Archive for January, 2008

Todd at Experiencing Reformation shares how he made a blank Bible. (A blank Bible involves taking a printed Bible and rebinding it while inserting blank pages for extra note-taking space).

He started with a large-print Pew and Worship ESV, removed the binding, took the pages to Staples (where he says they used a laser to cut the pages), and then inserted blank paper between the Bible text. The result is an eight-volume spiral-bound Bible. Here’s an intermediate stage:

Todd links to The Silent Holocron, which embarked on a similar project back in November. (We’re not sure how we missed it. Sorry!) The five-part epic:

1. Removing the cover.
2. Cutting the paper.
3. Stuffing.
4. Punching and binding.
5. A cautionary tale.

And, of course, Tony Reinke is the inspiration for many blank Bible projects.

All these posts are full of practical tips if you want to create a blank Bible of your own.

Michael Spencer at InternetMonk.com has a good introduction to the lectionary. One FAQ:

What are the best reasons to use a lectionary?

It puts the church in sync with all of the Bible, the Christian year and other worshipping Christians. In the three year Revised Common lectionary, much of the whole Bible is covered during the three years. It also maintains a tradition that goes back into ancient Judaism. Jesus was doing a lectionary-type reading in Luke 4. It restores scripture reading to public worship, where scripture commands it.

The Book of Common Prayer Daily Office on the ESV site keeps you up-to-date with the lectionary readings. And if you ever lose track of what week it is in the church calendar, this page will tell you.

You can use the ESV web service to determine the season, week, day, and readings for any day of the year. Sample query. You could build some interesting things atop this API. The DateTime::Calendar::Liturgical::Christian Perl module provides similar functionality.

Jesus at Soul deSaenz has been blogging up a storm about the ESV and Bible formats, with a particular focus on the paper used in Bibles. Here are some of his recent Bible-related posts:

• Cordovan ESV, Bargain Luxury
• The Best ESV Bible Ever Made
• Bible Paper. Too Thin or Not Opaque Enough?
• ESV Single Column Reference Bible… Or The Myth of the Too Thin Paper

We previously linked to Jesus’s post about Bible marking pens. The Bible Design and Binding blog is another good blog about the physical aspects of Bibles. It seems to be collecting photos of stacks of Bibles at the moment.

The blogger at Making a Splash writes about handing out ESV Outreach New Testaments:

I love these New Testaments because they are only 50 cents and they are very well done. They have a great plan of salvation in them as well as reading plans and the usual “where do you find this topic” list. We give this out instead of tracts whenever possible….

I take the kids for a few reasons. If we do see people, the kids can give the Bibles to them and will never get turned down. Second, the kids really like doing it and it is a way that they can share Jesus’ love towards others. Third, I want to instill habits in my kids that have kingdom value and that are not focusing on them.

I also include a letter that has a message for the time of the year. It might be a Christmas, New Years, or Easter message. Basically anything that will tie in the current holiday to reading the Bible. In the letter is usually our name and address along with a way to contact us for more questions.

Visit spreadtheword.esv.org to learn more about buying ESV Outreach New Testaments for 50 cents each.

Tim at Faith Community Church (Kansas City, Mo.) writes powerfully about losing his home to a fire in November and replacing his destroyed Bibles:

But to bring me to the topic of my blog, I also lost all my personal Bibles. I lost my much beloved hardback ESV (the English Standard Version) that I received free from Crossway while in seminary. I lost my NET (the New English Translation) Bible that had been given to me a couple of years ago from a brother in church. I also lost my NAS (New American Standard) wide margin leather gift Bible that I had received at graduation from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. They all perished at the same spot: In the basket right next to my favorite chair by the fireplace. All these Bibles weren’t just mine, they had become me. They had my markings and rantings and comments and notes and stains. This was a particularly heavy loss to me. So it is time for a new Bible.