I’ve recently been following a pattern of writing a post in my “Life of Paul” series, but then alternating with posts on some other topic. The purpose of that is to give me time to think about and plan the next Paul post.

I’m taking the opportunity of this “between” post to talk a little about some helpful online resources that I’m using. For my scripture quotes, I use ESV.org, which is the Bible translation I use with my blogging. I also use my print NIV Study Bible, which I’ve loved and used for many years. Here is a preview of an e-book version of it.

As I learn about and write about Paul, I’ve been interested in learning more about Judaism in the context of Christianity. After all, the first Christians were Jews, and the New Testament was written by Jews, except for the books written by the Gentile doctor Luke (the Gospel of Luke, and Acts). Paul, who God chose to be a missionary to the Gentiles, was a Jew, and did not abandon his Jewishness even though he was reaching out to the Gentiles.

One of the resources that I’m finding helpful is the Jewish Virtual Library. It’s a project of the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE), established in 1993 to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship. The site describes itself as having over 25,000 articles and 10,000 images. Their goal is to make it a “one-stop shop for information” about Jewish history. For the purposes of my quest to better understand Judaism in the first century, I rely on the Ancient Jewish History section of this valuable resource.

Another very helpful resource is one that is provided by my church, First Baptist Church of Kissimmee, Florida. They have recently provided to members and friends a subscription to Right Now Media. This is an amazing resource! It is a collection of thousands of video-based Bible studies on a wide range of topics and for a wide audience. There is children’s programming, studies for women, for men, couples, parents, singles, etc. There are seminary courses, Bible book series, series based on study guides, series incorporating a variety of Christian perspectives. I encourage you to check it out!

One study I found on RNM that was helpful to me was “In Pursuit of Paul”, a seven part series by Con Campbell, who is Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. It was helpful to me to learn more about the geography that Paul explored and evangelized and I’ll be referencing some of the sites explored during my Paul series.

Another study on RNM I found especially theologically helpful was “Paul and Judaism” by Scot McKnight, Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary. It is a short seminary course exploring two different ways that the church has historically viewed Paul’s relation to Judaism after his conversion. Specifically, it emphasizes the view that classical Judaism was a grace-based belief system, not works-based. It shows, as Paul did, how it was the faith of Abraham, not the law of Moses, that set the pattern for the new covenant through Jesus.

There are other RNM resources that I’ve tagged to watch but haven’t gotten to them yet, including Paul the Apostle, Paul in Rome, The Paradox of Paul, Paul’s letters, Paul’s Epistles, The Pastoral Letters, Acts, Galatians, 1 Corinthians, Timothy, Romans Parts 1 & 2, 1 Timothy, and Colossians.

One recent study that I found in Right Now Media, is also available online outside of RNM. It’s called The Israel Story. They say about themselves: “The Israel Story is a non-profit organization dedicated to sharing the unique role that Israel and the Jewish people play in God’s story of redemption for all of mankind. By doing so, we seek to declare the gospel message, combat anti-Semitism, and help align believers in Jesus with God’s love and redemptive purposes for the Jewish people and the nation of Israel.” The organization was founded by John Myers, a man of Jewish heritage, born and raised in Pennsylvania. They have the video and audio online, or through an app, or available as a channel on Roku. The study is a fascinating walk through the Bible demonstrating how God set up his covenant with Israel and how that covenant is going to play out to completion through the rest of world history.

I hope I have given you a few ideas and resources to further your own spiritual growth and understanding of the Bible. It is such a rewarding thing – Bible study!