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Memorizing Scripture - An Interview
- 12/19/08
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The name Ryan Ferguson may be familiar to some of the readers of this site. Ryan has appeared at a couple of conferences where he has recited long passages of Scripture. I first saw him at WorshipGod ‘06 where he dramatically recited all of Hebrews 9 and 10 (though he had memorized the entire book). I recently got ahold of Ryan and asked if he would answer a few questions about memorizing Scripture. I trust this brief interview will serve to encourage you either to begin memorizing passages from the Bible or to press on in your conviction that you ought to.
Why did you decide to memorize large passages of Scripture?
It began when I saw a man named Tom Key recite the book of Revelation. He is a professional actor out of Atlanta, Georgia. I was blown away. At about the same time my church had just studied Ecclesiastes so I started memorizing and asked our teaching pastor if I could recite it for the church.
What are some of the passages you’ve committed to memory?
I have memorized the books of Ecclesiastes and Hebrews. I have memorized various Psalms, Genesis 1, and various other smaller sections.
How do you decide which passages you will memorize?
It depends. When I did Hebrews that was a specific choice to serve the people at my church. I memorized it while our church studied for one year. Some of the Psalms I did specifically for the WorshipGod08 conference this summer that centered on the Psalms. Ecclesiastes was a work that God was doing in my heart. I memorized it in response to a time in my life when like Solomon I was asking a lot of questions.
You are known for reciting passages “dramatically.” Is there benefit in memorizing Scripture with dramatic recitation in mind?
Yes, but answering yes doesn’t mean you have to be an “actor.” In a sense we are all actors. Many people will tell a story to kids and do character voices; most of us have played make believe or pretend; any time we make a joke we are acting, that is, we are using text (or words) to make point or get a reaction. If we think of Scripture as more than just recorded words, but specific words written in a specific time to specific people to make a specific point we can understand more than just the denotative nature of the words. We can see the heart behind the words. Everyone does this in one way or another, for example, a wife reads a note from a husband on Valentine’s Day and experiences joy beyond the mere words on the page. She knows those words communicate so much more than just “I love you.” Whenever we receive emails, we don’t just read them we interpret them; we try to figure out what the person is saying, and that, in a sense, is acting. Actors take words on pages and interpret them. So when we approach the memorization of Scripture, it will help to think dramatically; it will help us to think of more than just the written words. Think like an actor; think about what you are trying to communicate with those words.
What are some of the blessings you’ve experienced in memorizing Scripture?
I have heard it said that joy comes through obedience. I would say that I have experienced joy in memorizing Scripture because God has asked me to hide his Word in my heart so I don’t forget him. There is a joy in knowing God’s Word. In a different way, I have been blessed to be able to use the Scripture that I have in my head in specific instances to encourage or exhort a brother or sister in Christ.
What benefit is there in memorizing entire books of the Bible?
If we value Scripture as God’s inspired Word, then I would suggest that the benefit of memorizing entire books is that we get to experience everything God wanted to say through that author at that particular point. For instance if you memorize Ephesians, you get to experience how the Spirit inspired Paul to write the first three chapters declaring truth after wonderful truth about God, and then you would experience the practical power of Scripture in chapters four through six as we have multiple commands given to us about our living. When we have whole books in our minds, we can experience the entire story of that book.
I have also thought that the benefit of having entire books memorized will be revealed if we ever have to endure persecution. If the printed Scriptures are removed from our lives how much will we be able to recreate from the passages we have diligently put into our minds.
Do you have any warnings or exhortations you’d want to extend to people who are seeking to memorize Scripture?
Yes, and I believe this is key to memorizing. Don’t memorize data!! Our minds while often compared to computers are not computers. We need more than just letters, words, and sentences to be able to connect our minds and hearts to the text. We need to know what it says, why it was written, and what the text is trying communicate. It is very difficult to just sit down and memorize a sequence of words that has no connection or story. For instance, it would be much more difficult to memorize the genealogies in Chronicles than it would be to memorize a narrative section in the book of Genesis. Why? Because we communicate ideas with our words; we don’t communicate words with our words. Many of us could tell a fairy tale to a child that we have not memorized because we know the story; we know the idea. The same is true with Scripture. Memorization is knowing the story and then choosing to use the specific words of any piece of text to tell that story. I hope this makes sense…
What are some longer passages you would suggest for beginners?
Prior to giving specifics, let me first suggest that whatever longer passage you choose, make it a passage of Scripture that God has used in your life and heart. This connection will assist you in your memory work, because it will be connecting God’s powerful Word to your thinking and living. I would suggest the following: Psalm 1, 46, 139, 150, Genesis 1, John 1, I John 1, any chapter in Ephesians, James 1. I would also suggest (and would like to do this) II and III John and Jude because they are short books, but you would still be encouraged by having memorized an entire book.
Describe the methodology you’ve used to file away large passages of Scripture.
I have been asked this in almost every church to which I have traveled. I work in a very specific way, and it may not work for everyone. When I memorize a book, I first put it into a Word document and remove all the verse numbers but leave the chapter numbers. I then break up the book into paragraph form so that it looks and reads more like what I am used to reading. I then memorize one paragraph at a time. When I have one memorized, I add the next paragraph and do them together. I do this process until I have memorized the desired section.
This particular way of memorizing has some inherent problems that people have raised that are valid. I do not have verse recall. I can’t just jump in and tell you Hebrews 7:6. For some people they would rather have the chapter and verse reference, especially those who are counselors. I understand this, but for me it is the way it works. I also believe that sometimes communicating the Word of God to people doesn’t have to be referenced…this is purely my opinion. I believe that God through his Spirit can quicken our mind and bring particular Scripture to mind when needed. It is interesting that in the book of Hebrews the author quotes this way, he uses the phrase “as it says also in another place…” when referencing the Old Testament. He doesn’t even say who wrote it or in what book.
Can you share any final tips and tricks that may be useful?
I am not sure if this is a tip or trick, perhaps it is more of an encouragement. I often hear people say, “I just can’t memorize.” In some instances that statement may be true, but I have started asking people questions to show them how well they do memorize. I will ask questions like the this, “How many lines from movies can you quote?” or “Tell me every phone number you know” or “Tell me the names of every sports team you know” This list of questions could go on and on. We all can memorize. Much of memorizing depends on where you put your attention. I love mountain biking; I study it; I read about it; I look online at blogs about it. I could tell you a lot about mountain biking other than my experience. I have memorized a lot about the topic I love. Developing our memories takes work, time, and discipline. Don’t be disappointed if it takes you a while to memorize Scripture. God has not set up a Bible quiz to determine if you have all your verses memorized this week. God desires that you love his Word. Psalm 19 uses very specific language, language of desire when referring to God’s Word. Love God’s Word, spend the time with God’s Word to hide it in your heart.
Here is Ryan reciting Psalm 22:
And here he is reciting Hebrews 9 and 10:
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Comments (34)
My pastor did this as he preached through Romans this year — a few times a year he would just “preach” 2 or 3 or 4 chapters of Romans, reciting it dramatically. It was AMAZING. It’s a completely new perspective on God’s word.
Thanks for this interview. I have also memorized various books of the bible. I love it but never(except one friend) does my passion for memorizing encourage others to do the same. Every one always is amazed about my ability, but thats it. The opportunity to recite i would appreciate, but i think people tend to think that i want to boast in my skills. One time I was asked to come as a guest to a youth conference here in germany. As part of a game I was asked to be a part of it. Later on they checked me if i really know what i`ve said. They took 3 parts of the bible, although i know al lot more. As there were the Sermon on the Mount(Mt 5-7), Psalm 119, and Hebrews. One guy came up on the stage and out of these three parts he choosed Mt 6,6, Ps 119,99 and Hebr 10,39. Praise to God that i knew that verses. The people there were really suprised. But thats all.
Tim,
Thanks for this post. I memorize and recite many times during the day. I don’t memorize whole books! That is amazing! I love Ryan reciting Psalm 22. I love that Psalm. I’m sure other people have discussed this before on your site but I believe that Psalm 22 is the words of Jesus spoken through David. Sure, David may have experienced these emotions when he wrote it (led by the Holy Spirit) but I believe that Jesus spoke “My God, my God, Why have you forsaken me?” on the cross to direct us at Psalm 22.
There are way too many verses in Psalm 22 that relate to verses in Matthew (I think) chapters 26 and 27. Its almost as if, these emotional feelings that Jesus had during His last days are captured here during David’s time in this Psalm. It is so prophetic.
Getting back on the subject of memorizing scripture. I guess I find encouragement to do it because of the following verses:
Deuteronomy 6:4-94 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. [a] 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
And this one:
Psalm 1:1-21 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
Of course these are only a couple of many other examples.
http://www.reigningimmortal.com
Some folks at our church went to Israel and when they came back they told us about how our pastor taught the Sermon on the Mount from memory. This past February we were privileged to go on a trip to Israel with him. When we got to the Church of the Beatitudes we all sat down facing the Sea of Galilee and he taught through all three books from memory. It was an amazing and wonderful experience. His memorization work was a blessing to my wife and I.
Thought I’d come back and share the connections in Psalm 22 that I mentioned earlier. I figure most people know them already but maybe it will be beneficial to someone.
Psalm 22:11 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? Connects with…Matthew 27:45-4645From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. 46About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi,[c] lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Psalm 22:16-1816 Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced [c] my hands and my feet. 17 I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. 18 They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing. Connects with…
Matthew 27:35:3735When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots.[b] 36And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. 37Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Psalm 22:6-86 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people. 7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: 8 “He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”
Connects with…Matthew 27:39-4439Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” 41In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42”He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” 44In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
There are more of these examples but maybe someone else would like to share.
http://www.reigningimmortal.com
“or to press on in your conviction that you ought to.”
Yep. Mission accomplished. Thanks. :)
This was such a blessing! Scripture memorization is a big part of my life, and your entry prompted me to write down my own “tips.” Maybe if enough bloggers hit on this theme, the Word of God will begin to get implanted in more and more meek hearts (Jas. 1:21). That’s definitely something to pray for!
Hearing the dramatic reading of Psalm 22 brought tears to my eyes. Though we aren’t all actors, may none of us ever read the Holy Word in a dry, boring way again!
Mr Challies -
Please check out this video:
http://carriemarieallen.blogspot.com/2008/12/all-things-are-better-in-koine.html
I think you will enjoy it!
Thanks!Carrie
I really appreciate the interview and can relate to much of what Ryan said. Memorizing Scripture has been a struggle for me in the past, and and it’s an area in my life I’ve often been convicted about. Over the past several months, I’ve been challenged (again) to make Scripture memorization a priority and finally decided to be obedient to make this a discipline in my life. This led to taking a different approach to Scripture memorization than what I had attempted in the past. Rather than trying to memorize various individual verses, I’ve come to find that learning longer passages (such as an entire book) works much better for me. It provides some definite direction and a goal to accomplish. It also helps in learning the context of the verses, since I’m going through the entire passage. I’ve also found that listening to sermons on that passage and studying it more in depth help make Scripture memorization about so much more than just memorizing a bunch of words. It’s no longer just something I should (or have to) do. It’s actually something I really enjoy doing and am becoming more passionate about. It’s been exciting to experience God using Scripture memorization to change my heart in various ways, including increasing my joy and my hunger for His Word.
Great post. Thanks for the challenge!
My fiance and I started memorizing books of the Bible about a month ago. He’s on the 1 Peter 2:2, and I’m on 1 John 2:15. We have been so blessed so far in our memorizing, and what is especially wonderful is when we get the chance to share what we’ve memorized with the other. In the car the other night we both recited what we had learned so far, and hearing those words come out of a human’s mouth, knowing that they are God breathed, awakens them in your heart. I so appreciated this interview!
Dude!
He goes to my church!
Hey Ryan. I didn’t know you were so famous. Gosh. I need to talk to you more. Maybe I need to get your autograph! If I see you next Sunday I am going to give you a hard time for being on the World Famous Challies blog!
Matt.
This is good stuff! I have become more convicted in recent months about memorizes passages rather than just verses. I have seen so many instances where individual verses can be taken out of context. I hope this will encourage us all to become saturated with the Word.
That clip of Heb 9-10 could stand alone as a sermon.
I really enjoyed these. Thanks.
Thanks for posting this interview. I just contacted Ryan about a week ago asking about his memory plan. He was such an encouragement! Ever since I saw Hebrews 9-10, I have watched it over and over again. From time to time, I will also listen to the whole book of Hebrews - awesome sermon (50~ minutes) [links on the ESV blog].
Andrew Parsons was inspired by Ryan Ferguson and took a shot at Romans 8 from memory…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6Lluay3_1Y
dave bish, Thanks for sharing this. Never heard of Andrew Parsons but he did an excellent job of it. Great stuff!
http://www.reigningimmortal.com
He’s a student I worked with a couple of years ago. The video was then made for the New Word Alive conference this year.
His first attempted was an outstanding version of Hebrews 13, and then working through Colossians:http://thebluefish.org/2008/05/more-andrew-parsons-colossians-1-mp3.html
Just brings it alive when this effort is put in.
I receive the verse to be memorized at my email at work…I’ve been on vacation and I don’t know what the verse was for this week…it is also “no where to be found” on this site….why? Am I not looking in the right place?
My small group has been studying Romans since September. Normally, we have one memory verse(s) to work on during a particular study. This time our group leader challenged us to memorize a larger portion of scripture from Romans. I thought I would try to learn Romans 2 by the end of the study which concludes the second week in January.
I also started walking to work this year to get in a little better shape. It’s a 40 minute walk each way, so I printed out the chapter 2 from Romans on one sheet of paper and started memorizing it on my walk using a lot of the techniques that Ryan recommends in the interview. As I memorized, I kept trying to figure out how Paul would verbalize what he wrote.
So far, I have lost 10 pounds, I feel more fit and I have memorized Romans 2, 3 and 10 verses of Chapter 4.The biggest thing is that I have developed a better and deeper understanding of these pieces of scripture.
I recommend this to everyone. It’s been a great boost to my Christian growth, even though some of the people in my neighbourhood now refer to me as that crazy guy who walks around talking to himself. :o)
Dr. Andrew Davis, pastor of First Baptist Durham, NC has a wonderful guide for scripture memory, giving effective ways to approach long passages, herehttp://www.fbcdurham.org/pages/27/
I was visiting another church and the Pastor asked if everybody had a Bible and to hold it up, then he said “I guess the rest of you have it memorized…” Memorizing is a struggle for me, ten years ago if I read something twice I could repeat it pretty much verbatim but now there’s just so much I have to keep up with that it seems that if I add something I have to lose something else…I guess it’s a sign of the times, we cram too much into each waking moment. Of course I know much more Scripture now, not word for word, but in meaning and I guess that’s what counts. So, I definitely agree with Ryan’s comment that “We need to know what it says, why it was written, and what the text is trying communicate.” If I need to find a passage I can usually find it pretty quick, if not then I’ll use a concordance.God bless,-jimhttp://ke4juh.wordpress.com/
Thanks for these tips on memorizing scripture.
I’ve been very encouraged by Ryan’s memorization. This past year, I’ve also been blessed to hear Dr. David Platt recite Romans 1 thru 8 during a chapel service at Southern Seminary. That honestly was the largest amount of scripture I’ve heard anybody recite by memory.
This is all encouraging me in my own scripture memorization, which is simply lacking.
This is very motivational. I’ve had it in my heart for a while to memorize Romans, though I’m not very good at memorization in general. Though middle age mental muddle is part of the problem, I think it has a lot more to do with a kind of laziness on my part. I used to always say, like many people do, that I’m horrible with names, until I worked a job where it was important for good customer relations to remember them. After a short time I became very good with names, to the point that I still remember many people who I haven’t seen in over 5 years, and was only acquainted with as the servicewriter for their vehicles. It just took a bit of extra effort upon meeting someone to accomplish this.
I suspect it will be similar with Scripture memorization - but with far greater fruitfulness and eternal significance. Thanks for posting this encouraging post.
This is amazing! - have you thought of doing it foR the whole Bible ?THAT WOULD BE AWESOME!
Wow, I guess the only thing I could add to this, is that Ryan is one of the pastors at my church, and his humility in his gifting is evident, and I am so thankful to God for allowing the church the gift of Ryan and his ministry
Thanks for the encouraging post. I was mentored by a lady in Oklahoma who was also very passionate about Bible Memorization. Her name is Susan Heck and she has a great women’s minitry. http://www.withthemaster.org/ She has memorized almost the entire New Testament. I am currently working on Philippians. It’s amazing what memorizing large passages of scripture does for your inner man!
Re the paragraph about having bible passages memorized …
There was a film many years ago called “Fahrenheit 451”, so called because that’s the temperature at which paper self ignites. In the society it portrays, books are banned (and burned), as way of suppressing independent thought - but there is a group of rebels who each memorize the entire contents of a book, so that they can preserve it (ie hand it on to the next generation) even without the use of paper.
Knowing a verse or two somehow doesn’t quite seem enough…. and having a whole book committed to memory won’t happen overnight.
Anyone for a New Years resolution to join Tim’s new campaign?
I am a member at the same church as Ryan and can testify to his consistent and appropriate use of the Word he has memorized.
When he recited Hebrews before our church it ignited a desire in me to memorize the scriptures. I started with the post-card books (Philemon, 2 John, 3 John, and Jude) and have since added the Fighter Verses Pack from Desiring God; which I am also memorizing with my family.
One of the most direct applications I have experienced of using memorized scripture has been in the comfort or instruction of my children. Bring scripture to bear on everything from nightmares to good report cards. The benefit of memorizing together is that parents and children have common ground.
December 23, 200812:18 PMTim,Thanks for the challenge. I memorized Romans 6 a few years ago in an effort to combat persistent sin in my life I use to write it out every morning but still struggled with my sin and was very frustrated with my not “experiencing” this reality until I read in one of Jerry Bridges books not sure which one something to the effect of, not a verbatim quote, he said in reference to Ro. 6 this chapter is something to be believed not necessarily experiencedwhether I misunderstood him or not it really freed me and have found freedom from certain annoying persistent sins and have applied this principle to all my scriptural memorization and meditation. Merry Christmas!
I was very encouraged to read this interview since it matches much of what I have been challenged with in my own walk regarding memorizing large portions of scripture. One of reason that I had thought this is important was also mentioned by Ryan—the possibility of persecution and the written word being unavailable. This could easily happen if a believer was thrown into prison. When I was engaged, my fiance and I worked on memorizing the book of Colossians together and recited the entire book to each other on our honeymoon. This was more than I had ever done and it resulted in many blessings, far more then I could recite…1) We were focused on God’s word together and established our relationship on the basis of His word. 2) We were taking the beginner steps of obeying God in the command to meditate on His word (e.g., Josh 1:8).3) We were growing together in our understanding of God’s word, because I also have found that the key to memorizing is understanding what is said. (Usually shortly after the passage “clicks” I have it memorized.) Some other thoughts about this:1) Memorizing in “chunks” leads to proper understanding and interpretation of scripture, because you are reading and understanding the context not isolated verses.2) Memorizing is not really optional as a child of God—what excuse can we legitimately offer in light of Psalm 119?3) We should start our children on this kind of project at an early age and how much would they have memorized by high school graduation…4) Our pastor had our church memorizing a book of the Bible that he then preached through during that same year. What a wonderful way that was for preparing our minds to hear the Word!5) Everyone can memorize! It may be harder for some than others, but memorization is work. It will take time and effort, but what are the priorities? I totally agree with the earlier post—“you can memorize what you love” (Psalm 119 again).
Dear Tim,
This discussion on bible memory was very helpful. I was wondering what Ryan does for “recall.” I am referring to what the Navigators promote. Review Review Review. But with as much memory as he has…how can he find the time to do it, or is that important to retain everything one has memorized. I have memorized the book of James. It has changed my life. I am working on Matt. 5-7. If I were asked today to recall James 1-5, I could not do it. However my response would be I am walking holier now and I do and can recall the applicatons I have applied from the book into my life as I walk with Christ. Thanks
Wow. This comes at a very appropriate time. My brother and I are dreaming of memorizing Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians, 502 verses of riches. We have both done some scripture memory before, though not very steadily. He is much more faithful than I. We have both done passages and isolated verses, but he likes topical memorization. We have both memorized lots of music on the piano. I just want to carry it through if we commit, and that is a scary thing to do because we are both busy students. We need to pray for wisdom.
One thing — At the beginning of Galatians Paul tells his “testimony.” I wouldn’t normally choose to memorize this, but I am sure it has value. Do you think it is worth taking the time to memorize narrative like this?