Bible Study Tools You'll Wonder How You Ever Did Without
When I began using the hymnal as a devotional tool and as part of my Bible study routine, my heart began to move from an attitude of duty to an attitude of delight as I learned more about Jesus and began to love Him even more.
Hymns help "tune our hearts to sing God's grace" and to learn God's grace, too, as part of a regular Bible study routine.
I firmly believe God has always intended us to use hymns alongside Scripture for our spiritual growth and while hymns aren't divinely inspired, they certainly help us grow more than many may realize.
With Colossians 3:16 and Ephesians 5:14-19 in mind, here are resources — most of which are in my daily arsenal — that I'm glad to introduce to you with the hopes that you will use them to help you and your family love Jesus better.
— Kristen Iaffaldano, Founder & Editor at HymnsIllustrated.com
Pictured: my cart next to my desk holds some of my most-used resources.
Many of the links below are affiliate links which means that at no cost to you, I may earn a commission to help me keep Hymns Illustrated growing.
Go Personal | Binge the Hymns
Spurgeon's Own Hymn Book along with The Olney Hymnal are two books I want with my Bible on a desert island.
These are just hymn text one after another (no music), which makes them especially easy to binge read like you would a book of poetry.
These two books are at the top of my treasured possessions list and I credit them with deep spiritual renewal in my heart.
The reason they aren't pictured in my resource cart (above) is because they're either on my nightstand or another place I like to read.
I also highly recommend owning several other hymnals which you can pick up at local thrift stores, your church or online here.
Go Deep | Study Bibles
Note Taking Bible
After lots of research, I settled on this one. Write notes to remember what you've read!
Key Word Study Bible
Helps you understand the meaning behind the Bible's words — no seminary required.
Apply the Word Study Bible
I can't get over how well this study Bible helps you apply the Bible to real life.
The Jeremiah Study Bible
Jesus is coming again! And this Bible helps you study with that in mind.
Go Big | Understand the Big Picture First (And Last)
One of the biggest (pun intended!) things that has helped me with my Bible study is making sure I have a solid "big-picture" understanding of the Bible passage first.
I absolutely love Skip Heitzig's The Bible from 30,000 Feet and make sure to read his overview of a book of the Bible before reading it.
Tara-Leigh Cobble's The Bible Recap is extremely helpful to read AFTER each day's reading to make sure I truly paid attention to what I just read!
Tip: As you read each day's recap, write hymns that come to your mind directly in the margin and use the book as a "review" tool to help you remember what you've read!
The Bible from 30,000 Feet
Get the big-picture facts down so you know exactly where to hang the details.
Go Together | Family Worship
Family-Friendly Hymn Study Membership
Hymns Illustrated makes it easy to use hymns in family worship.
Timeless Hymns for Family Worship
Joni Aerickson-Tada has compiled this collection of favorite hymns.
Our Hymns, Our Heritage: A Student Guide
Gives a helpful summary of our hymn history for students.
