2

     Preaching through John has been the most rewarding experience I've ever had in my life in regards to studying God's word.  The overwhelming doctrinal truths, fascinating Jesus-encounters and the mind-blowing revelations this gospel holds have changed/ are changing me.  My hope and prayer is that our time together at The Journey through John encourages and/ or ignites an intense season of worship and study for you as well.

     Resources on John aren't hard to find. It's rumored that there are more books written on John's gospel than any other book of the Bible.  The reason for such a vast amount of discussion is no doubt a result of the crucial truths & doctrine that saturate every chapter.  Below is a collection of some of the primary resources that I've utilized thus far.  I'd encourage anyone to benefit from them!  I'll start with my favorite.

 

esvstudybible1.  English Standard Version Study Bible:  Ok, this is an obvious one but I've used this version for the past 3 years and absolutely love it.  If anyone asks me what kind of Bible to get, this is the one I point them to.  It's a really great sword to wield.

 

ryle-copy2.  Expository thoughts on John by J.C. Ryle:  In preparation for teaching this gospel I ordered Ryle's commentary simply based on his good reputation as a Bible scholar and teacher.  To be honest, I hadn't ever read any of his resources before and wasn't expecting this tool to be one that I leaned on too heavily.  HOWEVER, over the past 3 1/2 months I can't explain to you how much I've enjoyed reading this guy's stuff.  Ryle is such a balanced preacher and teacher.  He's a well-thought out scholar, a ferocious defender of truth and incredibly witty.  I genuinely look forward each week to reading his thoughts and research on each passage in John.  With Ryle's unique style and approach I'd go as far to encourage anyone to use his thoughts as a daily devotion.  If I lived in the 1800's I would've grown out my beard and smoked a pipe with this brother, no doubts. 

   Ryle Commentary  Ryle studied a plethora of content to create his commentary including many studies that he would not even align with, which I appreciate.  Examining the scholars that influenced his time has been incredibly educating and worthwhile.  This resource also allows me to study each passage in the KJV which has been rewarding as well.  Outside of scripture Ryle has been my favorite resource so far.

 

3.  The Gospel According To John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary by D.A. Carson:  Carson is a close 2nd place to Ryle in my book.  It's been interesting each week to weigh Carson's research against Ryle's published 122 years earlier, and in different parts of the world as well (Ryle is from England, Carson is Canadian).  

     JohnCarsonCommentaryCarson is a phenomenal and well-respected teacher.  What I appreciate most about Carson is his efficiency.  He somehow manages to teach you a lot of information in a short amount of words.  For example, what takes Ryle 10 pages to say, Carson manages to convey in 4 or 5.  Carson will also show you any possible link that each verse has to the Old Testament, which is ridiculously important while in John.  Carson's research is probably the most practical and efficient that I've personally read. 

 

4.  Teaching John, Unlocking the Gospel of John for the Bible Teacher by Dick Lucas & Teaching John BookWilliam Philip: This is a book series that I've used before in the past while teaching through 1 Peter, Galatians and 1 Timothy.  This series is designed for pastors to help them chart out and think through the teaching of a particular book of the Bible in its entirety.  I actually had a chance to read through this before we started the series and it proved useful in creating a big-picture view of John while thinking through a week-to-week plan of attack.  I'd recommend this book series to any pastor who loves teaching through books of the Bible.

 

5.  R.C. Sproul:  R.C. is the pastor of Saint Andrews in Sanford, Florida.  He has actually RC Sproulwritten commentary on John (which you can find here) however it's not one that I've read but am listening too.  Seldom do I use any gym time to listen to music, I save my gym time for seminary lectures and sermons.  Recently I've been listening to Sproul teach through the Gospel of John and am loving it.  You can find his content at www.ligonier.org.  My generation might consider this guy to be a bit old-school but I find His faithfulness to God's word inspiring.  Sproul, like Carson, is very efficient and teaches through John in neat 30 minute chunks which correlate nicely with my attention span and workout routine.

 

6.  Mark Driscoll:  Mark Driscoll is the lead pastor of Mars Hill in Seattle and is the founder mark-driscoll_profile_imgand former president of Acts 29 of which we are partnered with.  Pastor Driscoll has also taught through this book (back in 2001) and you can find his sermons by clicking here.  This happens to be the oldest teaching series that he has on his website and is missing a few sermons here and there for whatever reason.  You'll no doubt find his dry humor enjoyable (or offensive depending on your personality, ha!) and his teaching faithful to God's word.  Driscoll can sometimes preach longer than I can workout, which probably means I'm more out of shape than he is long winded. 

 

     If I'm firing on all cylinders then I'll manage to fit all of these resources in during my week of preparation but sometimes my workouts and podcasts are sacrificed by the day-to-day needs of church planting.  Fortunately, Ryle and Carson's opinions are ones I've not gone into a Sunday teaching without to this point.

Well, there's every card I'm holding in my hand.  I'd encourage you to play them!

Pastor pic 1_2

Cody Parman

2 Comments

God bless you, Cody as you embrace God's will and follow the path He has put in front of you!! You are always in our hearts, and your precious family will always be in our prayers!! As your share His powerful message in these uncertain times, know God is at work in you and He is in control. You may never realize the hearts or lives that may change from a sermon or song you share, but our wonderful Savior and Redeemer does. What a mighty God we serve!! Love, Mitch and Barb Cary

Sounds like a winning hand that would please the Lord.

Write a Comment

Comments for this post have been disabled.