Saturday, December 6, 2014

Reformation Heritage Study Bible (KJV)

I've had the Reformation Heritage Study Bible almost two weeks. I am really enjoying this one!!! I would definitely recommend it.

Strengths:
  • King James Version (I happen to love the KJV)
  • Black Letter, NOT red letter (I think I squealed when I saw it was black letter!!!)
  • Has thorough book introductions for all 66 books of the Bible
  • Has introductions to different sections of Scripture (introduction to the Pentateuch, introduction to the historical books, introduction to the poetic and wisdom books, introduction to the prophetic books, introduction to the gospels and Acts, introduction to the epistles)
  • Has thousands of study notes; some notes are just clarifying the vocabulary of the King James Version; others seem more genuinely like study notes
  • Includes within the notes, "Thoughts for Personal/Family Worship" for each and every chapter of the Bible. 
  • Has 50+ in-text articles covering seven key doctrines (the doctrine of God, the doctrine of creation, the doctrine of sin, the doctrine of Christ, the doctrine of salvation, the doctrine of the church, and the doctrine of last things)
  • Double column
  • Has a daily Bible Reading Plan (M'Cheyne's Reading Plan)
  • Has an extensive study helps section at the back of the Bible (when I say extensive, I mean extensive*)
  • Has a dozen color maps
  • Has a concordance
*Here's a good idea of what the study helps section offers readers:

How To Live As A Christian
  • Coming to Christ
  • United with Christ
  • Experiencing Justification and Adoption
  • Growing in Sanctification
  • Assured and Persevering
  • Reading the Scriptures
  • Why and How We Pray
  • Worship and the Means of Grace
  • Fellowship with Believers
  • How We Regard Ourselves
  • Love to God
  • The Fear of God
  • Living by the Ten Commandments
  • Godly Contentment
  • Self-Denial
  • Humility
  • How We Kill Pride
  • Coping with Criticism
  • Enduring Affliction
  • Spiritual Desertion
  • Fleeing Worldliness
  • Fighting Against Backsliding
  • Family Worship
  • Being A Christ-Like Husband
  • Being a Godly Wife
  • Showing Hospitality
  • Raising Children in the Lord
  • Being a Christian Grandparent
  • Honoring Your Parents
  • Serving God at Work
  • Using Leisure Time Well
  • Witnessing for Christ
  • Defending Our Faith
  • Facing Sickness and Death
  • Living Positively
  • Living for God's Glory
Twenty Centuries of Church History
  • First Century: Apostolic Foundations
  • Second Century: The Church of Martyrs and Confessors
  • Third Century: Persecution and Heresy; Origen and Tertullian
  • Fourth Century: Beginnings of the Christian Empire
  • Fifth Century: City of God and City of Man
  • Sixth Century: Justinian, Benedict, and the Conversion of the Scots
  • Seventh Century: Gregory the Great and the Rise of Islam
  • Eighth Century: The Iconoclastic Controversy
  • Ninth Century: Struggle for Power in the Church; Ratramnus and Gottschalk
  • Tenth Century: "The Dark Ages"
  • Eleventh Century: The Great Schism; Anselm of Canterbury
  • Twelfth Century: The Crusades, Abelard, Lombard, and the Waldenses
  • Thirteenth Century: Francis of Assisi and Thomas Aquinas
  • Fourteenth Century: The Church's Babylonian Captivity and John Wycliffe
  • Fifteenth Century: The Renaissance, Huss, Savonarola, and Groote
  • Sixteenth Century: Luther, Calvin, and the Reformation
  • Seventeenth Century: Reforming the Church in England
  • Eighteenth Century: The Great Awakening
  • Nineteenth Century: Beginnings of Modern Theology and Kingdom Builders
  • Twentieth Century: Age of Paradoxes
Creeds and Confessions
  • Apostles' Creed
  • Nicene Creed
  • Athanasian Creed
  • Belgic Confession
  • Heidelberg Catechism
  • Canons of Dort
  • Westminster Confession
  • Westminster Shorter Catechism
  • Westminster Larger Catechism

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Just out of curiosity, when you read the study Bible, do you read all the study notes as well? I've read the whole Bible through a couple of times and I've been thinking of reading a study Bible along with all the notes. I'm not sure how helpful or edifying that would be.

Becky said...

So far, I am reading all the study notes. It does slow down the reading process. I read the text first, then the notes. And if it's a long chapter, I might break it up into sections. Reread a paragraph, look at the notes, reread a paragraph, look at the notes. So by the end, I might have read the text twice, and the notes once. Sometimes. It depends on how challenging it is--how complex a thought it is that I'm trying to keep in mind.

Usually, I read text-only Bibles because I like to focus on the Bible itself. But sometimes I do like to read a study Bible.