One of the many great benefits of living in the Information Age is the accessibility of materials from others who have sought to preach the Gospel of Christ. By this I mean there are many books available of the sermons and writings of men of earlier generations who were effective proclaimers of the Biblical message. Of course, for those who lived more recently or are contemporaneous with us, we also may also have audio or video recordings.
Being a teacher of Christian history, I always value reading after the Apostolic and Early Church Fathers. This is no endorsement of some of their teachings, but there is still much to be gained by listening to those who lived much closer in both time and culture to the New Testament period. Men such as Ignatius, Origin, Justin the Martyr, and others still speak today through writings which have survived for 1700+ years.
Looking back at earlier posts on this website demonstrates my fascination with photos and images that might be used in presentations or even printed materials to help illustrate Biblical subjects or events. (In fact, see here for recent articles on 
I recently recommended a resource for free Bible land photographs in my article, “
During the Thanksgiving to Christmas “mega-holiday,” materialism and consumerism is on full display in our nation as Black Friday, Green Monday, Cyber Monday, etc. consumes retailers and media advertising… and us consumers. But there are also some very good deals for those of us working in ministry or teaching and publishing God’s Word.
egendary among writers on Christian Apologetics – defending the historical reliability of the New Testament and deity of Jesus Christ. In his 50+ years of teaching and writing, McDowell has fulfilled much the same role that Second and Third Century apologists like Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Origin, Cyprian and others did for the Early Church.
Both the Old and New Testaments are full of mentions of cities, mountains, rivers, valleys and other places which are part of the “lands of the Bible.” A great way to enhance the teaching of the historical sections of Scripture is to spend at least some time helping students and church members know WHERE these places are on a Bible map and, if possible, provide through a PowerPoint®, or other visual presentation, images displaying what those places LOOK LIKE today.
I was taught early on in my ministry to consult the commentaries about a passage only after doing all my own research and study, and have followed this pattern almost without fail. This includes studying the historical and cultural background of a Bible book or passage, doing word studies of the key words, outlining to discern the biblical author’s flow of thought, and seeking to fully understand the meaning and application to the original audience. Only then do I feel the need to access those who have studied the text before me, particularly widely respected, (usually) conservative commentators. Those writers which I consult or read after most often include the older College Press series (i.e., “green commentaries”), Warren Wiersbe’s “Be Series,” Albert Barnes, Baker’s New Testament Commentary Series (Hendrikson & Kistemaker), and William Barclay’s original Daily Study Bible.
Modern technology has made it possible for any Christian in western culture to have an extensive Bible library and resources on their smartphone, tablet or computer. Being something of a computer geek (I work in IT support at SIBI), I am no exception.
This last quarter of 2019, I am teaching a Wednesday night series of classes on Jesus and His Miracles. The series is entitled The Wonder Worker, with the subtitle of “The Miracles of Jesus… and What They Really Tell Us About Him.”
I was recently putting together a Powerpoint presentation and wanted to illustrate John 20:24-29. This is the passage about Thomas declaring he would never believe Jesus was alive from the dead unless he touched Jesus himself… and then Jesus appeared to him! But how could I appropriately illustrate this event?