Customer Reviews

Maranatha! The NIV Worship Bible

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I doubt if there is a better Bible out there for purely devotional reading than this one. I originally purchased it thinking I would use it as a resource in my worship leading at church, but I found that it is even better used for my own personal quiet times. My tendency is often to read the Bible in a theological frame of mind. This edition of the Bible is invaluable for bringing me closer to the Author of all scripture, the Creator of the universe. The prayers in the margins can be used in personal devotional times, but are also appropriate for public worship as well. There are also quotes from great Christian writers throughout the ages, and excerpts from hymns and praise songs to complete the worship experience. This Bible is almost perfect.

Almost. I had to dock it one star because I believe the editors dropped the ball when it came to the book of Psalms. Psalms has no quotations or accompanying prayers, just some lined margins for the reader to jot down his or her own prayers. The editors had a perfectly logical rationale for this, after all, the Psalms are basically prayers and hymns anyway, so how could anyone add to them? I still think some accompanying quotes or some other input would have been helpful here. After all, some of the Psalms (the "imprecatory" Psalms) may be problematic for some Christians today, because of the vengeance and even hatred toward enemies interspersed among the high praises and hallelujahs. The honest wrestling with God expressed in many of the Psalms could be helped by some illumination, but maybe I'm getting back to my "theological" frame of mind here when I offer these criticisms. These minor reservations do not prevent me from giving this Bible my highest recommendation for anyone wanting a great devotional tool.

I try to read through the Bible once each year, using a different Bible each time. Last year I wanted a Bible that would inspire me to praise God, instead of a heavy-duty study Bible. This Bible fit the bill perfectly. My favorite things about this Bible are the quotes from classic and contemporary Christian authors and the lyrics to hymns and praise songs. It helped me understand more how every book of the Bible, even difficult ones like Leviticus, should inspire us to praise our awesome God. I highly recommend this Bible to anyone who longs to know God better or who wants to learn new ways to praise Him.

the condition wasn't a little more "used" than I expected......but it's out of print so I was glad to get a copy

I am reading through the Bible again and this time I am using my beloved NIV Maranatha Bible which includes prayers, quotations and some times song lyrics. I believe it is no longer in print, which is a shame, because its blessing upon my heart, mind and soul is truly incalculable.

I have many many Bibles and each have brought to me something special from their own various features but if the house were on fire and I could only save one Bible it would, without hesitation, be the NIV Maranatha Worship Bible. I have had it for years and yet it continues to draw me, heart, spirit and soul into a deeper relationship with God. I have highlighted and marked it up in a manner worthy of the Author and Perfecter of my faith. The quotes, prayers, & songs do not compete with the Scripture but so compliment my study and worship it is as if we have merely joined spiritual hands and traveled the path of discovery, conviction, repentance, renewal, rejoicing and praise together and all to the intended end of worshiping God in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

When I became aware that it would no longer be available from the publisher, I bought a number of them to give as gifts but my supply has long been exhausted so it is wonderful to have Amazon as a supply resource. From this Bible I have a collection of quotes and prayers that I carry with me because they so richly bless me and in this way I can have them ready to share with others as opportunity presents itself.

For me and so many others, this is the quint-essential BEST worship Bible of all. Start at the beginning and walk your way through each page... to the very end and your worship be truly blessed incalculably.

To the reviewer who was disappointed that the Psalms were left un-aided by quotes or prayers so that the reader could do their own... I was initially apprehensive about that challenge as well, however, even though I didn't do it for each Psalm - for those I did do, God stretched and 'grew' me through the intensity it took to look deeper into the Psalm and myself and the God that loves me. It was more than worth the price.

i saw this at a friend's and knew i had to have one. it's amazing. every introduction to specific books come from the perspective of how worship is highlighted and addressed. all the notes are worship-centered Scripture prayers. at the top of these prayers, it specifically tells you the chapter and verse/s the prayer refers to. at the bottom of these prayers is a list of the scriptures used to form these prayers. you can check it out and see that the prayer does indeed flow from the aforementioned Scriptures, and all of them combined can lead you into your own worship of the Lord Jesus. all of these Scripture prayers are printed in a lovely dark red.

there are also quotes, some of them are prayers, from the likes of st.teresa of avila, to martin luther, to watchman nee, to corrie ten boom, to charles swindoll, to joni eareckson-tada and many,many,many more.

it also has lyrics from maranatha! publishers { a contemporary Christian music publishing house} and each of these songs {as far as i've read anyhow} seem to come from the 1980s-2000-ish. these, along with some wonderfully old to recently old hymns that they also quote, are all worship oriented.

there is one drawback, and though it saddens me, it is in no way a reason not to get, and be blessed by this Bible. it is however the reason i would only give this 4 and 1/2 stars instead of 5 if given the option. the entire book of psalms has no notes {Scripture prayers},lyrics, or quotes, and specifically prayer quotes. instead they have lined portions of those pages for we readers to write our own prayers. the publishers stated their reason, but i have to disagree. i would have still wrote my own prayers there, that's what most people who read the Word do anyhow. but i feel like i lost out of some incredibly beautiful Scripture-prayers, quotes, and lyrics.




for some reason, this Bible is already out of print. i bought mine from elotsofstuff and received it in excellent condition, and well before the time allotted. elotsofstuff charged me a very reasonable price. be careful, because it is out of print, people could charge over-inflated prices. i heartily recommend this bible. if you love bibles and if you love worship,get one or two or three, so you can give them away or save one if yours gets too beat up--what a wonderful dilemma to have! :)

lover of Scripture

First off, I have to say I purchased this Bible to replace a VERY well worn Daily Walk Living Bible and this one looked good.

This Bible is a really good Bible in my opinion for personal prayer time & writing down your own personal prayers in the provided margins. The NIV Translation is also easy to understand for anyone.

The thing that I found distracting were all the side notes from various people written in all the margins along side the word of God. If you are someone who is not easily distracted, this probably wouldn't bother you, but I found myself reading all the side notes, quotes and song lyrics, instead of studying and reading the Bible. I ended up finding another copy of my out of print Living Bible on Ebay, so I passed this one on to a friend & she really enjoys it.