This MCP server provides programmatic access to the Faith, Hope, Love (FHL) Bible API via the Model Context Protocol. It exposes a suite of tools for querying Bible verses across multiple versions, performing original language word analysis, looking up Strong's dictionaries, and retrieving commentary, topics, and audio resources. The available tools include functions for verse retrieval (get_bible_verse, get_bible_chapter, search_bible), original language studies (get_word_analysis, lookup_strongs, search_by_strongs), commentary and topic study (get_commentary, search_commentary, get_topic_study), apocrypha and apostolic fathers access (get_apocrypha_verse, search_apocrypha, list_apocrypha_books, get_apostolic_fathers_verse, search_apostolic_fathers, list_apostolic_fathers_books), footnotes and article searches (get_footnote, search_fhl_articles, list_fhl_article_columns), information tools (list_bible_versions, list_commentaries, get_book_list), and multimedia (get_audio_bible). The server is designed to be consumed by AI assistants and supports structured JSON outputs where applicable. You can interact with the API using natural language prompts paired with the corresponding function names, or leverage the built-in prompts for guided queries.

Prerequisites:

• Python 3.10 or newer
• Git
• Optional: a virtual environment tool (venv, virtualenv)

Step-by-step installation:

1. Clone the repository git clone https://github.com/ytssamuel/FHL_MCP_SERVER.git cd FHL_MCP_SERVER

2. (Recommended) Create and activate a virtual environment

   macOS/Linux

   python3 -m venv venv source venv/bin/activate

   Windows

   python -m venv venv .\venv\Scripts\activate

3. Install the package in editable mode (from the repository root) pip install -e .

4. Generate configuration for the MCP client (interactive) python scripts/generate_config.py

5. Start using the MCP server (example) python -m fhl_bible_mcp

Note:

• The project provides automated scripts for quick setup and verification. If you prefer, you can also follow the manual installation flow described in the repository’s README for more granular control.

Tips and common issues:

• Always run within a virtual environment to avoid conflicts with system Python packages.
• The PYTHONPATH environment variable should point to the project’s src directory when configuring clients (e.g., Claude/Copilot integrations).
• If you modify configuration or environment variables, restart the MCP server to apply changes.
• Ensure the chosen Bible versions and resources are available in the API before querying new endpoints.
• Use the generated_config.py tool to produce client configurations tailored to your AI assistant; the docs mention common paths for Windows/macOS/Linux environments.
• For cross-platform setups, prefer the virtual environment Python executable to avoid system Python inconsistencies.