Religion
For
God so loved the world,
that he gave his only begotten
Son,
that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish,
but have everlasting
life.
For God sent not his Son into the world
to
condemn the world
but that the world through him
might be saved.
John
3:16, 17 - KJV:
Here is a picture of my brother Ron and I with our Zipper Bibles. I still have mine. From its pages God filled my mind with the wonderful things of His Word, and it blessed my teenage year with a living faith and empowered me to overcome many temptations. It formed the solid foundation for the rest of my life in Christ: Zipper Bibles.
The purpose of this page is to share my faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Creator of heaven and earth, and in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
Simple
Trusting Faith
by Carl Ketcherside
It gives me great pleasure to direct you to a book that was of great value to me in building my faith and overcoming doubt when I was a young man. The book is not too long, and it is very easy to read and understand. It's arguments are sound and convincing. I pray that it will help you as much as it helped me. The name of the book is Simple Trusting Faith by Carl Ketcherside. It can be read at: Simple Trusting Faith.
Does God Exist?
The most important question you will ever answer is whether or not there is a God. Everything you think and do will be determined by the way you answer that questions. John Clayton of South Bend, Indiana is a Christian and a long time biology teacher. He escaped from Atheism by examining the evidence for God. His web site is loaded with information that can help you make an informed decision on this most momentous question. I especially recommend his free Internet study course. Be sure and visit his web site: Does God Exist.
Intellectual
Design Movement
One of the most outstanding developments in the intellectual life of America today is the Intellectual Design Movement. The leaders in this movement have successful challenged naturalistic evolution. Here is a link to the Design Inference Website and the writings of one of the movements most articulate leaders, William A. Dembski. Also see this general purpose site: Christian Colligation of Apologetics Debate Research & Evangelism: CADRE. Here is a multimedia course in Intellectual Design.
The
Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?
The late conservative scholar F. F. Bruce published a popularly written little book on the reliability of the New Testament. You can read it by clicking on The New Testament Documents. Here George Park Fisher's 1892 Manual of Christian Evidences It covers much the same ground as Bruce's book. Fisher also published a Manual of Natural Theology covering the poofs for the existence of God.
Read
Your Bible in a Year
Here is my favorite calendar for reading the Bible through in a year. It was arranged by D. W. Whittle of Philadelphia: Bible Schedule.
Bible Versions
Everyone wonders, "What is the best version of the Bible?" Personally, I do most of my New Testament study in the original Greek. (See my Greek web page if you care to try. It is not as hard as you might think.) The King James Version is the one I read as a youth. It is written in simple, easy to understand English, about a 12th grade level. A few words have changed meaning, but that is not much of problem if you have a Dictionary handy. The New King James Version is a responsible update which I have used for the last two decades in much of my preaching and teaching, about a 9th grade level . Of the newer versions, I must confess that the NIV leaves me flat. I know it is popular, but I find its style uninviting. The newer English Standard Version (ESV) is much superior to the NIV. It is much easier to do serious Bible study with the ESV because it is an essentially literal version. It is translated from the latest Nestle Greek text which is based on earlier, but perhaps inferior manuscripts. For a good comparison of the NIV and the ESV, click here: NIV-ESV. You can order your own copy at: English Standard Version The entire text is available along with a beautiful oral reading by Marquis Laughli ESV Bible Online
Here is a review of The New Revised Standard Version by the Late Dr. Arthur L. Farstad.
Here is a short, well balanced article on Gender-Inclusive Versions by Ron Minton.
Here is a link to a review of Dr. Arthur Farstad's The NJKV in the Great Tradition.
Expository Preaching
I am a great lover of expository preaching. There is nothing I enjoy more than preaching expository sermons and hearing others preach expository sermons. Expository preaching takes a Bible passage and reveals in contemporary terms the meaning and application of the passage for men and women today. I was very fortunate early in my ministry to study Charles Kohler's useful volume, Expository Preaching without Notes. This one volume contains all the information needed to build expository sermons of great spiritual power. You can read my review on Amazon.com and order your copy today at: How to Preach Without Notes: Kohler.
How to Memorize Scripture for Spiritual Power
Many Christians yearn to hide God's Word in their hearts in order to gain intimacy with the mind of the Master. Brother Marlin S. Hoffman taught me his powerful method for memorizing Scripture which enabled me to memorize whole books of the Bible. You can learn his method by clicking, Hoffman's Method. Mrs. Perla Sarmiento recently translated Hoffman's method into Spanish: Método de Memorización de la Palabra de Dios de Marlin Hoffman. Another web site that has practical, how-to information on memorizing extended passages of Scripture can be found at Extended Memorization. Here is a book on improving memory: Assimilative Memory
Bible Translations Online
The following link is an excellent choice for Bible translations: Site-Berea Translations It has various English and other language translations as well as Dr. A. T. Robertson's justly famous Word Pictures commentary on the NT.
Listen
to the King James Bible:
Alexander Scourby's Recordings on the Internet
Listen to the Alexander Scourby's wonderful oral reading of the entire King James Bible. There are 72 hours of recording here free for your listening enjoyment and spiritual growth. Audio-Bible King James Version.
The The Bible in MP3 Audio Format
AUDIO TREASURE is a wonderful web site for listening to the Bible in mp3 format. You can listen to the Bible in a number of different languages, even Hebrew! Here is the link: AUDIO TREASURE.
Hebrew Bible
For a incredibly beautiful audio rendition of the Hebrew Bible, I recommend Navigating the Bible I. The text is printed in Hebrew with the vowels and translations in both English and Spanish.
Ruth in Hebrew
Dr. Louis Tyler just send me a marvelous oral rendition of Ruth from the Hebrew Bible for publication on my web site. Ruth is a book often used as a basis for teaching the Hebrew Language. These mp3 files will prove very helpful to experienced scholars and beginning students. His e-mail is: lrtyler@grandecom. net. Click on the chapter you want to hear: Chapter 1. Chapter 2. Chapter 3. Chapter 4.
Bible Based Beginning Phonics Reading Program - For second-grade through adult
For anyone you know has who has problems reading, I highly recommend Elizabeth Brown's interactive Quick Time self-teaching program. This program is for students from second-grade through adult. It requires only pencil and paper! Upon completing the course the students will be able to read the entire book of Romans for themselves. In fact, Romans is the Reader for this program! It covers phonics from the first principles to complex words necessary to for a student to read and understand the Bible for themselves: The Phonics Page.
Recommended Commentary on Romans
For serious study of the book of Romans, I know of no better commentary than that by good friend, Dr. Jack Cottrell, professor of Apologetics and Biblical Theology at the Cincinnati Christian University in Cincinnati, Ohio. You can examine the Contents by clicking here: Table of Contents . You can order the book as an e-book at: Commentary on Romans, A handsome hardback copy can be ordered from the publisher at College Press: College Press.
Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words
For those who do not know how to read Greek but want to look up the meaning of the Greek words in the New Testament here is Vine's Dictonary Expository Dictionary of the New Testament:: Vines Expository Dictionary.
Evangelism Charts
Here are some charts I have used for personal evangelism that were used in an evangelism campaign sponsored by the Sunset Church of Christ in Lubbock, Texas back in 1974. This is a very large file. I recommend that you download it once and save it to your hard drive. Click here for to download a set: Evangelism Charts.
e-Sword
Here is a wonderful computer program that you can download for free. It will allow you to load various Bible programs on your computer, even Greek texts! Just click: e-Sword.
Mohammed, Buddha, and Christ: Four Lectures on Natural and Revealed Religion by Marcus Dods. I have included this book because of the great interest in Mohammed and Buddha in America and around the world today.
