A chapter study
No divisions of chapters and verses
When the Bible was originally written by its 40+ authors, sometime between 2000-3500 years ago, there were no divisions of chapters and books. Most of what we know as books of the Bible had its own scroll and were written in a continuous flow of a message. It wasn’t until 1228 A.D that chapter divisions were added. They were added to make the various sections of Scripture easier for the reader to understand. Not all divisions, however, end the flow of a thought. Much of the breaks seem to be at illogical places, put in randomly.
What is a chapter summary method study
The chapter summary method involves gaining a general understanding of the contents of a particular chapter of the Bible. It is a popular method for those beginning Bible study because chapters are usually fairly short and it does not require deep study. It is a valuable method because it can be quickly taught to the learner. It is an excellent method with which to begin a lifetime of Bible studying.
How to do a chapter study of the Bible
Read the chapter of your choosing five times before beginning your study. Each time you read it, read it from a different version. Do not look at commentary notes – just read the scripture verses. It is recommended that you read it out loud quietly to yourself because you retain more by reading out loud. Reading out loud will also help you stay focused. As you are reading, you will be asking yourself a serious of content questions, summarizing the central thought or thoughts of the passage. They will become part of your research.
Content Questions [i]
1. Title
· Give your chapter a short, descriptive title. Look for a key word that is listed over and over in the chapter.
· This will help you remember what each chapter is about. The more chapters you study, the more you will see the importance of having a title for each chapter.
2. Major Points
· As you observe its contents, ask yourself – “What are the major point(s) of this chapter?
· Write them down.
3. Main Character
· Who is the main character?
· What is the significance of this character?
4. Key Verse
· Choose a key verse which summarized the whole chapter.
· Ask yourself – Can this verse be applicable to your life?
5. Key Word(s)
· Write down the key word(s) of the chapter.
6. Christ Seen
· Look for verses that point to Christ. Is there anything in this chapter that will show you something about Christ and His nature that can be applicable to your life?
7. Lesson Learned
· Write down the major principles, insights, and lessons you learn from this chapter.
· Pray and ask the Lord to guide you in this. It may be different for everyone.
· Write down what you learned from this chapter.
8. Application
· Pray and ask yourself and God: How can this chapter be applied to my life personally? What is it that I can do?
· Write down what God says to you.
9. Supportive Verses
· Look up other verses in your Bible that would help you to understanding what the chapter is about. Helpful hint: Look in the concordance in the back of your study Bible or a Strong’s Concordance.
· In your search, find scripture verses that would apply to your life.
10. Difficult verse(s)
· List any difficulties you may have discovered in your chapter study. This may later become a good “word study” for you to do.
Take the above necessary steps and time to do a useful study. Pray and ask God to help you glean all that you can out of your chapter summary method study.
Your assignment
In this lesson’s assignment, you are to pick out a chapter to do your chapter study using the guideline above. Although you may choose any chapter in the Bible, the following chapters make excellent chapter studies:
· Romans 12
· 1 Corinthians 13
· 2 Timothy 2
· 1 John 1
· John 17
When you have completed your chapter study, fill in the chapter summary quiz verifying that you completed your assignment.