Joel Beeke and Paul Smalley have just released the fourth and final volume of their mammoth Reformed Systematic Theology—”a comprehensive yet accessible systematic theology of the Reformed Christian faith that ministers to the whole person―head, heart, and hands.” Westminster Books is offering the whole set at a 50% discount—literally half of Amazon’s price.
Logos is having a Blue Friday sale that begins at noon EST. It includes flash sales, doorbusters, and so on. Check the link at noon!
I added some Kindle deals yesterday that included Paul Tripp’s Suffering: Gospel Hope When Life Doesn’t Make Sense. I’ll check again this morning!

“If I may say this bluntly: too often, those willing to venture to far-off, difficult lands do not want to ‘settle’ for supporting roles. Their decision to go to a ‘dangerous’ location hasn’t been made lightly, so they want their work to count. After all, they’re willing to suffer for the name of Christ! This is commendable. But it’s also commendable to go to such a place and hold up the hands of those serving on the front-lines, even when their hands are shaking and knees are knocking.”

Joe Carter covers the concerning outcome of a case in Italy (of a church I know and appreciate a great deal). He insists that the church in the U.S. needs to learn from it. In short, “the Italian Supreme Court’s harassment of an evangelical church serves as a stark reminder that the ongoing threats to religious liberty often come from those who identify as Christians.”

Kyle Grant: “Responsible people are busy. People with families are busy. Families who are involved in church and the lives of others are busy. But just how busy should we be? If you haven’t wrestled with this question, you should. I hope here to provide some healthy conditioning as we all wrestle with this question.”

Susan Tyner recently sat with her father as he passed away and offers a moving reflection on it. “As I think back on that bedside death scene, I realize how much it was not a death, but a birth. A backwards birth into heaven.”

We speak a lot about the presence and dangers of idolatry, but perhaps don’t always consider the degree to which we worship ourselves. Le Ann Trees writes about five of them here.

Simonetta Carr tells of a Puritan woman who went through a kind of “deconstruction” process with her faith. She also tells how that woman emerged with her faith not ruined, but intact and strengthened.

Even though their homes are tiny and unadorned, and even though they wear no crowns and own no robes, they are most truly princes and princesses who simply await their full inheritance.

As we sow we reap. Let us expect our children to know the Lord. Let us from the beginning mingle the name of Jesus with their ABC.
—Charles Spurgeon

I once sat at George Müller’s desk and read James 1:27 from his Bible. I once visited a library that contained artifacts from William Carey’s life and leafed through a Bible that he had owned and studied. I have pondered the color-coded notes in Amy Carmichael’s Bible and have paged through a first-edition King James. Closer to home, my father’s Bible was placed at the front and center of the church during his funeral and I had a special wooden case constructed to hold my son’s Bible after he went to be with the Lord.

All of this is to say that I believe in the Bible—I believe in the Bible as the Word of God, the divine scriptures, but also as a special object or artifact that will often outlast the one who owned it, who read it, who treasured it. It is for this reason that I affirm the importance of “heirloom Bibles”—Bibles that are meant to take a place of prominence in the life of an individual or family and that are constructed in such a way that they are likely to last through the rigors of long use. These are the kind of Bibles that can truly be an heirloom—an artifact to be left behind to future generations as a symbol and reminder of the owner’s faith in God and trust in his Word.
The ESV has recently released refreshed editions of three heirloom Bibles: the Omega Edition, the Legacy Edition, and the Heritage Edition. Each of them shares a number of traits: They have black, goatskin covers with gold print and four ribs on the spines. They are soft and supple and generally able to lie flat when open, even when turned to Genesis or Revelation. They are all printed and bound by Royal Jongbloed, feature high-quality paper, have four ribbon markers, and come wrapped in velvet in a handsome two-piece box. They all have the traditional presentation page, along with pages to record births, marriages, and deaths. They are all exquisite in every way and all come with a lifetime guarantee on the print and binding.
They also have some differences.
ESV Heirloom Bible, Legacy Edition is 6” x 9” in size and is modeled after the Renaissance ideal of a perfect page, which means it has a single column of text and wide margins. The font is 9-point, has 1,680 pages, and is 47.43 ounces in weight. Footnotes are in small print at the bottom while headings are in italicized print in the margins. There are no cross references, though it does feature a concordance and selection of full-color maps at the back.

ESV Heirloom Bible, Heritage Edition is quite a bit smaller at 5.5” x 8.25”, though also quite a bit thicker with a page count of 2,056 and a font that is slightly bigger at 9.25 points. It weighs 47 ounces. It has a single column of text and wide margins, though the headings are inline and bolded rather than to the side. It has no concordance, though it does have the maps.

ESV Heirloom Bible, Omega Edition is the biggest of the three at 6.125” x 9.125”. It also has the biggest font at 10.5-point, is laid out in two columns, and has a page count of 1,248. It is the only one of the three to feature cross references, which are set at the bottom of the right-most column of each page. It has both a concordance and a collection of maps. It weighs in at 39.6 ounces.

Thus, while all three are similar in being beautifully made, all three have their own collection of special attributes related to dimensions, font size, layout, and features. If I had to pick just one, I would probably favor the Legacy Edition, but that is merely a matter of preference, and it would truly be impossible to go wrong with any of them. These are special Bibles meant to serve a special purpose and they will serve it well. They are precious, durable, and just the kind of Bible that can be read over a lifetime of personal and family devotions, then left behind as a precious heirloom. In fact, I will be making sure that my daughter and her fiancé are given one at their forthcoming wedding so they can begin that legacy even as they begin their life together.
To purchase these Bibles, try: Legacy Edition (Amazon, Westminster Books); Heritage Edition (Amazon, Westminster Books); Omega Edition (Amazon, Westminster Books). They are also all available directly from Crossway.
(Note: beginning in December, 2021, all three editions will also be available in Horween Leather—a deep brown high-quality cowhide that is meant to develop character over time and with use.)
Here, to show the difference in dimensions, is a snap of all three side by side: Legacy, Heritage, Omega.

This week’s Free Stuff Fridays is sponsored by The Master’s Academy International (TMAI). They are giving away the 42-volume Essential MacArthur Library set.
The Master’s Academy International (TMAI) is a worldwide network of pastoral training centers that equip indigenous church leaders to preach the word and shepherd their people. They have 19 Training Centers around the world, with dozens currently in development, as they are now under the most significant demand for student enrollment in their history. For example, in places like Ukraine—while many seek to flee to safety—the TMAI training center saw the largest incoming class in its history this academic year. These men are not only serving their families, comforting hurting communities, and shepherding their churches in times of war, but many are risking their lives each and every day for the sake of proclaiming the name of Jesus Christ.
The central focus of TMAI is training indigenous men in how to study, preach, and live out the word of God. TMAI recognizes that the most effective missions strategy is not primarily for Western missionaries to go and preach in every nation—rather, to train indigenous men to effectively serve and minister in Japan, Myanmar, Croatia, Ukraine, Argentina, Malawi, and many other places. This is why funding student scholarships is necessary for missions and a strategic effort for TMAI. To provide maximum opportunity for impact, TMAI aims to raise $1.9 million by December 31st to help fund indigenous student scholarships. As you fill out the form below, consider making a year-end gift to help these efforts.
Giveaway: The Essential MacArthur Library
The Master’s Academy International (TMAI) is giving away a 42-volume Essential MacArthur Library. This set includes key resources designed to help believers better understand the Bible, the most important resource for anyone. The Essential MacArthur Library remains one of the top translation projects for TMAI as they seek to resource the global church with God-honoring books. To learn more about TMAI’s indigenous publishing efforts, go here.
The Essential MacArthur Library includes:

The MacArthur New Testament Commentary series (33 vols.)
The MacArthur Study Bible
The MacArthur Bible Commentary
Biblical Doctrine
Essential Christian Doctrine
The Master’s Plan for the Church
The MacArthur Pastoral Library—4 vols. (Preaching Pastoral Ministry · Counseling · Evangelism)

To win the Essential MacArthur Library (in English), please enter below. One winner will be selected.
TO ENTER:
Giveaway Rules: Entries are limited to 1 per person. U.S. Addresses only. By submitting your information, you agree to receive regular updates about the ministry of The Master’s Academy International. The winner will be notified by email. The giveaway closes at midnight on Friday, January 5th, 2023. Enter your information into the form below or HERE.