Doubt Busters

This Bible study method is ideal for narrative (or story) segments, such as the history portions of the Old Testament, the gospels, and Acts. It is centered on the story, which may be a whole chapter in the Old Testament stories, or smaller segments in the gospels and Acts. You would read the story, then ask the five “W” questions: who, what, where, when, and why.

This practice helps gather details of the story passage so it becomes more memorable than a quick read could give you. You’ll discover hidden details you would normally miss with a casual reading. Let’s see how these words can help you get more meaning out of the Bible passage.

In this Bible study method, we are going to pose a series of questions to the text to pull out certain answers that are helpful for practical applications. Use as many of these questions as fit the text. I will list the questions and give answers based on Matthew 1:18-25. If you read the passage yourself, you might find other answers than those given here.

I learned this chapter summary approach in church. With everyone in the congregation following the same chapter, we worked on this format at home individually during the week. Then we gathered on Tuesday night and shared the details of our studies. Some first-timers in the church got saved with this format. Try it out. Some used this method to study their Bible every morning for years to come. One key benefit is that this study method works for every book in the Bible.