6 Tips on Using Preaching the Word Commentary

The Preaching the Word Commentary Series offers unique insight into Biblical texts from the heart of a pastor. It is noted for its commitment to biblical authority and clear exposition of Scripture. Its emphasis on application and shepherding makes it a valuable asset for sermon and class preparation, as well as personal study.

Here are six reasons to use The Preaching the Word Commentary Series in the Olive Tree Bible App.

1. RESOURCE GUIDE

Open your preferred Bible translation in the main window and have the Resource Guide open in the Study Center.  You’ll see relevant hits from Preaching the Word in the split window.

The app keeps up with the scripture passage you’re reading in the main window with sync scrolling.  As you move along in the Bible text, the commentary syncs to exactly where you are in your study.  No more flipping pages back and forth.  No more holding the commentary text open on your desk in one spot, reading through your Bible text, and having to go back and find your place in the commentary. You’ll save an enormous amount of time with this feature alone.

2. SEARCH & LOOK UP

Search The Preaching the Word Commentary Series for words or passages.  Take “vine” as an example.  You can search the entire commentary  series for where “vine” is mentioned in the commentary series.  You can also limit your search to the Old Testament, New Testament, biblical genre, or a specific book.

When your search results are displayed, you can tap to go directly to that passage. You can also copy the text to add to an existing note or add a note right from the search results.

3. LINKED REFERENCES

One of the greatest frustrations in the hard-copy world of biblical commentaries are the biblical references within the commentary.

For example, take John 15 where Jesus talks about the vine and the branches. In The Preaching the Word Commentary there’s a reference to Isaiah 5:7. With a hard copy, you’d have to open a different Bible and find each and every reference to read how the other verses relate.  This is time consuming, slows down your study momentum, and requires you to keep all your study materials out and open, spread out over a large desk space.

With the Olive Tree Bible App, scripture references are hyperlinked within the commentary text.  All you have to do is tap the scripture reference to read it instantly.

Footnotes and endnotes also fall into this category. The Preaching the Word Commentary Series has a lot of references to other materials.  With paper copies, you have to stop reading, look up the footnote, then go back to where you were in the book.  This also was a huge time waster! Not to mention, it can cause you to lose your train of thought.

With the app, footnotes are linked.  Just tap on the footnote, read it, and go back to where you were without losing your place.

4. COPY & PASTE INTO YOUR NOTES

The Preaching the Word Commentaries are full of great content.  You’ll often find yourself reading a passage, going deeper with the commentary and finding that “perfect quote” that sums up what you’re thinking. At least, that’s what happens for us!

In the world of hard-copy commentaries, you’d need to type these quotes into your personal study notes to save them.  With the app, all you have to do is highlight the text you want, copy it and paste it into my notes.

5. INTEGRATED DICTIONARY (iOS)

In the iPhone/iPad app, you also have an additional option.  Tap and hold a word in the Bible text and an option menu bar will pop up.

If you tap “Define” you will get the integrated iOS dictionary pop-up.  This is extremely helpful when you run across a word in the commentaries or even the Bible text that you do not know.

6. SEARCH THE RESOURCE GUIDE FOR A SINGLE VERSE

You can look up additional information on just one verse!  Tap on a verse number in the Bible text and an option menu bar will pop up.

If you tap the “Guide” button you’ll get hits from your resources on that specific verse. From here you can follow the same steps as you would in the Resource Guide option above.  You can even choose to open the The Preaching the Word Commentary in the main or split window.

This is helpful if you want to read through your Bible in full-screen and refer to the commentary only here and there.

As you can see, The Preaching the Word Commentary within the Olive Tree Bible App gives you the best content, while saving you valuable study time and tremendous effort.

LEARN MORE

Head on over to our website to learn more about this fantastic resource. You can read about all of the individual volumes, watch a video on how commentaries work in the app, and more on the Preaching the Word product page.