Monthly column for youth leaders

There's no denying it, memory verses are currently out of fashion.

Children don't seem to learn them, teenagers rebel against it, it's even difficult to convince adults that memorising Scripture is worthwhile. It ought not to be the case. Humans have not collectively lost the capacity to remember. We remember much worthwhile and not a little worthless information daily: train times, song lyrics, prices in shops, soundbites from politicians - you get the picture.

We just don't seem to memorise the Bible anymore. Perhaps it is the proliferation of versions. Perhaps the reason is that we always carry our Bibles with us. Perhaps it is just laziness. But what is the effect on the way we live our lives if we can recall our favourite advertisement more readily than a helpful Bible verse? So the challenge this month is to learn some verses with your young people. Here are some ideas to help.

Learn in context

We all know the dangers of taking verses away from their context. That means the best setting to learn verses is within the passage or book you are studying. Take a key verse for a particular book and learn it as you study the book. Good examples are Mark 10.45, John 20.30-31 or Colossians 2.6-7. You might want to set memory verses as you study together in a different context. You could concentrate on learning the verses of Two Ways to Live or of a Bible overview.

Learn about a theme

Another way to choose verses is to think thematically and learn several verses that will help with that theme. For example what does the Bible say about itself? Learn Timothy 3.16-17, Psalm 119.105, Mark 13.31, 2 Peter 1.16, Isaiah 55.1. Remember that these verses will need explaining to give them meaning and to avoid learning for learning's sake.

There are many other themes to use, for example prayer, trust, giving, living, guidance.

You could choose a strand of the Bible itself to provide the theme - for example, Proverbs or the Ten Commandments.

Learning that helps us live

A bit of Scripture lodged in our brains is often a good prompt when we face the temptations, despairs and frustrations of everyday life. Teaching each verse in context ought to avoid just creating a legalistic exercise. Try this selection of verses aimed at guiding the lads in their Christian living; you could just as easily select some for any group. Job 31.1: 'I have made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl.' Psalm 119.9: 'How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.' 2 Timothy 2.3: 'Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace...' Titus 2.6: 'Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled.'

Learning that sticks

The best verses to learn are memorable ones learned in a memorable way. Use games to learn them. Put them to music. Incorporate the verse into a youth group session in several different styles. Use drama. Stick with each for a few weeks - better to learn a few verses well than make a poor show of lots. Include the young people in teaching and revising the verses. They will come up with lots of innovative ways of making it stick. Above all make it fun and make it rewarding.
One way of making things stick is repetition. You may not even need to flag up the fact that you are learning verses. If a verse comes up enough times in a session then the young people will begin to become familiar with it. Some groups might resent the label of 'memory verses' and so need a more subtle approach. In some ways our job is the same as the advertisers. We want our product, the Bible, to be at the front of people's minds so when the need arises it is the first thing they think of. Finally, a great resource for creative ideas about learning verses and much more is Ken Moser's book Changing the World 2, distributed by the Good Book Company.

Happy learning, there'll be a test next month!

Memories are made of this

Learn in context

Learn about a theme

Learning that helps us live

Learning that sticks

Roger Fawcett

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