Update 11:17 AM EDT: We have given away all the Bibles scheduled for this promotion. Thank you to everyone who participated. We’ll have a recap later.

Crossway has just published two TruGlo ESV editions that glow in the dark.

We’re giving away four TruGlo Bibles each to youth groups at 25 churches (100 Bibles total). Anyone can enter the contest on behalf of his or her church. The first 25 churches whose requests we receive will get two of each design.

You don’t have to have a formal youth group at your church to enter. Teens are the main audience for TruGlo Bibles, however, so we’d like to see the Bibles in this giveaway end up in the hands of young people.

Here’s how to enter:

Send an email to blog@esv.org with the Subject containing the words “TruGlo giveaway.” Please include the following information in the email:

• Your church’s name, mailing address (including country if outside the U.S.), and phone number. PO boxes won’t work.
• The name of your youth pastor (or other pastor if you don’t have a youth pastor). We’ll send the Bibles to the youth pastor at the church’s address.

We’ll only use your email address in conjunction with this promotion. You won’t go on a mailing list.

Limit one giveaway per church. This offer is open to churches in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, and New Zealand. Churches attended by Good News / Crossway / SBS employees aren’t eligible.

We’ll update this post throughout the day with the number of Bibles remaining. We suggest you click through to this post if you’re reading it in an RSS aggregator so you can see how many are left.

Update: Fixed permalink

On Monday, September 12, 2005, we’re going to hold our second Bible giveaway. This time we’re aiming the giveaway at church youth groups (though you don’t have to be a member of a youth group to participate). Unlike our first giveaway, you don’t even need a website to enter.

You’ll need the name of your youth pastor (or other pastor) and your church’s address and phone number. Come back Monday around 9:00 AM U.S. Eastern Time (GMT -4) for details.

Two weeks ago, we shared one of the radio spots in our “Bible for Life” radio campaign. Each one-minute spot has someone reading a favorite passage from the ESV and meditating on it.

We’ve collected all 30 spots that we’ve released so far at:
http://www.esv.org/resources/radio-spots/

New spots will come every month.

Many of the spots feature Christian music artists including Rebecca St. James; Caedmon’s Call; Phillips, Craig and Dean; Casting Crowns; and Audio Adrenaline.

Right now we’re releasing the audio under a traditional copyright. But we’re researching whether we might be able to release them under a less-restrictive license (like Creative Commons) so you can incorporate them into your podcasts. We’ll let you know.

Claudia Rosett wrote in 2001:

So I write here in praise of a favorite practice of my own family: reading to each other aloud. Many of us were read to as children, of course, and may now read to our own. But how often these days do adults read to one another? We are too busy, too wary perhaps of a pastime so decidedly of the past. But reading aloud lets you hear each others’ voices in a new way, and value afresh the power of the English language. At its best, it can conjure an enchanted circle.

If you’re like many Christians, the only time you hear an extended passage of Scripture out loud is at church when someone shares the reading for the day.

When you study the Bible–whether individually, with your family, or in a group–we hope you take the time to read aloud at least some of the passages you’re studying.

Reading out loud slows you down and helps you see Scripture in new ways. It also helps you better remember what you’ve read. It can especially heighten your appreciation for some of the more lyrical passages of Scripture: try reading Psalm 104 aloud, for example, and hear your voice naturally crescendo as you progress through the psalm.

Audio Bibles are another way to experience the Bible out loud. You can put them on your iPod and listen to them during your commute–or just for fun.

MP3 technology has dramatically reduced the cost of audio Bibles. Max McLean has recorded the entire ESV onto four MP3 CDs, which you can get (at the time of this writing) for about the price of a high-quality printed ESV: $41.99 at Christianbook.com.

You can also listen to the New Testament read by Marquis Laughlin in smaller increments for free at the ESV Online Edition. Of course, then you have to stay near your computer and remain connected to the Internet.

HT: Josh Sowin

In April, blogger John Mark Reynolds praised the ESV (scroll down all the way to see the content if you click the link):

I have a new standard study Bible and can report that Torrey Honors at Biola is thinking of making the same switch…. It is accurate and unafraid to use theologically precise words…. It uses English no more difficult (in terms of reading level) than the underlying Greek. Mark is simple. Romans is complex.

In short, it is marvelous.

We’ll be attending GodBlogCon in October 2005 at Biola University in southern California. John’s playing a big part in organizing the convention. If you’re interested in blogging as a Christian, we’d love to see you there.