Memorising Scripture

When I first started my job one of the first thing that was talked about was memorising Scripture.

My boss (who in the tradition of "The Castle" is an idea's man) was really keen that as a church family we all get into the habit of learning Memory verses, and that we be really deliberate in the choices that we make- so that these verses will be helpful throughout the whole lives of those who learn them. And he suggested that this might be a task that I could undertake.

We set the starting date for just after the school holidays (one of the many reasons why my last school holidays wasn't really a holiday!) I had to think about memorising scripture, why it was important, to work out how to sell it to the church, pick the verses and particularly the categories we might use in choosing what kinds of verses to have, and work out how we would teach and encourage people to prioritise learning.

It was a pretty mammoth task- but it has been one of the most rewarding things I've done so far. There are two reasons for this.

The first is the personal impact. The task of going to the Bible to pick memory verses is just amazing. You are constantly poring over the Bible and looking over verses that inspire you, challenge you and point you to the cross and the great God who made it happen. I remember one afternoon just reading through the "Fighter Verses" that Bethlehem Baptist (John Pipers church) use and just being so spurred on and encouraged. It made me realise how much more effort I should put into memorising scripture. How many instances I could think of where having certain verses would have been just a blessing in the fight against sin and discouragement- if only I had known them off by heart!

The second is seeing it actually happen in the congregation. The end of the first month I was a little bit nervous that hardly anyone would have learnt it. It had been plugged every week. Where relevant it had been mentioned in sermons. It had been taught in Sunday School. But would anyone know it?

The verse was Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners Christ died for us".

I asked everyone to say it together (without the words displayed) on the last Sunday of the month. The church resounded with an enthusiastic rendition; over-powered somewhat by a young grade three girl who screamed it at the top of her lungs ;)

But the big test was TNT.

TNT is the junior youth Bible study that Tim and I lead. They had seemed at first a bit non committal about learning it; there was a real "can't be bothered" vibe in the air when we talked about it. And yet, on that last day- most of them knew it and were excited about knowing it.

And they understood it. During the study Tim asked them: "How do we know that God loves us?" Someone answered: "Because Jesus died for us when we were sinners". GOLD!

This Sunday I had the pleasure of teaching actions to the whole church- and seeing everyone jumping enthusiastically into the air as they cried out "ABOUNDING in love and faithfulness" (Exodus 34:6).

Have I mentioned lately that I love my job?
love B