Mikel suggested that it would be helpful for us to post some of the resources that we use when preparing our Sunday lessons. That sounded good to me, so here they are. I usually like to read the passage in a couple of different translations. ESV is my usual favorite. Several others that I will often reference are the NKJV, the NRSV, and sometimes the Amplified Bible (it’s been a while on that one though). If you want to read any of these versions, go to http://www.biblegateway.com/. I love that site and it helps a lot. Their search tools are great too. I also like to keep a copy of an interlinear new testment on hand (it has the Greek text with a pretty literal translation underneath). I don’t know Greek, but it’s still helpful. When I do have Greek questions, I talk to my little brother, my former roommate, or use http://bible.crosswalk.com/Lexicons/Greek/ to try to get some idea of what’s happening in the Greek.

I also like to read through (or at least skim) Calvin’s commentaries (http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/commentaries.html) and sometimes some other ones. A lot of people seem to like Matthew Henry’s commentaries, but I don’t find them as useful. Additionally, I like to read through my old study Bible’s footnotes which are hit-or-miss most of the time. They can be helpful though.

Most of my prep comes from just interacting with the text several times throughout the week and really praying for the guidance and direction of the Spirit. I try to think about the text and discuss it some with people. If I’m either stuck or have extra time, I might try to listen to a sermon as well (now that I think about it, I’m not sure if I’ve done that specifically for ABF prep, but I do it for other Bible studying and find it quite helpful). And although I’m not what I’d call hyper-Piper, that man can preach and you can get all his sermons for free at http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByScripture/.