BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (BP) — Dwayne Milioni, pastor of Open Door Church in Raleigh, N.C., has a passion for God’s Word and a drive to see others develop that same love for Scripture. That desire led him to partner with Holman Bibles to develop the “CSB Jesus Daily Bible.”
Milioni, who also serves as a professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) and co-founder of the church-planting Pillar Network, preached through the entirety of Scripture in 22 years at Open Door and one year on the Bible as a single story. Taking all he learned from that experience, he worked to develop the unique devotional Bible that walks readers through the entire Bible in one year and helps them see Scripture as one cohesive narrative.
“The word ‘Bible’ means book, so we should see the Bible as a single book,” Milioni said. “Yes, it’s composed of 66 books, but really it’s one story. Though there are 40 different human authors, there’s one divine Author, and He is telling the story of how God desired to have a covenant relationship with a people. But this kingdom needed someone to lead us — a king, a high priest, a covenant redeemer. So, the Bible is a story about Jesus from Genesis to Revelation.”
Andy McLean, Holman Bibles publisher, said Milioni’s experience was the ideal background for his work on the project.
“Because of the nature of this Bible, we wanted both a seasoned pastor and scholar, which Dwayne exhibits,” McLean said.
The “CSB Jesus Daily Bible” features a 52-week guided reading plan that shows Jesus throughout all Scripture. Each week’s reading is structured thematically in a five-day reading format with articles and infographics, as well as weekly introductions and summaries to help readers better understand Jesus’ central role. Unlike other daily Bibles, the daily reading arrangement is not date-specific, so readers can begin the plan at any point in the calendar year.
McLean said the concept of the Bible was inspired by Luke’s account of the disciples on the Emmaus road where “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he [Jesus] interpreted for them the things concerning himself in all the Scriptures” (Luke 24:27 CSB).
“With the ‘CSB Jesus Daily Bible,’ we want readers to have their own Emmaus road experience as they read through Scripture each day and see how Jesus is at the center of every book of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation,” McLean said. “We wanted to showcase to readers how all of Scripture is pointing to the person and work of Jesus so that they too, like the disciples walking along the Emmaus road, might say, ‘Weren’t our hearts burning within us while he was talking with us on the road and explaining the Scriptures to us?’” (Luke 24:32 CSB).
Milioni, McLean and the others who worked on the “CSB Jesus Daily Bible” believe it will serve individual readers aiming to understand Scripture better and churches that like to participate together.
“I hope to guide readers to find Jesus in Scripture,” Milioni said. “The Bible features a list of places in the week’s reading where readers might find Jesus. It encourages people to look for Jesus in certain spots and then gives them the opportunity to do that. Hopefully, as they use the Bible, they’ll say, ‘There He is.’”
McLean noted many pastors want to encourage their congregation to read and know Scripture more. “This Bible is perfect for that type of church emphasis,” he said. “As a pastor, you want more consistent engagement with God’s Word on a consistent basis while also wanting biblical literacy to increase during Bible engagement. This Bible helps address both aspects by not only providing a year-long reading plan to help people stay consistent, but also robust ancillary content that helps readers see Jesus all throughout Scripture.”
To assist pastors in using the Jesus Daily Bible in their churches, Milioni will also provide sermon outlines early next year that can be used to connect the Sunday morning worship service to the weekly readings.
The CSB Jesus Daily Bible is available for pre-order now and is set to be released in January 2025. For more information, visit Lifeway.com/JesusDailyBible.
(EDITOR’S NOTE — Aaron Earls is a writer for LifeWay Christian Resources.)
