How to organize Bible study notes

Are Your Bible Notes Organized?

Do you have a system for keeping track of your Bible study notes, favorite web links, articles to read, and writing ideas? Or do you find yourself with a jumble of scraps of paper, sticky notes, and electronic files?

There are many different ways to organize your Bible study notes. Some people prefer to use a traditional notebook or binder, while others use digital tools like Evernote or OneNote. There is no right or wrong way to do it if you find a system that works for you.

Perhaps you are more of a creator than a manager, pragmatic than philosophical. Maybe you enjoy reciting genealogies in Genesis rather than finding repeating words and concepts in John. Or perhaps you enjoy attending your small group bible study or want to learn how to take notes at church.

Either way, consistent bible reading (or listening) promotes good text observation, group participation, and self-guided discovery. Each person has the opportunity to discover for themselves what God says.

Church note-taking tips and tools

1. Think before you write.

2. Consider what information will be valuable when you use your notes later or what points will be helpful as you formulate your sermon or other messages.

3. Write the main points and the essential information.

4. Keep your notes simple and easy to follow.

Try Kernels if you are looking for a mobile solution for taking sermon and bible study notes.  

“For the Word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” – Hebrews 4:12

Free bible journaling and notes app

Kernels help you record, write, remember, and organize all your bible and sermon notes in one place.

Step One: You need a Kernels Account.

Chances are you already have a Kernels account, and perhaps you are an avid user and follow us on Twitter.

Step Two: Create a Tag System

While there are several ways to organize a Bible study notebook, our favorite way is to group by topic. After signing into Kernels, the first thing you should do is create a Tag structure. Tags make it easier to group and find bible notes by topics with searches or associate them with other bible notes you've written.

This tag structure will help you find your notes instantly -even if you have thousands. And you can create a detailed organization with parent/child notes.

We're going to create two types of topic tags

1. Bible - Parent

2. Bible Books - Child

Let's begin by creating Parent tags.

A parent tag should describe generalities about your notes, like the context or subject the notes are about.

Here are a few Parent tags for Church topics

1. Church

2. Bible

3. Bible Books

4. Devotionals

5. Prayer Requests

6. Missions

7. Online Articles

8. Videos

9. Thoughts

Next, create your Child tags for sub-topics.

Child tags describe the sub-topics discussed in your note, such as "marriage," "missions," or "prayer requests." These child tags will grow over time. But try to create at least ten child tags covering the main topics.

Here are a few Child tag topics to consider

1. Bible Books

2. Love

3. Marriage

4. Missions

5. Parenting

6. Prayer Requests

7. Grace

8. Sin

9. Redemption

10. Forgiveness

Come up with at least 10 for now. You can add more later or combine tags into category/subcategory parings.

Parent/child tag topic combo examples

• Bible - Parent tag

• Bible/Matthew - Child tag

• Bible/Mark

• Church - Parent tag

• Church/Prayer Requests - Child tag

• Church/Missions Updates

If you search parent tags with child tags (i.e., Bible), all notes from different Bible books will appear.

Step Four: Create Notes

Now that you have created a clean structure to organize your notes, it's time to start.

Click the "+" icon to create a note, and choose a topical title heading that can align with your tags.

Step Five: Tag Your Notes

Tagging notes is the easiest yet most important part of storing your notes in Kernels.

To add tags, select your note, and look toward the bottom of the note. You'll see Add Tag in gray text. Click this field, and begin typing out your tags. Notes are tagged after you press done.

You must tag them!

Use no less than two tags and no more than five tags for each note. In our experience, adding less than three tags can make a note harder to find, but if you add more than 5, it ruins the purpose of tagging.

How to Search Bible Notes in Kernels

Once you have a lot of bible and sermon notes, you'll want to use the search features.

Search by tags: If you want to see all your notes with a given tag, click the Tags button in the bottom navigation menu. You can click Tag to see all your tags and the associated notes in the child tags.

Search field: Click on the Search field in the top search bar. Type bible notes; a column will appear under your search term, and you should see your note.

The power of starting small with Kernels

Kernels help you capture a quick thought, create checklists, sketch ideas, and update your notes across all devices. They allow you to charge your best ideas before they escape your busy mind. Join our community; it's free.