People who are good at what they do always have the best tools for the job. Preaching and teaching God's Word is the most important work there is, and, to do it effectively, preachers and teachers need the best study tools available. The tools are no substitute for the passion one must have for the Bible in their heart, but it certainly helps one to be "a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" [2 Timothy 2:15 NKJV]. John Calvin wrote, "Through the mouth of preachers God will do His work just as a workman uses a tool to do his work."

As a young child in the 1950s, my family was poor, and my dad never had the right tool he needed for a job. He tried to deal with everything with a hammer, a screwdriver, and a pair of pliers. He did his best, but the right tool would have made a big difference. Childhood taught me the importance of using good tools because it always meant better results.

The exciting reality for today's Bible student is Bible study software. The emergence of the personal computer brought about the development of electronic Bible study tools. Today, we have these powerful Bible study tools that were unavailable a generation ago. Bible study software dates back to the late 1980s, and, over time, it has improved tremendously. The advantages of using computer Bible study tools are numerous.

As a pastor for 29 years, beginning in 1965, I used my big blue volume of Strongs Concordance to do topical searches. If I wanted to find all of the Bible verses on faith, I just turned to that page in my Strongs. I would select passages I wanted to use and write the references on my yellow legal pad. Then, I would look up each verse in my Bible to make sure it was what I was looking for.

The next step in my sermon preparation was to research the scripture passages in my commentaries. Fortunately, I was blessed with good commentaries. They were invaluable in my desire to "rightly divide the Word of Truth." Bringing the books off the shelf, looking up scripture references in my resources, and placing the books back on the shelf was a time-consuming process. My whole world changed in 1987 with the purchase of my first computer. A pastor friend told me about Bible study software, and it turned into a pivotal moment in my study of the Bible.

Bible software was still in its infancy, but even those early versions increased my time for study by accomplishing my Strongs searches quickly. What use to take an hour or longer now could be done in seconds, and not only did it find all the references for a topic or subject, but it displayed the verses on the screen.

Couple today's Bible programs with today's computers, and you have the most powerful toolset ever available to a student of God's Word. Here are just a few of the features in today's Bible study software.

Electronic Library
Initially, Bible software was basically an electronic concordance that could find and display scripture references. Today's electronic libraries have hundreds of electronic books and resources. They include Bible translations, commentaries, Bible handbooks, Bible dictionaries, Greek and Hebrew resources, word studies, maps, Bible atlases, etc. Check out the Bible software company's Web site to view a list of books available for their program.

Search Tools
All of the programs available have powerful search capabilities. The difference in the programs has to do with search power, user friendliness and speed. Not all programs are created equal, so this is an area you should thoroughly research before making a decision to invest in a Bible software package.

Media Tools
In 2003, it was reported 38% of evangelical churches had multimedia capability. The results of a 2006 survey indicated almost 70% of evangelical churches had this capability. As a result, video illustrations are used by pastors in their sermons. This trend has caught the attention of the Bible software producers.

Additional Tools
Additional features you will find in all of the Bible programs on the market include:
* Language capabilities
* Color highlighting
* Bookmarks
* Copy and paste to your word processor
* Internet searching
* Synchronization
* Personal notes

Preparing a sermon is a matter of the head and the heart. Heart-searching prayer coupled with in-depth Bible study will produce powerful preaching. Effective use of the tools found in Bible software can make a good preacher a better preacher.

If you're looking for a well-written Bible study software program that is simple to use, affordable, and features an ever-growing library of resources, you have some good, solid choices. Before you invest in Bible software, be sure to do your homework by checking out the features of the program, reviewing a list of books and resources available for the electronic library, and making sure training is available through tutorials, online training, or at seminars held around the country.

Bob Dasal is vice president of WORDsearchMedia.com. He was a Baptist pastor in Missouri for more than 20 years.