ebooks, Bible study, and you

I’m writing a series of articles that will soon be published on another site about how Christians can use technology for deepening their bible study lesson preparation and small group leading, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, see this article today from USA Today about the google bookstore that concludes with this quote: “In July, Amazon said sales of e-books passed hardcovers. In a July interview with USA TODAY, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos predicted that e-books would outsell paperbacks — the publishing industry’s volume product — “in the next nine to 12 months. “It stuns me,” he said. “People forget that Kindle is only 33 months old.”"

I have said before that I think that ebooks are what most people will be using to consume books and media in the near future.   As I prepare for this series, leave comments with how you are currently using technology (specifically e-readers) for your personal devotions and preparations for leading bible studies.

Blessings All Mine with 10,000 Besides

Justin Childers wrote the following on his blog:

In his new book, Church Planter, Darrin Patrick takes some time to meditate on the gospel. Here is a particularly helpful list to meditate on from chapter 9 (idea: spend the next month meditating on one of these every day):

Through His cross-work, Christ has provided:

• Reconciliation to God (2 Cor 5:19).
• Forgiveness of sins (Col. 2:13).
• Propitiation (Rom. 3:25).
• Ability to live for God (2 Cor. 5:15).
• Eternal life (John 3:16).
• Justification (Rom 4:25).
• Inheritance in heaven (Eph. 1:11).
• Righteousness (Phil 3:9-10).
• Healing (1 Peter 2:24).
• Bodlily resurrection (1 Cor. 15:22).
• Intercession for the weak (Heb 7:25).
• Peace (Isa 53:5).
• Freedom (Gal 5:1).
• Unity among believers (Eph 2:11-22).
• An example (1 Peter 2:21).
• Redemption (Rom 3:24).
• Advocacy (1 John 2:1).
• Deliverance from fear of death (Heb 2:14-15).
• Hope (Rom 5:1-11).
• Wisdom (1 Cor 1:30).
• Regeneration (1 Peter 1:3).
• Access to God’s presence (Heb 10:19).
• All things (Rom 8:32).

In short, Christ’s death has given us God (1 Peter 3:18).

Resources for Bible Study

This morning in our men’s gathering we talked about studying the Word and we mentioned a number of resources.  Here are a few that were either mentioned or are helpful to know about.

Online:

Mobile:

Print:

Out-of-print books for your iPad and iPhone

How to read out-of-print books on your iPad and iPhone for free:

As I mentioned in a previous post about ebooks, I really think we are going to be reading more and more in this format.  I already am benefiting by being able to carry around a library with me wherever I go.

Yesterday, I was pointed to a quote by Richard Baxter but  my friend had to print out the quote by printing the screen shot from google books.  But wonder of wonders,  when I looked up this book later on google I learned that I could download it either as a pdf or epub document!  This is huge.

While I have long known that pdf’s can be read in ibooks, I wasn’t a big fan because it was too difficult to zoom in and read.  The beauty of ibooks (or Kindle for that matter) is that the text can be scaled, highlighted, bookmarked and definitions looked up from a selected word. The epub format opens up the world of being able to highlight and notate your book.

Here is how you do it:

Go to google and select google books (books.google.com)

Look for an out of print book you want to read and open it.  If it is available for download in epub you will see this drop down menu on the side:  Example:  Richard Baxter book, “On the Mischiefs of Self-Ignorance and the Benefits of Self-Acquaintance”

Select the format you want (again, I recommend the ePub format)

After the file is downloaded drag and drop it into your itunes library when itunes is open. When you sync your iPad or iPhone it will be loaded onto your device (make sure “sync all books” is selected and it will automatically do this every time).

How to Find Free Christian Kindle eBooks

I don’t have a Kindle but I have enjoyed reading 3-4 books now on the Kindle reader for my blackberry and, before that, on the iphone.  I like the blackberry’s screen clarity a bit more, but the iphone was nice because the screen was bigger.  But alas, I couldn’t justify the ongoing cost of the iphone (and Sprint offered to buy me out of my contract…) so smaller screen it is.

Here’s how to find free Christian books for the Kindle: go to the Kindle store on Amazon.com and type in a Christian publisher.  For example, I went to the Kindle store, typed in “Crossway Books” and up pops all of the books they have published on the Kindle format.  Go to the upper right corner and click “sort by price: low to high” and if the publisher has any books for free they will be listed first.  Here’s what I found tonight:

1.  Skye Jethani, The Divine Commodity: Discovering Faith Beyond Consumer Christianity (Zondervan: Grand Rapids, 2009)

2.  Steve Monsma, Healing for a Broken World: Christian Perspective on Public Policy (Crossway Books: Wheaton, 2008)

Oh, and for what it’s worth–I do think the e-reader format is going to take off.  After a brief adjustment, I found that I read faster on the Kindle than I do a paper book.   I always have the book with me to read and it syncs between all the platforms I read it on.  Couple of downsides:  I can’t do research on it, and it is a slight pain to try and find quotes that you know you read but have no idea how to find again (quick tip– use the bookmark and highlight features liberally).   Overall it has been helpful, and thus far, free.

One last thing.  It’s worth it to download the Kindle App just for the ESV Study Bible, which is available for $9.99.  It’s not the fastest format to look something up in, but it is a whole lot better than trying to fit my Study Bible in my bag!