APP.

A Greek Bible we are looking into possibly getting is the The Greek New Testament by Tyndall House

Bible Tabs we have:
Purple Decorative Bible Tabs
Tabbies Rainbow Bible Indexing Tabs

Lori recently got these ones for the kids which we love from Well Watered Women shop.

Please remember- that for the pastors, any scholars, resource, or any teacher of some kind, we have not listened to every single thing or read everything they have wrote or said. So just because we listened to them doesn’t mean we agree 100% with everything the person has said. But we still enjoy them and respect their work. We can still be all under Christ and disagree on somethings, of course there are core things we need to all agree on.

Resources for all Bible things:
The at a glance sheet are from Teach Sunday school – they have a lot of things but the ones we have are:

  • Bible characters at a glance
  • Books of the Bible at a glance
  • Bible authors
  • Bible virtues
  • they also have great resource for kids

Online resources:

Biblehub.com – we have used this some. They offer many tools from looking up words, atlas, study bibles and more.

Bible Gateway – don’t use it too much, but you can read the Bible and they offer some resources. If you are familiar with this resource let us know so we can learn more. But we know you can look up the English word and see where it is mentioned in the Bible.

Please note this is not all that we listen too. In each of our Bible studies we share more resources we use. So check that out too. And just because listed here doesn’t mean with 100% agree with everything the person has said. We just have learned some things from each person.

Lexion  you can find Hebrew and Greek words and do word studies and see where the word in Hebrew and Greek is mentioned in the Bible, it doesn’t go into detail of the usage of the word, but it is a start to see where is the word used (believe it uses Blue Letter Bible).

E-sword – we have not personally looked into this, but someone we respect that teaches the Bible recommended it – let us know if you are familiar with it

New resources to us that help understand Jewish content (as well as some books mentioned below):

Sefaria

One for Israel ministry – they have a YouTube and podcast

Confused on all the denominations, us too. This here does a nice job of breaking down the different Christian denominations

We do our best to get different views when studying the Bible.

Youtube:

Podcast:

  • Exploring Strange Bible podcast – Tim Mackie
  • BEMA podcast with Marty Solomon – also has a Youtube channel
  • Afterclass
  • The Bible recap podcast
  • OnScript – engaging conversations on Bible and theology
  • OnScript – Biblical world
  • Verity
  • The Listener’s Commentary

A new Bible teacher:

Ray Vander Laan – we are new to his work, but have found his videos so interesting and helpful –  Bible Series: That the World May Know ®, and he has more off his website. He has helped us understand Jewish traditions as well as historical things.

Some of this YouTube videos we have watched are:

Others we learn from:

  • David Wood
  •  Sam Shamoun
  • Godwit podcast and Godwit ministries YouTube
  • The Story and the Shape
  • Rabbi Jason Sobel 

PLEASE note – We list more people we listen to online here

Good Bible apps to help you study:

  • Logos Bible –  we use for more resources like searching for passages like I want to see all the scripture on love. Allows for more pictures, maps and things. We did to look into this one, as we feel it does more than we use it for.
  • Blue letter Bible – We use this APP the most (it has everything online too). We use it a lot to get cross-references, dictionaries, and text commentaries. It also has audios from pastors teaching on scripture. This APP has a lot of great things including a greek concordance.
  • Strong’s Concordance – we use to look up words used in the scripture – although we now tend to use the Blue Letter Bible for that.
  • Bible Gateway – we don’t have it, as we use the online if we ever do you use. But we wanted to mention it has an APP option.
  • A new app for studying the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament)is the Hebrew Bible Study (have a website too you can use)
  • NEW app – Streetlights – free to download and it has audible Bible, and they offer ones with music

We like to listen to pastors that teach the Bible verse-by-verse.

Instead of listing them here, each time we read a book of the Bible, we share what pastors we are listening too.

Plus any other resource we are using to study that book of the Bible.

You see our Bible studies here.

And for our Bible study workouts click here.

The main reason for reading the Bible is to encounter God, to get to know Him more.

Use “a Bible reading plan” as a goal but not the goal. Make your aim to become more intimate with God through engaging His Word and growing in your faith. 

Also we want to mention that not every passage you read you will get a major AH HA moment. And that is okay. 

And there will be times when it is confusing or hard. It is all good. Use it to dive deeper in the Word. Remember it is not a race to finish reading it, but your time with God.

It is a journey.

Here are some questions to consider when reading the Bible:

  • who wrote it
  • when was it written (understanding there is debate on this)
  • why – what is the major theme of the author for the book
  • what is the style of writing
  • what is the cultural background
  • what is the historical background
  • what was going on during that time
  • study the original language – Hebrew and Greek
  • how does it show Jesus
  • how did the passage apply to the original hearers

Here are some things to look out for when reading scripture:

  • what are you learning about Jesus here
  • transition words
  • repeating words
  • Jesus power and authority
  • how people react to Jesus
  • looks for themes
  • notice names and locations
  • was the piece your reading before or after the cross
  • what are the truths about God’s character here or how is His character revealed here
  • what is hard for you to understand – write down your questions
  • what does it say about God and what He has done
  • what is true about God

There are many ways to approach reading the Bible:-

  • read one whole book of the Bible in one sitting
  • read one chapter, try to use 3 different translations
  • you can follow themes or do word studies
  • you can study the characters of the Bible
  • learn Hebrew and Greek to help you read it from the original language – to be honest something we keep deciding if we want to do
  • put yourself as a 1st century person reading this
  • always pray before you read scripture – the Holy Spirit is the best teacher
  • pray through scripture
  • write down what you learned – write in your own words
  • read and study the Bible with others – learn from one another
  • observe the text, then look to apply it – be careful not to make the scripture mean what you want it to mean

Read and hear scripture as much as you can. Let God’s word sink into you. Talk to God about what you read. Ask Him questions.

It is important to understand what the author’s original intent was and what was happening historically.

Another new resource we came across recently was – Drive thru history – He has a YouTube plus courses. He covers the gospels, the world of first Christians and more. We have just watched some of his YouTube videos and they have been good.

Books:

Ones we have:

The IVP Bible Background Commentary – New Testament – by Craig Keener

Covenant and God’s Purpose for the World by Thomas R. Schreiner

Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus: How a Jewish Perspective Can Transform Your Understanding  By Lois Tverberg

Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewishness of Jesus Can Transform Your Faith by Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg

Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewish Words of Jesus Can Change Your Life by Lois Tverberg and Ray Vander Laan

Hermeneutics: Principles and Processes of Biblical Interpretation

Books on our list to get:

Rose Chronological guide to the Bible *note some of the apps mentioned above have maps

Rose book of Bible charts, maps and time lines

The Illustrated guide to Bible customs and curiosities by George Knight

Holman illustrated Bible dictionary

The IVP Bible background commentary – Old Testament by John Walton and Victor Matthews

NIV Cultural background study bible – bringing to like ancient world of scripture by Craig Keener

NKJV cultural background study bible by Craig Keener

We have more books on our lists, and we will add more over time

As you can see we don’t go into too much detail on things like hermeneutics, exegesis and eisegesis. We recommend you go and research those terms.

We share this resource page to inspire, motivate and encourage you to read the Bible.

That you can do.

It is not just for pastors or scholars.

God wants you to read it and know it.

The Holy Spirit is in you, helping you understand what you read. This is why prayer before and during Bible study is important. To let God tell you His word, not put our own thoughts or just take what you hear from someone else.

Then of course use resources to help you go deeper and get different people’s perspectives. But remember humans we are flawed, God’s word is not.

We hope this encourages you to get into your Bible and let God speak to you.

His word is alive and active.

Make sure to also check out – How we mark, highlight, & study our Bibles

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