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Memorizing Scripture Together
- 11/21/08
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The “Reading Classics Together” effort has taught me that blogs (even this blog) can offer a kind of excitement and accountability by community that helps me do things I wouldn’t otherwise have the discipline to do. And from what I hear, it works for some of you, too. Many of us would never have read Owens or Edwards or Pink if we had not had the crowd accountability we’ve found here. This has been the reason for the success of the “Reading Classics” program, I’m sure. Shared enthusiasm means that more than one person will be reading a particular book and shared accountability means that more people will continue reading a book. It has worked well!
Today I’d like to introduce a similar effort dealing with Scripture memorization. But just like “Reading Classics” isn’t quite an easy book club dealing with short, simple, modern books, I don’t think this “Memorizing Scripture” effort will be exclusively dedicated to memorizing short and isolated verses. Instead, I’d like to focus on longer passages—whole Psalms, poems, portions of prophecy and maybe, just maybe, entire books (Colossians, perhaps?).
Don’t freak out yet.
I have a terrible memory. Memorizing comes to me only with great effort so I will be—will need to be—moving through these passages at a reasonable pace. I do not intend to try to memorize Psalm 119 in a week (or a month, for that)! But over time I would like to challenge myself and others to commit to memory lengthy portions of the Bible. I am convinced that we can do it, if we do it together.
So here is what I propose. For those who are interested in working on only verses or short passages (still a good and noble goal) I will provide a weekly verse and will post it on this site every Sunday. This will coincide with the verse my church has committed to memorize that week. But I will also be progressively working on larger portions of Scripture and I’ll post these larger passages as well. That way you can commit to individual verses, larger passages, or both. In any case, you’ll be memorizing Scripture and that can only be a good thing!
I plan on sending out weekly emails (every Sunday) to remind you of the commitment and to tell you about the new verse. If you’d like to participate in the program, I ask as well that you sign up for these emails (though you certainly do not have to if you don’t want to). And then, beginning on Sunday, we’ll get memorizing Scripture together.
Are you in?
I am a follower of Jesus Christ, a husband to Aileen and a father to three young children. I worship and serve as a pastor at 
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Comments (33)
Fabulous idea Tim. Every 3-4 months or so I decide that THIS time I’m going to finally commit to memorizing Scripture, and not 2 weeks later I’ve abandoned the project…
Count me in.
great idea indeed, hope it edifies the body,…I AM IN!
Soli Deo Gloria!
jason d.
Great idea Tim! If we ask ourselves how many songs that we know by memory - or at the very least with a little help - I’m sure we would be amazed. I would not be surprised if the number was close to or more than 100. That said, let’s put our minds to the test and fill them with the Word.
Love in the Truth.
Great idea. I set out to memorize Philippians a couple years ago, but tailed off after chapter 1. Ever since, I’ve thought about how great that endeavor was and how badly I need to try again. Thanks for the push and the accountability.
Tim, this is awesome. Hope I can keep up.Have you ever seen this article on memorization? The technique described there is pretty effective. I’m using it with the family (wife and 9yo daughter, not the baby ;-) ) as we go through Training Hearts, Teaching Minds to memorize the Westminster Shorter Catechism. It works well for us. For my part, I’ll probably be taking your emails and “generating” the memorization text from them.This article specifically on Scripture memorization might come in handy, too.
Not sure how many of you have seen this, but it is a great method for memorizing longer portions of scripture. http://www.fbcdurham.org/pages/27/
I would be in for this, but I am already working through some memorization on my own right now. I’ll be interested to see how this goes though.
Very good. Count me in, too.
Nothing worthwhile is easy… there is nothing more worthwhile!Please remind me of this in a month.I’m in.
Tim - thanks. Good idea. Count me in! I need the discipline of something like this.
Jason
Good idea. I think it might prove more helpful if it’s “thematic”. Groups of verses memorized over the week that point to a particular aspect of God’s character, for example, or a particular doctrine. Just thought.
I set out to memorize the Sermon on the Mount a few years ago and made it through Matthew 5, but stopped there and have sadly forgotten much. I look forward to memorizing more than just a verse at a time again!
This is great. I lead 2 small groups at church already but have been wanting to join some type of Bible memorization group. Just haven’t had time to join or start one. This works perfect. Thanks. I’m in!
Yep, I’m soooo in. I’m a lamo at memorizing …anything really.Thanx for this! Reading the classics together was something I couldn’t commit to (due to my own reading list to get through…and because it’s not commanded in Scripture :) ). But memorizing scripture..I CAN commit to it on here. and SHOULD be doing it , (per God) and …so I want to jump at the opportunity that comes to me. Thanx again!
Tim, I’m up to Psalm 119:120 so far and it’s been a challenge to do but discipline is the key. The ninety minute commute really makes embedding and review possible.
I’ve committed myself to memorizing Ephesians, and 1 and 2 Peter for 2009.
I would say that memorizing is marvellous, but the MEDITATION drives it deep.
Thanks for doing this. I’ve been working at several longer passages for the last few months, and my goal is to memorize Colossians.
Any support we can gain in the church for Scripture memory is to be encouraged.
I really have to work on memorizing scripture too. Then once I have it memorized I have to review it to keep it in my head. I recall the time I spent working on Luke 2…..ugh.
Its a worthwhile exercise even though it is so frustrating to get it in there and keep it in there.
Thanks for doing this. I am looking forward to it.
Fantastic idea. I’m in.
Great idea! My wife memorized James last year and I started Romans this year—but only made it to about March. I look forward to learning more Scripture and spending more time in the Word.
Tim,What a great idea! I am excited about joining in with you guys.In Christ,Mike
Great minds think alike? It is clear that you could think circles around me; however, I did promote the same basic idea for the month of October and hope that it takes off here, as well. I called it “Mega Memory Month” and found that a lot of people were needing that little boost and accountability to tackle a longer passage than they would have on their own. If you’re interested, here’s the launch-post.http://annkroeker.wordpress.com/2008/09/26/announcing-mega-memory-month/
I’m hosting Mega Memory Month again in a few months. Perhaps the combination of my October MMM, your project here, and then my winter edition of MMM, people will stretch their minds to take to heart and mind much more of God’s Word than they thought possible!
When I was in college 40 years ago, I worked diligently to memorize Scripture using the Navigator’s Topical Memory system which had an outline to go with the verses memorized. The verses learned had a great impact on my spiritual development. I recently introduced it to my blog readers and we have been working through the process of memorizing a verse a week as well. Mine comes out on Mondays. The blog venue is a great way to encourage one another in Scripture memorization.
Memorizing scripture is hard for me as well. As a Christian homeschooler, one of my assignments my parents gave me was to memorize Proverbs 31:10-31. At first, I didn’t think I could do it, but after working on it every day for about 1 month, I had it pretty well emblazened on my memory.
I find that writing out the scripture on 3x5 cards and reviewing them every day, and saying each phrase over and over (until I get it) helps.
What a wonderful thing to be encouraging others to do! Thanks Tim!
~abi
Hi Tim, I am a long time RSS reader of yours- I love the idea of memorizing Scripture together. My husband made a website, HideGod’sWord.com, where you can memorize the Bible and track your progress online and as a group. It gives you a test to see if you have memorized it as well and once you pass it adds it to your memorized verses and also shows group progression and goals. It’s a useful tool and might be useful for this project too. It’s totally free of course, and I hope you can use it! :)
My husband and I have 10 kids, ages 4-20. For years our family has done small bits of Bible memory on a sporadic basis. But last summer when a pastor visited our church and spoke ALL of Ephesians from memory, we decided to raise the bar.
We began with Ephesians 6:10-20. I printed out the words on cards and laminated them to keep at the dinner table. We simply read through the verse once or twice each meal until we learn it. The really amazing thing is that even the little kids can learn long sections. Most of the kids had it learned before the grownups. And let me tell you, it is sheer delight to hear a 4 year old intone, “Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.” and to know that those words are IN THERE for the rest of her life.
We are currently on our 4th verse this school year— Matthew 2:1-12. We don’t quite have it yet, but by Christmas I’m sure we will. I am thrilled that this tiny time investment is planting words in all our hearts that God will be able to remind us of and use for His glory for the rest of our lives.
Mary, mom to 10
Psalm 119 is by far my favorite psalm, the funny thing is I tried to do this myself not so long ago…and failed miserably, I memorized up to verse 32…but I’ve forgotten most of it now.
I am so in!
This is a great idea Tim. Like many others, memorizing is a long forgotten discipline for me and I would love an opportunity to bring it back with the help of others. Count me in as well.
i’m in
at the prime age of 51, i have resolved that it’s because of forgetfulness and information overload that keeps me from memorizing anything. oh yes, i have some etched in my heart but i need the accountability.
you are an answer to my heartfelt prayer to honor the Lord in memorizing scripture. i so want to use it to preach & share the Gospel.
thank u…i’m in!
Tim, where did you get that subscription widget? Super cool.
This is a great idea. I’ve discovered this school year that my memory is better than I thought — I’m actually keeping up with my students in Latin! I’m in.
Tim,My wife and I are excited to join you and all the rest in this journey! We have committed various verses to memory over the years but sadly not consistently. Brian and Tammy
Like many of you, memorizing scripture has been a sought-after yet elusive goal of mine. We should be in the business of putting the Word of God into the souls of men … the only things that we can take into eternity. God has encouraged me greatly to see that from newborns to 90 year olds memorizing is possible by singing verses.
My grandson was 18 months old and non-verbal when he started in my Sunday school class several years ago. At 2 years old, much to our amazed delight he began singing “Proverbs 20:11 says even a child is known by his deeds;whether what he does is pure and right….” This verse was one of 26 passages that had been taught and when we tested him, he knew all of them.
My now 3 year old granddaughter can sing many long passages among which are Psalm 121 (her favorite), Psalm 1 and Psalm 23.
I could go on but will direct you to our pastor’s (Jim Elliff) web site where you can get a small sample of how we teach memorizing by singing and the use of Rebus drawings of the verse. Go to www.ccwtoday.org and find the Resource tab and scroll down to Parents and Teachers. You will be able to down load free and very useful information — but note the Bible ABCs which is the first of many endeavors to put the Word of God into the hearts of man. Karen E.
I would love to join you all.