The Godless Americans PAC should be able to support whatever candidate it chooses, but why is Kay Hagan hiding from this. If she was willing to take their money she should be able to boldly say she is in cohoots with this group. North Carolina elections are getting heated up!
Archive for October, 2008
As a minister I won quite a few bibles but there are only a small group of them that stay on my desk daily. One of these is the Thompson Chain Reference Study Bible.
I personally use this one specifically for writing sermons and my continuing college education. In this post I want to break down the pros and cons to possibly using this Bible as your sole study bible.
THE NEGATIVES
Lack of Application Notes
Personally I enjoy the fact that my reading, research, and study is not interrupted with huge boxes of life application notes, but only because I use this bible solely for in-depth study. When I am reading my daily scripture plan, daily devotionals, and looking for personal insight, I use the Reformation Study Bible which I write about in an earlier post here. I put this in the negative column in light of making the Thompson Chain your sole study bible otherwise if you are fine with owning two or more study bibles then this may not be that negative to you.
Lack of Versions Supported
For actual study and sermon prep I will use KJV, NKJV, and ESV. Unfortunately the Thompson Chain does not come in ESV at this point in time, and is limited to these versions:
- KJV
- NKJV
- NAS
- NIV
Small Margins
If you are looking for a Bible that you can take to church, conferences, retreats, and lectures and able to take serious notes in the margins… learn to write VERY small. Unfortunately, with the massive amount of side margin references and cross-references you lost the space to be able to write in the margins. So how is your shorthand?
THE POSITIVES
Information Overload
I put this in the positive cloumn becuase as a pastor I love to have information at my fingertips, and the Thompson Chain Reference gives you exactly that. If you like me are one of those who like to have knowledge at your fingertips, yet not be forced to muddle through it until necessary than this is the Bible for you.
As you can see from the picture on the right, the scriptures loaded with numerical reference indexing is on the left and all the study helps are on the right.
Massive Amounts of Study Help
As you read the scriptures, on your left or right are some numerical indexing notes. These are the "Thompson Chain References" and are a tool that I use almost daily.
Once you locate the index number in the outer you can then flip to the index in the back and get some explanation and massive topical indexing of scriptures having to do with the topic.
Also there are tons of character studies, book studies, calendars and timlines, prophecy outlines, maps, and so much more.
Red Letter
The words of Jesus are in red letter and that helps when you are reading and have little margins and massive amounts of reference indexing on the outside of the scriptures.
Durable
I personally own a black leather version and it has been a durable and reliable companion
