Mark Driscoll has posted six study essentials in a Christian’s life to follow up his earlier post on the necessity of being studious. Here are three of them, but all 6 are good and there are links in the post to some excellent online resources.
1. Have a good Bible.
Every Christian needs a good Bible that they can easily read and enjoy. A translation such as the English Standard Version (ESV), the ESV Study Bible is very well done, or the New International Version (NIV) is preferable as your primary reading Bible, although there are many other translations that are also quite good (e.g., New King James Version, New American Standard Version).
….
5. Have some good websites.
There are many great resources available for free on the web with articles, books, blogs, podcasts, vodcasts, and MP3s. The following are some recommendations:…..
….
6. Have some good community.
Most of the Bible was written to communities of people and is therefore best studied in community with other Christians. For this reason, getting plugged into a Community Group and/or taking midweek classes in addition to regularly attending a Sunday church service is essential.
For me, the bare minimum of study materials is a good study Bible, preferably two or three of them so that you can get a few perspectives on more difficult passages.
More important than the materials is desire and readiness to learn, a humble heart seeking to discover God’s words to us rather than support for a preexisting argument and prayer asking the Holy Spirit for guidance.
Whatever materials you have available, just do it (as Nike would say). Start somewhere in the text and learn something. Don’t let another day pass without making the attempt to allow God to teach you something.