What percentage of life is lived with a Bible sitting in front of us opened precisely to the passage we need for encouragement or to ward off temptation at the very moment we need the aid of Scripture? That’s probably an impossible question to answer with exactness. Whatever the answer is, it must be a very, very small percentage. Most of our life – at home, at work, in the car, in the kitchen, at the park, in a restaurant, etc. – is lived without an open Bible right beside us. However, temptation and trials often seem to crouch perpetually before us. The discipline of Scripture memorization embeds the life-giving Word of God in our hearts and minds so that, even when we don’t have a Bible open before us, we still are carrying the Scriptures with us.
The resources provided and linked to here have been prepared to equip you with the Sword of the Spirit as you seek to treasure God above all else and to wage war against temptation and sin.
Memorization Aids for Adults
- RBC 2018 Weekly Memorization Bookmarks. A bookmark with weekly passage references for memorization. The reverse side of the card offers a suggested memorization strategy. This plan continues the strategy began in 2017 of memorizing 1 Peter over two years. [Free, hard copies are available at RBC]
- Crossway Truth Bible Memory Plan. Subscribe to this RSS feed to receive daily reminders for weekly Scripture memory passages. You can subscribe to the feed as a podcast to receive daily audio reminders! [Free]
- Fighterverses.com. This site contains a multitude of resources to aid you in your personal memorization of Scripture, including motivational articles and sermons, links to smartphone apps, and more. [Free/$]
- An Approach to Extended Memorization of Scripture. This booklet, written by Andrew Davis of First Baptist Church in Durham, NC, provides a strategy for memorizing lengthy passages of Scripture, up to an entire book! The booklet also includes reflections on the value of memorizing Scripture and the advantages of memorizing books of the Bible. [Free, hard copies are available at RBC]
Memorization Aids for Children (and adults too!)
- Truth and Grace Memory Books. This three-book set provides a systematic structure for parents to lead their children in the memorization of Scripture. The books also offer an opportunity to teach hymns and biblical and doctrinal instruction via catechisms. The books are divided by ages: 2 years through 4th grade, 5th grade through 8th grade, and 9th grade through 12th grade. [$, hardcopies are available to look through at RBC]
- Seeds Family Worship. Have you ever noticed how easy it is to memorize lyrics to a song? Seeds Family Worship has set Scripture to music in songs. Both children and their parents will enjoy listening to their music. You can stream all their albums freely at Bandcamp.com. [Free streaming listening, $ to purchase the CDs or MP3s]
- Note: The Sojurn Kids Family Worship Guide (described in a bit more detail on the “Family Worship Resources” page) includes additional recommendations for Scripture-set-to-music materials.
- How to Teach Bible Verses to Toddlers and Preschoolers. This short document has some good ideas for helping young children store up God’s Word. [Free]