As you know, the internet can be a wonderful place for finding helpful resources to aid our Christian reflection, knowledge, and growth. (It can also be an albatross, but let’s think positively here.)
On August 24, I will be teaching an informal class at Hope Church in Bradenton on how to use the internet for Christian growth. I will be introducing the class to
- the accessing of information through a search
- downloadable audio and print resources
- blogs and the wonders of RSS
You get the idea. It will just be one day and I won’t be able to do much. However, I would like to leave each participant with a list of possible resources.
So, here is my request: list for me the resources on the web that you find the most helpful in your growth as a Christian. I’m looking for audio, blogs, news sources, and the like. I’m looking for the types of things to which I might direct an average Christian looking for helpful resources.
My idea is to compile a list (which I will, of course cull and edit a wee bit) to pass on to the members of the class.
My view across the web is limited. I would love to have you help broaden my scope. What do you find helpful?
snowbot
A few good Christian blogs I like are Between Two Worlds, Challies.com, and The Resurgence. Also, Monergism is a good spot for Reformed theology resources.
Anonymous
The first may be more for women: http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/shannon/She is a PCA woman who writes (often humorously) about family etc, and each Wednesday hosts “Works for me Wednesday.” This is where readers can share helpful hints on a plethora of subjects. For anyone who cooks, allrecipes.com is a helpful site. You can find dozens of recipes based on what ingredients you want to include.Personally, I find google to have a wealth of information on any number of topics. It sometimes relates closely to the aforementioned recipe site because one can learn how to purchase, ripen, store, prepare – for example – unfamiliar fruits/vegetables.–ae
The Domestic Intellectual
(the first comment had some editorial errors)A couple resources that I am very fond of:True Womanhood blog: in celebration of the thinking Christian womanhttp://truewomanhood.wordpress.com/ They have thoughtful discussions where women who often have quite different viewpoints are treated respectfully and thoughtfully.Bible Gatewayhttp://www.biblegateway.com/Great online search tool especially good for word searches or concordance searches when you are not sure what version the verse is from:-)I also enjoy subscribing to a variety of preachers/sermon series via iTunes podcast.Boundless Webszinehttp://www.boundless.org/A publication by Focus on the Family it has many excellent articles, blog posts and podcasts on a variety of issues applicable to the whole body of Christ, but especially to those in the 18-35 demographic.I also recommend the use of the iGoogle homepage option for staying on top of news and blog subscriptions.
TulipGirl
Like snowbot, I find monergism.org to be a great clearinghouse for Reformed resources. Though, like any place online, read with discernment — I’ve come across a few links that had me raising an eyebrow. (Oh–off topic–the bookstore at monergism.com is having a sale on Berkhof’s Systematic Theology. Only $20!)Even though my daily drive isn’t that long, I do have time in the car without the kids to talk to and I like to listen to the mp3 player while I drive. I’ve become quite a fan of podcast lectures and sermons. Covenant Theological Seminary has the courses of their core program online for free download at Covenant Worldwide. “Humanity, Christ and Redemption” is my favorite course so far — truly thought- and worship-provoking.UC Berkeley also offers a large number of courses available as podcasts for free download. Yes, THAT Berkeley. Listen with discretion. Still, they offer some very interesting lectures.For mom encouragement, I like the ThatMom Podcast. She’s down-to-earth, has both grown kids and kids at home. It helps that I’m friends with her daughter and like their family a lot!The local library websites (Sarasota, Manatee) are great to reserve and renew books. And I’m a sucker for Google Maps. Love looking at the satellite view of the house my Dad is building, the building where we lived in Ukraine and planning trips.
snowbot
Oh yeah, Reformed Theological Seminary offers all kinds of lecture recordings on iTunesU (http://itunes.rts.edu/).Redeemer.com has all of Tim Keller’s sermons available, but they charge quite a bit of money for them. I’d love to see them offer those for free one day. However, they do offer about 20 of them for free here. And over at Mars Hill Church of Seattle’s site they have high quality sermon videos and audio of Mark Driscoll’s stuff (http://www.marshillchurch.org/). Those are available via podcast/iTunes as well.
Anonymous
One place I find refreshing and insightful is st anne’s public house. They have talks and interviews that are always relevant to the Christian life. Check out their archives in the cellar. Here’s a link.http://www.stannespublichouse.com/home/Tom
Anonymous
Here are a few I useJohn Piperhttp://www.desiringgod.org/Blue Letter Bible – good for translations, greek, etchttp://www.blueletterbible.org/Modern Reformation Magazine – great archived articleshttp://www.modernreformation.org/default.php?page=main&var1=Home