Teacher Resources
This section of resources was compiled for teachers and serious students of the Bible. The list of resources range from a very small list to a very large (which is dozens of resources of all types). Two guides assist teachers in prepping their lessons with time honored structure in mind. These are starting points for both lessons and sermons.
Lesson Structure Guide

Adapted from lecture notes from Moody Bible Institute.

Introduction: Write a powerful introduction. This will help grab your audience's attention. This will answer the question: "Why should I listen?"

Read all of the text

Read a portion of the text that you want to teach.
Explain the text; teach it.
Illustrate the text; find good ones from life or Scripture.
Apply the text; let the audience know what they should do or what they should think.
Write a transition; summarize what you have taught and what you are about to teach.

(repeat all of these steps as necessary)

Conclusion: summarize what you taught throughout the sermon.

Charge the Audience: leave your audience with the most important application point.

Lesson Prep Guide

This page was written for teachers preparing to write a deeper level of Bible lesson. However, one just needs to leave out certain things to use the exact model for personal Bible study.

  1. Read any background material that is needed in things like a Bible encyclopedia related to your passage. Good source: InternationalStandardBible.com
  2. Break the passage up into teaching sections.
  3. Observe and interpret each term and phrase in the passage (use Greek study tools the first time).
  4. REPEAT and REFINE: Observe and interpret each term and phrase in the passage again. Doing this a second time is very important. A third time would still be beneficial.
  5. Read commentaries.
  6. Pick your illustrations if you are preaching a sermon.
  7. Write your applications.
  8. Write your transitions (at least 2 no more than 5).
  9. Write your introduction.
  10. Write your conclusion and closing remarks.
  11. Write the title if you are preaching a sermon.
Things To Remember

Remember: Who is your audience? Your teaching depth should match the group.

One should make it a habit not to read and study less than a paragraph before teaching. One may teach less than a paragraph, but a verse needs other verses for context. One should read the paragraph for the audience for the same reason. Remember: the three keys to good Bible study and teaching: 1) context, 2) context, 3) context.

Copy and Paste the text into a word editor. Decide how much of the text will be read before stopping to talk about it. For example:

  • Read a chapter and teach sentence by sentence?
  • Read a paragraph and teach phrase by phrase?
  • Read a verse and teach word by word?
  • A mixture?

These are the most important things that a teacher must do: work & think.

Get your thoughts on paper:
Observe. (Click here for an observation review.) Take your time, and under each part of the text that you separated, where the group will stop and talk, write down everything you can think of that you see from the text.Answer the question: What is here? (Not what you believe–but see.)

Interpretive Questions. Write down questions that need research.

Interpret. (Click here for an interpretation review.) What did the original author mean by what he wrote to the original audience?

Correlation. (Click here for an correlation review.) What other Bible verse speak to the ideas I am seeing in this text I am about to teach? Use Biblegateway.com to search for the key words and concepts of your lesson so as to make sure your theology is as accurate as you can get it. (Be ready to change your mind!)

Application. (Click here for an application review.) What do I want to leave the hearers of the lesson with so they might become doers?

One should at least read other English translations of your passage (or at least one or two of the key verses).

Biblehub.com is best for one or two verses.
Biblegateway.com is best for longer passages.

Small, medium and largest lists are availble from the tabs above.

NOTE: click here for a bibliography of all the resources listed on this page to lighten your work in citing sources.

MLA has some handy articles on citing properly here: https://style.mla.org/mla-format/.

Here is a quick reference from MLA (Source):

(Use periods behind these main two elements)
Author.
Title of Source.

(Use commas behind all but the last for these “Container” elements.)
Title of Container,
Contributor,
Version,
Number,
Publisher,
Publication Date,
Location.

An example of the inline citation. (Doe, 15)

An example of the bibliography citation: Doe, John. A Book: the Study of Something. Jane Doe, Editor, Ver. Two, Number One, A Book Press Company, 2021, http://example.com/.

Small List of Resources

NOTE: click here for a bibliography of all the resources listed on this page to lighten your work in citing sources.

Greek Studies

LSJ - Ancient Greek Dictionaries (paste the Greek word)
Blue Letter Bible Reversed Interlinear
Abarim Publications

Hebrew Studies

Blue Letter Bible Reversed Interlinear
Great resource for purchase, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (by R Laird Harris, et al.)

Commentaries

These are helpful resources below. However, you are responsible for proper interpretation of the Bible. You must not relinquish your responsibility to any commentator. Therefore, one must use much caution in using the resources cited below. More mistakes are made the more humans speak and write. This author has not read everything published from the cited authors’ work. Therefore, authors may be quoted at times even though they may be heretical in some of their beliefs. This author is a true believer in “eat the chicken and spit out the bones.” One must use the Scriptures alone as the authority of all doctrine.

"Constable's Notes" in PDF Format | in HTML Format
William Barclay's Daily Study Bible (NT). Used with caution, I highly recommend Barclay. He has many very insightful comments. However, Barclay was a professing universalist (cf. A Spiritual Autobiography, p. 65-67), and he held other unorthodox beliefs as well. One must take care with Barclay's commentaries.
• Utley's Free Bible Commentary NT | OT

Great resources from archive.org (almost certainly will need a Mac or PC to use these resources):
Here is a list of the book F. F. Bruce has written. Archive.org (here) has some of his books that one can digitally borrow; search "creator:(F. F. Bruce)".
Here is a list of the book I. Howard Marshall has written. Archive.org (here) has some of his books that one can digitally borrow; search "creator:(I. Howard Marshall)".
Here is a list of the book Kenneth Wuest has written. Archive.org (here) has some of his books that one can digitally borrow; search "creator:(Kenneth Wuest)".

Other Helps

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
World History Encyclopedia

Illustrations

Ministry127.com
"Sermon Illustrations"

Medium List of Resources

NOTE: click here for a bibliography of all the resources listed on this page to lighten your work in citing sources.

Bibles

• David B. Hart’s The New Testament: A Translation is the best literal translation of the NT I have ever read.
Berean Literal Bible NT
Concordant Version NT | OT
The Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Parallel Feature from BibleGateway
Biblegateway

Greek Studies

LSJ - Greek Lexicon (one needs to paste each Greek word)
Blue Letter Bible Reversed Interlinear
Abarim Publications

Hebrew Studies

Blue Letter Bible Reversed Interlinear
Great resource for purchase, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (by R Laird Harris, et al.)

Commentaries

These are helpful resources below. However, you are responsible for proper interpretation of the Bible. You must not relinquish your responsibility to any commentator. Therefore, one must use much caution in using the resources cited below. More mistakes are made the more humans speak and write. This author has not read everything published from the cited authors’ work. Therefore, authors may be quoted at times even though they may be heretical in some of their beliefs. This author is a true believer in “eat the chicken and spit out the bones.” One must use the Scriptures alone as the authority of all doctrine.

"Constable's Notes" in PDF Format | in HTML Format
MacLaren’s Expositions of Holy Scripture
Commentary for English Readers (Charles John Ellicott, Compiler/Editor)
William Barclay's Daily Study Bible (NT). Used with caution, I highly recommend Barclay. He has many very insightful comments. However, Barclay was a professing universalist (cf. A Spiritual Autobiography, p. 65-67), and he held other unorthodox beliefs as well. One must take care with Barclay's commentaries.
Spurgeon's Verse Expositions of the Bible
Expositor's Bible Commentary (Nicoll, Editor)
Sermon Bible Commentary (Nicoll, Compiler/Editor)
• Utley's Free Bible Commentary NT | OT
J. B. Lightfoot Commentaries

Great resources from archive.org (almost certainly will need a Mac or PC to use these resources):
Here is a list of the book F. F. Bruce has written. Archive.org (here) has some of his books that one can digitally borrow; search "creator:(F. F. Bruce)".
Here is a list of the book I. Howard Marshall has written. Archive.org (here) has some of his books that one can digitally borrow; search "creator:(I. Howard Marshall)".
Here is a list of the book Kenneth Wuest has written. Archive.org (here) has some of his books that one can digitally borrow; search "creator:(Kenneth Wuest)".
Here is a list of the book William Barclay has written. Archive.org (here) has some of his books that one can digitally borrow; search "creator:(William Barclay)".
Here are some of J. Vernon McGee's books that one can digitally borrow; search "creator:(J. Vernon McGee)".

For many more resources and to save you time click here for the author's standard bibliography for sermon and lesson prep.

• Used with caution, I recommend The Biblical Illustrator (Joseph Excell, Contributor/Editor). Note: I disagree often with the authors and contributors, but I am amazed at the insight and quotes at other times. This is a uniquely interesting, often disjointed, and massive resource (34,000 pages).

Other Helps

A chart to compare the contents of the four accounts of the gospel.
Click here for the same chart in a web page form.
Webster's [English] Dictionary of 1828
Bible Hub's Topic Dictionary
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

Illustrations

Ministry127.com
Sermon Illustrations
Bible Illustrator (Also under Commentaries)

Quotes

Brainy Quote
Quotes.net

Largest List of Resources

NOTE: click here for a bibliography of all the resources listed on this page to lighten your work in citing sources.

There are many great resources in this document. The author has listed his favorite categories first. He has also listed his most important resources first as well. One may not have the time to look at all of these sources for a Bible lesson, but one is encouraged to be familiar with what is here and use them over time as needed.

If you are not used to using many resources for in depth Bible study, use the resources in the first two drop down menus first. As you gain experience you will feel comfortable with adding other resources.

Start your study by doing your best to see what God originally wrote through the authors of the the Bible. Much is often lost through translation committees' work. Do your best to study in the Greek with tools and other helps as much as possible. It will net great insight.

Greek Interlinears
• Blue Letter Bible (A Wonderful Interlinear)
• Greek Interlinear from Abarim Publications

Greek Lexicons
• LSJ - This site is great and the largest for Greek. It uses the Liddell-Scott-Jones Lexicon, the Thayer Lexicon and several others. (One must copy and paste Greek words from others sources to use it. It's worth the extra step.)
• Blueletter Bible Lexicon - The site uses "Outline of Biblical Usage", Strong's, and the Thayer Lexicon.

Hebrew Interlinears
• Blueletter - The site uses Strong's, the Brown-Driver-Briggs Lexicon, and Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon.
• Great resource for purchase, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (by R Laird Harris, et al.)
• BibleHub's Hebrew Interlinear
• Studylight's Hebrew Interlinear

Printable Interlinear Sheets
• Lexham English Bible English–Greek Reverse Interlinear New Testament (bottom of page)
• Scripture 4 All PDF files of the Greek Interlinear
• Scripture 4 All PDF files of the Hebrew Interlinear

Classic English Dictionary
• Webster's Classic English Dictionary

Great Free Bible Software
• Free Hebrew and Greek Interlinear Bible Software (Windows only)

These are helpful resources below. However, you are responsible for proper interpretation of the Bible. You must not relinquish your responsibility to any commentator. Therefore, one must use much caution in using the resources cited below. More mistakes are made the more humans speak and write. This author has not read everything published from the cited authors’ work. Therefore, authors may be quoted at times even though they may be heretical in some of their beliefs. This author is a true believer in “eat the chicken and spit out the bones.” One must use the Scriptures alone as the authority of all doctrine.

The best general notes resource discovered thus far (in the author's opinion) is "Constable's Notes"
• "Constable's Notes": PDF Format | HTML Format
• Great integration of Constable's notes, language resources, and the Bible text (in various versions): NetBible.org

Good for gaining an intro understanding of the original Hebrew and Greek languages (mixed with short notes):
• "Bob Utley's Commentary" (OT)
• "Bob Utley's Commentary" (NT)


• Used with caution, I recommend William Barclay's Daily Study Bible (NT). Barclay has many very insightful comments. However, Barclay was a professing universalist (cf. A Spiritual Autobiography, p. 65-67), and he held other unorthodox beliefs. One must take care with Barclay's commentaries.
Here is a list of the book William Barclay has written. Archive.org (here) has some of his books that one can digitally borrow; search "creator:(William Barclay)".

Great resources from archive.org (almost certainly will need a Mac or PC to use these resources):
Some of the Best Commentaries. This list is matched from the top three commentary sources (by review) from bestcommentaries.com and what is available from archive.org for free loan (along with a few others that this author likes marked with "*").
Here is a list of the book F. F. Bruce has written. Archive.org (here) has some of his books that one can digitally borrow; search "creator:(F. F. Bruce)".
Here is a list of the book I. Howard Marshall has written. Archive.org (here) has some of his books that one can digitally borrow; search "creator:(I. Howard Marshall)".
Here is a list of the book Kenneth Wuest has written. Archive.org (here) has some of his books that one can digitally borrow; search "creator:(Kenneth Wuest)".
Here are some of J. Vernon McGee's books that one can digitally borrow; search "creator:(J. Vernon McGee)".


Powerful comments from other centuries:
Expositor's Bible Commentary (Nicoll, Editor). Click here for a list of authors for the EBC.
Sermon Bible Commentary (Nicoll, Compiler/Editor)
• MacLaren's Expositions of Holy Scripture
Commentary for English Readers (Charles John Ellicott, Compiler/Editor). Click here for a list of authors for what is commonly called "Ellicott's Commentary."
• Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible
• J. B. Lightfoot Commentaries

• Used with caution, I recommend Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible Commentary
• Used with caution, I recommend The Biblical Illustrator (Joseph Excell, Contributor/Editor). Note: I disagree often with the authors and contributors, but I am amazed at the insight and quotes at other times. This is a uniquely interesting, often disjointed, and massive resource (34,000 pages).

For many more resources and to save you time click here for the author's standard bibliography for sermon and lesson prep.


• David B. Hart’s The New Testament: A Translation is the best literal translation of the NT I have ever read.
• I recommend The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, by Warren W. Wiersbe.
• I recommend F.F. Bruce (see a list by clicking here).
• I recommend I. Howard Marshall (see a list by clicking here.)
• Best Commentaries (name of the site) is a great site that rates commentaries for purchase.

• Biblehub.com is best for one or two verses. Just type a verse in the site.
• Biblegateway.com is best for longer passages.

Atlases: A good atlas still costs money. Best for purchase:
Macmillan Bible Atlas
Zondervan Atlas of the Bible

Bible Maps
• Knowing the Bible
• Open Bible Bible Places