This is Episode #007 of The On Preaching Podcast, the podcast dedicated to helping you preach faithfully, clearly, and better.

In this episode, we will talk about the benefits of using study Bibles in sermon preparation.

A study is more than a Bible you study from. It is a Bible with commentary notes at the bottom of the page. Early in my study, I read through the notes in the study Bibles. And I recommend you this simple but effective practice to you in this episode.

Why should I use study Bibles in sermon preparation?

1. Study Bibles focus on the content of the text.
2. Study Bibles address the fundamentals of the text.
3. Study Bibles are written concisely.

Which study Bibles do I use?

1. The ESV Study Bible
2. The MacArthur Study Bible
3. The NIV Study Bible
4. The NIV Disciple’s Study Bible
5. The Reformation Study Bible
6. The ESV Literary Study Bible
7. The Life Application Study Bible
8. The Jeremiah Study Bible
9. The ESV Gospel Transformation Bible
10. The HCSB Study Bible
11. The Life Essentials Study Bible

Questions

What do you think? Do you use Study Bibles? Which one do you use? What do you make of my recommendations?

Listener Questions

In this episode, I answer one question from the show notes of our last episode and a question left on our SpeakPipe voicemail. Your questions are welcome.

• This episode will answer Steven’s question about preparing to preach as a bi-vocational minister.
• This episode will answer Robert’s question about crafting transitional sentences in your sermons.

Episode Resources

• Why Johnny Can’t Preach by T. David Gordon
• Pulpit Crimes by James R. White
• On Preaching by H.B. Charles Jr.

Announcements

We will host the Cutting It Straight Expository Preaching Conference in Jacksonville, September 24-26, 2014. Our goal is to teach, model, and promote Bible exposition. There will be solid preaching, throught-provoking lectures, and practical training all centered on expository preaching and teaching. The conference is open to all. Register today. Hope to see you there.

Click here for more information about the Cutting It Straight Expository Preaching Conference.

Hope to see you at the SBTS Expositors Conference October 28-30, 2014, with Dr. R. Albert Mohler and Dr. John F. MacArthur. I also will be speaking at the pre-conference on October 27.

A QUOTE ON PREACHING: “preaching well requires more than preparing sermons; it requires preparing oneself as the kind of human who has the sensibilities prerequisite to preaching. An individual without time to read broadly and intensely, without time to reflect on life, without time to compose (even if merely in a personal journal), is not likely to be an individual who can preach.” – T. David Gordon

Feedback

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Thanks again for listening.