Tag: Thomas Nelson

The Chronological Study Bible

A few weeks back I received a copy of Thomas Nelson’s Chronological Study Bible (NKJV).

New AMAZING COLORFUL study Bible

No lie – I was blown away!

Just skimming through the pages wowed me with the layout and the extensive use of color and imagery throughout the pages.

I’ve since used it several times in preparation for various studies and messages and will say that it’s a great companion for any study.

As a “study Bible” I haven’t been blown away by any particular insights included in the study notes and such but that doesn’t diminish my feelings at all. And to be fully honest and fair about it, I can’t say I’ve read this entire Bible all the way through yet (with our without the notes) — so there are likely countless things still waiting to be discovered.

New study Bible

I was thrown originally by the order of the Gospel letters (where I’ve spent most of my study time). As a Chronological Study Bible, I still expected the letters to remain intact, simply placed in the order they were historically (or at least believed to be) written. I have a copy of The Books of The Bible (TNIV) that’s organized more in that manner — and I’m certain this previous experience with a “chronological Bible” tainted how I expected this Bible to read.

(Side note :: The Books of The Bible focuses a lot more on readability than study — with no chapter or verse deviations and text formatted in one column per page rather than multiple columns),

In comparison to The Books of the Bible, the chronological order is that of the Biblical Narrative, not necessarily the order of the authorship. Like I said, this was a disappointment — at first — but I’ve come to appreciate it as an entirely different resource/tool as I delve further into the text. It helps me see the broader picture of where the various stories of Jesus line up and which authors included which stories, and which ones excluded others.

Along with ordering the text in narrative order, I’ve also come to really appreciate the time line that scrolls above each of the pages. This gives an even broader dimension to studying and helps the reader see a better picture of how various events/texts align themselves within the greater Biblical narrative.

Further study of the Bible showed how the editors worked to carry out the narrative order by intertwining texts like the story of David, with his poetry and songs in the book of Psalms. This gives the reader a better feeling of David’s narrative, with his feelings and thoughts and reflections wrapped around them. I’m looking forward to delving into the Psalms even further with this added resource.

Now if only they just had a version with Eugene Peterson’s translation. 🙂

New study Bible

Here are some additional notes/points from Thomas Nelson ::

  • The entire New King James Bible with translators’ notes, arranged in chronological order-the order in which the events and writings actually happened, for absorbing and effective Bible study
  • Full-color illustrations of places, artifacts, and cultural phenomena that give the reader a dramatic, “you are there” experience
  • Fascinating articles that connect the Bible text to world history and culture
    Daily Life Notes that explain how people lived in Bible times
  • Epoch Introductions and Historical Overviews that provide vivid chronological context
    Transition Comments that set the stage and prepare the reader for the biblical text that follows
  • “Time Capsules” of world history that accompany the Bible text
  • Time Panels and Charts that show the flow of Bible history
  • In-text and full-page color maps of the biblical world
  • A handy scripture finder index that provides rapid access to any passage
  • Topical Index and Glossary to facilitate study

Book review :: Through the Storm

I finished reading Lynne Spears book, “Through the Storm” a couple weeks ago. I posted a review of it on Facebook, but got busy and forgot to post one here.

While “celebrity autobiographies” aren’t something I’d normally pick up and read for myself, I did find myself enjoying the book and I kept coming back to it to continue reading Lynne’s story.

As I read it, I did feel like the book and the stories it contains do tend to jump around a bit but it was a good easy read and I finished it rather quickly.

One quote in particular stood out to me in beginning of the book and stuck with me throughout. Spears tells the story of her father giving respect to a man that she didn’t exactly think deserved it – but her father responded, “He’s had a hard life.” He then continued with his point that when we take the time to understand where people have come from we’ll have a much better understanding of them and be able to extend grace and mercy a lot easier.

Thought that was a great explanation of this book.

When you understand where Lynne and her family (including her 2 celebrity girls) are coming from you naturally get a better picture of how they got to where they are.

As someone else pointed out on Facebook, Lynn’s “father was an alcoholic, she killed a little boy with her car and her mother was a straight-up Londoner.”

You don’t get these background stories in reading the tabloid headlines. You don’t see how faith has impacted Spear’s family (and or hasn’t impacted some of the family).

These background stories go beyond the tabloid headlines, beyond the paparazzi (which you can quickly tell Spears has absolutely no love for), and beyond the basic surface story we hear so many times.

Throughout the book Spears often spends time explaining her mindset while things around her occurred — especially in relation to the careers of her two celebrity daughters. Sometimes she admits the decisions were not the best and other times she still holds to the decisions. Like anyone’s story, it will be up to the reader to cast (or withhold) their own judgement.

Overall, I was glad I had the chance to read it. I’ll be passing my copy along to my mom next time I see her. And I hope that if nothing else, it helps me extend grace to others a lot quicker as well.

For added insight, take a moment to read why Thomas Nelson decided to publish this book.

Quote for the day

“Religiously, the majority of America’s young are postmodern, which means they do faith like jazz: informal, eclectic, and often without theme. They have largely rejected organized religion in favor of a religious pastiche that works for them. They think nothing of hammering together a personal faith from widely differing religious traditions, and many acquire their theology the same way they catch colds: through casual contact with strangers. Thus, when Obama speaks of questioning certain tenets of his Christian faith or the importance of doubt in religion or his respect for non-Christian religions, the majority of the young instantly relate and welcome his nontraditional faith as a basis for his—and their—left-leaning politics.”
– Stephen Mansfield
“The Faith of Barack Obama”

I hear there’s a FREE preview you can download from a particular podcast’s site. Might be worth checking out.

related ::
SSL :: community 2.0
SSL :: re: pursuing relevance
SSL :: Huckabee on Obama
SSL :: Sen. Barack Obama on faith
SSL :: Barack Obama’s speech on race