As a Children’s Minister, I often feel like a broken record. “Be sure to read your Bible. When you learn Bible verses, they ‘pop up’ at just the right time,” I say almost weekly. It’s true. I remember being afraid as a child. Our house had been burglarized while we were at church one Sunday night. Someone had been in our home, and the memory frightened me. My mom, who is a great Christian woman, taught me a Bible verse. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind,” 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV).  Even today, decades later, that verse “pops” into my head at just the right time. When I awake from a nightmare, when I hear a noise in our home, when a new challenge comes my way.

Children (and adults) can certainly memorize things. They can sing songs, quote movies, and even copy their parents! Rote memory, however, is not too popular. Your children may not be a fan of this approach. Below are some fun ways to memorize Bible verses:

• Illustrate the Bible verse. Have your children write theBible verse, skipping space between lines. Have them draw pictures to stand for some words represented.
• Have your children say the Bible verse with another family member. One partner says one word and the other partner says the next.
• Write the Bible verse on a white board, mirror, or window (using a dry erase marker). Erase one word at a time, replacing it with a line. Then say the verse and include the missing word(s).
• Write the Bible verse in a place you see often. Use a white board, mirror, window, or sticky note.
• Throw a soft ball back and forth with a family member or two. When a partner catches the ball, she should say the next word in the Bible verse.
• Use hand motions to act out the Bible verse.
• Write the Bible verse and use a different colored marker for each word.
• Say the verse aloud of a family member.
• Stand up and kneel or sit down, saying one word of the verse as you stand and the next as you kneel or sit.
• Write the Bible verse in a straight line and cut the words apart. Mix up the words and put them back together to make the Bible verse.
• Listen to music by Seeds Family Worship, Hermie & Friends Scripture Memory Songs, or a similar format. Bible verses are set to music so that they can be memorized.

You’re never too old to memorize Scripture. Use these activities to build your children’s Bible knowledge as well as your own. The payoff is eternal.