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Zondervan Bibles
November 18, 2022

Zondervan Releases the Revised and Updated KJV Thompson Chain-Reference Bible

Zondervan, a division of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, is proud to announce the release of the Thompson® Chain-Reference® Bible, Revised and Updated in the King James Version (KJV). This is the second updated and revised edition of a Thompson Chain-Reference Bible since Zondervan acquired the Bible line from Kirkbride Bible Company in 2020.

KJV Thompson Chain-Reference Bible Hardcover

“We are honored to continue the legacy of the Thompson Chain-Reference Bible through the publication of this edition,” said Melinda Bouma, vice president and publisher of Bibles for Zondervan. “We are thrilled to introduce this timeless resource to loyal KJV readers. It is our hope that those who have loved the KJV TCR for decades will enjoy the updates we’ve made like easy-to-read page designs, completed chain references, beautiful illustrations, and the transition to the KJV Comfort Print® typeface. We hope these new editions will serve them well for many more years to come.”  

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Guest Post
November 15, 2022

Growing Gratitude

By Christopher Reese

As we approach Thanksgiving, our thoughts turn to giving thanks for all the good things the Lord has done and provided, especially since the beginning of the year.  At the same time, we know that gratitude is a virtue that we should continually pursue as followers of Christ.  In what follows, we’ll consider several ways we can grow in the often-neglected virtue of gratitude and make it part of our daily lives.

Called to Give Thanks

Before we start, it’s important to recall how much the giving of thanks is emphasized in Scripture.  The Psalms encourage God’s people to “come before him with thanksgiving” and to “give thanks to him and praise his name” (Psalm 95:2; 100:4).  Jesus gave thanks for God’s provision when he fed the multitudes and at the last supper (Luke 9:16; Matthew 26:26-27).  Paul regularly expressed gratitude to God (e.g., 1 Corinthians 15:57; 2 Corinthians 2:14), and instructed believers to give thanks in all circumstances, as well as in our prayers (1 Thessalonians 5:18; Philippians 4:6).  The book of Revelation gives a preview of both angels and humans giving thanks to God in heaven (Revelation 7:12). 

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Guest Post
November 9, 2022

Pray Like a Band of Wild, Unruly Monks

Tyler Staton: The way to pray like Jesus taught us to pray includes this unavoidable invitation: learn to live like a monk in the ordinary world.By Tyler Staton

The way to pray like Jesus taught us to pray includes this unavoidable invitation: learn to live like a monk in the ordinary world. Historically speaking, this is the drum that God’s people have always been beating.

In the Hebrew tradition, which contains the very roots of the Christian faith, there has always been a daily prayer rhythm: pausing to pray three times a day—morning, midday, and evening. In fact, all the great spiritual traditions insist on some kind of a daily prayer rhythm. This is the central plot point of the book of Daniel. He refuses to renounce prayer to Yahweh in a Babylonian culture. He won’t stop kneeling to pray three times a day in front of his Jerusalem-facing window. He lives by a daily prayer rhythm, and he will not order his prayer life according to the culture, customs, and expectations of that foreign land. That’s the offense that gets him thrown to the lions.

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Aaron Armstrong
November 8, 2022

Is Matthew Henry’s teaching still relevant for today?

Matthew Henry has been considered one of the church’s most trusted teachers for more than three centuries. His work has been consulted and quoted by teachers and students the world over. In fact, the first commentary I ever used for Bible study was the one-volume edition of Henry’s work.

But as time passes, it’s natural to wonder if his teaching is still matters. Have the scholarly insights of the generations that followed him made his work irrelevant for our day?

Who was Matthew Henry?

But before we answer the question at hand, it might be helpful to familiarize ourselves with this esteemed Bible teacher. Born in Broad Oak, Iscoid, Wales, on October 18, 1662, Henry became a Christian at the age of 10. He studied law and was ordained in 1687, serving as a pastor in Chester, England, from that year until 1712. The Presbyterian minister regularly taught from the Old Testament in the mornings and New in the afternoons, demonstrating a deep spiritual capacity that stemmed from his knowledge of the Bible’s original languages. This teaching formed the basis of what became his six-volume commentary on the whole Bible, which he began writing in 1704. Henry completed Genesis through Acts over the following 10 years.

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Guest Post
October 31, 2022

How I Escaped the World of Trafficking

For nearly six years, Rebecca Bender was sold across the underground world of sex trafficking in Las Vegas. This is how she escaped.By Rebecca Bender

Editor’s Note: For nearly six years, Rebecca Bender was sold across the underground world of sex trafficking in Las Vegas. She was branded, beaten, told when to sleep and what to wear, and traded between traffickers. This article shares the beginning of her restoration and deliverance from slavery and drug addition, adapted from her book In Pursuit of Love.

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.” — Matthew 21:31

I knew I needed professional help if I wanted to get my life together and my little girl back. Bryan my pimp was furious about the hospital incident due to my drug overdose and kept his distance, spending time with his other girls. Yet somehow he convinced me that it was my drug use that caused all the prostitution, and that he wanted me to go to rehab because he loved me. I called my mom and got a list of women’s rehabs in the Pacific Northwest that she’d compiled for me. Last on the list was Victory Outreach, a Christian women’s home.

“Those Christians don’t have a clue what real life on the streets is like,” I told her as she read the phone numbers to me. I hung up and began calling the numbers on the list.

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Zondervan Academic
October 27, 2022

Stan Gundry’s Tribute to the Late Gordon D. Fee

I first became acquainted with Gordon when we were both still young men—about 50 years ago. The man I came to know was one to be admired, respected, and emulated:

  • A devout Christian whose faith inspired those who knew him.
  • A New Testament scholar of the first rank whose scholarship was admired and appreciated by both liberals and conservatives. 
  • A Bible translator committed to communicating the Bible’s message to ordinary people accurately and accessibly.
  • An author who wrote scholarly tomes for the academy but who had the ability to write books for beginning Bible students.
  • A believer who was loyal to the Pentecostal tradition in which he was raised but was also able and willing to subject that tradition to biblical correctives.
  • A man of integrity who held others to the same standard.
  • A family man who was obviously devoted to his wife and children.
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Chris Fann
October 25, 2022

Scripture Engagement is Different than Bible Study – An Interview with Phil Collins

Has anyone ever taught you how to read the Bible so that you grow spiritually? Do you know how to come to the Scriptures in a manner that promotes a thriving, living relationship with Christ? For many, the guidance ends with someone telling you to “read your Bible and pray every day.” Too many people have come to the Bible with an inadequate approach, flounder around, get distracted and then stop coming to the Bible; thinking that something was wrong with the Bible or with themselves.

In The Abide Bible Course, a professor and a pastor – Dr. Phil Collins and Randy Frazee – walk through five transformative Christian practices for reading the Bible. In this Q&A, Bible Gateway interviewed Dr. Phil Collins about the 6-session video Bible study, The Abide Bible Course, (HarperChristian Resources, 2022).

What is The Abide Bible Course?

It’s a six-session small group video curriculum designed as a very practical training tool to help people learn how to engage Scripture – how to read it in a way that’s vibrant and life changing. Each session has a set of opening questions for discussion, a 20-minute or so video, notes for the video teaching, directions for activities and discussion questions.  One of the great things about the sessions is that each one has a series of personal studies for individuals to practice between sessions.  Our friend, pastor, and author J.R. Briggs, did an amazing job developing the written materials.

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Guest Post
October 24, 2022

Jesus: The Word Made Flesh

Andrew Klavan expounds upon Jesus’ life as it expresses the Logos, the Word that speaks the world into being, the Word that is with God and that is God.By Andrew Klavan

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. —John 1:1-4, 14

A work of art speaks a truth we can’t speak outright: the truth of the human experience. Love, joy, grief, guilt, beauty—no words can communicate these. We can only represent them in stories and pictures and songs. Art is the way we speak the meaning of our lives.

Throughout the play Hamlet, the prince seeks the answer to Pontius Pilate’s question: What is truth? How can we tell the difference between our prejudices, our assumptions, our feelings, and the reality around us?

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Zondervan Bibles
October 20, 2022

A Conversation with OneHope About the New NIV Telos Bible

The NIV Telos Bible

Bible Gateway interviewed Erika Andujar, Director of Publishing for Bible Media Group/OneHope. She shared the inspiration behind The NIV Telos Bible, now available from Zondervan.

What inspired OneHope to create The NIV Telos Bible?

Erika Andujar: For more than 10 years, OneHope has been researching and building a community of youth pastors, next generation ministry leaders, and theologians to address the condition and challenges spiritually facing North America. We live in a post-truth age when the claims and teachings of the Word have been deconstructed, relativized, and challenged in ways that it never has been before. We created The Telos Bible to help students search the scriptures to find the life-giving truths they so desperately need.

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Guest Post
October 17, 2022

The Profound Importance of Habits

Justin Whitmel Earley. Habits are fascinating little things. They are the things we do over and over, semiconsciously to unconsciously. But their impact is profound.By Justin Whitmel Earley

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
—Ephesians 4:22-24

“You’re going to love school today,” I tell Whit as I zip up his coat. “You have PE, which means you get to go outside,” I go on as I tie his shoes. “And if you see your brother Ash in the hallway, make sure you give him a fist bump,” I remind him as I buckle his seat belt, “because brothers stick together, okay?”

This is a remarkable moment, and totally normal. You do it too. We do complicated, difficult tasks on autopilot. We flip pancakes and change diapers while also doing much more important things like chatting with a spouse or mulling over a work problem. We can do this because of the amazing phenomenon of habit.

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    The Bible Gateway Blog features the latest news, announcements, and reflections from Bible Gateway. We hope what you find here will add to your understanding of and appreciation for the Bible.