When we started doing memory work with the boys the hardest part was deciding where to start and which verses, songs and poems to use with them. I have a few resources I have found helpful that I thought I would share.
Bible Memory Work
For Instruction in Righteousness by Pam Forster is a topical reference guide and when they were young I thoroughly enjoyed the ease of use it provides. There are hundreds of verses in this book categorized under titles such as “Laziness”, “Anger”, “Fear”, “Bitterness”, etc.
Each topic has verses addressing what the sin is and commandments about it, what happens or should happen to the person who commits the sin, what the sin is likened to, blessings of doing the opposite of the sin (ex: under “Hypocrisy” they have verses about the “Blessings of Sincerity and Honesty”), Bible stories that illustrate the consequences of the sin and finally verses to memorize. There are ideas on object lessons you can use to illustrate what the verses are saying, but it is primarily a topical Bible. I used this when there was a particular attitude I saw in my boys that needed addressing.
Another resource I used for verse memory work in their younger years was Teach Them To Your Children, which has a verse and a corresponding story for each letter of the alphabet. We went through this book in alphabetical order.
Steve Green Hide ‘Em In Your Heart was also a wonderful resource during their earlier years – both the dvd and the cd were useful.
In addition, we have greatly enjoyed the Seeds Family Worship cds that have verses set to music – we acquired them when they were quite young and have continued to enjoy them as they have gotten older.
Most of the other verses we taught them in their younger years addressed attitudes or were salvation related verses (John 11:25, Matthew 1:21, Romans 5:8, etc.)
Singing verses has been a great way to hide God’s word in our hearts and we have discovered some wonderful artists that have set larger passages of scripture to music.
Sons of Korah sings through full psalms, and Psallos sings through passages in Romans.
Our chapel does the Awana program, and it has a great memory work program built in to it which the boys do.
And this school year (2016/2017) our family is focusing on memorizing three chapters of the Bible together. I picked passages that I want them to remember through their seasons of life – Colossians 3, Romans 8, and Proverbs 1. We will do one passage every 12 weeks.
