When I was in seminary, I was introduced to the idea of “redeeming the time” – which is another way of saying “use the time that you have well.” Often, this meant using time that you didn’t expect to have or wouldn’t have normally even thought of, in ways that will help you to praise God and grow spiritually.
For some of us, we are busier than ever – working from home, ironically, tends to take more time and effort than going in to the office. Or perhaps you are now sitting in front of a computer in videoconferences all day. I certainly understand that the era of Coronavirus has definitely not given you any more free time. But for others, you may now have more time than you know what to do with. Rather than letting that time go to waste, why not spend it on something that will be worthwhile and will benefit your spiritual growth? There are a number of resources available online for free right now that you might consider working into your new “routine” – while there are too many to list, here are a few of the best:
- Ligonier – traditionally associated with R. C. Sproul, but also including a number of other great teachers; has made all of their video series free currently. I have found their “Learning to Love the Psalms” an excellent course and have heard great things about other series’.
- Look at the Book – a free series by John Piper where you literally see videos of how he studies and understands the Bible.
- Biblical Locations in Google Earth – do you really enjoy zooming around in Google Earth and exploring different places in God’s world? Ever wondered where that place in your Bible reading program is? A team of folks have taken the time to place that information into downloadable files for Google Earth. Of course, some places are “best guesses,” but I’ve found these helpful. You can get Google Earth for free here.
- Capitol Hill Baptist Church – consistently preaches the Word. If you are the sort that likes to listen to sermons that come from the text, then these folks do a wonderfully faithful job.
- Acts – Kevin DeYoung has been a preacher that I’ve learned a lot from over the years. You can stream his Acts series here.
- Alistair Begg – it must be nice to have such an amazing accent. Honestly, Alistair is the kind of person you could listen to for hours. But the thing that makes him worth listening to is His love for applying the Word of God to life.
- Holy Trinity Church – this is a congregation that tries to put the Simeon Trust principles (see below) into action, week in and week out. I have found their preaching to be consistently great.
- Challies – Tim has been blogging for years and has shown himself to be not just popular or trendy, but a faithful guide to everything from book recommendations to various Christian articles on the web.
- The Gospel Coalition – a well respected site with all manner of Christian news, articles, and resources; all available for free.
- Listen to the Bible – I mentioned this a few months back: need to catch up with our church’s reading plan? Listening is a great way to do it. There are numerous translations to choose from.
- Bible Reading Plan Online – speaking of our Bible reading plan, this website will let you read or listen to each day’s passages for free (our church is doing the first two passages of each day).
- Simeon Trust – I mentioned this one already. Though not free, the courses are now offered at a steep discount ($9 each) during this time and are easily worth the money.
