I recently got my hands on a Mission of God Study Bible. Now having spent some time with it on my own, here are some personal highlights I came away with.
1. Study for a Purpose: Missions
Why do we study the Bible? Jesus charged the entire Church with the Great Commission. I love the Mission of God Study Bible because it is specifically designed to point believers toward connecting study with practice. All study Bibles, and Bibles in general for that matter, are oriented toward God's mission. But the Mission of God Study Bible helps students of the Word by highlighting the missional thread that runs from Genesis to Revelation.
2. Portable Size
As Bible publishers pack study Bibles full of commentary, it is difficult to maintain a size that is attractive to take to church or in carry-on luggage. The Mission of God Study Bible is portable, and packs in a lot of helpful study aids at the same time.
3. Based on a Solid Translation (HCSB)
Of course we are going to say so at the HCSB blog, but I really like the translation and am glad it is the basis for the Mission of God Study Bible.
4. Outstanding Group of Contributors
Here are some highlights for me. There are many other great contributors in addition to these:
Glenn Burris Jr. - President, The Foursquare Church
Matt Chandler - Pastor, The Village Church, Flower Mound, TX
Eric Geiger - Vice President, LifeWay Christian Resources
Billy Graham - Evangelist
J.D. Greear - Lead Pastor, The Summit Church, Durham, N.C.
David Hesselgrave - Professor emeritus of mission, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
R.T. Kendall - President of R.T. Kendall Ministries
Andreas Kostenberger - New Testament Scholar
Eric Mason - Lead Pastor, Epiphany Fellowship, Philadelphia, PA
Juan Sanchez - Preaching Pastor of High Pointe Baptist Church, Austin, TX
R.C. Sproul - President of Ligonier Ministries
Ed Stetzer - President, LifeWay Research
Tullian Tchividjian - Senior Pastor of Coral Ridge Presbytarian, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Joe Thorn - Lead Pastor of Redeemer Fellowship, Chicago, IL
Adrian Warnock - Top missional blogger at www.adrianwarnock.com
Trevin Wax - Managing Editor of The Gospel Project, blogs at www.thegospelcoalition.org
Keith Whitfield - Pastor and seminary professor
Christopher Wright - International Director of the Langham Partnership International
5. Cross-Reference Notes
Though cross-references are a standard feature for modern study Bibles, I love that the Mission of God Study Bible includes them. It is a helpful way to trace the mission of God through the entire Bible. After all, the mission of God doesn't begin in Matthew 28.
6. Dynamic Content Powered by Technology
Included throughout the Bible are QR codes that transport readers to video content, going deeper in the study helps with contributors. This is one way the publisher was able to pack so much content into a portable size.
7. Helpful Commentary
Throughout the Mission of God Study Bible, contributors have offered biblical commentary to sharpen readers working through the text. Some commentary features include: book introductions, "God's Heart for the World," feature essays, God Who Sends notes (Frank Dubose), "Text Messages," "On the Frontlines," "Worldview," "Praying for the World," "Church Unleashed," and "Letters to the Church." All of the content is helpful and unique.
Click here to learn more about the Mission of God Study Bible.
Brentwood Baptist Church recently announced they are switching to the Holman Christian Standard version of the Bible. The church, who is celebrating ten years in a new facility in Brentwood, TN, is also the church home of LifeWay President Thom Rainer. For years the church had used the New International Version (1984) both in the pulpit and the pews. "Some of [the Bibles] were decorated with artwork from children who had faster pens than parents' eyes," said pastor Mike Glenn. "So every now and then you have to upgrade those."
The newly donated pew Bibles by LifeWay signals a switch for Glenn who will now preach from the HCSB.
"We were coming to a place where we needed to update the NIVs that had been in our pews since 2002 on Father's Day when we moved in," Glenn said. "And some of those Bibles found other places to live.
"[The HCSB] is a very good translation," Glenn said. "We know a lot of the people who did the work, so we feel very, very comfortable in using it."
According to the church's website:
"With the corrected Bibles now in pews, Brentwood Baptist will endorse and use this version of the Bible going forward. Anything publicly spoken, written, or quoted will come from this translation. In affirmation of the move, members took the Bibles and lifted them up in a prayer of dedication led by our Senior Pastor this past Sunday.
Mike said, "We're glad to partner with LifeWay in providing this resource to you. … They're a very good partner for the local church."
The church developed a unique strategy to make good use of the old pew Bibles. Every member was challenged on a Sunday in February to take a pew Bible and give it away. In an auditorium that seats thousands, only 200 pew Bibles remained that afternoon.
...
Parts of this post come from a story written by Kaylan Christopher, staff writer at Brentwood Baptist Church
LifeWay Research recently released new statistics on the preferences of Bible readers. They polled 2,000 Americans, asking them questions aimed at uncovering how adults read the Bible. To qualify for the poll, participants had to read the Bible outside of a corporate worship setting.
Here are some interesting findings from the release:
"In addition to their personal study, 75 percent of regular Bible readers also read along with others each month as Scripture is read in church worship services, 49 percent read it as part of Christian education or Sunday school classes at a church, and 42 percent do so as part of a small group Bible study or prayer group."
"On average, Bible readers in the United States personally own 3.6 copies of Scripture. Eighty-four percent of readers have more than one Bible."
"When it comes to how a preferred translation is selected, 75 percent of regular Bible readers personally chose the version they use most while 19 percent had it selected for them by someone else. Six percent do not remember how they arrived at their preferred version."
"Nine out of 10 Bible readers are satisfied with the version they use most for personal reading. That includes 56 percent who are completely satisfied and 35 percent who are mostly satisfied. Only 2 percent are mostly dissatisfied with the translation they use, and 4 percent are completely dissatisfied."
*Click here to read the entire release.
(HT: Ed Stetzer)
In February, on the blog and on Facebook, we have been talking about Study Bibles. In addition to indexes and other types of literary guides, most Study Bibles contain biblical commentary and doctrinal essays. Below is an essay on written communication from the gospel of Luke in the Life Essentials Study Bible. With over 250 hours of teaching by editor Gene Getz, this HCSB Study Bible offers readers a window into in-depth Bible study via QR codes (see the bar code at the bottom of the post, scannable with your smart phone). We hope you'll enjoy the essay, and take a moment to consider, "What are the most important features in a Study Bible?"
__________________________________________________
#1 We should look for opportunities to use personal letters to help fellow believers develop a more intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
In many respects, this Gospel represents a personal letter to a man whom Luke addressed as the “most honorable Theophilus.” Though we know very little about this individual, he was probably a Gentile, perhaps a high-ranking official in the Roman government. Evidently, he was a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ—not just a seeker—but a man who needed a lot of encouragement in terms of spiritual growth. It appears he may have still had some theological questions about Jesus. Luke wanted Theophilus to “know the certainty of the things” he had been taught about Christianity. The term know indicates more than just intellectual assent; it is a deep, abiding assurance of the heart (v. 4). Luke wanted his knowledge of Christ to be experiential.
Nevertheless, like all of the letters in the New Testament, Luke’s Gospel demonstrates the impact and importance of written correspondence to help Christians mature in their faith. For example, when Paul received a report from Timothy that the believers in Thessalonica were confused about what happens to Christians before Christ comes again, he wrote a le␣er to clarify the issue—along with other teachings to help them continue to more and more reflect faith, hope, and love in their relationships with one another and their unsaved neighbors and friends.
Reflection and Response
How have personal letters encouraged you in your walk with Christ and how can you do the same for others?
The Association for Christian Retail (CBA) recently released the March 2012 bestseller list, naming B&H Publishing's Reading God's Story at the top of the Study/Specialty Bible category. Using the HCSB, editor George Guthrie takes a clear narrative approach to the Bible, arranging the complete text into a fresh chronological reading plan developed for LifeWay's Read the Bible for Life biblical literacy initiative. Congrats to B&H and editor George Guthrie!