When I was a child, my mother went through a lot of hard work to help my brother and me learn the Bible. She put together a neighborhood Bible study and gave prizes for anyone who would memorize certain portions of Scripture. By the time I was 12 years old, I had memorized, among others:
- The Books of the Bible
- The Ten Commandments
- The Beatitudes
- The entire Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7)
- Psalm 23 (The Lord is My Shepherd)
- 1 Corinthians 13 (The Love Chapter)
- 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 (The Body of Christ)
I can’t tell you how valuable those Scriptures have been to me throughout my life. At my age, I can’t recite all of these passages word for word like I did then; however, I do know enough of them to find what I need when I need it.
I only hope that I have the same kind of stamina to teach my children the unaltered Word of God. When Ben is old enough, I’m going to start with the same 26 Scriptures that my mom helped me learn.
The Scriptures were taken from “The Bible Alphabet Song” by Psalty and the Praise Kids. (“The Bible Alphabet Song” is available on Kids Praise! 5: Psalty’s Camping Adventure.) If you’re interested, I’ll share them with you to help your children.
A: All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
Romans 3:23
B: Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.
Acts 16:31
C: Children, obey your parents in the Lord for this is great.
Ephesians 6:1
D: Depart from evil and do good.
Psalm 34:14
E: Even a child is known by his doings.
Proverbs 20:11
F: Fear not, for I am with thee.
Isaiah 43:5
G: God is love.
1 John 4:8
H: Honor thy father and thy mother.
Exodus 20:12
I: I am the vine you are the branches.
John 15:5
J: Jesus wept.
John 11:35
K: Keep thy tongue from evil.
Psalm 34:13
L: Look unto me and be ye saved.
Isaiah 45:22
M: Marvel not, you must be born again.
John 3:7
N: No man can serve two masters.
Matthew 6:24
O: Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good.
Psalm 118:1
P: Praise ye the Lord.
Psalm 127:1
Q: Quench not the Spirit.
1 Thessalonians 5:19
R: Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exodus 20:8
S: Seek ye first the kingdom of God.
Matthew 6:33
T: Trust in the Lord with all thine heart.
Proverbs 3:5
U: Unto us, a child is born.
Isaiah 9:6
V: Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord.
Romans 12:19
W: Wait on the Lord.
Psalm 27:14
X: Exceeding great and precious promises are given unto us.
2 Peter 1:4
Y: Ye are the light of the world.
Matthew 5:14
Z: Zion heard and was glad.
Psalm 97:8
I hope you take the time to teach them to your children, too. I promise, they will thank you one day!
By the way, if you’re curious, I wrote all 26 of these Scriptures down from memory, but I could only remember 13 of the references. I had to check the rest. Not bad, considering 20 years have passed since I first memorized them!
Copyright © 2009 by Sabrina Beasley. Used with permission.
