I started a lecture this week on “Electronic resources for sermon preparation.” That could be a never-ending lecture. However I tried to limit the resources to what would be most useful to first-year students and those just starting to preach. I have Logos and Bibleworks software on my Mac, and I use both for different purposes. However, if I was just starting to preach and I had to choose between the various Bible Software packages, I would go with Logos, especially now that Logos 4 Mac has been released.

UPDATE: Broken links repaired.

1. Bible Software

Logos 4
Watch the five videos at the top of the page
Manual for Logos 3:
Hundreds of free PBB books at Truth is still truth.
Use this blog to help you download PBB’s.

Bible Works

Accordance (for Mac)
Demo videos

Free Bible Software

Two hour training video
User created training videos

ESV Greek Tools

2. CD or Download Packages

Ages Software
How about all of Calvin’s commentaries for $20 or all of Spurgeon’s sermons for $20?

3. Online Resources

PERT: Puritan Electronic Research Tool
Enter chapter and verse to find books in PRTS library that have sermons on the text. You will find many of the older books on Google Books.

Bible Gateway
See verse in different Bible versions

Net Bible
Great for making progress in original language Bible reading

STEP

Sermon Audio
Prepare your sermon first before consulting this and the next two resources!
Use Bible Search to find sermons on book, chapter & verse,

Desiring God (John Piper) Scripture Index to Sermons

Grace to You (John Macarthur) Scripture Index to Sermons

Resources for New Testament Exegesis
This is provided by Dr Roy Ciampa of Gordon Conwell and also has useful links for OT Exegesis.

Christian Classics Ethereal Library
Huge number of online books and commentaries together with a Scripture Index search box that will search all the resources for references to that text.

See also Internet Christian Library

Complete Hebrew Bible in mp3
Download chapters of the Hebrew Bible to listen to

Brown Driver Briggs Lexicon

Sermon Quotations & Illustrations
You are best to find your own quotes and illustrations, but there are plenty websites out there if you do a Google search and use some discernment.

4. Blogs

I read blogs for five reasons:

  • For my own edification
  • To build awareness of what’s happening in the wider Christian world
  • To discover new resources
  • To know what my congregation is reading
  • To stimulate sermon ideas

These are the blogs I’ve found most useful for these purposes:

I read many more blogs, but these are the ones that best serve the five purposes outlined above. Some others that I find beneficial, and that would also be especially helpful to beginning pastors and preachers are:

Also worth keeping an eye on the evangelical portal of Patheos

  • Anonymous

    David: many thanks for your blog, which has become regular reading for me (a pastor in a small PCA church)! As far as an online resource, I have also benefited greatly from http://preceptaustin.org. It is a great collection/aggregation of resources that can be found online, as well as some very good verse by verse exegesis and application on a number of books of the Bible. Thanks again.

  • jenniferkate33

    Great list! I like to also use BibleStudyTools.com for bible verse look up. SermonSearch.com is a great resource as well for sermon outlines.