Reading the Bible in 2025
Jan 9, 2025
So you’ve been thinking about reading the Bible in 2025. Maybe you want to read the whole Bible, from beginning to end, for the very first time. Or maybe you desire to get more acquainted with the Old Testament this year.
Yet, these wonderful reading goals can feel like an overwhelming task. How can you get started? And how can you keep going when the reading gets tough?
I’d like to share with you a few tools that I find helpful. Two I’ve used almost everyday for many years. The other is a new one that I just discovered. Let’s start with the new one:
1.The ESV Daily Reading Bible
The ESV Daily Reading Bible was designed to encourage readers by helping them walk through the entire Bible at a manageable pace. One-year and two-year plans assign readings to weekdays, leaving the weekends free for further study, deeper reflection, or catching up on missed days. Each reading features brief introductions and notes.
I really like the short introductions and the single reflection question provided with each reading. The introduction helps you get started each day, and the question helps you to take a moment to reflect and meditate rather than moving on too quickly.
2.The ESV Study Bible
The ESV Study Bible was designed to help you understand the Bible in a deeper way. The ESV Study Bible features a wide array of study tools, including extensive study notes, 200 full-color maps, 40 full-color illustrations, charts, timelines, articles, and introductions, making it a valuable resource for serious readers, students, and teachers of God’s Word.
I use the ESV Study Bible almost everyday. While I would encourage you to read through, pray over, and reflect on the passage for yourself before jumping to Study Bibles and commentaries, the notes in the ESV Study Bible provide the historical and cultural context needed to make better sense of some passages. The ESV Study Bible is the first resource I recommend to most people who ask me, “I’d like some help better understanding my Bible reading. Do you know of any helpful resources?”
3. The ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible
The ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible is designed to help readers see Christ in all of Scripture, and grace for all of life. This content explains passage-by-passage how God’s redemptive purposes culminate in the gospel of Jesus and apply to the lives of believers today. Readers will be helped to see how the message of the gospel transforms sinners from the inside out.
I think the ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible is especially helpful when reading the Old Testament. It helps readers see how all of Scripture is actually about Jesus and fulfilled in him (Luke 24:25-27, 44-45; cf. Acts 8:35) — even in those passages where he is not named or directly referred to.
You can find the ESV Study Bible and the ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible in digital form, along with many other excellent resources on this website (esv.org) and this app. You may need to subscribe for a small fee, but you gain access to a world class mini-library of resources to aid with reading, understanding, and applying God’s Word. I use them nearly every day.
Lastly, consider joining our Men’s and Women’s Bible Studies and Adult Ed classes. Read the Bible on your own, but not only on your own! Let’s take up and read the Word of God together. For, by the Word of God, the Spirit of God awakens kingdom life in us when we do (cf. John 6:63).
— Rick Whitlock, Pastor of Mission & Formation
