Resources for Servants

How to Prep my Lesson / Talk

Below is a summary of high yield resources for topic preparation. If you are preparing a Biblical story, start by reading the story from the Bible multiple times. Then use some of the following below - use at least steps #1, #2 & #3. As you advance in your knowledge, you can dive deeper into the other resources.

#1 Bible Project - an excellent resource for big-picture overviews of Biblical books. https://www.youtube.com/user/jointhebibleproject/playlists .

#2 Fr. Tadros Malaty- one of the most prolific writers in the Coptic church and one of the first to precisely cite the church fathers. For almost all Biblical books (and many other topics), he has a commentary. Download it, find the chapter that you're preparing and read. They can be found here:

#3 Audio - Sermons (all topics) - use our wonderful speakers throughout the Coptic world. Make it a habit to listen to a sermon about the topic that you are preparing. Sermons can be found here: https://orthodoxsermons.org, the UpperRoomMedia phone app, or the Anaphora phone app.

#4 Audio (Bible Study) - In addition to the sermons above, specifically for Bible Studies, below are introduction and verse-by-verse explainations by Fr. Stephen De Young. Fr. Stephen serves in the Eastern Orthodox Church. He has a PhD in Biblical Studies and provides explanations with cultural and Biblical context. The same recordings are posted in various locations:

#5 Catena Phone App- a free app that lists quotations/commentary of the church fathers, verse-by-verse. Make sure you adjust the settings to only include the early church fathers because it includes some non-Orthodox commentators.

#6 Orthodox Study Bible- purchase a copy. Although Eastern Orthodox so there are minor differences (names of seasons, tools used in the liturgy, some slight theology, etc), it has good commentary on many part of the Bible from an Orthodox perspective, especially New Testament.

#7 Christian Ethereal Libraries- an excellent website containing a massive amount of writings from the first centuries of the church. Specifically for Biblical topics, look at the St. John Chrysostom commentaries. https://www.ccel.org/fathers.html

#8 Ancient Christian Commentaries- verse by verse commentaries on all parts of the Bible. Available for around $300. The church has a copy that you can use. https://www.olivetree.com/store/product.php?productid=25599 .

For a more in-depth list of resources that is organized by topic, click here.

As you can tell, there's no working around this following fact: PREPARING TAKES TIME BECAUSE YOU NEED TO READ. No servant's-prep curriculum can ever teach you what you must present to your kids. You have to learn it yourself and this takes time and effort. Make sure you start preparing for your presentation 2 full weeks before you serve. Make it a habit.