When I initially made my pre-order 8 months ago, I ordered a standard genuine leather edition for myself and a larger genuine leather edition for my mother.  I thought I had fairly decent eyesight — no glasses and pretty sharp vision.  Fortunately, CPH phased the release of the different editions and sent out the standard hardback edition weeks before the leather editions.  My church library received a hardback edition and I eagerly opened it and found that even for my eyes the study notes and footnotes were kind of small and densely situated on the page — readable, but small.  The font size for the Bible text wasn’t bad.  Hmm.  What should I do?   At just about the same time, Pastor McCain had a blog post about the larger print edition he got for his son.  Maybe the larger print edition would work for me.  Next step:  Called CPH to change my order BEFORE the leather editions shipped AND added two ribbon sets and Gerhard’s A Comprehensive Explanation of Holy Baptism and Lord’s Supper for good measure.

Then it was just a matter of waiting for CPH to ship and FedEx to deliver.

My initial reaction:

This is a BIG Bible (and that is not necessarily bad – keep reading).  8 1/8″ wide x 10 3/8″ long x 2 1/2″ deep and about 5.3 pounds (according to the kitchen scale).   It’s larger than my college dictionary which I thought was big.  BUT, I like it (referring to the Bible, not the dictionary).  There’s something to be said for having an imposing Bible like this in your life.

In my anticipation I was also hoping that the paper used in the leather editions would be a bit thicker than the standard hardback.  The hardback copy I saw had very thin (tissue-like) paper that tended to wrinkle if not handled with care, but it seemed to be durable.  I am VERY pleased with the paper in the leather larger edition – a bit more substantive paper with minimal bleed through.  The thicker paper, though, comes at a cost — a thicker book.

The font size of the Bible text, cross references, and the study notes are comfortable on the eyes — not too big and not too small.  For me at least, the larger print was a welcome trade-off to the larger book size.

What I appreciate most (so far) about this Study Bible is how Christ permeates the entire Bible.  The study notes and book introductions help the reader see Christ and what He has done for us — even in passages where Christ might seem to be absent.  Granted, not every note does this, but note upon note helps build this foundation.

Following with a close second are the quotes from the Church Fathers, reformers, and the Lutheran Confessions sprinkled throughout the study notes.  I suppose you could call it “theological seasoning” — not overpowering, but nuggets selected with care.   It is edifying to read what those who have come before have written.  The Lutheran Study Bible will be instrumental in introducing more people to these historic writings and providing springboards for further study.

A request to CPH:  Please provide a PDF download of the prayers on the front and back covers of the hardback editions — they are missing from the leather editions.

CPH and the associated contributors have provided the Church a wonderful gift in the Lutheran Study Bible.  It’s definitely something to consider for your daily Bible study and prayer life (see the Law/Gospel notes!).  This is ESV++!

So what’s next?  I think I’m going to splurge and get a a custom leather Bible cover from Renaissance Art.  They have made me wonderful leather covers for the pocket Book of Concord and the personal edition of Lutheran Service Book.

Thanks for reading The Lutheran Study Bible: ESV++.

One thing I found very striking in the videos was how people from non-Lutheran backgrounds were drawn to a traditional and liturgical church and their understanding of Lutheran worship.  Pastor Beecroft acknowledges that the church has its own language, is formed by it, and wrestles to understand it.  We constantly hear that the church growth paradigm says this traditional approach should be a “turn off” for “seekers”.  While the people interviewed expressed their initial culture shock, after a time of learning and understanding they had a deeper  appreciation for the traditions and confessional Lutheran faith.  These people seem to have a better grasp on Lutheran worship than many who have been Lutherans all their life.  Catechesis at work!

Thanks for reading A Liturgical and Outreach Oriented Church? Yes!.

This evening I was reading the article entitled “Why Do I Declare Myself for the Lutheran Church?” by Lohe himself.  He enumerates a number of reasons of why he holds fast to the Lutheran Church.  The following excerpt caught my eye.

I declare myself for the Lutheran Church for the sake of the treasure.  The Lutheran Church lacks many things I would like to see in it, but it has something that lets it be the true church despite all shortcomings, and for the sake of which I find it easy and beautiful to be faithful to it in its outward misery.  Do you know what I am talking about?  I am talking about its utterly pure confession and its pure doctrine in conformity with its confession.  Who has ever proved that its confession is in error in any doctrinal article?  When speaking of its confession, I am not only talking about the Augsburg Confession, but about the entire Book of Concord from the Augsburg Confession all the way to the Formula of Concord.  You do not know these writings, dear reader, otherwise you would agree with me.  Get to know them and you will agree.  What is more beautiful, lovely, powerful, and lively than Luther’s catechisms?  What is more catholic than the Augsburg Confession and its Apology?  What is more thoughtful and bold than the Smalcald Articles?  And what is slandered more wrongfully than the beautiful Formula of Concord in its clean but mild definition of all teachings?  Dear reader, I repeat, you do not know your Church’s confessions of faith.  Get to know them in order to know why you adhere to your church.

One of Lohe’s strengths was his confessional committment which influenced the LCMS from its founding.  It seems he was quite passionate about the Lutheran Confessions and would encourage us as well to be familiar with what our Lutheran church “officially” believes, teaches, and confesses.

A few years ago Concordia Publishing House published a wonderful and accessible edition of the Book of Concord called “Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions-A Readers Edition of the Book of Concord – 2nd edition.” If you don’t have it, I would encourage you to consider getting it; and if you do have it, consider reading it.

Thanks for reading The Treasure of the Lutheran Church (according to Lohe).