For Those Who Don't Like to Read but Want to Learn

Let me begin by admitting my bias. I believe reading is essential to learning. Personally, reading is a critical component of both my spiritual and professional life (which are intertwined). Furthermore, reading doesn’t have to be a huge time commitment. If you read 10 pages a day, you can read a book per month. If you drop down to 5 pages a day, you can still read six books a year. For some suggestions on what to read, please see some of my previous posts.

Yet, I understand that some people either do not like to read or find it very difficult. Thankfully, there are many, many resources available where people can learn through listening rather than reading. What follows are 1) places to go to find good listening materials, and 2) some specific MP3’s that I have enjoyed and/or found beneficial.

Where to Find Good Materials

The Gospel Coalition has a treasure trove of sermons and lectures. You can search by speaker, topic, or Scripture text. Some of my favorite speakers on this site are Jerry Bridges, D. A. Carson, Bryan Chapell, Sinclair Ferguson, Tim Keller, John Piper, and Richard Pratt.

Gospel in Life contains sermons, lectures and other materials by Tim Keller. You have to pay for these, but they are worth it. Many would argue that Dr. Keller is the best preacher of our day.

Desiring God contains the sermons of John Piper. Nobody preaches with passion like Piper.

Covenant Seminary has put many of their classes online for free. You have to create a login, but don’t let that stop you. These resources really are free.

You can also access classes from Reformed Theological Seminary and Westminster Theological Seminary online for free through ITunesU. You need to have ITunes installed on your computer to get these.

Third Millennium Ministries is the ministry of Dr. Richard Pratt. You can get nearly a complete seminary education on this site for free. The site also has some highly interactive videos. Dr. Pratt is not the only speaker. The older videos are not as high quality as the newer ones, but the content is good.

Mars Hill Audio is sort of like a Christian NPR. It examines a wide range of cultural issues from a Christian perspective. You probably will not find all of the content appealing. My main problem with it is, every time I listen to an issue, I end up buying more books to learn more. This service requires a subscription, but I find it well worth it.

Some Specific MP3 Recommendations

A Beautiful Orthodoxy by Ray Cortese. This was the opening sermon at the 2014 General Assembly of the PCA. It is well worth the $3.

Culture as Liturgy by James K. A. Smith – I confess, I read the book instead of listening to the lecture, but I think he has some very valuable insights.

Communicating Christ – Every Bible teacher should listen to this 3 part series. Seriously. However, for some reason, this is no longer on the Covenant Seminary website except in Korean!?! However, you should be able to find it on the Gospel Coalition site. The three lectures are The Heart of a Christ-Centered Message, The Hope of a Christ-Centered Message, and the Hands of a Christ-Centered Message.

New Perspective on Paul by D. A. Carson. If you have never heard of  “The New Perspective on Paul,” I doubt this will hold much interest. Even though N. T. Wright fans will say that Carson doesn’t “get it,” I think this is a very helpful analysis.

Ancient and Medieval Church History and Reformation and Modern Church History by David Calhoun. While I loved the education I received at RTS, my church history courses were a bit lacking. These lecture series helped fill in some gaps.

Preaching Christ in a Modern World by Tim Keller and Ed Clowney. I was in this class when these men taught it. Skip the Q & A recordings. Also, Keller is more interesting than Clowney, but both are helpful.

The Calvin I Never Knew by Frank James. Since I knew very little about John Calvin’s life, I found this fascinating.

Conservative Christianity After the Christian Right by Tim Keller. For those concerned about the cultural shifts in our country, this is a fascinating lecture.

Your Walk with God is a Community Project by Paul Tripp. This is for purchase. The title sums it up. It is a good corrective to our individualistic approach to Christian growth.

2007 Global Missions Conference by Richard Pratt. This will expand your vision. Also, check out his lecture series on the Kingdom of God.

I recently listened to Phil Ryken and Ligon Duncan’s lectures on Thomas Boston and the Marrow Men. This is not for everybody, but I found them interesting. Beware that there is about 5 minutes of chitchat in the Ryken recording before you get to his lecture. You will want to fast-forward through all of that. I don’t know why it was not edited out.

Some Video Recommendations

I must admit, I am not one to watch videos. I listen to sermons and lectures while I run, but have a hard time sitting in front of a TV or computer screen to watch a video. However, if this is your cup of tea, here are a few recommendations.

Center Church – While not as complete as his book, these videos by Tim Keller give a good overview on how a church can develop a biblical philosophy of ministry.

I mentioned this above under MP3’s. Third Millennium Ministries is the ministry of Dr. Richard Pratt. You can get nearly a complete seminary education on this site for free. The site also has some highly interactive videos. Dr. Pratt is not the only speaker. The older videos are not as high quality as the newer ones, but the content is good.