Web Watch:
Preaching Resources on the Internet

by Dennis Bratcher

The Internet is becoming an important source of information worldwide. There are certainly aspects of the World Wide Web that are less than wholesome. But the web offers tremendous opportunities for rapid access to vast amounts of information. With minimal effort, it can be a useful resource for sermon preparation and teaching in the church.

There are basically three types of web sites that provide material useful for ministry (besides sites that charge a fee for their use). Archive sites generally make available historical documents, online versions of journals, or collections of writings relating to particular topics. The Wesley Studies Center of Northwest Nazarene University maintains a large archive of historical Wesleyan material, including most of the writings of John Wesley (http://wesley.nnu.edu/). They also provide online versions of the Wesleyan Theological Journal, as well as helpful links to other resources in biblical and theological study.

On-line Bibles in various versions and languages are also available. Most of these can be searched for words or phrases much like a concordance. Three of the most popular sites that also include other biblical resources are The Bible Gateway (http://bible.gospelcom.net/), Olive Tree Bible Software (http://www.OliveTree.com/bible/index.html), and Goshen, a part of Crosswalk Bible Study Tools (http://bible.crosswalk.com/).

Resource sites contain a wide range of information each usually focusing on a particular area of ministry. The Catholic Encyclopedia contains a variety of searchable information http://newadvent.org/cathen/. While the theological topics are obviously from a Roman Catholic perspective, it also contains more general biblical topics that are useful in preaching and teaching.

Most of the better resource sites for preaching organize material around the seasons of the liturgical church year and weekly lectionary readings. Several sites have the weekly lectionary readings available in various formats (for example, http://divinity.library.vanderbilt.edu/lectionary/ and http://www.cresourcei.org/RCLmenu.html). The Anglican Diocese of Montreal provides brief weekly comments on the lectionary texts along with introductions for the lectionary readings (http://www.montreal.anglican.org/comment/). The Christian Resource Institute contains a range of biblical study aids from a Wesleyan perspective including detailed commentary on selected lectionary texts (http://www.cresourcei.org/). Kir Shalom provides complete sermons and liturgies, as well as seasonal services (http://www.rockies.net/~spirit/sermon.html).

Portal or Directory sites are the online equivalent of bibliographies. These sites simply provide links to Resource or Archive sites that actually contain the information. One of the best and most well organized directory sites for preaching is The Text This Week (http://www.textweek.com/). The site contains links to a range of historical and contemporary resources for each Sunday's

Revised Common Lectionary readings, including historical background, biblical commentary, sermon suggestions, and other informative articles related to each text. It contains easy to use links that can be followed by date and season or by biblical text.

Of course, there are obstacles to overcome in using the Internet. Navigating the web to find specific information can be an overwhelming and time consuming task. Some resources are obviously biased toward certain agendas. Others are written for specific religious traditions or are superficial or simply incorrect.

Still, a great deal of sound biblical and theological material is available on the web. With care, good judgment, and patience, the Internet can become as helpful in ministry as a favorite "hard copy" resource.

Dennis Bratcher is the Director of The Christian Resource Institute, a non-profit corporation that operates The Voice website with resources for teaching, preaching, and personal spiritual growth. He also serves as Director of Christian Education for the Christ Community Church of the Nazarene in Warr Acres, Oklahoma.