Today, Doug posted a list regarding our Bible intake for the coming year. This is excellent! I especially appreciated the article entitled "Memorizing Extended Passages of Scripture" by Dr Andy Davis. Bible memorization has always been a challenge for me, but it is worth the effort. I remember a friend, Jeff Roach, quoting an extended portion of Ephesians in a church service at Mount Calvary in Greenville, SC. That was the first time I gave serious consideration to memorizing passages rather than single verses only. Some time after that I was first introduced to Andy Naselli when Pastor Vincent asked if I could check him on his memorization of 2 Peter. Needless to say, I was impressed (and challenged). Soon after that I worked on memorizing the first three chapters of the book of Revelation (that's an awesome passage).
Recently, I memorized Psalm 146 for Sunday School. This has whetted my appetite to do more extended memorization. I hope to do more memorization in the Psalms and in Romans in the coming year. Do you have a memorization schedule? Are you memorizing any extended passages? I'd love to hear from you. I'd also be willing to memorize a passage along with you. Accountability is an important key to this process.
I recommend that you visit Doug's blog to view his list. It will be well worth your time!
Thanks for the kind words, Jason. My wife and I are memorizing Psalm 119 (only to about verse 33 so far). Some men at our church worked on 1 Timothy a while back, but somehow we got out of the loop. One of the keys to this, I think, is not biting off more than you can chew, and remembering to review, review, review, review, review. But it is such a blessing to wake up in the night and be able to think through and pray through God's Word from having committed it to memory. And it sure is nice to have things in their context!
ReplyDeleteJason,
ReplyDeleteI used to do a lot more of that than I do now. At one point I was working through several chapters in Romans (1, 6, 8, 12) and Philippians (1, 2). I need to get back to that. When I would memorize lengthy passages, I would find myself inadvertantly meditating on them throughout the day, just because I spent so much time with them.
Doug, it sounds like you've made some good progress on Psalm 119. Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteAndy, I'd be glad to work on a passage with you. Once a month I preach at an assisted living home. I'm working through Romans. I'd be glad for the accountability in memorizing some of those passages (even one's you've previously tackled). If you're interested.
Like I said, I appreciate the article on memorizing extended passages, but I'm not sold on the idea of memorizing the verse numbers too. Do either of you memorize verse numbers along with the verses?
No, I haven't been memorizing the verse numbers. The structure of Psalm 119 helps me to basically remember where the verses fit into the 8 verse patterns. But I didn't memorize them w/Timothy either. I can see how it's useful but I don't think it's essential in memorizing Scripture.
ReplyDeleteDoug Smith