Internet Resources for Pastors

In some previous posts, I mentioned that I was in the process of compiling a list of recommended blogs for Pastors for use at the Fellowship of Fundamental Bible Churches Annual Conference next week in Montague, New Jersey.

This project got expanded on me a little bit to include Internet Resources for Pastors as well as Recommended Blogs for Pastors. This ended up bein a one page (front and back) handout. One side made some comments regarding the Internet and gave some general internet resources for Pastors. The other side gave some comments about blogs and gave some recommended blogs. I have split them into two posts, but I thought some of you might be interested in the final product and other readers might find the information helpful. I already realize that I left off some things I wanted to include (such as Sermon Audio).

Anyway, here is the General Internet Resources for Pastors portion.

Internet Resources for Pastors

The internet can be a place of great blessing and great peril for Pastors. There has been much mentioned over the years regarding the dangerous aspects of the internet - and those warnings are still valid and are still needed. The internet can also be a source of great help and encouragement. Below is a list of some web-sites, blogs, and other resources from the internet that Pastors may find helpful. Inclusion in this list does not indicate endorsement of these sites, resources or organizations that run sites by either the FFBC or me, but they are listed here because the information on these sites may be helpful for Pastors. This list is also not intended to be exhaustive. This same list of resources will soon be made available at The FFBC Blog and at A Thinking Man's Thoughts(my own blog). I also plan on adding similar resources shortly at another one of my blogs - Links for Christians . For the purposes of this list, I have avoided resources that cost money, as well as resources that are primarily secular in nature (with one exception).

Bible Study Aids

* E-Sword (http://www.e-sword.net)

E-Sword is a free Bible program that is a valuable aid for Pastors and other students of the Word. This program features a myriad of resources, such as ISBE, Barnes’ Notes, Robertson’s Word Pictures, Vincent’s Word Studies and more. Unlike most of the other resources in the list, this is a resource you download and install on to your computer, rather than use while online.

* Blue Letter Bible (http://www.blueletterbible.org)

The Blue Letter Bible is similar to E-Sword except that it is designed to be used online instead of downloaded as a program. In addition to searchable Bibles, there are also commentaries, maps, charts, outlines and more available at this site.

* Crosswalk Study Bible (http://bible.crosswalk.com)

Allows you to search the text of the Bible and the commentaries. Can click on a reference to read what an assortment of commentaries have to say about a passage. The Crosswalk site has a number of other helpful items as well.

Miscellaneous Resources

* Christian Classics Ethereal Library (http://www.ccel.org/)

This site provides the text of thousands of Christian books that are public domain. A special emphasis includes works by the “Church Fathers,” but there are many other works included as well. Many of the works also include short biographies of the authors. Many of these books can be viewed in different formats and can be downloaded and stored on your own computer so they can be used when you are not connected to the internet.

* Sermon Illustrations
From Bible.org (http://www.bible.org/illus.php)
From Crosswalk (http://www.crosswalk.com/pastors/illustrations/)

These sites allow you to view thousands of sermon illustrations. Both sites allow you to search the database for particular words. The Bible.org site is presented in a more useful format. There is a lot of overlap between the two sites.

* Cyber-Hymnal (http://www.cyberhymnal.org)

The Cyberhymnal is a site that has over 6,000 hymns and Gospel songs. The site features a search feature that lets you search for hymns that contain particular words or phrases. It also has a chart of Scripture allusions to enable you to locate hymns that may allude to a particular passage of Scripture. There are often pictures and biographical sketches of the authors and composers included with the songs as well as a MIDI file that will allow you to hear the tune of the song.

* What in the World? (http://www.bju.edu/resources/witw/)
* Calvary Contender (http://home.hiwaay.net/~contendr/)

These are online versions of popular news and information sources for Fundamentalists. While Calvary Contender is no longer published, the site allows you to search past issues for research purposes.