Book Review: The Growing in Faith Bible from CPH
By Laura Vandercook
Recently, we got my daughter The Growing in Faith Bible from CPH. It is a full-text ESV edition of Scripture with artwork and several resources. When we first got it, I was surprised by how thick and heavy it is. Like I said, it has several resources, so it is heavier and a little thicker than the Faith Alive Bible from CPH. The pages are the typical thin pages that you expect to find in a Bible.
I love the pictures in it. They are full color. They are not a different textured page though, the same thin pages as all the rest of the book. They are wonderfully done, not cartoonish, but realistic pictures. You can tell they are hand-drawn; they don’t look like photographs, but they are realistic.
In the text, you will find blocks of text in different colors. For example, red text boxes are for definitions. You will find a red box on page 1347 to define the word “gospel” that is in Matthew 4:23. It doesn’t just say that “gospel” means “good news,” but it goes on to tell the reader that the good news is that Jesus dies for our sins in a short paragraph.
These red boxes are found throughout the text anytime there is a word that they wanted to highlight the definition. You will also find text boxes in purple that have a prayer to pray, much like the prayers you find in the notes in the ESV Study Bible from CPH.
In the Old Testament, you’ll find gray and blue boxes that are called Christ Connections, these boxes help us to see the connections between the Old and New Testaments and how Christ fulfills the Old Testament. You’ll find on on page 496 in 2 Samuel discussing David being betrayed by Ahithophel, just as Jesus was betrayed by Judas.
You will also find blue boxes that are titled “Big Questions and Answers.” There is one on page 354, referring to Joshua 10:13 that discusses the sun standing still in the sky.
There are also Character Sketches, which are boxes that tell you information about a particular person in the Bible, who they are, where they were born, and any highlights of their lives.
My daughter and I are enjoying all the text boxes. It is nice that they are right there on the same page you are reading the text, but they aren’t disruptive or distracting to the text.
Some pages in the Bible are called Parent Connections, these are to encourage parents in their vocation as parent. I read the one on page 476 discussing King David as a parent and encouraging parents to teach their children the faith. It encourages helping your child during the worship service as well.
There are a few pages that re-tell a Bible story, much like a story Bible would. They are in the book that that particular story is in, but it tells it all in one page instead of several pages or chapters, just like a story Bible. We haven’t really used these yet, but I can see that they would be nice for a child who is reading on his own.
In the back of the Bible, there are also several resources, including a section with prayers for others and for yourself (when I’m sick, for parents, etc.). There is also a Bible Narratives Reading Plan, a One-Year Reading Plan (with boxes you can check off when you read it), Character Sketches Index, Christ Connections Index, Big Questions and Answers Index, a Glossary, a Table of Weights, Measures, and Monetary Units, and Maps.
One of the really helpful things in the back though is Luther’s Small Catechism. My daughter has her own copy, so I don’t think that she will use it much at home since she is familiar with her copy, but if she takes it with her to church or somewhere, it is nice that she has the catechism right there with her Bible!
All in all, I would recommend The Growing in Faith Bible to families who are looking for a great Bible for their children who can read. This Bible will be a wonderful bridge between The Story Bible and their own Lutheran Study Bible. Also, I think that it would be a good one for each child in your home due to the wear it will get in the many years that they will be using it.
*Laura Vandercook is a homeschooling mom in Arkansas. Her family enjoys hiking together, reading, and eating homemade cookies.
(Back to Mary now)
DID YOU CATCH THE ONE-YEAR READING PLAN?!?!?!?! AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for the guest post, Laura! I sure appreciate it and value your thoughts & estimations!
