A Pastor’s Toolbox

As I recently finished up another sermon for this week, I realized there are certain books that I could just not do without in sermon prep.  Besides the Bible itself, I seem to consult these tools most often as I prepare.  Below is my toolbox.

Bibleworks. I’ve used this tool since my junior year in college.  It has been a phenomenal exegesis program.  Practically does all the work for me, but you still need Greek and Hebrew skills to maximize its capabilities.

Synopsis of the Four Gospels.  I find myself in this book a lot more since I’m preaching through Matthew.  Even if I wasn’t preaching through Matthew, I am always teaching in some venue or another from a gospel account that requires me to check this book.

Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament.  This book has been a gem since it came out in 2007.  The NT is full of OT quotations, references, and allusions; and this book is the perfect help in thinking through how the NT writers used the OT.

New Dictionary of Biblical Theology. A very helpful resource for any type of study.  The real plus of this volume is that it gives individual book overviews and subject studies from a biblical-theological perspective.  I have also benefited greatly from the introductory articles.

Calvin’s Commentaries.  There are few complete or almost complete commentary sets on the Bible.  Calvin’s is one of the few.  I like to read what other pastors say about a passage. Calvin is one pastor that has said something on just about everything in the Bible.

There are other resources I use, such as individual commentaries, surveys, background studies, and biblical-theological resources; but these five I frequent weekly–even daily.

What’s in your toolbox?