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Sermon Prep Part 3: Theotek Podcast

by Kevin Purcell••0

In part 3 of the Sermon Prep series on Theotek, we covered digital reference books. Each member of the team recommends our favorite tools like Bible dictionaries, lexicons, and more.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rsSX2N-shQFor review we covered the first steps of sermon prep in part one of our series. Then inWe started out with English Bible dictionaries. Here’s a list of what we recommended.

  • Anchor Bible Dictionary
  • IVP Bible Dictionary
  • Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary
  • Biblical Archaeology Review
  • Hermeneia
  • Bible Illustration from Holman
  • Accordance Photo Guide
  • Wikipedia
  • CCEL
  • Harper’s Bible Dictionary
  • Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs

Here’s a couple of Bible Background sources we prefer. These help you get at the cultural information that tells us more about the world of the Biblical writers.

  • Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary
  • Accordance Atlas – one of the best digital atlas resources in Bible software

Next we look at Bible commentaries. The series that we each picked included…

  • Word Biblical Commentary
  • Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary
  • New American Commentary
  • Ancient Christian Commentary
  • IVP Bible Background Commentary
  • JPS Commentary

best commentariesTo find the best sources, we all agree that just one series isn’t the best approach to building a good library of commentaries. Instead check out Best Commentaries on the web. It lists the commentaries by book of the Bible and rates the best options available. They update it when new works come out.

Our Favorite Things

visual theologyI recommend Visual Theology, a work that Olive Tree released recently.Screen Shot 2016-05-24 at 9.49.54 AMAntoine recommended the Google Cardboard, their inexpensive Virtual Reality tool that the user can put their phone into to get a VR experience. There are other VR options like Samsung Gear VR, which I don’t recommend. The children’s version comes from Mattel and uses the old View Master idea.Rick went the opposite direction and shared one of his least favorite things. He doesn’t like the 12-inch MacBook. The screen’s nice but the keyboard doesn’t feel very good and performance suffers when doing more than word processing or surfing the web.

I’m Dr. Kevin Purcell, a minister, ministry leader, writer, and technology enthusiast with more than 35 years of experience in Christian ministry. I currently serve as Director of Missions for the Brushy Mountain Baptist Association, where I work alongside churches throughout Wilkes County, North Carolina, to strengthen local congregations, encourage pastors, and advance the Great Commission.

Over the years, I’ve served as a youth pastor and senior pastor, and much of my ministry has focused on helping churches communicate the Gospel more effectively. I hold a Doctor of Ministry in Preaching from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, a Master of Divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a Bachelor of Arts in Religion and Philosophy from Georgetown College.

For more than two decades, I’ve also written about technology, Bible software, preaching, and church ministry. My work has appeared in publications and websites including ChurchTechToday, GottaBeMobile, Preaching Magazine, and iPhone Life. I also create videos and tutorials about Logos Bible Software and other tools that can help pastors and Christians study Scripture more effectively.

KevinPurcell.org brings many of my interests together. Here I write about preaching, Bible study, ministry, artificial intelligence, photography, and technology, with a particular emphasis on helping pastors and churches use technology as a tool rather than allowing it to become a distraction.

At the heart of everything I do is a simple goal: to help build the church of Jesus Christ, make disciples, encourage those who serve in ministry, and help Christians use the tools available to them in service of the Gospel.

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