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A Sermon Notes Sheet for Young Children

March 4, 2019 By Ryan Higginbottom

Nils Stahl (2019), public domain

Christian parents have a great privilege and a weighty responsibility. We must teach and show our children how to trust and follow Jesus. What an important calling! (And what a reminder of our need for God’s grace!)

Whether we do so well or poorly, we’re always discipling our children. This happens around the table, in the park, and on the way to school. And it certainly happens at the weekly corporate worship service.

How should we worship God? Why do we sing, or give, or celebrate communion, or pray? Why do we listen to someone talk for thirty minutes? These are natural questions for children to bring to their parents.

The Sermon as Discipleship

The sermon is probably the hardest part of a Christian worship service for young children. And because of this, the sermon is a big source of tension in families and stress for parents.

Here’s an encouragement to parents: Hang in there! Keep going! Your kids will grow and mature, despite all evidence to the contrary. And the approach you take to the sermon—even from a young age—really matters.

I’ve written before about how to help your children listen to the sermon. In that article I focused on what to do before, during, and after the sermon. In this post, I’ll provide a practical tool to use during the sermon.

As Children Age

If a church offers a nursery and parents decide that is the best option for their young children, that is great! Nursery workers at a church offer a vital and life-giving ministry. The rest of this article will address children who stay in the worship service.

As children move past board books and snacks to puzzles or drawing, parents can tie the activities into the sermon. Every little pointer can train children to listen and pay attention.

After a few more years, parents can encourage a mixture of coloring and note-taking. A thoughtful preacher or children’s ministry director might even provide activity sheets for children that incorporate the sermon’s Bible text.

When children are able to write on their own and listen for longer stretches of time, parents can teach them to take notes during the sermon. A note-taking sheet provides an activity while also training children to listen and record important truths.

The Goal

As a father, I try to instruct my children in age-appropriate ways. Understanding their limitations is crucial, because demanding too much is a recipe for frustration all around.

I’m not expecting my children to understand the sermon completely. I don’t require adult-level processing of the information they hear. I’m not as concerned about the present as I am the future.

I want to develop good habits in my children. I hope they come to the sermon with eagerness and expectation. I pray they will give attention to the Bible and honor God as they attend corporate worship.

If my children hear and remember enough of the sermon that we can discuss it later, that is a victory. Even small snippets of truth can be great fodder for conversation.

Finally, I want my children to learn the practices of mind and body needed to worship God during the sermon. I want them to discern what is true to the Bible and to respond with joy and obedience. These are all learned behaviors that I’m praying my parenting efforts encourage.

For You and Your Children

Here is the document I created for my seven-year-old daughter. We have been using it weekly for several months. Since she cannot process the sermon quickly enough to take copious notes, her sermon sheet has space for both notes and drawings. For her, this mixture is great; she’s been engaged through the whole sermon since we started using these.

But I designed this document to be helpful for you. You can make a digital copy and edit it for your own situation. Create more space for drawing or note-taking, or add an element I omitted. Talk to your children and make adjustments as needed.

A few final notes about the document itself.

The sermon sheet is written in landscape orientation (11 inches wide by 8.5 inches tall). It should be printed out two-sided and folded in half. This makes it easy to tuck into a Bible on the way to and from church.
When printing, you may have to choose “two-sided printing” on your computer and then the option “flip on short edge/side.” (Each printer is slightly different.)

Use It!

Consider this document a starting place; nothing is one-size-fits-all. But I hope this worksheet will encourage parents, grandparents, children’s ministry directors, and pastors to pray and help the young ones in their churches learn how to be attentive during the sermon.

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Context Matters: Forgetting What Lies Behind

March 1, 2019 By Peter Krol

Perhaps you’ve heard that you ought not dwell too much on the past. Especially your regrets, failures, or inadequacies. Or maybe you’ve been to a business seminar, inspiring you to keep the past in the past and press on toward a glorious vision of the company’s future. At such times, especially if it was a Christian business conference, you may have heard reference to Phil 3:13: “…forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead…” Now are these things really what Paul had in mind?

Context matters. When we learn to read the Bible properly—and not merely as a collection of sound bites or independent proverbial sayings—we’ll find that some of our most familiar verses mean something other than what we may have assumed.

The Statement

Believe it or not, the phrase in question is part of a complete sentence:

“But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 3:13b-14)

Paul states that he does one thing. And this one thing has three parts.

Forgetting what lies behind
Straining forward to what lies ahead
Pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

The first two parts set up the third part. So the “one thing” is really just the third part. The first two parts are the prerequisites for the third part.

So what Paul is after is to press on toward the goal, which is the prize of God’s upward call in Christ Jesus. Now what does that mean?

Haakon von Martinsky (2014), Creative Commons

Work Backwards

The sentence immediately before this is: “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own” (Phil 3:13a). A critical interpretive question we ought to ask is: “What is ‘it’?” What is the thing Paul has not yet made his own?

Going back one more sentence, we see: “Not that I have already obtained this…but I press on to make it my own…” (Phil 3:12). So here we see Paul pressing on for something—a good sign that it’s the same thing as “the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” But we still don’t know what “it” is. What is the thing Paul wants to make his own, which he has not yet obtained?

Going back one more sentence, we hit a very long sentence, which ends like this:

“…that I may know him and the power of his resurrection…that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead” (Phil 3:10-11).

Now we’re getting somewhere! So the thing Paul presses on toward, that he wants to attain, is the resurrection of the dead. So it makes sense that he would later call this “the upward call.” Just as God called his Son Jesus Christ up from the grave to new life, so he calls Paul to new life, to resurrection from the dead.

Now how does this affect the way we read the phrase “forgetting what lies behind”?

The Things Paul Left Behind

We must go back a little further into the context to see what exactly Paul has left behind. What has made up his “life,” according to which he must “die” (Phil 3:10), so he might attain to resurrection?

In verse 3, Paul claims to be part of “the circumcision,” which is defined as those “who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh.” This is in contrast to the dogs and evildoers who “mutilate the flesh” (Phil 3:2). So circumcision is not about mutilating flesh—about cutting off a foreskin—but about putting no confidence in the flesh.

Paul has much reason for confidence in the flesh (Phil 3:4-6). Circumcised on the eighth day, an Israelite from the tribe of Benjamin, a superb Hebrew, a meticulous keeper of the Law, a zealous persecutor of “false” religions, a blameless adherent to the righteousness of the law.

“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him” (Phil 3:7-9).

So all that important stuff that made up Paul’s pedigree—all the things in which he had taken pride—are now considered but manure scrapings stuck to his sandals. He was happy to lose it all for the sake of Christ. He has suffered the loss of these things so he might have new life in Christ. He has thereby shared in Christ’s sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that he might attain the resurrection from the dead (Phil 3:10-11).

Conclusion

So that which lies behind Paul, which he is committed to “forget,” is all the great stuff on his spiritual CV that formerly shaped his identity. It was all his accomplishments, his law-keeping, his zeal for God, and his righteousness. He sets all these things aside so he might obtain new life, resurrection, through knowing Jesus and becoming like him.

So this verse is not about forgetting your failures or regrets. (In fact, it’s often important to remember these things to highlight God’s grace at work in you – Eph 2:1-4, 11-13.) And it’s not about casting vision for the future. It’s about repenting of your self-reliance, and coming to realize you have absolutely nothing to offer to make you right with God. Even your obedience to God and your ministry in service to him—such things ought never be your confidence.

“Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you” (Phil 3:15).

Context matters.

Thanks to Josh T for the idea for this post, and for showing me the flow of Paul’s argument in Philippians 3.

For more examples of why context matters, click here.

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How to Know if Your Interpretation is Correct

February 27, 2019 By Peter Krol

I’ve shared before John Piper’s crucial definition of the Bible’s “meaning”: What the author intended to communicate with his words.

Now in another brief video, Piper builds on that definition by showing us how that definition gives us an objective means by which we can evaluate whether an interpretation is right or wrong.

Check it out!

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Context Matters: The God-Breathed Scripture

February 22, 2019 By Peter Krol

Perhaps you’ve heard that the Scriptures were breathed out by God, and that they are profitable for teaching and for training in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16 is everyone’s go-to verse when explaining the Bible’s doctrine of itself, and rightly so. But have you considered what exactly Paul meant by this verse at the time he wrote it (Hint: He wasn’t authoring a systematic theology)? And how this verse would have landed with Timothy when he read his mentor’s letter?

Context matters. When we learn to read the Bible properly—and not merely as a collection of proof-texts for Christian doctrine—we’ll find that some of our most familiar verses have a depth we hadn’t noticed.

Paul’s Argument

See last week’s post for an explanation of the argument of 2 Timothy. The key point to remember for this week’s passage is that we’re at the end of a section where Paul instructs Timothy in how to deal with controversy in the church (2 Tim 2:14-3:17). Particularly when there are detractors swerving from the faith and challenging Timothy’s ministry.

Timothy is to learn from and follow Paul’s example in enduring persecution (2 Tim 3:10-12). He is to continue teaching the Scriptures he’s learned (2 Tim 3:14-15).

And he ought to draw confidence from the fact that the Scriptures he’s teaching are God’s own words (2 Tim 3:16). They will succeed at making Timothy a useful servant in God’s house (2 Tim 3:17).

Paul’s language

The words and phrases Paul uses in this beloved verse are carefully chosen to reinforce the points made all throughout the letter.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness (2 Ti 3:16).

All Scripture is breathed out by God—In 2 Tim 2:19, Paul paraphrases a few verses from Numbers 16 to show that God vindicates his servants against their detractors. Timothy does not need to defend himself; the Lord will defend him. Timothy must only continue (2 Tim 3:14) in preaching the word (2 Tim 1:6, 4:2). In so doing, he is speaking with the power and the love of God himself (2 Tim 1:7).
And profitable—Part of Timothy’s mandate is that he be useful in God’s house (2 Tim 2:21). The Scriptures are responsible and adequate to produce that usefulness in him.
For teaching—Paul was appointed to be a teacher (2 Tim 1:11), and Timothy is to train teachers (2 Tim 2:2). Timothy himself must be able to teach (2 Tim 2:24) so he can correct opponents. Timothy has followed Paul’s teaching (2 Tim 3:10). People will not always endure sound teaching (2 Tim 4:3), but Timothy must persist in it completely (2 Tim 4:2).
For reproof—Reproving is a part of preaching (2 Tim 4:2), and is required when detractors swerve from the truth and upset the faith of some (2 Tim 2:17-18).
For correction—The Scripture provide Timothy the ammunition to correct his opponents gently, in hopes that God may grant them repentance (2 Tim 2:25).
For training in righteousness—Timothy must have nothing to do with ignorant, that is “untrained,” controversies (2 Tim 2:23), but he is to train people with gentleness (2 Tim 2:25). He’s already been taught by Paul to value training in godliness, which has value in every way (1 Tim 4:6-8). As he pursues righteousness (2 Tim 2:22) and calls people to depart from unrighteousness (2 Tim 2:19), the Scripture will both train him in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16) and prepare him to receive a crown of righteousness from the judge of righteousness (2 Tim 4:8).

Paul’s Purpose

These glorious truths about the Scripture are not simply to be believed and revered. They are also to produce a harvest in the life of the preacher.

…that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Ti 3:17).

This verse forms an inclusio (bookend) with the beginning of the section, where Paul gives a metaphor to describe Timothy’s responsibility during controversy:

Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work (2 Ti 2:20–21).

Timothy is to be one of those useful vessels, set apart for honorable use. He is not to be like the useless teachers who constantly quarrel about words and pursue irreverent babble (2 Tim 2:14, 16). As he teaches the Scripture (2 Tim 2:15) with competence, patience (2 Tim 2:24), and gentleness (2 Tim 2:25), he will have been equipped to usefully perform every good work.

These works cannot save him (2 Tim 1:9). But they will bolster his confidence when he’s tempted to shame (2 Tim 2:15, 1:8), thus equipping him to do his critical work of evangelism (2 Tim 4:5).

Conclusion

2 Timothy 3:16 has profound implications for our doctrine of Scripture. But Paul would not be satisfied with our reading of his letter without a correspondingly profound impact on the competence and the perseverance of a teacher’s ministry of the word.

Context matters.

For more examples of why context matters, click here.

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Preparing Children to Read the Bible

February 20, 2019 By Peter Krol

Though I haven’t yet read Joe Carter’s new book, The Life and Faith Field Guide for Parents, I’m intrigued by this excerpt published at the Gospel Coalition. Here is a taste:

Some missionaries spend years or even decades learning how to teach literacy to unreached people. Why? Primarily, to give those people the tools they need to read the Word of God for themselves. As Christian parents—missionaries to our own children—we want our kids to know how to read so they too can one day read the Bible for themselves. This mindset about teaching can lead to long-lasting benefits for your children. Instead of viewing the literacy process as the means to reach the goal of reading, think of it instead as the means by which your child reaches the goal of reading the Bible.
This may appear to be a trivial distinction. After all, children who learn to read will likely be able to read the Bible. While that is true, a profound shift occurs when we teach reading for the primary goal of reading Scripture. Whatever stage your child is at in literacy education—whether they’re an infant learning words for the first time or a high-school student learning vocabulary terms for the SAT—consider this to be your objective: to shape their reading so they can better read the [Bible].

Check it out!

Disclaimer: The Amazon link above is an affiliate link. If you click it and buy stuff, we’ll receive a small commission. Thank you for helping us better prepare our children to read the Bible.

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Context Matters: The Unashamed, Approved Worker

February 15, 2019 By Peter Krol

Perhaps you’ve seen the latest internet firestorm where that Bible teacher was attacked and discredited for saying something controversial. Or perhaps you’ve been through the drama in your own church where a faction of people didn’t like the pastor and called for his removal, or at least for a recanting of a certain teaching. These situations are scary and tense, drawing out the worst in all of us.

Context matters. When we learn to read the Bible properly—and not as a collection of disconnected proverbial sayings—we’ll find that some of our most famous mantras connect in unexpected and profound ways with real life.

Paul’s Thesis in 2 Timothy

Before diving into a particular verse (2 Tim 2:15), we ought to grasp Paul’s thesis which drives the letter:

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. (2 Tim 1:6-7)

Comparing this statement with Paul’s comments in 1 Tim 4:13-16, we see that “the gift of God” which Timothy received through the “laying on of hands” was his preaching and teaching ministry. Paul’s second letter to Timothy has as its chief objective the flourishing of Timothy’s preaching, in the wake of Paul’s impending execution, from a spirit of power and love and self-control.

Paul’s Argument

Paul’s argument then moves through:

the consequences of Timothy’s preaching: suffering, which will tempt him to shame (2 Tim 1:8-12)
the content of Timothy’s preaching: the pattern of sound words, the deposit, received from Paul and rejected by many (2 Tim 1:13-18)
the continuation of Timothy’s preaching: being strengthened by grace (2 Tim 2:1, 8-13) to entrust this ministry to the faithful few (2 Tim 2:2-7)

Now Paul moves into a lengthy section about the confrontation of Timothy’s preaching (2 Tim 2:14-3:17).¹

Immediate Context

Why do I say this section is about confrontation?

2 Tim 2:14 calls Timothy to remind his faithful men (from 2 Tim 2:2) not to quarrel about words, lest they ruin their hearers.
2 Tim 2:16 calls him to avoid irreverent babble.
2 Tim 2:17-18 gives an example of a two such quarreling babblers, who have been upsetting the faith of some in Timothy’s congregation in Ephesus.

So this paragraph (2 Tim 2:14-19) is all about confronting, in Timothy’s own community, the false teachers, who declare that the resurrection has already happened. This teaching is to be condemned, as the coming resurrection is a critical motivator for those who will suffer for the true faith. Remember Jesus Christ, who rose from the dead (2 Tim 2:8). If we die with him, we will also live with him (2 Tim 2:11). If the resurrection has already taken place, and we’ve missed it, why bother enduring?

So in the midst of his instructions of what not to do in the face of detractors—don’t quarrel, don’t let your men quarrel on your behalf, and avoid irreverent babble—Paul also gives Timothy a suggestion of what to do: Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved (2 Tim 2:15).

What This Means

When a church leader or Bible teacher faces opposition from within the Christian community, the chief temptation will be to go on the attack. To engage in quarreling and to justify it by calling it “debate.” Paul is not saying that debate is always unhelpful; he’s only saying that it’s not the best way forward in the face of direct opposition.

Rather, the man of God (2 Tim 3:17), the Lord’s servant (2 Tim 2:24), the ordained leader of the church (2 Tim 1:6) ought to redouble his efforts to preach the word (2 Tim 4:2). He must fan this gift into flame. He must follow this pattern of sound words. He must guard this good deposit (2 Tim 1:14) and keep proclaiming it simply and clearly.

As he handles the word of truth rightly and accurately, he has no need to be ashamed (though he will still be tempted to shame when he suffers opposition from his detractors – 2 Tim 1:8). God will vindicate this faithful Bible expositor as the one he approves, over against the false teachers. The way the man of God demonstrates his vindication—his approval by God for his task of preaching the word—is by clearly and faithfully opening God’s word, skillfully setting it before the people, and proclaiming God’s message with God’s authority, week after week after week.

Paul will go on to say that he must do this with kindness, competence, and patience (2 Tim 2:24). He must correct opponents gently (2 Tim 2:25). As he continues proclaiming the word, without watering down its message but making it plain to the people and applying it clearly to the matters at hand, God might just grant repentance to some of those detractors (2 Tim 2:25-26). But the teacher must understand that most of them will not repent, and they are therefore to be avoided personally (2 Tim 3:1-9).

My previous paragraph describes what it means to be useful as a servant in God’s great house (2 Tim 2:20-21)—another statement that loses its meaning, and thereby gets misapplied, when we remove it from its context.

Gospel Hope

What will motivate the teacher of God’s word to endure in his task, even while some violently oppose him or even call for his resignation?

He stands on a firm foundation laid by his God (2 Tim 2:19). Paul paraphrases Numbers 16:5 and Numbers 16:26 to correlate Timothy’s detractors with Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, who opposed Moses, the Lord’s servant, the one laboring usefully in God’s house. God vindicated Moses with theatrical flair, proving to everyone that he knew who his man was. And God called the people to make sure they lined up behind the approved teacher lest they be swept up in the unapproved teachers’ destruction.

So for those who have been opposed for teaching the Scripture faithfully: Take heart. You do not need to quarrel to defend yourself; the Lord will defend you. He will not allow them to get very far. He will make their folly plain to all (2 Tim 3:9), and he will raise you up to reign with Christ (2 Tim 2:11-12). Just keep teaching God’s word, and do your best to learn how to do it even better than you already do. God’s firm foundation stands.

And for those who are watching and listening to the criticism and public assault on Christian leaders, wondering whom you can trust: Go with the approved workmen. Look for those who proclaim God’s word rightly—this requires you to know how to do that yourself so you’ll know it when you see it—and who do so with gentleness, kindness, and patience. Avoid the proud, abusive, babbling quarrelers, lest you be caught in their snare. God’s firm foundation stands.

Context matters.

¹Thanks to David Helm for showing me this structure at a recent Simeon Trust workshop on biblical exposition.

For more examples of why context matters, click here.

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10 Reasons to Study the Old Testament

February 13, 2019 By Peter Krol

Jason DeRouchie gives 10 great reasons why Christians should read, study, and teach the Old Testament.

The OT was Jesus’s only Scripture and makes up three-fourths (75.55 percent) of our Bible.
The OT substantially influences our understanding of key biblical teachings.
We meet the same God in both Testaments.
The OT announces the very ‘good news/gospel’ we enjoy.
Both the old and new covenants call for love, and we can learn much about love from the OT.
Jesus came not to destroy the Law and the Prophets but to fulfill them.
Jesus said that all the OT points to him.
Failing to declare ‘the whole counsel of God’ can put us in danger before the Lord.
The NT authors stressed that God gave the OT for Christians.
Paul commands church leaders to preach the OT.

I find reasons 2, 7, and 8 most personally compelling, but all 10 are good reasons. DeRouchie explains each one with brevity and clarity.

Check it out!

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Context Matters: Precept Upon Precept

February 8, 2019 By Peter Krol

When some of us learned about studying or teaching the Bible, one phrase seemed to be repeated as often as any other: precept upon precept, line upon line. In my experience, few verses are quoted and extolled as these when we’re encouraging our people to take the Bible seriously. Not only have we told our people that it is one good method among many, but some of us have said it’s the only right way to study the Bible. I’ve literally sung this phrase as a chorus in church.

But I sang those lines with a confused conscience. Having come across those words in Isaiah, I wondered if they could possibly mean what we thought they meant. Too embarrassed and fearful to express my concern, I told myself that I was no Bible expert and I could rest secure in my lack of knowledge. Surely, my sense that Isaiah was using those phrases — “line upon line” and “precept upon precept” — to mock God’s people couldn’t be correct! So, I set aside that precept and moved on to the next.

So writes Abigail Dodds, who then gives us a model Bible study in Isaiah 28. She observes, interprets, and applies, showing the train of thought from the context and calling us to have open ears to receive the Lord’s instruction.

Dodds does all this very well and concisely. I commend her article to you.

Context matters. Check it out!

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Does Jesus Commend Dishonesty?

February 6, 2019 By Peter Krol

If you’ve ever read the parable in Luke 16:1-9 about the fraudulent servant who gets fired, further cheats his employer, and is commended—you might have wondered what in the world was going on. When Jesus criticizes the sons of light for failing to be as shrewd as as the sons of this world (Luke 16:8), is he expecting his people to act like the crook?

John Piper answers this question for us by looking carefully at the text, within the context of Luke, and by drawing application from the parable’s main point. He shows us how to answer difficult questions with good Bible study skills.

Check it out!

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ESV Journaling New Testament, Inductive Edition

February 4, 2019 By Ryan Higginbottom

First we got the single-column Bible. Then came generous side margins. The latest advance in journaling Bibles seems to be interlinear space, and it’s wonderful.

For people who like to mark up their Bibles, studying God’s word with pen or highlighter in hand, there never seems to be enough space. We want more room for notes, questions, symbols, and arrows. This is especially true for Bible students who underline, circle, or box words in the text—in a standard Bible, these marks could easily obscure the text in the subsequent or preceding line.

Enter the ESV Journaling New Testament, Inductive Edition, published by Crossway. This book provides 3/8 inch of space between lines of text, opening up lots of options for engaged students of the Bible.

Excellent Design

I love the philosophy of this Bible. This is from the introduction.

It is in light of this conviction that Crossway offers to the church the ESV Journaling New Testament, Inductive Edition. The text is spaced out line by line, designed to facilitate active engagement with the Bible with a pencil or pen in hand. Repeated words can be circled, key transitions can be noted, striking phraseology can be reflected on. With space to jot notes and insights, this edition will be a versatile tool in a Christian disciple’s engagement with Scripture.

Crossway kindly sent me the black hardback version of this Bible for review. This Bible lays open flat, and the elastic band will remind journal lovers of the famous Moleskine. The wide outer margins and interline space provide plenty of room. This is not a Bible to sit down and read for hours; this is designed as a workbench and laboratory. It has great potential as a markup Bible.

There are so many positives for this product that I hate to mention any negatives. I have only two cautions. The first is about the name—this does not seem like a journaling Bible to me. There is ample space to interact with the text, but there is not as much space to do what is typically considered journaling. (I don’t personally use a Bible for journaling, but those who do might be disappointed.) My second caution is that the thickness of the paper in this Bible is closer to thin, Bible paper than it is standard journal paper. Consequently, pencils, highlighters, and ballpoint pens are better choices than gel, roller ball, or fountain pens if you are concerned about writing bleeding through to the back of pages.

How About the OT?

The retail price for this Bible is $39.99, but it is available for far less than that at both Amazon and Westminster Bookstore. (At the time of this writing, the price at Westminster Bookstore was almost $3 less than at Amazon.)

I recommend this Bible for anyone who wants to dig into the Bible text and get their hands dirty. I hope that Crossway considers publishing a two-volume edition of the Old Testament to mirror this Bible. (They have just released the Old Testament version of the ESV Scripture Journals, so there’s hope!)

Disclosure: the links to Amazon and Westminster Bookstore are affiliate links.

The images used in this post were provided by Crossway.

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