Let’s Dig IN

Ethan Fordham   -   April 22, 2020

Title: Let’s Dig In!

 

These recent events have thrown many of our schedules into the wind. Without a doubt, many of us are still busy these days; if you have kids then you know. But, we also might have some extra time on our hands, as well. There are no trips to the mall. No concerts. No parties. Form some of us, no driving needed. This is a great time to reassess what we devote our time to, especially since Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon are ready and willing to provide us with endless entertainment to fill our time with. Brothers and sisters, let us use our time wisely and make time to pursue the Lord through any means offered to us. 

The subject of this week’s blog: Read the Bible, pray, and engage in books and teaching that encourages our love and pursuit of God. There is a lot listed below, but do not let that stress you out! I encourage everyone reading this to pick at least one resource to engage, in addition to regular Bible reading and prayer. Some of these things will supplement your Bible reading. Others will aid you in your prayer life. All of them aim to increase your knowledge of, faith in, and devotion to the Lord. Let us, when this quarantine is over, say: “the Lord used the COVID-19 quarantine to increase my knowledge, love, and faith in Him.” 

 

**A note concerning the buying options: As you will notice, all the purchase links bring you to smaller bookstores and publishers. This is a difficult time for small businesses. The Westminster Bookstore, Banner of Truth Trust, and 9Marks all put out quality products. You will find that their prices are equal to or better than Amazon’s, in many cases. If we buy books, let’s show these folks some love!

 

Bible Reading Plans

  • Dwell Bible App has plans to take you through the Bible. Additionally, they have an extensive audio Bible function. *Please reach out to Brandon Swain about potentially getting an extended free trial with Dwell. (https://dwellapp.io/) 

 

Helps For Bible Study

  • The Bible Project (Link)
    • These guys have a video that introduces the major topics to every book of the Bible. These videos are very well done and are helpful for grasping the bigger picture of each biblical book. 
  • Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible (This is free: Link)

 

Prayer:

 

Theology

  • Ligonier Ministry puts out some fantastic theological content. Being that people are generally stuck at home these days, Ligonier decided to give unlimited access to their teaching series. (Lecture List Here)
  • The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul (Buy Here)
  • Redemption: Accomplished and Applied by John Murray (Buy Here)
  • Prayer by John Bunyan (Buy Here)
  • Systematic Theology by Louis Berkhof (Buy Here) or (Read for Free Here) 
    • This is a big book. It would be a lot to try and tackle all at once. But, this book does not need to be taken in all at once. Do you have a question about God’s attributes? Read that section in the book. Maybe you have questions about the origin of the soul; there is a section for that. What is the image of God? What do other Christians say about the nature of sin and evil? This is a book for questions like those. 

 

Bible Big Picture

  • The Message of the Old Testament: Promises Made by Mark Dever (Buy Here)
  • The Message of the New Testament: Promises Kept by Mark Dever (Buy Here)
    • Both of these books are collections of sermons by Mark Dever of Capitol Hill Baptist Church, in Washington DC. Dever took his church through each book of the Bible in one massive sermon series. These are great companions as you read through the Bible. 

 

The Church

  • Read any of these books from 9Marks Building Healthy Churches series. These are short and easy to understand lessons on subjects that are of the utmost importance to the church.  (Link)

 

Devotional Reading

  • Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon (Buy Here) or (Read for Free Here)
  • The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs (Buy Here)
  • The Pilgrims Progress by John Bunyan (Buy Here)
    • This classic Christian book is an allegory of the Christian life. Though the book is fiction, it will bless you as you read it.