FAQ

What is this website all about?

It’s about time and quality.  We are busier than ever (=less time), but we expect more engaging visuals (=better quality).  How can we design more interesting presentations when we have less time?  We need to work hard on fewer presentations, but then share these with others. This way, we will all grow in our study, teaching, and preaching of the Bible.  Of the 46 courses on this site, 31 are designed by me (Dr. Rick Griffith), but I also have others share good courses with me that will bless others outside of my specialty in biblical studies. The site is the culmination of my teaching God’s Word for 51 years. Freely download 6179 files in 257 courses, 49,000 pages of course notes and sermon manuscripts in Word and PDF formats, more than 3134 files in English, and hundreds of translations by my students and other translators totaling 54 languages.  English has 142,000 slides; the most translated languages include 55,000 Chinese and 125,000 Arabic slides. Every biblical book in the OT Survey and the NT Survey courses now has at least 150 slides with an average of 487 slides per book of the Bible, plus thousands more in many sermons. The site may look plain, but inside each presentation, you’ll find many colorful pictures, diagrams, and charts in an attractive format. The Bible courses now total over 103,000 English slides.

What kind of files are on this site?

Experts say we learn in different ways.  Some learn primarily by listening (auditory learners), others by doing (experiential learners), and still others by seeing (visual learners).  As a visual learner, I am in the last group, having grown up in the TV generation that believes “a picture is worth a thousand words.”  There are thousands of websites where you can learn the Bible in written articles, but whatever you learn from these, you must paste it into your visual presentation for your benefit and to teach others.  So, this site helps fill in the gap.  As far as I know, there is no other website with thousands of free, ready-made PPT presentations to learn and teach the Bible in many languages. If you find others, don’t hesitate to contact me at DrRickGriffith@gmail.com. I want to share resources with these authors and link them to this site. Anyway, people learn best by combining hearing, doing, and seeing. Hence, the PPT presentations include text for the teacher to share in the notes section (hearing), small group projects (doing), and attractive pictures on nearly every slide (seeing).

How can I use this site?

In addition to 142,000 PPT slides in English, I have also uploaded over 47,000 pages of Microsoft Word files and PDFs that cover 46 courses.  You can study or teach any book of the Bible visually, teach an entire course with the PPT and notes, or pick a presentation for personal study, teaching, or preaching.  Some pastors use the sermon PPT and manuscripts to teach a series.  Others teach various courses on apologetics & evangelism, Bible backgrounds, how to study the Bible, Bible geography, leadership, missions, or courses in theology.  One key feature of the site is The Bible…Basically, a seminar of nearly 1000 slides. It brings learners through the whole Bible six times in ten hours. The Bible Exposition link has about 100 slides per Bible book in a single message, along with the manuscript, extra handouts, audio, and video. Also, use the search feature to see which presentation may address the topic you need.

Can I really download and use these files for free?

Honestly, there is no “catch.”  Free downloads might sound too good to be true when others charge a lot of money for presentations, but you must take my word for it.  God has blessed me as a fully supported missionary professor, so I don’t need to make my living from this site.  Please do NOT even write to me to ask permission to use them, as this fills both my inbox and my time.  However, you can say “thanks” via email (DrRickGriffith@gmail.com) or give a gift.

Who is Dr. Rick Griffith?

Dr. Rick Griffith serves 21 nations from MENA (Middle East/North Africa) as Academic Dean and Professor of Bible Exposition at Jordan Evangelical Theological Seminary (JETS) in Amman. From 1991 to 2021, he and his wife, Susan, trained Asian leaders from 21 other nations at Singapore Bible College. At BibleStudyDownloads.org, Rick offers 391,000 free PowerPoint slides and articles in 46 courses to Christian leaders in 54 languages. He was the Doctor of Ministry (DMin) Director at Singapore Bible College from 2012 to 2021.  He mainly taught the Bible (OT and NT) and preaching courses and helped start a K-12 international school (ics.edu.sg). In 2006, Dr. Rick planted Crossroads International Church (cicfamily.com) to reach people in Singapore and served as pastor-teacher until 2021. He has taught and recruited other professors and pastors to prepare Christian leaders on 73 trips to a dozen lesser-developed Asian nations such as Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Nepal, Vietnam, etc. He also wrote the Advanced Studies in New and Old Testament courses available at the Internet Biblical Seminary (www.internetseminary.org). Rick and Susan grew up in California, but he received his Th.M. (in Pastoral Ministries) and Ph.D. (in Bible Exposition) from Dallas Theological Seminary in Texas. They are missionaries with WorldVenture and have three sons, three daughters-in-law, and three grandkids in three states in the USA. Connect with Dr. Rick on Facebook.

Who designed these files?

I have taught the Bible for 51 years, so this site is the culmination of my life’s ministry.  However, over 800 others (mostly grad students) have designed and translated tens of thousands of slides on this site.  I am indebted to them and other Bible professors and pastors who allow me to upload their courses.  This is a community effort.

Where can I find audio and video?

See the Bible Exposition link and videos on OT and NT texts. Access sermon audio at Crossroads International Church and Amman International Church. Some courses (OT Survey, OT Backgrounds, NT Survey, NT Backgrounds, Preaching, etc.) also include audio and/or video next to the PPT and presentation notes.

What languages are on this website?

This site currently offers 54 languages on the sidebar. The number next to each language shows how many courses offer files in that language. The most translated slides from English (142,000) are in Arabic (125,000), Chinese (55,000), and Bahasa Indonesia (17,000).

But doesn’t this website have copyrighted material?

Yes, it does.  The site includes tens of thousands of copyrighted pictures.  Therefore, DO NOT SELL ANY OF THE FILES YOU DOWNLOAD!  So, this is my “Fair Use Declaration.”  This site contains copyrighted material that has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner, especially in terms of images within PowerPoint presentations.  I am making such materials available to advance the reader’s teaching, scholarship, and research of biblical, theological, and practical issues.  I believe this constitutes a “fair use” of any such copyrighted material as provided in section 107 of the US Copyright Law since these materials are for nonprofit educational purposes, they never copy an entire work, nor do they affect the potential market value of the copyrighted works.  In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.  For more information, go to www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml.

What theological perspective do these files represent?

I am an evangelical Christian with a high view of Scripture.  My Th.M. in Pastoral Ministries and Ph.D. in Bible Exposition were from Dallas Theological Seminary. I agree with the DTS doctrinal statement here.  The 142,000 English PPT slides and 47,000 pages of notes and sermons on this site reflect over 51 years of Bible teaching, which I trust implicitly as the Word of God written without error.  If you are theologically astute, then you will understand what I mean when I describe myself this way: Trinitarian inerrantist, biblical (Young Earth) creationist, upholding biblical authorship (Moses on Pentateuch, Solomon on Ecclesiastes, Daniel and Isaiah as stated, Pauline authorship of 13 letters, etc.), revised dispensationalist (but leaning towards progressive), pretribulational, premillennial, 3- or 4-point Calvinist (total depravity, unconditional election, irresistible grace, perseverance of God to maintain our salvation), 1- or 2-point Arminian (unlimited atonement, recognition that believers do not all sustain their faith until death), free grace (not Lordship) salvation where one must trust Jesus as truly Lord (meaning he is God) but salvation comes by grace through simple trust in Christ as Savior, partial cessationist (non-charismatic), denominationally Baptistic with the pastor as first among equal elders but with the congregation having final authority, immersion, representative Lord’s Supper, divorce and remarriage allowed for adultery & desertion by an unbeliever, autonomy of the local church, complementarian, biblical marriage, blended worship, and expository preacher. Besides these, I can’t think of any other labels right now.

Can I edit the files I download?

People have warned me about offering editable PowerPoint and Word files. They say, “You better only give people a PDF that can’t be edited. Otherwise, they will change it and misquote you.”  I appreciate the warning—I do. However, offering only non-editable files will prevent translators from quickly translating them into their native language. I’d rather risk being misquoted than hinder the Word of God from going forth in other languages. But P.S.: Please don’t misquote me.

How should I cite files that I download?

Good scholarship shows integrity, so please be honest about your sources.  Each PPT file indicates on the first slide that it comes from this BibleStudyDownloads.org site.  Please do not delete these slides so others can go to the source.  If you cite this site, use the following format.  If you edit a slide, precede the citation with “Adapted from…”

FIRST FOOTNOTE:
⁴ Rick Griffith, “Daniel” (PowerPoint presentation, Jordan Evangelical Theological Seminary, 2021), https://biblestudydownloads.org/resources/old-testament-survey/ (accessed 9 August 2024), slide 218.

LATER FOOTNOTE:
²⁵ Griffith, “Daniel,” slide 244.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Griffith, Rick. “Daniel.” PowerPoint presentation, Jordan Evangelical Theological Seminary, 2021. https://biblestudydownloads.org/resources/old-testament-survey/ (accessed 9 August 2024).

What if the downloaded files do not open?

Older versions of Office software cannot open newer files.  Look at the end of the file name.  If it says “.ppt,” I saved the file in PowerPoint 2006 and before (PC)/2007 format.  These should be able to be opened by all versions of PowerPoint.  However, a few files have “.pptx” at the end.  This means that I saved the file into PowerPoint 2007-present (PC) or 2008-present format for Mac.  Only these updated versions of the PowerPoint software can open .pptx files.

However, try this trick if you only have a pre-2006 version of Office.  With the file closed and while looking at the file name only on your hard drive, manually delete the “x” off the “.pptx” appended at the end of the file name, then click outside this file name to complete the change.  Then try opening it.  Your computer will think that it is an older version of PowerPoint.  The same applies to older versions of Word and Excel—simply eliminate the “x” in the file name.  This is cheaper and faster than buying more software.  However, it also means that you will miss some of the nicer functions of the newer software and will have to clean up the files to make the fonts and animations work.

Some files won’t open because they got corrupted somehow.  Email me at DrRickGriffith@gmail.com and tell me the file name so I can fix it and upload a clean version.

How can I get from English to translated materials and back?

When looking at a page with the files for download, click on the language links at the bottom to access the English and other available translations for that course.

What are the funny-looking letters and numbers on file names?

The website gives a unique name to every file. Note that we use dashes instead of periods as the period confuses some computers. One exception is the period preceding the kind of file. For example, PowerPoint is preceded by the period as “.ppt” (2006 or older) or “.pptx” (2007 or newer). As a sample file name, 02-Exodus-232_eng_os_4998_v4.pptx identifies presentation 2 called Exodus with 232 slides in English for the Old Testament Survey course with presentation 4998 in version 4 in updated (post-2007) PowerPoint format. All versions 4 and higher have been reduced in size for easier download. Finally, to avoid confusion, no language abbreviation is the same as any course abbreviation.  Each language is abbreviated with the three-letter ISO 693-3 format, while each course has a two-letter format unique to this website.

How do I correlate the course notes with the PowerPoint?

Just look at the number in the upper right-hand corner of each slide.  The PPT presentation name is generally the same as the course notes.  I say “generally” because the notes for all of the Old Testament books are in the OT Survey notes, and likewise, the NT book notes are within the NT Survey notes. If no number appears on the slide, it supplements the notes, and I haven’t made a handout for it yet.

What if some pictures do not appear on a slide?

I have tried to use only JPEG pictures in the presentations since these are the most common ones read by computers. However, if you find an unreadable TIFF, PNG, or other file format and use a PC, you must purchase and install software that allows your PC to read these file formats. Please email me at drrickgriffith@gmail.com to let me know which presentation and slide need editing.

How can I design my PowerPoint presentations?

Designing PPT presentations is part science and part art. It is a skill, but it is a skill that anyone can learn, though those with an artistic flair will catch on more naturally. For a 4-page summary of how to design and use PowerPoint, click PPT_Tips_6th_ed.

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