Why a Devotional Bible Specifically for Men?
The Vision Behind the ESV Men's Devotional Bible
The author of the epistle to the Hebrews reminds us that “it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace” (13:9). The ESV Men’s Devotional Bible is uniquely designed for men to achieve that very goal.
This resource does more than inform the mind. Its aim is to equip and encourage men who long to experience spiritual and moral transformation in the depths of their heart. More than 50 men who serve as pastors, professors, and Christian leaders have contributed 365 daily devotional studies and a wide array of articles on biblical themes of practical importance to the lives of men today.
Perhaps never before in the history of the church have men faced the intensity of temptation and relentless assault from the world, the flesh, and the Devil that we are witnessing in our day. The essence of biblical masculinity is being undermined as we are repeatedly told that a “real man” must be wealthy, influential, autonomous, self-made, sexually liberated, and self-reliant. The result is that marriages are being destroyed, families are in crisis, and countless men are increasingly losing their sense of identity in Jesus Christ. The ESV Men’s Devotional Bible speaks pointedly to men who long for lives of integrity, self-sacrifice, love, and passionate devotion to their families and, above all, to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Our goal is to strengthen and transform the hearts of men through the power of the Spirit-inspired Word of God. Based on the acclaimed English Standard Version of the Bible, the ESV Men’s Devotional Bible provides daily insights into Scripture that not only enlighten the mind but especially feed, nurture, and empower the hearts of men to enjoy all that God is for them in Jesus Christ. Each daily devotional study has been freshly created for this project, and each is tied to a particular biblical passage that speaks to the most pressing needs and concerns that men face today. The contributors are themselves men who understand the unique challenges we encounter in today’s world, and they have written with an eye to the application of Scripture to our most practical needs. Their insights are theologically rich, honest, vulnerable, penetrating, and always gospel-centered.
The devotionals included in the ESV Men’s Devotional Bible are not arranged topically or thematically, but rather are tethered closely to the text on which each is based. Every book of the Bible contains at least one devotional, connected with the passages that most clearly capture key themes of that book. If the 365 devotionals are read consecutively throughout the year, along with the passages on which they are based, beginning in Genesis and ending in Revelation, the reader will have gained by the end of the year an extensive overview of Scripture and the history of salvation.
The devotionals are therefore not explicitly tied to specific dates on the calendar. This is deliberate, and is meant to free the reader to use the devotionals in a variety of ways. Whether read sequentially, occasionally, or as a supplement to the study of a particular book, the devotionals are designed to enhance your study of God’s Word by reflecting deeply on the biblical text and its meaning for us today.
In addition to the daily devotional readings, we have provided brief introductions to each book of the Bible that will orient the reader to what God is saying to us through that particular portion of his Word. We have especially focused in these introductions on the way any given book of the Bible speaks to a man’s heart.
Finally, 14 special articles address issues of greatest interest to men and provide spiritually rich, biblically rooted, heart-strengthening guidance to enable the believer to more faithfully love his wife, his children, the church, and our Lord.
May the Lord’s grace strengthen and encourage you as you immerse yourself in his life-changing Word.
Sam Storms
General Editor
Article Contributors
THE MESSAGE OF THE BIBLE
Bryan Chapell
Pastor, Grace Presbyterian Church, Peoria, Illinois; President Emeritus, Covenant Theological Seminary
A MAN’S IDENTITY
David Powlison
Executive Director, Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation; Senior Editor, Journal of Biblical Counseling
COMMUNION WITH GOD
Kelly M. Kapic
Professor of Theological Studies, Covenant College
THE GOSPEL AND DAILY LIFE
Jared C. Wilson
Director of Content Strategy, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; Managing Editor, For The Church; author
A MAN’S INNER LIFE
Thabiti M. Anyabwile
Pastor, Anacostia River Church, Washington, DC
LIFE IN THE LOCAL CHURCH
Greg Gilbert
Senior Pastor, Third Avenue Baptist Church, Louisville, Kentucky
CALLING
Dave Harvey
Pastor of Preaching, Four Oaks Community Church, Tallahassee, Florida; Executive Director, Sojourn Network; Founder, AmICalled.com; author
A MAN’S WORK
Tom Nelson
Senior Pastor, Christ Community Church, Kansas City, Kansas
SINGLENESS
Drew Hunter
Teaching Pastor, Zionsville Fellowship, Zionsville, Indiana
MARRIAGE
Tim Savage
Senior Pastor, Camelback Bible Church, Paradise Valley, Arizona
FATHERING
Raymond C. Ortlund Jr.
Lead Pastor, Immanuel Church, Nashville
LEADERSHIP
Dave Kraft
author, life/leadership coach
PORNOGRAPHY
Ed T. Welch
Counselor, faculty member, Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation
DOUBT
C. Michael Patton
President and instructor, Credo House Ministries
Devotional Contributors
OLD TESTAMENT BOOK INTRODUCTIONS
Drew Hunter
Teaching Pastor, Zionsville Fellowship, Zionsville, Indiana
GENESIS
R. Kent Hughes
Senior Pastor Emeritus, College Church in Wheaton, Illinois; Visiting Professor of Practical Theology, Westminster Theological Seminary
EXODUS
Philip Ryken
President, Wheaton College
LEVITICUS
Jay Sklar
Professor of Old Testament, Covenant Theological Seminary
Aaron J. Goldstein
PhD student in Biblical studies, Concordia Seminary
NUMBERS
R. Fowler White
Senior Pastor, Valley Presbyterian Church, Lutherville, Maryland
DEUTERONOMY
Jason S. DeRouchie
Associate Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Theology, Bethlehem College and Seminary
JOSHUA
Sam Storms
Lead Pastor for Preaching and Vision, Bridgeway Church, Oklahoma City
JUDGES
Miles V. Van Pelt
Alan Belcher Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Languages; Director, Summer Institute for Biblical Languages; Academic Dean, Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson
RUTH
Paul E. Miller
Executive Director, seeJesus
1 AND 2 SAMUEL
Ryan Kelly
Pastor for Preaching, Desert Springs Church, Albuquerque, New Mexico
1 AND 2 KINGS
Graeme Goldsworthy
Former lecturer in Old Testament, Biblical Theology, and Hermeneutics, Moore Theological College, Sydney, Australia
1 AND 2 CHRONICLES
Gary Millar
Principal, Queensland Theological College, Brisbane, Australia
EZRA AND NEHEMIAH
Colin Smith
Senior Pastor, The Orchard Evangelical Free Church, Arlington Heights and Barrington, Illinois; Bible teacher, Unlocking the Bible
ESTHER
Alistair Begg
Senior Minister, Parkside Church, Cleveland, Ohio
JOB
Christopher Ash
pastor, author; former Director, Proclamation Trust’s Cornhill Training Course, proctrust.org.uk
PSALMS
Douglas Sean O’Donnell
author; Senior Lecturer in Biblical Studies and Practical Theology, Queensland Theological College, Brisbane, Australia
PROVERBS
Dave Kraft
author, life/leadership coach
ECCLESIASTES AND SONG OF SOLOMON
Zack Eswine
pastor, Riverside Church, Webster Groves, Missouri
ISAIAH
Dane C. Ortlund
Executive Vice President of Bible Publishing, Bible Publisher, Crossway
JEREMIAH AND LAMENTATIONS
Paul R. House
Professor of Divinity, Beeson Divinity School of Samford University
EZEKIEL
Greg Gilbert
Senior Pastor, Third Avenue Baptist Church, Louisville, Kentucky
DANIEL
Bryan Chapell
Pastor, Grace Presbyterian Church, Peoria, Illinois; President Emeritus, Covenant Theological Seminary
HOSEA AND JOEL
Stephen T. Um
Senior Pastor, Citylife Presbyterian Church, Boston
AMOS AND OBADIAH
Julius J. Kim
Dean of Students, Associate Professor of Practical Theology, Westminster Seminary California
JONAH
Sam Storms
Lead Pastor for Preaching and Vision, Bridgeway Church, Oklahoma City
MICAH, NAHUM, AND HABAKKUK
Joe Thorn
author, Lead Pastor, Redeemer Fellowship, St. Charles, Illinois
ZEPHANIAH, HAGGAI, ZECHARIAH, AND MALACHI
Michael Lumpkin
pastor, teacher, Fort Worth, Texas
NEW TESTAMENT BOOK INTRODUCTIONS
Erik Thoennes
Professor of Theology; Chair, Undergraduate Theology, Biola University/Talbot School of Theology; Pastor, Grace Evangelical Free Church, La Mirada, California
MATTHEW
Dan Doriani
Professor and Vice President, Covenant Theological Seminary
MARK
Scotty Ward Smith
Founding Pastor, Christ Community Church, Franklin, Tennessee; Teacher in Residence, West End Community Church, Nashville
LUKE
Jared C. Wilson
Director of Content Strategy, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; Managing Editor, For The Church; author
JOHN
Jon Bloom
President, Desiring God; author, Not by Sight and Things Not Seen
ACTS
Justin S. Holcomb
Canon for Vocations, Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida
Brian J. Tabb
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies, Bethlehem College and Seminary; Managing Editor, Themelios
Mike Bullmore
Senior Pastor, CrossWay Community Church, Bristol, Wisconsin
ROMANS
Robert L. Plummer
Chairman, New Testament Department; Professor of New Testament Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
1 CORINTHIANS
Kevin Cawley
Pastor, Redeemer Fellowship, Kansas City, Missouri
2 CORINTHIANS
Jason C. Meyer
Pastor for Preaching and Vision, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis
GALATIANS
Michael Reeves
President, Union, Wales Evangelical School of Theology; author, Delighting in the Trinity and Rejoicing in Christ
EPHESIANS
Erik Thoennes
Professor of Theology; Chair, Undergraduate Theology, Biola University/Talbot School of Theology; Pastor, Grace Evangelical Free Church, La Mirada, California
PHILIPPIANS
Andrew M. Davis
Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church, Durham, North Carolina
COLOSSIANS
Sam Crabtree
teacher, pastor; board chairman, Bethlehem College and Seminary
1 AND 2 THESSALONIANS
J. J. Seid
Pastor of Community and Discipleship, Bridgeway Church, Oklahoma City
1 AND 2 TIMOTHY
Todd Wilson
Senior Pastor, Calvary Memorial Church, Oak Park, Illinois
TITUS
John D. Hannah
Distinguished Professor of Historical Theology, Research Professor of Theological Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary
PHILEMON
Sam Crabtree
teacher, pastor; board chairman, Bethlehem College and Seminary
HEBREWS
Tom Nelson
Senior Pastor, Christ Community Church, Kansas City, Kansas
JAMES
Greg Gilbert
Senior Pastor, Third Avenue Baptist Church, Louisville, Kentucky
1 AND 2 PETER
Andrew David Naselli
Assistant Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology, Bethlehem College and Seminary
1, 2, AND 3 JOHN
Robert W. Yarbrough
Professor of New Testament, Covenant Theological Seminary
JUDE
Andrew David Naselli
Assistant Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology, Bethlehem College and Seminary
REVELATION
James M. Hamilton Jr.
Professor of Biblical Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Pastor, Kenwood Baptist Church, Louisville, Kentucky
This article is adapted from Sam Storms’s introduction to the ESV Men’s Devotional Bible.
