Biblical Illustrator Plus: Summer 2009



Sunday, I received my new copy of Biblical Illustrator Plus CDROM. I’ve been using Biblical Illustrator for years to help me prepare for the Bible studies I teach on Sunday morning. BI contains background articles that go along with the two main Sunday School curricula used in most Southern Baptist churches. BI is completely separate from the regular teacher’s material, but honestly I value it more. Every quarterly issue contains around 25 articles that offer background information for the biblical texts covered in our studies. The information is usually more detailed than what is offered in the average commentary, but short enough to be digested in one sitting. A working knowledge of biblical languages is not required.

G. B. Howell Jr. is editor of BI. In this newest issue, he is interviewed regarding the role he has played over the past six years. In that interview, he offers a very good description of what BI has to offer:

We continue to offer articles on biblical archaeology, geography, history, people, Greek and Hebrew word studies, and some theology. Every issue has a book review that introduces a new resource to our readers. And we offer a CenterSpread that is art intensive but has an economy of words. ... We have begun offering, though, sidebar boxes with self-contained information (see “St. Catherine’s Monastery,” p. 9). We added a twopage article that addresses some aspect of biblical archaeology, either a find or a site of significance.

The cover of the Summer 2009 issue features a bronze mask of a maenad or female follower of the wine-god Bacchus (Roman, 1st cent. A.D.). In addition to the curricula-related articles, this issue offers a review of Paul Barnett’s book, Paul: Missionary of Jesus. The archaeological article by Joe Cathey focuses on the City of David. The center spread covers the geography of ancient Galatia.

I teach the Explore the Bible curriculum which covers Galatians and James for the months of June - August. Many of the articles that you will see in the table below relate to these books of the Bible. Other articles offer background information for the Bible Studies for Life and MasterWork curricula. Below are the new articles in the current issue of BI:

Jerry Batson Anointing in the Early Church James 5
Joseph Beckler Abide in John's First Epistle 1 John 2:3-17
Martha S. Bergen Jewish Feasts & Festivals John 7:10-39
Rick Byargeon Sinai: The Mountain of God Ex 33:12 - 34:9
Joseph R. Cathey ARTIfacts: The City of David  
Bennie R. Crockett Jr. Three Social Divisions in the First Century Gal 3:26-29
Terry Ellis Sins of the Flesh Gal 5:16-26
R. D. Fowler Mirrors James 1:19-27
John L. Harris The Book of Jonah in Its Historical Setting Jonah
G. B. Howell Jr. Paul: Missionary of Jesus by Paul Barnett [book review]  
Francis X. Kimmitt Ancient Culture and Law Ex 33:12 - 34:9
John Mason Literacy in the First Century Galatians, James, 1 Peter, 1 John
Allan Moseley The Tabernacle: Its History and Use Ex 35:4 - 36:7
Mark Rathel "Light" in John's Writings 1 John 1:1 - 2:2
Charles A. Ray Jr. Genuine Humility James 4:1-17
C. Mack Roark James' Ethical Imperatives James
Don H. Stewart Galatia: Its History Galatians
L. Thomas Strong III The Social Elite in the First Century James 2:1-13
J. Mark Terry Gideon: His Life and Times Judges 6:11-40
Timothy Trammell Traveling Through Galatia [center spread] Galatians
Robert A. Weathers Colossae in the First Century Col 1:1-29
C. Alan Woodward The Churches of Galatia Gal 1

The articles above are in both the print issue of BI and the BI Plus CD-ROM. However, the articles below are from previous issues and can be found only on the CD-ROM edition, Biblical Illustrator Plus.

Scott Andrew Faith James 1:3; 2:14; 2 Peter 1:5
Stephen J. Andrews Sackcloth and Fasting in Jonah Jonah
Stephen J. Andrews Hazor: A Great City Josh 10:1 - 12:24
Waylon Bailey Aaron's Golden Calf Ex 32:15-19, 30-34; 34:4-6
Bryan E. Beyer God's Message for Ninevah Jonah 2:10 - 3:10
James A. Brooks Gnosticism 1 John 4:1-3
James A. Brooks Redemption 1 Pet 1:18; Eph 1:7
Trent C. Butler Near Eastern Creation Stories Genesis
James Carter Old Testament Backgrounds of the Book of James James
Robert O. Coleman The Fountain James 3:11
Robert O. Coleman The Sirocco and the Flower James 1:11
Bob Dean The Counselor John 14-16
David S. Dockery The Meaning of Deposit 2 Cor 1:21-22; 5:1-5; Eph 1:11-14
David S. Dockery To Betray Another Matt 26:26-56
Charles W. Draper Law and Faith Galatians
Mark R. Dunn Counselor: The Meaning John 14:15-31; 15:26-27; 16:5-15
Mark R. Dunn Who Were the Samaritans? John 4:4-26
J. Scott Duvall Grace Rom 5:6-17
Kendell H. Easley The Prison Epistles Philemon; Colossians
Terry W. Eddinger Ninevah: Assyria's Last Capital Jonah 4:1-11
Gary Lee Gramling Paul's Ethical Absolutes Colossians
Sharon H. Gritz The Betrayer: Judas Iscariot Matt 26-28
Fred Howard Prayer: A Word Study Psalm 28:6-7; Col 4:2-4; 1 Thess 5:16-18; 1 Peter 5:6-7
Paul N. Jackson A Christian Ethic of Business James 4:1-17
Robert Earl Jones Abide: The Meaning 1 John 2:3-17
Scott Langston Midian in the Time of the Judges Judges 4:1 - 9:57
Bill Latta Gold Rings and Fine Clothing James 2:2-3
Michael Martin Fallen from Grace Gal 5:4
John Mason Horses: Their First Century Use James 3:1-5
M. Pierce Matheney Jr. The Historical Setting for the Book of Jeremiah Jer 1:4-10; 4:1-4; 6:16-17
David M. May The Spirit of Restoration Gal 6:1-10, 14-18
Glenn McCoy Christ's Second Coming Heb 9:28; James 5:7
Glenn McCoy The Royal Law James 2:1-13
Larry McGraw Freedom and the Christian Matt 18:15-17; Gal 5:13-15; 6:1-5
Larry McGraw The Life Situation of James James
Larry McKinney The Background of Schoolmaster Gal 3:1-5, 23 - 4:7
Harold L. McManus First Century Wars and Their Causes James 4:1
Warren McWilliams The Galatian People Galatians
Janice Meier Gideon: All We Know Judges 6-8
John Polhill John's Use of "Witness" 1 John 5:1-12
John Polhill The Meaning of "Justified" Gal 2:11-21
John Polhill No Respecter of Persons: God's View of Race Relations Acts 10:34-35
Wayne W. Poplin Gideon: A Mighty Warrior Judges 6:11
Gregory T. Pouncey Libertinism & Legalism Gal 5:16-26
Michael Priest Titus and Paul Titus
M. Dean Register God's Wisdom/Man's Wisdom 1 Cor 2:1-16
Charles A. Ray Jr. Antichrist in John's Letters 1-3 John
Charles A. Ray Jr. Christ and the Kosmos Phil 2:19-24; James 3:13-16; 1 John 2:15-17
Charles A. Ray Jr. The Law of Freedom James 1:22-27; 2:14-18
E. Randy Richards Stop Lying Col 3:8-9; James 3:3-12; 1 Pet 3:8-10
C. Mack Roark Introducing 1 John 1 John 1:5-10; 2:3-11
Paul E. Robertson The Churches of Galatia Galatians
David M. Russell The Colossian Heresies Col 1:9-23
Billy Simmons A Religious History of Galatia Galatians
Bob Simmons The Curse Gal 3:15 - 4:7
Billy K. Smith The Meaning of "God's Spirit Moved" Gen 1:1-5, 31 - 2:1, 15-17
Harold S. Songer Anointing with Oil: What Does It Mean? James 5:14
Gerald L. Stevens "Blaspheme": A Word Study James 2:1-13
Robert A. Street Jr. Micah: His Life and Times  
Leslie "Thomas" Strong III Family Life in Ancient Corinth 1 Cor 7:1-5; 8-16
Roger R. Sullivan Corinth's Religious Atmosphere 1 Cor 8:12-13
J. Mark Terry Jonah's Vine Jonah 4:1-11
William B. Tolar A Different Gospel Gal 1:1-12
William B. Tolar Paul's Fruit List Gal 6:16-26
Timothy Trammell Faith Affirmed 1 John 5:1-12
Timothy Trammell The Purpose and Life Situation of John's Letters 1-3 John
Robert A. Weathers Sexual Purity in the New Testament Job 31:1-4; Psalm 10:3-4; 2 Cor 10:4-5; 1 Thess 3-5, 7
Elgia "Jay" Wells Lessons for Race Relations Acts 10:1-48; 8:26-40
Terry L. Wilder The Role of a Steward 1 Peter 4:7-19
Jerry M. Windsor Grace Ephesians
C. Alan Woodward Heresies in the Colossian Church Colossians
G. Al Wright Jr. Testing James 1:2-4, 9-15, 26-27


Now, when I’ve written about BI before, I’ve suggested that it has value even for people who don’t teach from SBC curriculum. Why? Well, the articles provided in each issue are invaluable if one is involved in any aspect of preaching or teaching. Every CD in the “Plus” edition contains almost 100 articles. A couple of years ago, I began copying the articles (all in PDF format) from the CD onto my hard drive. I divide them up by books of the Bible as can be seen below:

Thus, regardless of whether I’m working on a Sunday School lesson, sermon, college lecture, or some other study of the Bible, I have dozens of background articles at my immediate disposal.

Recently, I’ve started listing articles in my personal notes in Accordance where I do the bulk of my preparation for teaching the Bible. I haven’t completed this project yet, but once I’m finished, I’ll have a running index in biblical order of the articles I have available.

I promise you I receive no commission from Lifeway for promoting BI here on This Lamp! I simply remain very enthusiastic about this resource and highly recommend it to others who are in any kind of teaching or preaching ministry. The print edition is $24.95 a year and the CDROM edition (with all the extra articles from past issues) is $34.95.

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Accordance Extends Web Presence

I use Accordance Bible software everyday. Everyday. Yes, I do have other Bible software on my MacBook Pro, but Accordance is unparalleled in terms of sophistication and functionality in my experience since switching to the Mac platform in 1998. I use it for 97.5% of what I do in electronic biblical studies.

However, I regularly find that some folks--even Mac users--aren’t familiar with Accordance. Therefore, I’m glad to see Oak Tree Software expanding their web presence. Of course they already had a website, a blog and more, but I’m pleased to see them expanding into resources like their new video podcast as well as creating a YouTube presence.

To my knowledge, here is a fairly complete listing of Accordance’s web presence. If I’ve left anything off, let me know and I’ll add it.

Accordance on the Web


  • Accordance Main Website: the main resource for finding out about Accordance and ordering software
  • Accordance Blog: updated multiple times a week with tips, help and module profiles
  • Accordance Forums: an incredible source for finding help from other users and representatives from Oak Tree software. In fact, Oak Tree has the fastest, personal response to questions I’ve ever seen from any company. Users can also offer their own tips and suggestions as well as request new modules.
  • Accordance FaceBook Page: A great way to keep up with what’s new in Accordance as well as interact with other Facebook Accordance users.
  • Lighting the Lamp Video Podcast: A brand new weekly video podcast hosted by Dr. Timothy Jenney.
  • Accordance YouTube Channel: Features many of the videos available on the main website, but may be easier to embed on personal websites and blogs.
  • Accordance Twitter Account: keep up with all things new and interesting about Accordance via Twitter.
  • Accordance Exchange: At no extra cost, every level of Accordance comes with the ability to create your own user tools, user Bibles, user notes and distribute them to others. The Accordance Exchange is a great resource for accessing these files created by other Accordance users.
  • Banners for User Websites: Accordance users can help to promote Accordance on their own websites and blogs. You’ll see one of these in the left sidebar that I’ve had on This Lamp for a while.
  • Video Demos and Instructional Tutorials: Note two separate links at this bullet. The video demos show off the most recent version of Accordance. The instructional videos contain the entire training DVD, now available for free online.
If you haven’t seen Accordance for yourself, watch one of the videos linked above or try out a demo for yourself.

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