Resources for Christians

Always check resources against the Bible

Prove [or test] all things; hold fast that which is good
(1 Thessalonians 5:21)

And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
(Acts 17:10)

There are many other sites that you may find more useful – these are but a few I use and have found useful.

I cannot vouch for the up–rightness of any of these websites, having never communicated with the authors (I think this is the best way to determine the heart of a person), however, I trust their sites are true to the Word which they give access to, and I thank them for this.

Note

Apologetics

Apologetics is a specific arm of study of Scripture. The word comes from the Greek word ἀπολογία (apología) meaning defence. The Greek term refers to a reasoned defence that would be given in a court of law. The classic example is Plato’s Apology, Socrates’ defence against the charges of atheism and corrupting the youth. Thus Christian apologetics is the reasoned defence of the Christian faith against objections, but also includes the setting forth of positive grounds for Christianity.

Creation Ministries (Based in Queensland, Australia) < https://creation.com/ > Understanding the first 12 chapters of the Bible is paramount in understanding the sinfulness of sin, and the need for the saviour to be the Lord Jesus Christ himself. That is, it was only God himself that could save us from being placed in hell for all eternity (that is for ever and ever). Websites such as this one help to understand the fundamental questions of man – where did we come from. Australian and other countries. This group produces the Creation Magazine and the Journal of Creation. (accessed 6 January 2019)

Answers in Genesis (USA) <https://www.answersingenesis.org > Very similar to the Creation Ministries site aimed at USA (and UK). (accessed 6 January 2019)

Institute For Creation Research (ICR) (USA) < https://www.icr.org/ > ICR exists to conduct scientific research within the realms of origins and Earth history, and then to educate the public both formally and informally through professional training programs, through conferences and seminars around the country, and through books, magazines, and media presentations. (Accessed 24 July 2020)

Authors of repute (This list is by no means complete)

Note that I do not hold these authors or preachers to be infallible, but like any person's writings, these must always be checked against Scripture. Those listed here I have found to offer the truth and have proved a good place to start for any serious Bible study.

STEM < https://www.stempublishing.com > publishingwebsite has many useful authors, which are not necessarily listed here. For example Edward Dennet <https://www.stempublishing.com/authors/dennett/> (accessed24 July 2020) is a great author for a new believer – he writes simply and is easy to read. Of course for the in–depth analysis one cannot go past J.N Darby <https://www.stempublishing.com/authors/darby/> (accessed 30 June 2018). But others such as H.L. Hossier (great commentary of the history books of the Old Testament – Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah and Ester); WTP Wolson, writes more on themes: a must read to understand the Church ("The Church: What is it?), the Holy Spirit ("Another Comforter") amongst other gems; William Kelly who has some great commentaries.

Many of these authors are still published and can be found in Australia at such places as the Petersham Bible & Tract Depot in Sydney <http://tractdepot.blogspot.com.au/> (accessed 24 July 2020).

Stephen Armstrong (1966-2021) was the founder and principal teacher of Verse By Verse Ministry International < https://www.versebyverseministry.org/ > which sets out to teach Bible verse by verse. He devoted his life ministry to encouraging believers to know and live the word of God, especially through a Jewish lens (as a gentile) The YouTube channel can be found here: < https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAFzV5qn0D7xTDoQhXNptoQ > (6 February 21). The teaching is plain and easy to understand and fundamentally is truthful.

Alistair Begg at Truth for Life < https://www.truthforlife.org/about/about-alistair-begg/> a Scottish preacher located in the US: I have found his sermons extremely helpful and challenging. Sermons are posted on the Truth for Life website (< https://www.truthforlife.org/resources/sermon/ > (accessed 7 Feb 2021).

Horatius Bonar God's Way of Holiness (accessed 30 June 2018), often known for some of his hymns, lived 1808-1889, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Arno C Gaebelein: His annotated bible is a 'must' resource for any serious student of the Bible. Of importance is that he offers clear concise augments against higher criticism especially liberal hermeneutics. There are a number of sites, but it depends upon whether you want a chapter or the whole book.

• By Bible chapter < http://www.studylight.org/commentaries/gab/>
• By Bible book < http://biblecentre.org/content.php?auth=5&mode=5 > (not all books):
  from < http://biblecentre.org/home.php >
  The entire commentary can be found in PDF form at various sites. All sites accessed 24 July 2020.

Arnold Fruchtenbaum at Ariel Ministries < https://www.ariel.org > has written much on the End Time prophecies. He has a wealth of knowledge of the Old and New Testament, and having not only met him and taken one of his three week study tours of Israel, I can testify his works are worth studying. Arnold's set of lectures on Revelation are well worth any serious student of these prophecies listening to. His understanding of Jewish life has given him an in-depth insight into the OT that an average Christian would struggle to understand. More about Dr Fruchtenbaum can be found atAriel Ministries which has many resources including DVD's that are every worth watching, especially those dealing with the history of the Jews. My wife and I have found "The Footsteps of the Messiah - A study of the Sequence of Prophetic Events", Ariel Ministries, San Antonio USA (ISBN 0-914863-09-6) Reprinted in 2011 to be very helpful in our relationship with Jesus Christ. It covers the entire prophetic period of the Messiah, and has a number of very useful appendices. There is also a study guide available for this book and a CD of lectures covering much of the subject matter (24 July 2020).

Alexander Hislop: The Two Babylons or The Papal Worship Proved to be the Worship of Nimrod and His Wife by Alexander Hislop First published as a pamphlet in 1853--greatly expanded in 1858, available in hardcover (although not sure whether available in 2012) on online - try, http://www.biblebelievers.com/babylon/ > for html version or elsewhere as PDF, including Google Books. This is an excellent book to help understand how worldly traditions have influenced the church and destroyed, in some cases, its focus on the Lord Jesus Christ.

David Hunt (1926 - 2013) The Berean Call < http://www.thebereancall.org/ > (accessed 25 May 2016) His most best known book is probably The Seduction of Christianity but has since produced many worthwhile books especially some Israel and its role in Christendom (e.g. A Cup of Trembling). He has a good understanding of Islam and why it fails to please God.

Harry A Ironside (1876 - 1951) works can found at The Library Thing < http://www.librarything.com/author/ironsideha > and other locations - try also Google Book. A bible teacher and evangelist, and pastor of Moody Memorial Church (Chicago, USA). (Accessed 30 November 2014).

William Kelly The writings of William Kelly < https://www.stempublishing.com/authors/kelly/ >
Gives a clear and concise exposition of many books of the bible, especially the Old Testament along with messages for Christian living.

CH Mackintosh< (1820 - 1896) The wittings of CH Mackintosh < https://www.stempublishing.com/authors/mackintosh/ >
One of the best for understanding the Law and its relation to Christian theology. He wrote extensively on Christian living, but also on the first five books of the bible.

Chuck Missler (1934 - 2018) K House < http://www.khouse.org/ > The late Chuck Missler produced many useful resources, including sound recordings of messages and notes. His Genesis, although highly technical, is good reading and a must for any Christian student of science.

James Innell Packer (1926 -) is probably best known for his book Knowing God (Publisher: InterVarsity Press ISBN # 9780830816507). Some have dismissed him totally due to his failure to separate from those whose actions not only appear evil but in some cases are evil (see his views on the ecumenical movement), however, his early works are sound (let me know if this is not true contact mail).

Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899 - 1981) < https://www.mljtrust.org/ >, an evangelist, who has a vast collectionf of sermons and written material, that covers a host of issues relevant for today's society. Some of his sermons are avaialable as MP3's

Arthur Pink (1886 - 1952) has many websites devoted to him, one being Grace Gems: Pink < http://gracegems.org/Pink/Books.htm > (25 October 2017). He was an avid writer dealing especially with the rapid declension of the church in the early part of last century. I have his "Exposition of Hebrews" in hard copy, which is excellent; noting he was an ardent Calvinist.

John Charles Ryle (1816 - 1900) an Anglican bishop who wrote many thought provoking pamphlets and books. Some on-line resources include Grace Gems: Ryle < http://gracegems.org/Ryle/books.htm > or at Bible Bulletin Board < http://www.biblebb.com/ryle.htm > (30 June 2018). Ryle's excellent commentaries especially of the Gospels must be read by serious students and can be purchased in book form.

Charles Spurgeon (1834 - 1892) wrote thousands of articles, many of which are on-line. Many of his works are acrhive in the Spurgeon Center for Biblical Preaching < https://www.spurgeon.org/ > (30 June 2018). There are many other websites that house the works of Spurgeon. However, most of Spurgeon's works are available cheaply from good book sellers. His more famous books include "Morning and Evening" a series of devotions to be read twice daily and "The Treasury of David" a treatise on the Psalms. For the preacher I find "Lectures to My Students" (Christian Heritage, UK, 1998) very useful, owing the hard copy - available on Google Books <https://books.google.com.au/books> (accessed 30 June 2018).

Aiden Wilson Tozer (1897 - 1963) wrote many articles pertinent to the modern church whose declension has rendered her impotent. His motto, if he had one, was "knowing God firsthand". Many of his articles have been republished and can be found in cheap paperback versions for only a few dollars from reputable Christian book stores. Some can be found on the internet. Recommended reading includes "What Ever Happened To Worship", "Pursuit of God", "God's pursuit of Man", "This world: playground or battleground", "The Worship Driven Life" to name but a few. His works can be found on many websites; one of which has some of his sermons as MP3 files called Sermon Index with AW Tozer's works found here <https://www.sermonindex.net/modules/mydownloads/viewcat.php?cid=6> (6 February 2021).

Andy Woods < https://www.andywoodsministries.org/ >a straight forward bible teacher whose on-line sermons are well worth listening to - obtainable from Sugar Land Bible Church < https://slbc.org > or < https://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?speakeronly=true&currsection=sermonsspeaker&keyword=Dr._Andrew_Woods >. The sermons come with Powerpoint notes or pdf, which help with understanding the content. Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/DrAndyWoods/ (24 July 2020).

Others:

J N Darby, W Kelly, C H Mackintosh, J G Bellett , E Dennett, F B Hole, H Smith, W T P Wolston, H L Rossier; see STEM Publishing < https://www.stempublishing.com/ >

Books - not always on the internet

Bruce, FF The Canon of Scripture. InterVarsity, Illinois, 1988 (Evidence of the authority of Scripture - see other works by FF Bruce)

Gaebelein, Arno C Gaebelein's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1970, 1989 (reprint2), Loizeauz Brothers, USA.
A very concise and useful commentary of the entire bible which is a compilation of his writings: Annotated Bible by Arno Clement Gaebelein (1861-1942)

By Bible book < http://biblecentre.org/content.php?auth=5&mode=5 > (not all books):
from < http://biblecentre.org/home.php > (Accessed 25 October 2017)

Fruchtenbaum, Arnold: The Footsteps of the Messiah - A study of the Sequence of Prophetic Events , Ariel Ministries, San Antonio USA (ISBN 0-914863-09-6) Reprinted 2011 has been helpful in our relationship with Jesus Christ be helping understand the gospel and the fulfilment of the Messianic prophecies. See Ariel Ministries (Accessed 30 June 2018).

Hislop, Alexander The Two Babylons: Romanism and its origins 1916, reprinted many times, Century Reprographic & Print Services, Glasgow. Also available online at many locations e.g.< http://www.biblebelievers.com/babylon/> (Accessed 25 Sep 2014). Gives an interesting history of the pagan elements of Christian traditions such as Easter and Christmas and the corruption of Church doctrine by Rome.

Mackintosh, CH Genesis to Deuteronomy. Notes on the Pentateuch. Loizeauz Brothers, New Jersey, 1974 (i.e. a reprint of 1880). (Much of this can be found on the web). It is the best commentary for any serious student of the Pentateuch (First five books, being the Law) of the Old Testament. See < https://www.stempublishing.com/authors/mackintosh/ >

Mackintosh, CH The Mackintosh Treasury: Miscellaneous Writings, Loizeaux Brothers NJ, 1976. Many articles found in this book can be found on-line e.g. < https://www.stempublishing.com/authors/mackintosh/ >

Morris HM and Morris III Many Infallible Proofs, HM, Master Books, 1997

Spurgeon Charles H Lectures to My Students, republished by Christian Focus Publications, 1998. < http://www.reformationtheology.com/2012/03/lectures_to_my_students_by_c_h.php > (Accessed 25 October 2017).

E-Resources

Christian websites with useful information

General

Ariel Ministries < https://www.ariel.org > has a large number of resources dealing with the Old Testament, the history of the Jews and prophecy. The Ministry is one aimed at unsaved Jews, to bring the good news of Yeshia Ha-Mashiah. , and is recommended to anyone who is or wishes to evangelise Jews. (Jan 2019)

Ariel Ministries in Australia < https://ariel.org.au/ > has weekly Bible studies (multiple) by Zoom™, which commence with the Covid-19 pandemic. These are run by Chris Savage using Arnold Fruchtenbaum's material. (24 July 2020)

The Bible Study Project < https://www.biblestudyproject.org/ > A repository (or library) of information managed by Norman Manzon - much from Dr Arnold Fruchtenbaum from Ariel Ministeries - covering the principal doctrines of the God (Accessed 1 August 2018).

Herald of Hope < https://www.heraldofhope.org.au/ > Current issues for a Christian's consideration: has very sound teaching and is highly recommended, although their eschatology can lack the Jewish view point and they can try too hard to link today's events with prophecy. However, this group have a strong commitment to ensuring Christians understand the end times using a range of media including some good posters. I receive Herald of Hope a bi-monthly newsletter which is always informative, and includes commentary on contemporary world events - highly recommended. (July 2020)

OpenBible.Info < https://www.openbible.info/topics/ > Bible verses by topic by gives a fairly comprehensive list of topics for which Bible verses have been found pertaining to the issue (ESV) - for instance there are 182 verses listed under "marriage". I have cannot vouch for the author, but the verses chosen appear to be robust for main-stream topics. (30 June 2018).

Pre-trib (pre-tribulation Research Centre) < https://www.pre-trib.org/ > provides information about the natural order of things, being the order by which God will judge the world as laid out in Revelation. The website contains many useful resources, especially for explaining the error many churches and commentators teach. (2 April 2019)

Sound Teaching on Electronic Media (STEM) < https://www.stempublishing.com/ >is an excellent resource for the Christian. It houses many Texts - often complete works, such as from Macintosh, Wolston etc., previously published magazines and hymns. It also has the KJV and Darby English versions (New Translation) of the Bible (6 January 2019.

Verse by Verse < https://www.versebyverseministry.org > run by the late Steve Armstrong, sadely past away from Covid-19 on the 22 January 2021 (who I spent 3 weeks with in 2015, along with his wonderful wife). The website is aimed at the enquiring Christian, with answers to questions about the Bible and Christianity, expository sermons and devotionals (Feb 2021).

Bibles, books, tracts and other literature

Bible Truth Publishers < https://bibletruthpublishers.com/ > publishers of Books, pamphlets, tracts especially of those of the traditions of the 1800 reformers. They have some wonderful resources - noting that many of the books are available on the internet at other sites such as STEM - see below, plus their own. I have not yet used this company to purchase material, being an American based company, I am unsure whether they would deliver to any other part of the world (I could not find the charge for postage). (30 June 2018).

Petersham Bible Book & Bible Depot < http://tractdepot.blogspot.com/ >The Petersham Bile Book and Tract Depot is a small outlet for Bible based literature, including tracts and books. They are also distributors for Bible Truth Publishers (Jan 2019).

Devotionals

Spurgeon's Morning and Evening: Daily Readings < https://ccel.org/ccel/spurgeon/morneve/morneve > (Whole book) (accessed 18 October 2020). This devotional has a morning and evening devotion for each day of the year. C.H. Spurgeon weaves a verse of Scripture into each, helping readers draw the true meaning out of the selected passages and along with relevance to our lives. These daily messages provide Christians with the spiritual food they need to begin and end each day.

There are numerous websites that serve each devotion by day, (some provide audio) but sadly usually a day late, being the other side the date line (i.e. in the USA). e.g. Today's morning and evening devotional (accessed 18 October 2020). Most good Bible apps will also include this book as a reference.

Concordances, Dictionaries & Lexicons

Concordances

Strong's Concordance with Hebrew and Greek Lexicon < http://www.eliyah.com/lexicon.html > provides a 'front-page' that connects to Blue Letter Bible (See above).

A concordance lists every word in the bible alphabetically providing the appropriate Greek or Hebrew and its meaning. Strong's Concordance is perhaps the most renown, listing all the words from the King James Version of the bible. Others exist for different versions of the Bible. The on-line versions are very useful, however, those of us a bit older still own the book form!

Dictionaries

Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words < https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/ved.html > A very useful reference for certain words and their use in Scripture: provides Bible verse examples (25 October 2017)

Lexicons

Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (BDAG) by Danker, Frederick William, Bauer, Walter, University of Chicago Press 2000 (Not available online), provides extended definitions for Greek terms, and therefore a fuller and deeper sense of the work for English speakers.

Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon by Friedrich Wilhelm Gesenius (1846): Translated from the German by Samuel P. Tregelles (1813-1875) [There are other versions]. The translated version can be found at:

Commentaries & Expositories

Gaebelein's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible < htp://biblecentre.org/content.php?auth=5&mode=5 >, 1970, 1989 (reprint 2), Loizeauz Brothers, USA. A very concise and useful commentary of the entire bible which is a compilation of his writings: Annotated Bible by Arno Clement Gaebelein (1861-1942). See Arno C Gaebelein (above) for more internet sites.

Bible books - Old and New Testaments < https://www.stempublishing.com/index/bybook.html > (Accessed 25 October 2017)

Bible commentaries, expositories, teachings and hymns at STEM – Sound Teaching on Electronic Media <https://www.stempublishing.com/> has expanded over the years and includes a solid range of hymns and a range of excellent authors including: J N Darby, W Kelly, C H Mackintosh, N Anderson, T B Baines, J G Bellett , G Davison, E Dennett , W W Fereday , F B Hole , F A Hughes , L M Grant , J McBroom , A Miller , H Smith , W Trotter , J A Trench , W H Westcott , G V Wigram , W T P Wolston , H L Rossier (18 August 2013).

Darby's Synopsis of the Whole Bible < http://www.studylight.org/commentaries/dsn/ > (6 January 2019)

Help for Christians

There are a plethora of websites and books that Christians can find to help them either discern right from wrong or help decide whether to do something or not. The following are a few that may be useful.

Christian Spotlight on Entertainment < http://www.christiananswers.net/spotlight/home.html > provides guidance for some (American) movies and TV entertainment, sufficient to make a judgement whether children should watch the program (accessed 19 October 2014).

It is more difficult to find non-English, non-American websites that do the same thing.

Kids in Mind < http://www.kids-in-mind.com/ > is not a Christian based website but provides very in depth analysis of (American) movies, which I have found useful for deciding whether to see a particular movie. It provides a summary of each incident of violence, kissing/sex/nudity/immodesty, profanity and drug use. It makes no remark on the overall morality of the movie (accessed 19 October 2014).

Islam

Sharam Hadian < http://www.tilproject.com/ > is an evangelical Christian convert from Islam, an Iranian, who by the grace of God has been saved. If one wants to understand Islam, it is best to listen to a Muslim who has been saved. He speaks fearlessly about why Islam is totally contrary to the Bible and the Lord God Most High – and is a religion of violence (Surah 9:5, 9:29, 47:4 etc.), having a fully formed doctrine and law to kill and intends either forcing conversion or killing those who will not, or have left Islam. A recent conference hosted by Sugar Land Bible Church on Islam is very worthwhile listening to: "Answering Islam Conference". < http://slbc.org/media/sermon-archives/ > (Accessed 29 November 2015). The lectures are also on YouTube eg. < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASUnosseuEI > (Accessed 29 November 2015).

The Quran < quran.com > - has five translations (Accessed 29 November 2015). The Qur'an is written in Arabic, as it is the only language that Allah apparently understands, but this website provides an English translation. To understand Islam one also needs to read "The Reliance of the Traveller and Tools for the Worshippers" which sets out the Shari Law. The Shari is important in understanding Islam - being their case-law and jurisprudence. For example why women are second class citizens, women to be stoned to death for adultery, amputation for theft and the death penalty for leaving Islam, and for "insulting the prophet".

Gender and Sexuality Issues

Parents need to grapple with sin in both their own lives and their children: that of gender and sexuality dominates our lives these days. The Church often is capable of defining the moral issue (although very less so in Australia due to apostasy), but is usually very poor at dealing with the vexing issues of the reality of relations between those caught in the sin of sexual immorality and those who are not.

Saved by the grace of God, a lesbian's journey to be in Christ:

Rosaria Butterfield < http://rosariabutterfield.com/ >journeyed from being a lesbian to being saved and becoming a wife of a pastor with four children – her work is worthwhile because it provides a sounding board on how one deals with sin, not only in one's own life, but also in those who might need to deal with these issues, whether homosexuality or transgender issues etc., on a day by day basis such as children, colleagues or one's neighbour. She also has a sound understanding of differentiating the consequence of the fallen nature and the causality of sin in our life.

I found the following speech by Dr Butterfield very useful, including the Q&A afterward – My Train Wreck Conversion: Sexuality, Identity, & the Bible | Rosaria Butterfield, PhD < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgDAEPRXWgU > (accessed 26 June 2016).

Homosexuality and the Bible

Andy Woods' lecture on God's perspective of homosexuality is very useful for a reality check on what we ought to believe as Christians; The Bible and Homosexuality < https://slbc.org/sermon/the-bible-and-homosexuality/ > (6 January 2019).

Alistair Begg also has preached on this topic – like Andy Woods – aimed at Christians who need to understand their Bible well; Homosexuality, a Biblical Perspective < https://www.truthforlife.org/resources/sermon/homosexuality-a-biblical-perspective/ > (6 January 2019).

Sy Rogers has grappled with homosexuality all his life. As a born-again-Christian, married with children, he delivers a powerful message on dealing with sin, a relationship with God, and sexuality. I heard him speak a few weeks ago (August 2016), and found he has has a powerful message - not just for the homosexual, but the single person and those married. < http://syrogers.com > (Accessed 24 September 2016).

Identity issues

Sermon by Clint Lombard (Grace Church Buderim, Australia), "Identity, based on Psalm 8" (MP3) has comprehensive notes. The Christian's focus is Christ, the gospel is Christ, and our identity is in Christ. < http://gracechurchbuderim.com.au/?sermons=identity-psalm-8 > (accessed 6 January 2019).

Homosexuality and the US constitution

For Americans Andy Woods (a lawyer and pastor) gave a lecture on how the USA Supreme Court arrived at its conclusion that marriage, and hence a family, could not be confined to just a man and woman; How Free Is the Land of the Free? < https://slbc.org/sermon/how-free-is-the-land-of-the-free/ >. (6 January 2019)

History - Christian

History is a vexing issue for Christians, as no history can be written without bias! (Believe, me, I have tried it). The following are few books and resources I have found useful or interesting.

History of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century (1846) Jean-Henri Merle d'Aubigné, Baker House, Michigan. I own a 1987 reprint as three books - but these books are also available on Google books, and from some book publishers eg at Project Gutenberg < http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/40858 > (6 January 2019).

Flavius Josephus (born Joseph ben Mattathias) wrote a number of compelling and certainly interesting books about the time Jesus lived. His works have been translated and are available in book form or on websites such as Sacred Texts < http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/josephus/index.htm > (accessed 22 November 2015). His major works are:

Miller's Church History Available online and in book form; < https://www.stempublishing.com/history/ > is a useful examination of the first 1800 years of church history - it has far less detail than d'Aubigne's history but is very accessible (6 January 2019).

Hymns

There are now many websites that allow you not only to read the hymns but will play various tunes that can be used to accompany the hymn.

Hymary.org < http://www.hymnary.org > is a good resource for finding hymns, easy to search and a very wide range, especially the old; there are words and various tunes. The site is indexed in a number of ways including author or first line etc. (accessed 16 August 2014).

STEM – Sound Teaching on Electronic Media has expanded over the years and includes a range of hymns from the "Little Flock" hymnal and other < https://www.stempublishing.com/hymns/ >.

Ira D Sankey (1840 -1908) put together a number of hymnals which are still used to day. The hard copy books are difficult to find (in Australia) but they can be found on-line e.g. Internet Archive http://www.archive.org/ with Ira Sankey's material being found at < http://www.archive.org/details/gospelhymns16sank > (accessed 16 August 2014).

Isaac Watts (1674 - 1748) < http://www.ccel.org/ccel/watts/psalmshymns.toc.html > wrote some 750 hymns which can be found on the Christian Classics Ethereal Library website (accessed 16 August 2014).

Language - Software that can help you learn a language

There are now many websites devoted to language, both teaching and translation. The following are just a couple I use regularity.

All language is learnt by memorizing the vocabulary, which involves looking, saying and writing the words, followed by review after review after review. There are many software tools to help. I use two tools - flash cards - and nothing can beat flashcards - I carry them everywhere - and a program called Anki.

Anki < http://ankisrs.net/> (accessed 22 November 2015) is a shareware program, which I believe was originally written to help the author learn Japanese. It "learns' about you as you move through the vocabulary database, making you review words early if you get them wrong and holds off on the easy words." There are a wide range of languages available, put together, by dedicated people. Sound can be linked to the 'flash cards' so on review you say the word then hear and see what it should have sounded and looked like. I use a database that follows Mounce's Greek "Basics of Biblical Greek, Grammar, William D Mounce, Zondervan, 2003. (Noting that Mounce has a similar system, except I am learning Greek, Hebrew and French - Anki helps in all three cases). My son a university language student uses Anki for various languages including German, Spanish, Latin and Italian.

German

QuickDic < http://www.quickdic.org > One of the best German-English translators is a program by Stefan Büdenbender called. It not only gives literal translations, but also expresses the word in short phrases and sentences. (18 August 2013)

Greek

William (Bill) Mounce < https://billmounce.com/greek > (accessed 5 February 2017) uses an unusual method of teaching Greek - he demands that one understands why a word, or group of words have a particular form - so instead of learning hundreds of paradigms - or charts of words - one learns the rules that are used to construct a word, and only memorize the exceptions. This I find to my style; being a scientist, understanding the science of why, say a certain group of vowels change under certain conditions is fascination. In some ways if you study Greek this way you also study the science of linguistics.

I am collecting various resources for studying Greek based mainly on how William Mounce teaches the language.(Greek Resources)

Hebrew

Davar < http://www.faithofgod.net/davar/ > is a free Hebrew dictionary of Old Testament words and lexicon. I personally find it very frustrating to use, but this may be due to my lack of knowledge of the Hebrew Language.

The Blue Letter Bible - see above has Strong's Concordance amongst others linked to the bible, so the underlying Hebrew or Greek can be delved into.

Interlinear Bibles

Bible Hub has a number of Bible versions including interlinear Greek and Hebrew Scriptures < http://biblehub.com/interlinear/ >. I find this site useful in learning Greek as it either displays the Greek and holding the mouse over the word reveals the meaning (e.g. http://study.interlinearbible.org/mark/4.htm) or a interlinear version can be displayed that is the Greek, Strong's and English (e.g. http://biblehub.com/interlinear/mark/4.htm) contains both the Greek and a translation of each word into English along with the Strong's number and the word's meaning. The site offers a number of Greek texts for this purpose, and of course, Hebrew for the Old Testament. (Updated 13 May 2010).

Sermons, Messages and Studies

Stephen Armstrong runs a ministry that sets out to provide Bible teaching from Scriptures, both face to face and online: Verse by Verse Ministry. The messages are fairly simple, but logical and very useful for systematic studies of the Bible. The Ministery also has a Q&A section which is a useful resources, noting the answers are in the context of American society, what sometimes shapes the exegesis < http://www.versebyverseministry.org/bible-answers/ >. (Accessed 25 September 2016)

Alistair Begg a Scottish preacher located in the US at Cleveland's Parkside Church preaches a concise and very powerful message from Scripture. I have found his sermons extremely helpful and challenging. Sermons are posted at Truth for Life (< https://www.truthforlife.org/resources/most-recent-sermons/ > (6 January 2019)

Andy Woods a straight forward bible teacher from Sugar Land Bible Church who believes that expository preaching should form any church's main genre of preaching. As a lawyer he brings a sense of logic to his preaching and teaching, and therefore, the arguments formed are easy to follow. See on-line sermons < https://slbc.org/media/sermon-archives/ >. The sermons come with Powerpoint notes or pdf, which help with understanding the content. (6 January 2019)

Sermons from other people < http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/mydownloads/ > (accessed 31 July 2014), some of which I know and some I have never heard, therefore, uses these with care.

Other Resources

Places

Bible Places < http://www.bibleplaces.com/index.htm > gives a research some firsthand descriptions of Israel. Photos from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands and Historic Views lists a large number of places of Bible importance and gives a good range of photographs

I find the publisher Zondervan has a range of tools, texts and charts to help one understand the land of Israel and its surrounds.

Tools for evangelism

Living Waters < http://www.livingwaters.com > is a good website (although incredibly busy and overcrowded), not to detract from the many others that are very good resources. An audio all preachers need to listen to is "Hell's Best Kept Secret" (by Ray Comfort) which can be heard on line or there is a transcript on this webpage (6 January 2019). This sermon shows that 80% of those that decide to follow Christ will fall away - so how do you make the Gospel real.

Christian Blogs

I find that most Blogs are self seeking, and not particularly useful. However, we have a large family blog that has been useful, especially for keeping up with illnesses's, and the whereabouts of cousins etc.

I find Tim Challies at < http://www.challies.com/ > (accessed 25 March 2013) interesting and challenging at times.

Other sites

Created so certain pages could be found easily. It probably works well for city folk, but anyone with a serious interest in the weather has had difficulty finding pages such as the "notes on the weather". The following is a small 'html5' App written for iPhone, but works on the computer.

Bureau of Meteorology (BOM)

Updated 23 July 2020