Customer Reviews

NIV Stewardship Study Bible: Discover God's Design for Life, the Environment, Finances, Generosity, and Eternity

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a NIV Study Bible, with a 70-page concordance, maps, 30-day and one-year reading schedules, etc., as your might expect in a study Bible. However, what sets this Bible apart from others is its focus on seven key purposes of Scriptural stewardship, which are addressed with stewardship-specific introductions to each book of the Bible, frequent "Exploring Stewardship" discussions, interesting profiles, and numerous "Stewardship Challenges."

The seven purposes of stewardship that are addressed include: (1) Unique Calling--a prompting toward fulfilling our unique role in the Body of Christ; (2) Unquestionable Character--a prompting toward who we are called to be as individuals; (3) Unquenchable Compassion--a prompting toward placing others' needs before our own; (4) Undying Commitment--a prompting toward obedience to God regardless of the cost; (5) Unending Celebration--a constant expression of worship as God's stewards fulfill their calling; (6) Unparalleled Commission--a recognition of the privilege to share in the fulfillment of God's mission; and (7) Unwavering Conformity--a prompting toward conforming to God's will and desires.

As you can see, the emphasis on stewardship goes beyond church giving, money management, social and philanthropic responsibilities, and even our responsibilities to the poor and neglected. Simply put, the emphasis here is on giving the reader a broad, holistic vision of Biblical stewardship. In addition to the Scriptural text, this Bible draws on the works of a broad range of over 300 scholars representing 2,000 years of thought. It represents a major effort, and I think it succeeds in helping focus the reader's thoughts on the theme of Scriptural stewardship.

What I love so much about the Stewardship Study Bible is that it clearly uncovers what God's word has to say about being wise stewards of EVERY aspect of life. Typically, when the word "stewardship" is mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind for most people is the financial aspect of stewardship, including giving and tithing. This Bible clearly unpacks every aspect of Stewardship, including our time, talents, relationships and the environment in a deep and meaningful way, well beyond the dollars and cents. I highly recommend it to anyone, great job!

I don't need to really reiterate what others have said about this great new resource from Zondervan, except to say it's the most thorough Bible I've ever read when it comes to the concept of complete Christian stewardship.

Full of quotes from Luther, Spurgeon, Clement of Alexandria and present day writers and theologians as well.. a concordance with 2000 word entries.. and without a doubt, the best biblical index on money and possesions ever written. (almost 60 pages itself)

This is, quite simply, one of the best Bibles you could ever get your hands on.
As the subtitle suggests, it covers far more than just money issues. It's the most comprehensive Bible I've ever read that covers every conceivable aspect of stewardship for the Christian.

A great resource you'll be blessed by getting and studying.

Outstanding resource for those who want to understand and practice biblical stewardship, generosity and financial management.

I appreciate the extensive quotes and references to stewardship experts over the last 200 years. These contributions help illuminate biblical passages and provide scriptural supoort for personal application. Standing on the shoulders of stewardship scholars helps us unravel today's thorny issues dealing with the best uses of money.

The authors provide a very helpful new framework of understanding the purposes of stewardship:
1) Unique CALLING- prompting us toward fulfilling our unique role in the body of Christ.
2) Unquestionable CHARACTER- prompting us toward individual spiritual growth
3) Unquenchable COMPASSION- prompting us to place the needs of others above our own
4) Undying COMMITMENT- prompting us to obey God regardless of the personal cost
5) Unending CELEBRATION- pursuing a constant expression of worship as I respond to God's commands
6) Unparalleled COMMISSION- recognizing the privilege of serving in God's harvest
7) Unwavering CONFORMITY- prompting us to conform to God's will

I am using this exhaustive tool in daily study to discover God's plan for stewardship - - rich insights so far!

My first "Study Bible" was a very helpful Ryrie Study Bible. I have had a couple other Study Bibles over the past twenty years. In my experience, Study Bibles as a genre are typically designed to help readers understand the text better, and to that end the commentator notes are made on specific verses. That is what I expected of this Bible.

Instead, I found this Bible edition is more of a devotional book. Let me start by saying that I read this entire Bible cover to cover (except for a few chapters in the middle. There are (I think) 365 full-page stewardship commentaries on specific aspects of stewardship (see other helpful comments for a broader explanation of the types of stewardship this edition focuses on), but no comments on any passages. (The devotionals do use a specific passage as a topic point, which is why they are placed where they are.) All but the shortest books (the one-chapter books) have these devotionals.

As other comments have noted, this Stewardship Study Bible focuses on stewardship broadly, not just "financial stewardship" which is the most common perception of stewardship. As I was looking at this Bible originally, I was hoping for commentary on specific passages (since there are more than 2,000 verses on stewardship), and in that regard I was disappointed.

Since I already have multiple Bibles at home (like most people who own a Bible), I really did not need another whole Bible. And since this Bible contained no verse commentary but just full-page devotionals, I could not help but think it would have been better to just print a Stewardship Daily Devotional. I think this because having the devotionals strewn out throughout the Bible actually makes it harder to follow. In fact, I think a person interested in stewardship would get MORE out of a devotional because it would be easier to read one page a day for a year. With this Bible, the reader must do a lot of extra work.

I read this entire Bible start to finish (except for a couple of books in the middle), and read at least 300 of the devotionals. I found the content very well written, and believe they would be exceptionally helpful for someone who wants to explore stewardship more.

So this is a mixed review--which is why I gave it 3 stars. The Bible is excellent in terms of production. The print is easy to read, the full-page stewardship devotionals are very well written, the in-text quotes from various people are brief and thoughtful. Particularly helpful--maybe worth the entire cost of the book--is the Crown financial stewardship notes at the back of the book listing hundreds of verses that are used in the Crown Small Group Study. But as a "Study Bible" it is probably not one I intend to keep in my library.

This Bible is not like any commentary I have ever read. Actually, it's not a commentary at all, but just the Word of God with selected comments and articles on stewardship from spiritual leaders across the ages. It's kind of like a continuous sermon on stewardship as you read through the Bible. When we think of Biblical Stewardship we usually think of church fundraisers, and money management. It is that, but also a great deal more. This Bible addresses the whole range of stewardship in all areas of life.

The only problem I have with it is that I have arthritis in my fingers, and it is a bit heavy and painful for me to hold up. It's o.k. if I sit up straight and put something under it to lift it to where I can read it. It is worth the effort!

I am really impressed with this kind of study Bible. I have the kindle and it took a little while to figure out how to navigate it all but it was like opening up little treasure boxes when I opened up each section. This is really important to me on learning to apply God's word, stewardship is like the doer part of the Bible, to oversee and take care of what we have. We have the people who hear but we need to also be doers of the Word. I am thankful to have the variety of Study Bibles that are offered. I also own a Study Bible that helps with the meanings of words within a sentence and explaining what is going on. Love them all but all for different reasons. Not all study Bibles are the same, I was not aware of differences when I first started buying Bibles. Now that I do I can purchase exactly what I need at the time I need it.

This Bible was a great idea. The wealth gap has been steadily increasing in the US (and most other countries as well) since the 1980s. High wage-earners (and I'm one of them) typically view their resources as stuff they got through their own talent and hard work. This Bible reminds us on almost every page that everything we have is God's, and we are mere stewards. Nowhere do the commentaries in this Bible recommend radical redistribution of wealth; it rather advocates that Christians adopt a stewardship approach to their finances.

The brief essays and character sketches are done by some of the most prominent and profound writers on Christian stewardship. They are what makes this Bible so life-changing.

One nitpicky note regarding the Kindle version: navigating to specific places in this Bible is a little cumbersome, with numerous menus and clicks to get to where you want to go. The essays and character sketches aren't listed in the Table of Contents, so you have to search specific terms if you can't remember where you originally saw it.

This Bible has surpassed my expectations. The accompanying commantaries and study questions are suppurb. The reading plans and resources are very helpful.

I bought this for my husband for Christmas. It came late, but that was ok. My husband is an elder at our church and his ministry is helping people with their finances. I saw this Bible and knew it would be great for him. He has started using it in his daily devotional and has told me that he really likes it. It has helped him. It not only deals with finances but how to be a steward in all areas of your life, relationship, money, time, etc.