John Markum

Category: Scripture

Ministry Resources: Bible Study Tools

Posted on by johnmarkum

Every pastor, preacher, or student of Scripture needs reliable resources to study the Bible. There are literally hundreds or thousands of resources out there, but I wanted to share some of my favorite Bible study tools. Most of these are free, and the the ones that cost a bit are totally worth it…

  1. biblehub.com
    Bible Hub looks like a website built in the early 1990’s, with lackluster user interface and a very monochromatic design. Despite this, it is heavily packed and hyperlinked between Strong’s Concordance reference numbers, original languages, commentaries, and other translations for easy comparison between translator word choices and reasoning. Great for verse-by-verse, and word-by-word study. Totally free…
  2. biblegateway.com
    I don’t know why I still use this site! But for whatever reason, it is still my default place to look up passages and copy/paste them into my sermon notes. It is super simple to use and has access to nearly every Bible version/translation ever published. It also contains original translation notes hyperlinked within the passages. This is only useful for me on desktop, for mobile I go with The Bible App, completely! I love their reading plans, and community connections. You can follow my church in the app here. Also, totally free, but with an occasionally annoying ad bar at the sides.
  3. blueletterbible.com
    This has all the tools as Bible Hub, but with better data searching. It is not as user friendly as Bible Hub however, so I usually only get into BLB when I’m absolutely lost in the hunt to understand specific words and their usage. Seminary professors actually got me into using this tool. This site is also free, but requests for donations to support their server costs.
  4. Logos Bible software.
    This one cost something, and it is not necessarily cheap. But you do get what you pay for with this. With literal thousands of searchable cross-referenced Bible study and theology tools, it is the apex Bible study resource, perfect for anyone writing and preaching sermons on a consistent basis. It would make a great year-end/Christmas gift for a senior pastor! This price does range, depending on what features and tools you want access to, but you can also scan the ISBN code of physical books you already own, and add them straight into your Logos library! There’s also hundreds of maps, graphs, diagrams, and more to use, such that you’ll likely never use all that Logos has to offer. You can even build sermons directly in Logos where you’re doing your studying, making this a true “All-in-One” Bible Study resource.

If you’re a regular Bible student, preacher, etc. what other tools do you recommend? Comment below. ALSO! If you sign up for my email list here, I’ll send you a free Yearly Sermon Planning spreadsheet. Throughout the year I’ll also send out other free resources, like sermon series ideas I’ve used, new posts to the blog, and materials I make like the Markum Bible Study series I’ve written so far.

Blessings,
Pastor John

Monday Recap: UNseries week 3

Posted on by johnmarkum

Yesterday was one of the most emotionally charged messages I’ve ever shared as a pastor, as I walked through Romans 10:11-17, and called us to collective commitment to completing the Great Commission by the 2,000th anniversary of the church around April 2033. You can watch the entire service on our YouTube channel.

The main points to my sermon were:

  1. God saves whoever believes. The Greek word “whoever” and “all” appears some 1,248 times in our New Testament. And it means exactly what it sounds like – everyone. Absolutely everyone can be redeemed in Jesus name, and everyone who calls upon Him will be saved (Rom. 10:11-13). Jesus is contrasted with Adam, the first man, in Romans 5, and the point is made there, that the total, universal implications of Adam’s sin across the human race is “much more” overcome by the “Second Adam” Jesus Christ. If Adam’s sin effects all humanity, then Jesus’ righteousness can absolutely save all of humanity, if we will just turn to Him in faith.
  2. God speaks to whoever listens. God promises to pour His Word upon all the earth, and that it will not return unto Him empty (Isaiah 55:1-11). All creation declares God’s glory (Psalm 19:1-4; Romans 1:18-23), and if we truly listen and seek after God, we will find Him (Jeremiah 29:12-13).
  3. God sends whoever will go. The passage in Romans 10 crescendos at the call to send preachers to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. Here, Paul quotes Isaiah 52:7, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”

There are an estimated 500 ethnic people groups around the world, and many Christian organizations are tracking our progress in bringing the Gospel to each. To date, it is estimated that there 144 of these people groups who have yet to receive the good news of Jesus Christ. That means that if only 144 people or couples decided they would each commit their lives to taking the life-changing message to one each, we could see the Great Commission fulfilled in our lifetime. We’re that close…

“How then are they to call on Him in whom they have not believed? How are they to believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? 15 But how are they to preach unless they are sent?” Romans 10:14-15a

Blessings,
Pastor John

Year of the Bible

Posted on by johnmarkum

This past Sunday at Life Valley Community Church, I shared a vision of what 2024 will look like for our church – preaching, small groups, and more. I’m calling this our “Year of the Bible”, and here’s how it’s a going to look for us…

Our preaching calendar across the year will walk through the entire story of Scripture, in 52 Sundays, from Genesis to Revelation. Now it’s not realistic to do justice to every single book, chapter, and verse of Scripture in just 52 weekly sermons, even if I covered an entire book every week. So the preaching calendar I have planned out isn’t attempting to do that. Instead, we’ll focus on the overarching “meta-narrative” of Scripture, with the goal of helping our people deeply grasp the overall layout, themes, and purpose of the Bible as one cohesive story. Of course, I will take special dedication in specific points to appreciate the deeper nuances of specific books and segments of the Bible. For example, we’re starting the year with a full 5 week series in Genesis, but we’ll also cover all of the Old Testament History of Israel in a 5 week series as well.

To fill in many of the gaps I couldn’t possibly preach over in a single year, we’ll also be leading our church through a One Year Bible Reading Plan, beginning January 1, 2024. If you want to join us and follow along, follow our church on the YouVersion Bible app. I love this plan because of how it systematically walks through Scripture, while breaking up Psalms and the Gospels across the year.

But we don’t want to just read the Word, we want it to take root in our hearts. So we’re also preparing a Scripture memory list, and challenging one another to learn dozens of verses to memory over the new year.

Additionally, we’re going to lead our small groups to dig deeper into the Word, especially in studies that we’ll touch on in the preaching, but not have the time to dig into more of the details for. It’s my hope to continue creating more Bible studies to engage our church – and other ministries – deeper into the Scripture.

The heart behind this is to sincerely know the “Word of Truth”. I have committed my life to learning, studying, and teaching the Bible. And it continues to open up to me in new, powerful ways. And this is what has compelled me to lead our church in this direction. Of course, we always teach and preach the Bible, but I want the Word of God to mean more to us than a long menu of seemingly disjointed stories and instructions. It is truly much more than that. And the magnificence and beauty of the Bible continues to blow my mind, even after 20 years of pastoral ministry.

I can’t wait to unpack the entire story of the Bible in a meaningful way this next year! You can catch our services and sermons here on Youtube.

Blessings,
Pastor John

The phrase no pain, no gain has been a mantra for athletes and fitness junkies for years. And what they understand about physical pain needs to be broadened to a much more general use in all of our lives. Pain hurts. That's the whole problem. No one enjoys it, and if someone does, we rightfully

The Premium of Pain