John Piper - A Legacy of Scripture Memory

John Piper:

As I look back over 32 years of pastoral ministry at Bethlehem one of the sweet legacies I savor is the solid place Bible memorization has in the church. I am not the only, or even the main reason for this. David and Sally Michael hold that place under God’s good providence.  

But I have loved it, nurtured it, and tried to model it. 

Because I believe in it with all my heart. 

At the core of this commitment is what we call the Fighter Verse program. This is a church-wide encouragement for young and old to memorize together each week a portion of Scripture. The verses are planned out for five years. Then we start over. 

They’re called “fighter verses” because the one offensive weapon in our spiritual armor in Ephesians 6:17 is the “sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.” 

I have the Fighter Verse app (produced by Children Desiring God) on my phone and look at the verse for the week everyday, even before I get out of bed. It is a really clear and flexible app. 

Now there has grown up around the Fighter Verse program a little industry of song-writing that turns the verses into music. One of the reasons I love this project is that people are so different in the way they learn things. Brains are wired differently. Some memorize by singing and hearing songs. 

Here’s a video of Matthew 5:43-48 put to music. The song is part of the new audio CD of a year’s worth of verses covering the Sermon on the Mount, available at Amazon and iTunes. 

You can learn more in this promotional video which highlights the ministry and its impact at Bethlehem. 

Years ago we could have called this whole vision: Solid Trees. Psalm 1 says that meditating on God’s instruction day and night makes you like a tree planted by streams of water. That means when the drought hits, the people who live in the Bible remain green, bear fruit, feed the hungry, and give shade to the weary. 

If you need encouragement and help memorizing the most important truths in the world, join us.

Why Memorize Scripture?

In the wrong place emotionally? Memorize a Psalm

Chris Brauns:

Psalms are poetry. This means that they are truth to be experienced. The idea with poetry is not that we simply learn objective truth. Rather, poetry, particularly in the case of the Word of God, transports us through an experience.

You might respond, “Well, when I read Psalms, it doesn’t make that much of a difference.”

We cannot experience poetry with a quick read. Rather, we need to hear the Words – - to reflect on them – - to prayerfully take in delight at pondering the images. There is no better way to accomplish this than through memorization.

Read the rest. Helpful.

Why Memorize Scripture?

John Piper here with a great article that answers this question. 

(HT:  @joel_lindsey)

Why Memorize Scripture?

Paul Adams:

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. We live from the inside out. What we think (as well as how we think) matters. What goes into our minds comes out in our lives. This is the main reason I’ve titled my website “Teaching Minds, Changing Hearts,” because it is the content in our minds that drives the change of our hearts. Yes we have moments when we act before we think, but predominantly our thought life dictates the course of action that we take.

Over the years, I’ve memorized hundreds of Bible verses and it’s made a huge difference in my thought life. While the movement from my mind to my life has been slow, I wonder what kind of person I would be if I did not have the knowledge of God’s Word in my life. So, I’d like to say a few things about memorization of Scripture.

Everyone can memorize. It takes no special skill.

Read it all here.

(HT: Chris Brauns)