24/7 faith

EVERYDAY FAITH BIBLE
LICC (London Institute of Contemporary Christianity) and The Bible Society. 1,574 pages. £28.99
ISBN 978 0 564 015 924

LICC are to be congratulated for producing an eye-catching Bible that helps to promote its emphasis on equipping Christians with the skills needed to apply the Bible to our day-to-day lives.

Anyone who has read a Mark Greene book or been to a LICC event will be aware of the idea that churches are often on mute when it comes to speaking about issues that arise in our Monday to Saturday lives. Too often the heroes in sermons are pastors or missionaries rather than people who are at work in the marketplace, office or factory.

The Everyday Faith Bible starts with brief general essays that introduce the philosophy of reading the Bible with a view to thinking about what it has to say about ordinary life.

Head, heart and hand

Throughout the volume there are eight genre introductions and 18 features from: The Creator of the Universe to The Future God has Planned. Throughout the Biblical text there are notes in the margins. They are: Head notes, Everyday Expert quotes, Heart notes, Real Life stories, and Hand notes. The idea of reading with head, heart and hand is helpful, as it shows the reader how to understand the task in the context of everyday, how to connect emotionally with it, and how to act in response to it. These notes are included in the wide margins, which also provide some room for making personal additions.

I will keep this on hand to dip into when I am preaching in the future. It is good to have the prompts next to the text that point to the way the Bible speaks today to our everyday lives. It is too easy to get out of the habit of thinking in practical terms when reading or preaching Scripture. Few congregations would complain that the sermons they hear are too practical!

The Biblical text chosen is the New Revised Standard Version, which might limit its usefulness for some, but that would be a pity because this is a uniquely valuable resource.