12 Ways People Are Using the ESV Digital Scripture Journal

February 12, 2020 by: Crossway

This article is part of the ESV Digital Scripture Journal series.

Ideas and Uses

The ESV Digital Scripture Journal is tailored to take advantage of the portability and dynamic features of a digital Bible without losing the beauty and interactive nature of a traditional print Bible. Over 200 people told us how they were using and what they like most about the resource. Here’s what a few of them had to say.

Good for Sermon Notes

It provides a pen-to-paper experience that is portable, notes that are available when you scroll to the passage, and no need to click on each verse and see what you typed previously. It’s also good for sermon notes—especially if your church is going through a book together.
—Grace; Singapore

Writing Sermon Outlines

I use the ESV Digital Scripture Journal to highlight the words, meaning, and patterns between lines of text and will then write my sermon outline and take it with me to the pulpit. It’s an excellent resource.
—Enrique; Bangor, United Kingdom

Never Run Out of Space

The ESV Digital Scripture Journals offer the best of both worlds. It is like a wide margin Bible that never has to be replaced because you run out of space. It’s a must-have product for people who love to journal or who are serious about expository teaching.
—Forest; Winter Haven, Florida

Freedom to Be Creative

It’s a convenient way to have your Bible and journal all in one place. It offers freedom in many ways! Freedom from traveling with a large print Bible. Freedom to jot down random things. Freedom to be creative.
—Holly; Rock Hill, South Carolina

ESV Digital Scripture Journal

ESV Digital Scripture Journal (Ebook)

Designed from the ground up for use with a digital tablet and stylus, the ESV Digital Scripture Journal is tailored to take advantage of the portability and dynamic features of a digital Bible without losing the beauty and interactive nature of a traditional print Bible.

Deleting and Correcting Notes

I have mainly utilized it for taking notes during church. I love that I can open it multiple times on my tablet to have one for home Bible study and one for sermon notes. It is great for taking notes in the margins that you maybe wouldn’t in your Bible. I love being able to delete the notes and correct them.
—Mandy; Van, Texas

Simple and Quick

Because I have a strange hang up about writing in a physical Bible, the digital version has really freed me up to highlight, underline, and write notes with complete freedom. I now use my ESV Digital Scripture Journal in my everyday study accompanied with a listening app. Because I have a 4 and 1-year-old, these two tools together make spending time in Scripture very efficient. If I had less noise and distraction at home, I would probably use my physical Bible more; but during this season, the digital is much more simple and quick.
—Colin; Paris, France

Revise and Append

I just started exegetical study in this format. I especially appreciate the ability to revise and append my notes as I revisit the Scriptures. I also enjoy the benefit of not needing to be worried about running out of space for notes . . . I can just add an additional notes page where needed.
—Sylvester; Rolla, Missouri

Preparing for Bible Study

At this point I'm thinking of the ESV Digital Scripture Journal as a long-term investment. The notes I've taken in it have been helpful for preparing a weekly Bible study, but what I'm really looking forward to is down the line when I revisit these passages of Scripture and see then what I see now. I think this can be special to me for years to come.
—Scott; Seattle, Washington

Connecting to a Larger Screen

I like to connect my device to a large screen and demonstrate the method I’m using as I am teaching others to study the Bible.
—Michelle; Greer, South Carolina

Good for Memorization

I’m using it alongside the curriculum from my discipleship group as well as a way to save individual extended passages (like the Sermon on the Mount) that I am memorizing.
—Dan; Warsaw, Poland

Easy to Print

I use it to keep study notes for preparing to teach at hand wherever I go when I might have time to work. I particularly appreciate that I can open the whole file in an app that permits me to extract books or passages for study, or print the inductive pages that I need. That’s a huge time saver.
—Jennifer; Northfield, Ohio

Keep a Record of the Years

I enjoy using the ESV Digital Scripture Journal because I am now able to save a new copy of the journal every year. I hope to do this as a way for me to see how God was speaking to me during a specific year rather than a highlighted Bible that has undifferentiated notes and markings. Writing in the margins helps me to see the passage in a fresh way.
—Kenneth; San Jose, California

Popular Articles in This Series

View All

Introducing the ESV Digital Scripture Journal

December 05, 2019

Designed from the ground up for use with a digital tablet and stylus, the ESV Digital Scripture Journal is an innovative resource created to maximize the best of the digital Bible and print Bible experience.

Crossway is a not-for-profit Christian ministry that exists solely for the purpose of proclaiming the gospel through publishing gospel-centered, Bible-centered content. Learn more or donate today at crossway.org/about.