FIFTY-TWO-WEEK SCRIPTURE MEMORY PLAN

If you were walking down an old country road at night would you prefer to be carrying a penlight, a flashlight, or a floodlight?

Most of us would choose the floodlight. We want to see the most we can with the hope of avoiding danger. The more light we have, the better off we will be on that dark road. The same is true of God’s Word. As we navigate the dark roads of life, we can carry a penlight (ten or so Bible verses), a flashlight (one hundred or so Bible verses) or a floodlight (one thousand Bible verses). Each verse we memorize will add to the strength of the light we have to guide our steps in this world. We need those words.

Human beings live on words. Words are the fuel that sustains and shapes us as creatures made in God’s image. The words we ingest and live by have great consequences in our life on earth and beyond. That’s why that cunning serpent in the garden of Eden focused on God’s words to Adam and Eve when he talked with Eve.

“Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?”, asked the serpent. Up until that moment God’s clear word governed the first couple’s choices and behavior. The serpent’s question had the effect of neutralizing God’s word to Adam and Eve. We know the consequences.

Fast forward. Jesus had just been baptized and was about to begin his public ministry. The tempter who came to Eden approached Jesus in the wilderness of Judea with three attractive temptations. With each temptation, Jesus responded with sacred words that had he had memorized and that shaped his thoughts, his affections, and his decision making. We know and are eternally grateful for the consequences.

Dallas Willard, who has written extensively on spiritual disciplines, says that “Bible memorization is absolutely fundamental to spiritual formation. If I had to choose between all the disciplines of the spiritual life, I would choose Bible memorization, because it is a fundamental way of filling our mind with what it needs.”

Here is a fifty-two-week plan of Bible memorization. Two Scriptures on the same topic are suggested for each week. The plan begins with some major theological truths. It then takes the participant on a chronological journey ranging from Abraham through the Hebrew prophets. The plan then moves back into a more topical orientation designed to set forth God’s way of reconciling human beings to himself, creating his body (the church), and then guiding believers into an ever-growing likeness of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Each week’s passage set is also identified by a Biblical Concept. These fifteen Biblical Concepts serve as a tool for categorizing the major truths presented in the Bible. All ongoing Bible study curriculum developed by LifeWay Christian Resources addresses these fifteen Biblical Concepts over time. If you are using LifeWay Bible study resources, this fifty-two-week memory plan will strengthen your understanding of the fifteen Biblical Concepts.