Bible Resources

 

Passages: Matthew 4:1-4, Psalm 119:1-16, Hebrews 4, 2 Timothy 3:16, Joshua 1

Remember:

  • God speaks life (through His Word).

  • If God is speaking, we should be listening.

  • Head knowledge and heart change lead to one another.

  • We read for breadth (raking). We study for depth (digging).

Long Story Short, The Big Story - Check out Week 1 of our “Long Story Short” teaching series where our Teaching Pastor, Eric Friedmann, outlined the overall narrative of The Bible. This message will help you to see the Bible as one big story.

The Bible App - The Bible App is above and beyond the best digital Bible app out there. From being able to read and download dozens of translations to thousands of Bible reading plans, it is a must-have for any device.

Blue Letter Bible - This (free!) website is a phenomenal resource for your times of Bible study. While there is a little bit of a learning curve, this tool allows you to look up passages, the meaning of words from the Greek or Hebrew, and even see what a few scholars and commentaries have to say in the explanation of the passage at hand. We recommend this for anyone wanting to study in depth a or as you prepare for a group lesson.

Lectio Divina - Lectio Divina, meaning “sacred reading,” is the traditional monastic practice of reading and meditating on Scripture; often thought as “feasting on the Word, in the manner of how a cow chews its cud.” The aim of Lectio is to pray Scripture and draw near to God. Here is a brief video explanation of how Lectio Divina may be practiced (note: the steps discussed in the video are slightly different, but all the same). Below is an outline of the five steps of Lectio Divina. 

  1. Silencio (silence) - Start your time with God by spending a few moments in silence to ready you heart, soul, and mind to hear from the Lord.

  2. Lectio (reading) - Begin reading the passage very slowly and intentionally. Take notice of key words, repetitions, or anything that speaks to you. Then, re-read the passage again, taking time to pause, and repeat (even out loud!) the words or phrases that draw your attention. The goal is to feel the words with your heart, soul, and mind.

  3. Meditatio (meditation) - Now, think of that word or phrase that really grabbed your attention. Spend the next few minutes repeating and reflecting on what God is speaking to you.Think about what the phrase that stood out to you meant to the original audience, and what the author might have been thinking when he wrote it; and how you might apply it to your life. Maybe even consider writing it down.

  4. Oratio (prayer) - The next step is to take everything you have thought and felt thus far, and take it to God in prayer. Whether you need to praise God, feel thankful, convicted, or an area of improvement - know the grace of Jesus allows us to boldly approach God with our full heart and mind.

  5. Contemplatio (contemplation) - The final stage is to now let God do the talking (Psalm 46:10). Enter into a time of silence and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you as you seek to just “be” with God.

GOALS Journaling - While journaling is not for everyone, it is a fantastic tool to really hone in on and take your Bible reading to the next level. There are many different “forms” of journaling, but we love the simplicity and tangibility of the GOALS method. Here’s what the GOALS Journaling method looks like:

  1. Start by grabbing your bible and a way to journal - either paper and pen, the notes app on your phone, a word document, etc.

  2. Read a passage of Scripture (we recommend a few paragraphs or a whole chapter) and answer these questions:

G - What does this passage teach me about God?

O - What does this passage teach me about myself and others?

A - How can I apply this passage in obedience to my life?

LS - Who in my life can I share this truth with?

The Bible Project

    1. The Bible Project (https://www.youtube.com/user/jointhebibleproject)

    2. The Bible Project provides short and extremely informative videos for Bible study. From What is the Bible? To Genres of Scripture to breakdowns of individual books of the Bible and more, we highly encourage you to check these out as you and/or your group reads, studies, and applies Scripture together.

Bible Translations

    1. Which Bible translation should I use? What Bible do you guys recommend?

    2. Every Bible translation falls on a scale of being “word-for-word” to “thought-for-thought” – with every translation coming from the Greek and Hebrew manuscripts, respectively. The word-for-word translations can be more literal, but also read choppy at times; whereas the thought-for-thought translations are less literal, but read easier.

    3. Here at FIRST, our pastors preach primarily out of the new NIV (2012), which falls in the middle of the scale mentioned above. With that said, you will hear other translations used and referenced on occasions.

    4. For those new to faith and starting to read the Bible for the first time, we recommend the New Living Translation.

    5. For those looking to follow along with our sermons, we recommend this NIV Bible.

    6. For those looking to study deeper on their own, we recommend the ESV Study Bible.

    7. For those who like to take notes in their Bible, we recommend the journaling Bibles, like this or these.

    8. If you have any questions or need help getting a Bible of your own, please reach out to us.

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