Hearing the Word of the Lord

One of my favorite parts of our Sunday worship service is the reading of Scripture. It’s not just the fact that we read the Bible, but that we hear God’s word being read. We’re not just seeing the words on the page or screen; we’re hearing God speak to his people. This is a special moment, one that God’s people have shared for millennia.

Why do I bring this up? Well, because I want you to know that Olive Tree is here to help you hear the Word of God whenever and wherever you are. That’s right. We’re committed to providing you the best Bible study experience, one that engages both your eyes and ears. With that goal in mind, we added an audio feature to our app that allows you to listen to the Scriptures as you study, drive, mow the lawn, or do the dishes!

Let’s look at some of the ways listening to God’s word can benefit your study.

---

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Mark 4:9

---

1. Listen While You Read

One of the ways we enhanced the audio capabilities of our app was through synchronization. You can now listen to the Scriptures as you read along. If you have an audio Bible and a digital Bible in the same translation, this will automatically sync and follow along verse-by-verse in the app. If you’d like to see more of the context of the passage as you listen, then you can minimize the audio window and manually follow the reading with any translation of your choice in the main window.

We’ve also added verse-level navigation to our audio Bibles just like our digital Bibles. This allows you to start listening to the specific verse you choose without having to listen to one chapter at a time (not that that’s a bad thing!). You can also adjust the speed of the audio readings and add bookmarks to revisit specific verses later!

---

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

Romans 10:17

---

2. Listen While You Drive

While we wouldn’t want to encourage you to use the study capabilities of our app while commuting back and forth from work, the audio feature is perfect for the car. Tapping on the driving icon at the bottom of the audio window will open a new window. This new window has enlarged touchscreen buttons to play, pause, navigate, or bookmark verses as you listen along. While you may not be able to study the Bible as you drive, you can easily use this time to listen to more of God’s word.

---

Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth.”

Colossians 1:5-6

---

3. Listen While You Work

The same feature enables you to listen to God’s word as you work around the home. Just pick the verse or chapter you’d like to start with, put the earbuds in, or sync to your Bluetooth speaker and listen to what God has to say! You don’t have to choose between doing chores or listening to God’s word. Now, with the audio feature of the Olive Tree app, you can do both at the same time!

---

But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.”

Hebrews 1:2

---

Did You Know?

You can also use the audio feature of our app with any of our Bible reading plans. If the audio Bible you have in your library contains all the readings for the reading plan you choose, then the audio Bible will show up as an option when you initially start your reading plan. Simply select the audio Bible and start your reading plan!

Another important feature of the audio function in our app is the ability to download files for the audio Bibles. The benefit of this feature is that you can listen to the Scriptures when you’re out of service. If you’re flying home then you can still listen to God’s word while in airplane mode. Or if you’re backpacking at a subalpine lake far away from civilization, you can listen to Genesis 1 as you gaze up at the stars on a crystal-clear night. Go ahead and give it a try!

---

And God said, “Let there be light.”

Genesis 1:3

---

Pick Up an Audio Version of God’s Word Today

If you’d like to get started on listening to God’s word, then here are some audio Bibles we recommend. Or be sure to check out all the audio Bibles we have available for our app through the button below!

• NKJV Voice Only Audio Bible
• ESV Hear the Word Audio Bible
• NIV Listener’s Audio Bible
• Complete KJV Audio Bible (free!)