Before I came to Christ, I was a huge bookworm. Now, I’m happy to call myself a Bible study nerd, turning that love of reading into a love of reading and studying His Word.
The bookshelves of mystery and science fiction/fantasy books have been replaced with a devoted bookshelf space of Bible study books and non-fiction Christian books that have greatly enriched my walk.
In this post and in a following post, Lord willing, I want to take the time to share those resources and books with my readers. I pray that you will find a couple (or plenty) of helpful reads to enrich your own study and devotional time with the Lord.
My Favorite Bible Study Resources
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When I came to Christ, I wanted to know all I could about Him and the faith. I felt so far behind, recognizing that I had wasted so much of my life in sin and that I had spent the precious time that the Lord gave me so haphazardly. I wanted more than ever to redeem that time, to truly grow in my faith and fully renew my mind through His Word.
Since near the beginning of my walk, I have diligently sought out the most helpful, enriching Bible study resource tools through Christian YouTube channels and blogs. These helped me refine my wish list and helped me grow the collection I’m about to share with you.
One of my favorites was and is still is Faith Womack’s Bible Nerd Ministries. If you have not watched Faith’s channel and you love learning Bible study tips or desire to go deeper in Bible study this year, I highly encourage you to check out her channel. Additionally, if you are a relatively new believer or someone who has struggled to find joy in Bible study, or just wants a refresher, you should check out her book, “No More Boring Bible Study: Why Taking Scripture Seriously Is Easier and More Exciting Than You Think.”
A common misconception is that you need to be a seminary student or a pastor to study the Bible in depth; this is completely not true. In-depth Bible study is meant for the average follower of Christ who wants to understand the scriptures and their historical context much better. We should all be lifelong students of the Bible.
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. –2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV)
Bible study resources like dictionaries and study Bibles will help you fall more in love with scripture as you grow in your understanding and knowledge. As a result, they will help you become more confident in what you believe in and aid you greatly when you witness to others.
Without further ado, here are the Bible study resources on my bookshelf:
My Core Study Resources
Thomas Nelson’s New King James Version Study Bible
This is by far the best study Bible I have found and it can greatly enrich your understanding of the Bible. It is a wonderful resource for learning more about Biblical history and the cultural context of passages. It has more than 1,000 articles, notes, word studies, photos, illustrations, maps, and other tools contributed by top Bible scholars.
Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary
This is the best, most comprehensive Bible dictionary I have found. It has over 6,500 articles, from Aaron to Zuzite, and many go very in depth to help further your understanding and greatly aid in your Bible study. It also includes hundreds of full-color photos, maps, reconstructions, and charts that bring biblical history and culture to life.
The New Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
This a wonderful, huge resource for word studies, as it has every word in the Bible indexed and breaks down the definitions of the original Hebrew and Greek words. It also has a complete topical index to the Bible and contains additional cross-references to standard Bible dictionaries.
My Other Study Resources
Rose Book of Bible Charts, Maps, and Time Lines
This very helpful resource has everything from overviews of key people and key stories in the Bible, the names of God, 100 archaelogical proofs of the Bible, Christian history timeline, 100 fulfilled prophecies of Jesus, maps of the Holy Land then and now, and so much more. It includes over 200 Bible charts, maps, and time lines.
Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words
This is a handy resource when you are doing word studies, and it is synced up to the Strong’s Concordance system. It contains more than 6,000 key biblical words, describing word frequency, usage, and meaning.
While this is a great resource for your shelf, I would not recommend it as a standalone dictionary; many words I have looked up I had to find elsewhere in the Holman dictionary. Think of it more like a more in-depth, smaller version of the Strong’s Concordance.
Thomas Nelson’s The Woman’s Study Bible (NKJV)
This is a great study Bible designed specifically for women. It has more than 300 in-text topical articles on relevant issues for women to gain wisdom from and apply to their lives. It includes insightful essays by women considered experts in the fields of theology, biblical studies, and archaelogy, to deepen your theological knowledge.
The Interlinear Bible: Hebrew-Greek-English
This was a “nerdy” purchase that I admit I need to use more often, especially during those precious times when I unplug from my phone. I tend to use the Blue Letter Bible app the majority of the time, as it is much more faster than going between this and the Strong’s Concordance.
However, this is an amazing find when it comes to seeing the literal translation of the Bible and matching up the Hebrew or Greek word with the Strong’s Concordance. Do not get this resource without first getting the Strong’s Concordance. Also, if you have trouble reading small print, a magnifying glass will be helpful.
My Compact-Size Resources
These are wonderful, smaller resources for when you want to easily put study resources into your Bible study bag, or to have smaller study resources easily accessible at your bedside.
This is a wonderful little dictionary that is easy to carry and keep at your bedside when you want to quickly look up a word, person, place, object, meaning of names, etc.
This helpful little reference book gives overviews of every book in the Bible. It gives you a bird’s eye view of the main ideas and authors of all the books, how Christ is seen in each book, key verses in each book, etc.
Pocket Bible Concordance: Nelson’s Pocket Reference Series
A lot of modern Bibles have concordances in the back, some expansive and some small. This little reference is handy to have if your Bible’s concordance is short, or if you want a separate small resource to look up words and where to find them in the Bible. My NKJV Bible has a pretty exhaustive concordance in the back, but this little reference has often had additional scriptures or words.
God’s Promises for Your Every Need, NKJV: A Treasury of Scripture for Life
This has been a valuable tool to keep in both my study bag, at my bedside and at my desk. I’ve gotten multiple copies for both myself and to gift to others. It contains hundreds of verses on many areas, providing scriptures to comfort in times of worry and stress, times of crisis, and much more.
I pray this has blessed you, helped you build your own wish list and bookshelf of study resources that will greatly enrich your study and application of God’s Word. Until next time, Lord willing, shalom to my brothers and sisters in Christ.
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