Just as no Plumber would dream of going into Business without wrenches, his most basic of tools, we should not look to ministry without our books. Commentaries are a source of years of wisdom. These Commentaries are, most often, written by great men of God who have put their lives into studying individual passages with a depth that we can only aspire to. They are sources of explanation in difficult passages and give inspiration in methods of communication. Please don’t misunderstand my intention, they do not replace the Bible in any way whatsoever. Likewise, you cannot replace meditation on the scripture passage in preparation for a sermon with reading commentaries. If we view the Bible as the word of God that shines upon our hearts, Commentaries are perhaps the lens that focuses that light in a direct manner. As such, a Library is the most valuable thing most of us will ever own. But that leads to several questions, listed here are but a few:

What Commentary Series should I buy?
Should I even buy a Series, or should I stick with individual volumes?
Should I go Electronic?
What about free stuff?
I’m a college student, where do I find inexpensive commentaries?

I will try and answer these over the next few days with a look at my personal library. Though I have only been building it for a few years, I believe it has a good depth which I hope to increase as finances allow.

In answering the first question, I’ll tell you some commentaries I personally own.

• Expositor’s Bible Commentary Series (electronic – Pradis 6.0)
• Baker Exegetical Commentary Series (electronic – Libronix)
• NIV Application Commentary Series (electronic – Pradis 5.1)
• Courson’s New Testament Application Commentary Series (electronic – Libronix)
• Thomas Constable’s Study Notes (electronic – free)
• Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Bible In One Volume (print & electronic – free)
• Word Biblical Commentary (select print volumes)
• Stewart Custer (various print volumes)
• G. Campbell Morgan – Gospels (print)
• New American Commentary (select print volumes)

There are more, but I believe these are the best, and most frequently used of my collection.

I believe whole-heartedly in buying Series. Quite often a series is composed of different authors. Even if one author is not particularly adept in one volume of the series, you may still find valuable information within the confines of his pages. However, the primary reason for purchasing a series is the fact that it is simply more cost effective. Which leads me to my next point: Electronic resources are astoundingly less expensive than their print counterparts. Obviously so, the overhead cost of printing is removed! I’ll write more about electronic sources later, but suffice it for now to say, I am definitely in favor of electronic sources.

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