HELPING CHILDREN “HIDE THE WORD IN THEIR HEARTS” (Memory Verse)
A Blog by Grace Verrier
I remember when I was a child going to church and I would get a star on my chart if I could memorize a particular scripture and be able to repeat it the following Sunday. Because I was diligent I received lots of stars. However, the majority of the class “lost” the memory verse paper before they arrived home and consequently had nothing to say when it came time to repeat the verse the following week. When I became a Children’s Pastor I realized that there had to be a better way to get the children to “hide the word of God in their hearts so that they would not sin against Him” (Psalm 119:11).
The first thing I did was make sure the children totally understood the meaning of the verse I was teaching. I always chose a pivotal verse that was the centre of the day’s teaching. I made sure I used it several times (with its address) during the presentation. Then I would play a game where each participant had to read the memory verse in a loud voice before they could play the game. For example in one of the games, I placed two masking tape lines on the floor approximately 12 feet apart. A child first said the memory verse in a loud voice and then he blew a ping pong ball between the two lines (not using his hands) and I would time the endeavor. Each week we would hold a different contest. The winner always got a small prize or I fed them a treat such as a gummy worm. The children had already memorized the scripture before they left for home.
Some Sundays would be “Memory Verse Review Time” where I might write out part of the verses they had learned and see who could fill in the blanks. These would reinforce their memory work. The children always had fun playing memory verse games.
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