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.
This Chapter Summary Bible study format is divided into several sections. From top to bottom:
1. Chapter Title
2. Chapter Breakdown
3. Meaning
4. Application
5. Memory Verse
1. Chapter Title
When the study is done, then give it a title that helps you summarize it and remember it. If you are studying Romans 10, a title might be, “Jesus is Lord, v. 9”
2. Chapter Breakdown
You’ll read the chapter carefully, looking for breaks or shifts in thought, and label those verses that belong together. Doing this can help you follow the reasoning in the chapter as it covers one point then the next (as in an epistle or a gospel). A benefit of doing this is that you learn to pick up the context of the passages you are reading. Again, if you are studying Romans 10, a chapter breakdown might look like:
vv. 1-5 Trusting in our good works turns us away from the true way of righteousness through Christ.
vv. 6-8 God’s salvation is not far off.
vv. 9-13 To be saved, we need to believe that Christ rose from the dead and is Lord of all.
vv. 14-21 People need to hear the Bible shared in order to believe.
Give yourself a pat on the back if you write the first and last parts of the breakdown after a careful reading of the passages that connect to the chapters before and after. The breakdown might recognize a thought that bridges from chapter to chapter.
This chapter breakdown is the part that helped me study a chapter verse in context, and helped me be distrustful of people’s sayings that are focused on only a single verse. Too often, verses are isolated from the text and meaning is inserted from our time and lifestyle instead of reading out of it what the writer was trying to say of his own time.
3. Meaning
For this section, you read the chapter prayerfully and see what stands out, and meditate on that section or verse. Remember to keep the chapter breakdown in view so your meditation doesn’t deviate from the order or flow of thought in the chapter. A more careful reading may make you decide to update the breakdown, which means you gained further insight. Write out your meditation in full.
4. Application
A friend loves to quote, “Faith without works is dead,” so this is where you take your meaning and decide how you will believe the Lord for it. Write out an application that demonstrates the steps of faith you will take based on your passage. In this way you’ll live out your faith instead of keeping it only an idea.
5. Memory Verse
You might find a verse that you’ll want to memorize, or at least carry with you the rest of the day to keep in mind. Write it out. Then return to the top of the study and write out your title.
