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A
very important part of any children’s Bible class program should be memorization of scripture.
David knew the
importance of knowing God’s Word by heart.
He said in Psalm 119:11, "I
have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you."
When temptation comes, we can withstand if we know God’s commands and
His promises. Jesus Himself used scripture that He had laid up in His
heart to resist the temptation of the devil in Matthew 4. In fact,
Ephesians 6:10-18 says that the Word of God is the sword with which we
fight the devil and his forces. Thus, it is important that we know
God’s Word by heart. Although we cannot memorize the whole Bible, we
can memorize key passages and verses that will help us in our daily
life.
What better time to start laying up the Word of God in our
hearts than childhood?
Children have a natural ability for
memorization. They love to learn nursery rhymes and songs, why not
scriptures? If we can help them memorize portions of the Word while
they are very young, we will give them a mighty weapon to use later in
their lives when Satan attacks them. As they make decisions in daily
life, the Words of God will echo in their hearts and give them wisdom.
The following activities will help children memorize
scripture easily.
Always have children who can read look the memory
verse up in a Bible when you introduce it. To help children remember
the scriptures longer, have them memorize scriptures in groups of 6 to
8 verses. Let them memorize one new verse each week. The first week,
the child should quote the first verse. The next week, he should quote
the first and second. The third week, he should quote the first,
second, and third; and so on. The final week, the child should quote
the whole set of 6 to 8 verses. This method insures that the children
do not just quickly learn the memory verse before Bible class, say it,
and forget it.
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