Biblical Resources

Training today’s ecclesia for tomorrow’s celestial assignments.

Biblical Resources is a dedicated space for the co-laborers of Bible Student’s Press to share our current collective journey. It is intended to be a place of education and edification in an atmosphere of freedom, love, joy and peace.

Steve Martin, Curator
biblestudentsnotebook@gmail.com

Biblical Resources
How often should you read your Bible? Daily pressure, guilt, and spiritual measuring sticks never came from God—they came from religion. In this short teaching, we explore why Scripture was given as a gift, not a rule, and how real growth comes through realization, not repetition. Freedom replaces pressure when grace leads the way. http://www.StudyShelf.com #BibleStudy #Grace #SpiritualFreedom #ChristianLife #Faith
How Often Should You Read Your Bible?
Is freedom really about forgiveness—or something far deeper? In this Study Bible Project teaching from Ephesians 1, we explore why Paul speaks of liberation rather than forgiveness, and how our “failings” are actually side-slips within a story God Himself authored. Discover the breathtaking truth of wild, unrestrained joy—a joy God doesn’t ration or restrain, but lavishly pours out beyond measure. http://www.StudyShelf.com #BibleStudy #Ephesians #GraceAndFreedom #Joy #ChristianTeaching
Wild and Unrestrained Joy – Part 2 – Clyde L. Pilkington, Jr.
In this Study Bible Project update from Ephesians 1:6–8, we explore a breathtaking idea: lavished joy. By comparing traditional translations, the Concordant Version, and our working Expanded Literal Translation, this teaching shows that “grace,” at its root, speaks of joy—not religious favor or hidden condemnation. Discover how God doesn’t merely accept us, but joyizes us, lavishing the riches of His joy freely and without restraint. http://www.StudyShelf.com #BibleStudy #Ephesians #GraceAndJoy #ChristianTeaching #StudyBible
Wild & Unrestrained Joy – Part 1 – Clyde L. Pilkington, Jr.
You’re warmly invited to join us for our annual Freedom Journey Bible Conference, happening March 20–22 just outside Pittsburgh. This is our one gathering each year where friends from all over come together for unhurried teaching, meaningful conversation, and genuine fellowship—no pressure, no debates, just freedom and connection. The weekend includes relaxed meals together, short and engaging teaching sessions, open Q&A, panel discussions, personal testimonies, and plenty of time to simply enjoy one another. Topics will range from new findings in the Study Bible Project (especially from Ephesians), to Scripture’s “hidden hyperlinks,” rest, our unique calling, the undoing of Adam, the celestial realm, and much more. Every session is designed to be encouraging, thoughtful, and accessible. If you’ve never attended before, come with your guard down. You don’t have to agree with everything to belong here. This is a space marked by grace, liberty, and shared joy. Seating is limited, so if you’re planning to come, be sure to reserve your spot soon. All details and contact information are in the description below. We’d truly love to see you there. Steve's Contact Information Call or text - 610-909-9285 Email - biblestudentsnotebook@gmail.com Click here for the conference agenda: https://studyshelf.com/Meetings/Agenda%202026%20Conference.pdf http://www.StudyShelf.com
2026 Bible Conference Information
Why are the Kingdom saints “snatched away” to meet the Lord in the air at the end of the Great Tribulation? This teaching takes a careful look at Scripture to challenge common assumptions about the rapture, placing Paul’s Thessalonian writings back into their Kingdom context. By comparing passages from Thessalonians, Acts, the Prophets, and Revelation, this study shows that the snatching away is not an escape to heaven, but part of Christ’s visible, powerful return to earth—demonstrating His glory, justice, and rightful reign as King of kings. Read the article at: https://studyshelf.com/BSN/Issues/bsn1105.pdf http://www.StudyShelf.com #BibleStudy #EndTimes #Rapture #SecondComing #ChristianTeaching
Why Are the Kingdom Saints Snatched Away? – Deverlain L. Trefethen with Mark Vogt
Clyde, Dean, and Chris. What if our deepest calling isn’t to fix anyone’s pain, but to join them in it? In this conversation we explore divine empathy, Christ’s real suffering and faith, and how God uses our own trials to prepare us to be a calm, steady presence of joy and comfort in others’ lives. This is about union, not substitution—and the freedom of simply being there. http://www.StudyShelf.com #DivineEmpathy #UnionNotSubstitution #PresenceOverFixing #JoyInTheProcess #KeptInHisCare
Encouraging Ourselves in the Lord – Part 2 – When Presence Is Enough
Clyde, Dean, and Chris A warm, honest conversation about encouragement, suffering, silence, and joy that runs deeper than circumstances. This is about presence instead of fixing, union instead of answers, and discovering a peace that holds us—even in the hard seasons. http://www.StudyShelf.com #EncouragedInGrace #JoyBeyondCircumstances #PresenceOverAnswers #UnionNotFixing #KeptByGod
Encouraging Ourselves in the Lord – Part 1 – Joy, Presence, and the Freedom to Just Be
This final chapter brings the journey home. Letting go of tradition isn’t about diminishing Christ—it’s about magnifying Him and His Father. When Scripture is allowed to speak clearly, we see Jesus as the faithful Man who trusted God fully, obeyed unto death, and was exalted in glory. This study calls us to humility, careful Scripture reading, and love in our pursuit of truth—because truth is consistent, freeing, and always rooted in grace. Read the article: https://studyshelf.com/BSN/Issues/bsn1106.pdf Buy the book, Firstborn: https://studyshelf.com/product/firstborn-exposing-the-myth-of-pre-existence/ http://www.StudyShelf.com #MagnifiedGlory #BiblicalTruth #FaithAndHumility #StudyTheScriptures #FirstbornSeries
Embracing Truth – Humility, Love and Magnified Glory – Firstborn Chapter 10
Paul corrects, confronts, and rebukes in some of his letters—but not in Ephesians or Colossians. Why? Because you don’t “get on people’s cases” in the administration of grace. These letters reveal something entirely new: grace and joy are no longer side notes—they are the ruling reality. Even the armor of God isn’t about attack, but protection—guarding peace, joy, and freedom. We’re not called to wage war. We’re called to wage peace. We are the peace force of the administration of joy. http://www.StudyShelf.com #AdministrationOfGrace #WagingPeace #ArmorOfGod #JoyAndFreedom #EphesiansColossians
The Peace Force – Waging Peace – Steve Martin & Clyde L. Pilkington, Jr.
The doctrine of Christ’s pre-existence may sound exalted, but when tested against Scripture, it creates serious problems. It distances Jesus from humanity, weakens His role as our prototype, and introduces contradictions the Bible never teaches. This chapter explores how pre-existence borrows from pagan philosophy, distorts temptation and faith, and ultimately diminishes Christ’s true glory. When Scripture is allowed to speak plainly, a clearer picture emerges: one Creator, one fully human Son, and a faith-filled obedience that led to exaltation. Read the article: https://studyshelf.com/BSN/Issues/bsn1105.pdf Buy the book, Firstborn: https://studyshelf.com/product/firstborn-exposing-the-myth-of-pre-existence/ http://www.StudyShelf.com #PreexistenceQuestioned #HumanChrist #BiblicalClarity #ExaltedSon #StudyBibleProject
Consequences and Contradictions of Pre-existence – Firstborn, Chapter 10
Was Jesus a “man of sorrows,” or was He filled with joy? Scripture gives us a clearer, more beautiful picture. From John and Luke to a closer look at Isaiah 53, we discover that Christ was full of charis—joy and truth. His sorrow was real, but it was brief, focused on the cross, and endured for the joy set before Him. In Luke 10, we even see Jesus exulting—leaping with joy in the Spirit. This is the joyful Christ, revealing the heart of a happy God and inviting us into that same joy. http://www.StudyShelf.com #JoyfulChrist #ManOfSorrowsRevisited #Charis #StudyBibleProject #JoyOfGod
Joyous Christ or Man of Sorrows? Clyde L. Pilkington, Jr.
What if the true glory of Jesus isn’t pre-existence—but faith? Scripture reveals Christ as a man who lived by trust, not by memory of a former heavenly life. He prayed with tears, grew in wisdom, depended fully on His Father, and endured the cross by faith in a future joy. This chapter explores why pre-existence actually diminishes Christ’s story, and how “the faith of Christ” magnifies Him as the faithful Man—the trailblazer of humanity’s glorification. Read the article: https://studyshelf.com/BSN/Issues/bsn1104.pdf Buy the book, Firstborn: https://studyshelf.com/product/firstborn-exposing-the-myth-of-pre-existence/ http://www.StudyShelf.com #FaithOfChrist #JesusTrustedGod #NoPreexistence #Firstfruits #StudyBibleProject
The Power of Faith – Jesus’ Exemplary Trust in God – Firstborn Chapter 8
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