Are you interested in learning how to study and teach the Bible? Have you wondered how you can use your interests and gifts in the church and the kingdom? Then Lifeway Women Academy is the place to begin.
Jen Wilkin, Elizabeth Woodson, and Julia B. Higgins teach Lifeway Women Academy’s first course, How to Study the Bible: Hermeneutics 101. In the 10-session, online, on-demand course, you’ll learn about the history of the Bible, interpretive methods, the metanarrative of Scripture, and more. Each session is approximately 40–60 minutes, and you’ll have unlimited access to course content to be completed at your own pace. (Learn more here.)
Want to get to know the course teachers a little better first? Here’s a Q&A with them about some of their favorite resources for teaching the Bible.
Jen Wilkin
What’s your favorite commentary?
It depends on the book of the Bible! Some New Testament commentators I love include F. Dale Bruner, James M. Boice, R. C. Sproul, and Karen Jobes. Some Old Testament commentators I love are Dale Ralph Davis, J. Alec Motyer, Bill T. Arnold, and Arthur Pink.
What other resources/supplemental materials (think atlases, dictionaries, and so forth) do you use when preparing to teach?
I look for commentaries that are written by pastors because that usually means they are written with accessible teaching in mind. I also use the free lexicon at Blue Letter Bible, and I love the NavPress Life Change series of studies for thought-provoking application questions.
Is there anything else you’d recommend women have on hand when preparing to teach the Bible?
Repetitive reading of the entire book, outlining the flow of a passage, annotating, prayer, and dialogue with/feedback from other people who also teach.
Elizabeth Woodson
What’s your favorite commentary?
I love the Tyndale Old & New Testament Commentaries.
What other resources/supplemental materials (think atlases, dictionaries, and so forth) do you use when preparing to teach?
My go-to resources are Strong’s Concordance, Hebrew/Greek Interlinear, Hebrew/Greek lexicon, a Bible dictionary, and Bible maps.
Is there anything else you’d recommend women have on hand when preparing to teach the Bible?
Reading books on historical/cultural backgrounds and systematic theology is important. I use Logos and biblehub.com to access most of the tools I’ve mentioned.
Julia Higgins
What’s your favorite commentary?
My favorite is the New Testament Commentary set by William Hendriksen and Simon J. Kistemaker.
What other resources/supplemental materials (think atlases, dictionaries, and so forth) do you use when preparing to teach?
I use the Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology by Walter A. Elwell; blueletterbible.org for word studies; A Concise Dictionary of Theological Terms by Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson; and the ESV Study Bible.
Is there anything else you’d recommend women have on hand when preparing to teach the Bible?
Gospel-Centered Teaching: Showing Christ in All the Scripture by Trevin Wax and Building a Theological Library by Daniel L. Akin.
For more information about Lifeway Women Academy, click here. To register for the course, How to Study the Bible: Hermeneutics 101, taught by Jen Wilkin, Elizabeth Woodson, and Julia Higgins, sign up here.