Hallelujah! He is Risen! Easter Sunday Slideshow from the Common English Bible + Bible Giveaway!!

The most important day of the year is here - Easter Sunday! Please join me in celebrating the resurrection of Jesus by enjoying these scripture verses from the Common English Bible, a wonderful new Bible translation!

The Common English Bible - Easter Sunday

As part of the Common English Bible Lenten tour, I am able to give away a paperback copy of this new translation every week! What a gift (to you and to me!); thanks, Common English Bible Committee! Simply leave a comment at this post telling me which scripture verse (from the slideshow) that you most enjoyed!


One winner will be chosen by the Random Number Generator on Sunday, April 15, 2012. The deadline to enter is 11:50 pm EST on Saturday, April 14, 2012. The best to ALL of you!

This Week's Common English Bible Winner is......

This week's winner of the Common English Bible, as chosen by the Random Number Generator, is....


Lynn Mosher!


Congratulations, Lynn! I have sent you an email.


Thanks to the Common English Bible Committee for making this giveaway a reality! Please come back every week to enter to win your own copy of this awesome new translation! And make sure to tell your friends! Thanks!

This Week's Winner of the Common English Bible is.....

The Random Number Generator has chosen the winner of this week's paperback copy of the Common English Bible. That blessed person is....


Emily!


Congrats, Emily; I just sent you an email. 


Thanks to those of you who entered to win! There is another opportunity to win this week, and in the weeks to come, so please try again!


Special thanks to the Common English Bible Committee for sponsoring the giveaway of this wonderful new translation! 

This week's winner of the Common English Bible is......

The Random Number Generator has done its thing and has chosen the winner of this week's paperback copy of the Common English Bible. That blessed person is.....


LaVerne!


Congratulations, LaVerne; I just sent you an email.


For those of you who would like to purchase this wonderful, user-friendly translation, you can do so here. 


Thanks to those of you who entered! I will be giving away one paperback copy per week, thanks to the Common English Bible Committee. So please come back often! 

Third Sunday of Advent Verse from the Common English Bible – Matthew 2:7-8 + Bible Giveaway!!

It’s Sunday, two weeks before Christmas, and here are today’s Advent Bible verses from the new Common English Bible translation as I participate in the “Thank You – Come Again – I Promise” blog tour.

Sunday – Matthew 2:7-8 (CEB)

v Then Herod secretly called for the Magi and found out from them when the star had first appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem, saying “Go and search carefully for the child. When you’ve found him, report to me so that I too may go and honor him.”

As an added bonus, here is Joel Green from Fuller Seminary, who was the Common English Bible New Testament Editor, explaining the meaning of the use of the phrase ‘The Human One,’ which is used in several places in the Gospels:

As part of this blog tour, I’ve been given the opportunity by the Common English Bible Committee to offer my readers a free copy of the softcover edition of the Common English Bible for each week of the blog tour (which runs through January 31, 2012)!

For this week, please leave a message at this blog post telling me the name of the Bible translation that you use on a regular basis. Please leave your email address also, so I can contact you to get your mailing address.

The deadline to enter for this week will be Saturday, December 17, 2011 at 11:59 pm ET. The winner will be chosen from all entries by the Random Number Generator on Sunday, December 18, 2011. Please limit one entry per person. All the best to you!

Winner of Second Week of Advent's Common English Bible!

The Random Number Generator has chosen the winner of this week's Common English Bible; that blessed person is....


Melinda!


Congrats, Melinda!


There will be more chances to win; please come back soon if you're not Melinda!


If you'd like to order your own DecoTone Black copy, you can do so here.


Many thanks to the Common English Bible Committee for providing this copy! 

An Introduction to the new Common English Bible + a Giveaway!

Imagine my surprise last weekend when the pastor at my church referenced passages from the Common English Bible in his message on the Book of Romans last weekend! I was extremely excited, as I am part of the “Thank You – Come Again – I Promise” Blog Tour for this brand new translation!

Here’s an introduction to the Common English Bible:

The Common English Bible is written in contemporary idiom at the same reading level as the newspaper USA TODAY—using language that’s comfortable and accessible for today’s English readers. It’s available—with and without the Apocrypha—in multiple editions and bindings. 

Known for being “built on common ground,” the CommonEnglish Bible is a collaboration of 120 academic scholars and editors, 77 reading group leaders, and more than 500 average readers from around the world who joined together to clearly translate the Bible’s original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek languages into 21st century English. More than half-a-million copies of the Bible are currently in print. It’s also available online and in 20 digital formats. 

“When we say ‘built on common ground,’ we mean that the Common English Bible is the result of collaboration between opposites: scholars working with average readers; conservatives working with liberals; teens working with retirees; men working with women; many denominations and many ethnicities coming together around the common goal of creating a vibrant and clear translation for 21st century readers, with the ultimate objective of mutually accomplishing God’s overall work in the world; in essence, helping Bible readers live on common ground,” says Franklyn. 

Combining scholarly accuracy with vivid language, the CommonEnglish Bible is the work of 120 biblical scholars from 24 denominations in American, African, Asian, European, and Latino communities, representing such academic institutions as Asbury Theological Seminary, Azusa Pacific University, Bethel Seminary, Denver Seminary, Princeton Theological Seminary, Seattle Pacific University, Wheaton College, Yale University, and many others. 

Additionally, more than 500 readers in 77 groups field-tested the translation. Every verse was read aloud in the reading groups, where potentially confusing passages were identified. The translators considered the groups' responses and, where necessary, reworked those passages to clarify in modern English their meaning from the original languages. In total, more than 700 people worked jointly to bring the Common English Bible to fruition; and because of the Internet and today’s technology it was completed in less than four years.

Visit CommonEnglishBible.com to see comparison translations, learn about the translators, get free downloads, and more. You can also follow their Twitter account at @CommonEngBible. 

The Common English Bible is sponsored by the Common English Bible Committee, an alliance of five publishers that serve the general market, as well as the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) (Chalice Press), Presbyterian Church (USA) (Westminster John Knox Press), Episcopal Church (Church Publishing, Inc.), United Church of Christ (The Pilgrim Press), and The United Methodist Church (Abingdon Press). 

----------------

As part of this blog tour, I am able to offer my readers a free copy of the softcover edition of the Common English Bible for each week of the blog tour (which runs through January 31, 2012)!

For this week, please let me know which verse in the Bible you are most interested in reading in the new Common English Bible version. Please leave your email address also, so I can contact you to get your mailing address.

The deadline to enter for this week will be Saturday, December 3, 2011 at 11:59 pm ET. The winner will be chosen from all entries by the Random Number Generator on Sunday, December 4, 2011. All the best to you!