Copyright 2012 Jennifer Thorson ThePurposefulMom.com All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the author. Please contact me at thepurposefulmom at live dot com with any questions or for permission to use in your church or school. Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

God’s Word in My Heart A Scripture Learning Guide with Memory Verses

ESV

By Jennifer Thorson

thepurposefulmom.com

Thank you for choosing God’s Word in My Heart, a Scripture

Learning Guide with Memory Verses!

Learning Scripture and hiding it in our hearts (Psalm 119:11) is much more than

just memorization! Knowing what God’s Word says shows us the depths of our

sin, God’s deep mercy in giving us salvation through Jesus and teaches us how

God desires us to live as Christians.

It’s never too early to start teaching your children Bible verses! When the Apostle

Paul shares encouragement with Timothy, he reminds him that “from childhood

you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for

salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 3:15)

Where did Timothy initially hear and learn from Scripture? We see in 2

Timothy 1 that his mother, Lois, and grandmother, Eunice, both had a genuine

faith. Chances are that Timothy was first taught God’s Word by his family when

he was young!

As Christian parents, our responsibility is great, but we don’t have to go it alone!

God promises to give us wisdom when we ask for it (James 1:5), and also tells

us He will instruct us and teach us in the way we should go (Psalm 32:8). This is

His promise for our children also, because God’s Word will always accomplish its

purpose (Isaiah 55:11).

Instructions for Using God’s Word in My Heart

My goal in creating this “Scripture learning guide” is to give you a tool for

teaching the Bible to your children as well as some methods for teaching the

verses.

Be as creative or as straightforward as you desire! There is no “right way” to

teach your child God’s Word. I am not a naturally crafty or imaginative person;

many times I take a very simple approach to life. Many of my friends are very

creative and so I’ve provided Scripture memory ideas that suit a wide range of

personalities, all with the same end goal of helping your children learn and hide

in their heart these wonderful words of life!

I hope that this guide will be helpful for you as well. As an adult, I’ve found that I

need to meditate on Scripture more than ever!

Included in this packet are:

Instructions for Using God’s Word in My Heart

Ideas for Teaching Scripture to Your Children, from the Baby on Up

List of Songs and other Go-Alongs for Learning Scripture

Specific Songs for Verses from God’s Word in My Heart

Printable Scripture Memory Verses for Use at Home and at Church

o ABC Memory Verses (ESV)

o Verses on Our Sin and God’s Grace (Salvation) in ESV

About the Layout

As you look through the printable verses in God’s Word in My Heart (found after

the Acknowledgements) you may notice braces around parts of some verses. It

may be useful for very young children to have just a portion of the verse to

memorize at first. This is a helpful method we use for my little ones! The words in

braces include the remainder of the verse or verses, which can be used with

older children or younger ones who can easily learn them.

You may desire to print out the memory verse pages to use as you go. They can

be stored in a folder or binder for easy access.

You will also see three boxes under each Scripture. These can be used for

memory work at home or church***. As our children memorize one verse each

week, they recite it for us up to three times. We add a sticker to each box and

give a small reward {or just a big hug!}.

It’s also helpful to take the opportunity to read each of the Scriptures in the

context of the passage of the Bible in which they are contained. This is a great

way to grasp the deep meaning of the verse and hopefully promote further

discussion with your kids!

I pray that you and your children will take joy in hiding God’s Word in your

hearts!

***If you would like to use this Scripture learning guide at your church or school, please contact

me at thepurposefulmom {at} live {dot} com for prior approval. Thank you!

Ideas for Teaching Scripture to Your Children

Children of all ages can benefit from hearing and learning Scripture! Here are

some age-based ideas that we have used in our family as well as others we’d

like to try!

Babies and Toddlers

Read Scripture to your baby in the bathtub or during playtime

Listen to God’s Word set to music (see “List of Songs and Go-Alongs” for

our favorites!)

Display Bible verses where your baby or toddler spends lots of time, such

as:

o Above the changing table

o In picture frames in the bedroom

o On the wall in the nursery or playroom

Read books with Bible stories and Scripture (see “List of Songs and Go-

Alongs”).

Pray Scripture over your children. Work through the Psalms or use any of

the verses included in this packet.

Include them in family devotions.

Preschool and Grade-School

All the ideas listed above!

Talk about the Scripture that you are learning: what it means and how it

applies to life. Use a good reference Bible to help get you started.

Read a Bible passage together throughout the week, perhaps the passage

that surrounds one of the memory verses so you can read it in context.

Make a Scripture caterpillar!

Sit in a circle with a ball. The first person says the first word or phrase of

the verse, then tosses the ball to another person who says the next

word/phrase, continuing a few times until the verse is learned.

Hide words of Scripture printed out on pieces of paper around the house

and have them find each word and then put it in the right order.

Repeat the verse in different voices – high, low, loud, soft, etc.

Write a verse on post-it notes and remove one word at a time for

memorization.

Print out Bible Verse Coloring Pages and color during a lesson time.

Create a Bible Verse puzzle, mix up the words and have your child put

them in order.

Use hand motions as you say the verse.

Put Scripture to song. You can find some of our favorite Scripture songs

and CDs in the “List of Songs and Go-Alongs”.

Replace some of the words with pictures that represent the word (e.g.

picture of the sun in “from the rising of the sun to its setting…”)

Write the current verse you are learning up on a white board or index

cards, placing them in strategic places around your house so you can say

it throughout the day (this works well for moms and dads too! ).

Make a link chain with pieces of construction paper and write a couple of

words from the verse on each piece. Remove one link at a time and see if

you can remember the Scripture!

Junior High and High School

God’s Word in My Heart is written primarily for preschool and grade school age

children, but it can also be used as a springboard for Scripture learning with

junior high and high school age young men and women.

By this point, some Scripture memory work will be self-directed. But that doesn’t

mean you can’t join your child in learning God’s Word! Use this opportunity,

whether it’s during family devotions, your homeschool day or any other time, to

have a discussion with your children about how to apply the Word to their lives

and to talk to them about the richness of God’s mercy and grace!

Kasey Norton from Walking Redeemed has kindly agreed to share her tips on

learning the Bible with her junior high and high school age children.

“We mostly do Scripture memory as a family. Our approach is roughly a verse a

week. We review it at meals and worship. We select pretty long, meaty verses for

memory and typically choose texts that apply to situations in our lives currently.

We review it at meals and worship. When our youngest kids were still small, we'd

just have them memorize a key part of what the rest of us were working on.

For our older children, teen and pre-teen, we sometimes have them dig deeper

into the verses. We use the KJV but sometimes we'll ask them to re-write it in

their own words. They also may pick a key point from the verse and do brief topic

studies. It is amazing how much more solid the memorization is when it truly

carries a message that they grasp.

We keep all the verses we've worked on in a box and review them on occasion.

The ones that we really dug into always are the ones that have stuck in their

minds.”

List of Songs and Go-Alongs

Listening to Scripture put to music has made it very easy for our children to learn

Bible verses (and actually remember them!). And it’s worked for the grown-ups

too! There are also many books with beautiful illustrations and helpful stories that

contain Scripture.

Scripture Music

Here are a list of some of our favorite Scripture CDs and books. Most of the CDs

are available on Amazon as MP3 downloads as well. I’m sure there are many

more that I haven’t yet read or heard of, but I’m sure you will enjoy what we’ve

found so far!

Hide ‘Em in Your Heart, Vols. 1 and 2 – by Steve Green

Songs for Saplings, ABC – by Dana Dirksen

Seeds Family Worship – by Seeds Family Worship (there are several CDs in

this collection)

Hidden in My Heart - Scripture Lullabies – from BreakAway Music (they

donate 1 out of every 10 CDs to Pregnancy Resource Centers)

Other Resources

Bible Melody.com – This website has a good list of free Scripture music that

you can search by verse.

Wise Words for Moms – A calendar style pamphlet of Scriptures that help you

address heart issues like arguing, discontent, selfishness and more. Ages 2 and

up will benefit from this resource.

The Story Bible –Contrary to its name, this isn’t your typical “storybook” style

Bible. Its text is relatively close to the actual Scriptures (it’s based on the ESV)

and it contains beautiful illustrations as well as questions, a prayer and activities

you can complete with each passage. This is the Bible we presently use for our

family devotions.

What is God Like? (and other books in the Little Blessings series) - What we

like about these books is that they have Scripture put to rhyme and at the end of

the book, it gives the Scripture references for each page as well as the full Bible

verse. These books are great for kids 18 months and up.

The Memory Bible – This Bible storybook lets kids sing, read, apply and

remember 52 key Bible verses from Genesis to Revelation. It contains two CDs

with sing-along music and stories. While we haven’t yet used this resource, it has

high reviews on Amazon.

Scripture Songs for God’s Word in My Heart

In ESV

As our family has been learning the verses in this Scripture memory program, we

have found that songs from the albums Hide Em in Your Heart, Songs for

Saplings: ABC and Seeds Family Worship help us with many of the verses. They

are listed alphabetically below (if one is missing, it doesn’t have a song go-along

that I’ve found). You may wish to use these songs as a teaching tool!

A – A – Apple - Songs for Saplings

B – Behold, Behold

C – Children Obey Your Parents – Hide Em in Your Heart, Vol. 1

D – Delight Yourself in the Lord – Seeds of Purpose (Seeds Family Worship)

F & G – For All Have Sinned/For God So Loved – Hide Em in Your Heart, Vol. 1

H – Honor Your Father and Your Mother – Hide Em in Your Heart, Vol. 2

I – I Can Do All Things – Hide Em in Your Heart, Vol. 1

J – J – Joy - Songs for Saplings

K – Keep Your Tongue from Evil – Hide Em in Your Heart, Vol. 1

N – New Creation – Seeds of Faith (Seeds Family Worship)

P – Just sing any praise song!

R – Rejoice in the Lord Always

S – Ask, Seek, Knock – Seeds of Courage (Seeds Family Worship)

T – Trust in the Lord - Hide Em in Your Heart, Vol. 1

W – When I Am Afraid – Hide Em in Your Heart, Vol. 1

X – X – Exalt - Songs for Saplings ABC

Y – You Are the Light of the World – Hide Em in Your Heart, Vol. 1

Z – Z – Zealous – Songs for Saplings ABC

Most of the songs listed above align with the ESV version, but a few do not. They

are certainly enjoyable to listen to either way!

One last thought…

When I consider how precious the Word of God is to me, I reflect on these verses

from Deuteronomy 6:6-9: “These words, which I am commanding you today,

shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk

of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you

lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and

they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts

of your house and on your gates.”

Some links contained in this book are affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I receive a small

portion of the sale.

Acknowledgements

I’m the type who seeks lots of advice before I launch into anything big. There are

several people I want to thank for giving me the inspiration and honest feedback

that helped turn this eBook into something better than I could have made it

myself.

My husband is always the first to lend an ear to hear about my visionary ideas

and I’m so thankful he still takes me seriously! My children were my inspiration

for this Scripture learning guide and I love to see them learn and grow in their

faith.

I’m so grateful that Stacie, Kasey, Anna and my dear friend Monica took the time

out of their busy days to contribute their expertise and encouragement. Thank

you to my friend Rebekah of abooboo designs for her beautiful cover design.

The original inspiration for this eBook came from a lovely Christian woman and

friend named Rebecca who created short Scripture memory verses as an

extension of our church association’s Sunday School curriculum. When I saw

how much my son loved learning in this way, I knew what I wanted to do!

Most of all, it was the Lord who planted this idea that just wouldn’t let go. I’m

thankful for the grace He gives me every day.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me at

thepurposefulmom {at} live {dot} com.

~~Jenn

Copyright 2012, Jennifer Thorson, thepurposefulmom.com

ABC BIBLE VERSES – ESV

A - Keep me as the apple of your eye; {hide me in the shadow of your wings}.

Psalm 17:8

B - Behold, I stand at the door and knock. {If anyone hears my voice and opens

the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.}

Revelation 3:20

C – Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Ephesians 6:1

D – Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4

E – Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! {Give thanks to

him; bless his name!} Psalm 100:4

Copyright 2012, Jennifer Thorson, thepurposefulmom.com

ABC BIBLE VERSES – ESV

F - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

G – For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, {that whoever

believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life}. John 3:16

H – Honor your father and your mother, {that your days may be long in the land

that the Lord your God is giving you.} Exodus 20:12

I – I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

J – Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

Habakkuk 3:18

K – Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Psalm 34:13

Copyright 2012, Jennifer Thorson, thepurposefulmom.com

ABC BIBLE VERSES – ESV

L – Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly {teaching and admonishing one

another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with

thankfulness in your hearts to God.} Colossians 3:16

M – Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in

your sight, {O LORD, my rock and my redeemer}. Psalm 19:14

N – Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. {The old has passed

away; behold, the new has come.} 2 Corinthians 5:17

O – O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. {Delay not, for

your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by

your name.} Daniel 9:19

P – Praise the Lord! {For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant,

and a song of praise is fitting.} Psalm 147:1

Copyright 2012, Jennifer Thorson, thepurposefulmom.com

ABC BIBLE VERSES – ESV

Q – Do not quench the Spirit. 1 Thessalonians 5:19

R – Rejoice in the Lord always; {again I will say, rejoice!} Philippians 4:4

S – Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock and it will be

opened to you. Matthew 7:7

T – Trust in the LORD with all your heart, {and do not lean on your own

understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your

paths.} Proverbs 3:5-6

U – Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Psalm 51:12

Copyright 2012, Jennifer Thorson, thepurposefulmom.com

ABC BIBLE VERSES – ESV

V – But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus

Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57

W – When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. {In God, whose word I praise, in

God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?} Psalm 56:3-4

X – Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! Psalm

34:3

Y – You are the light of the world. {A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.}

Matthew 5:14

Z – Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.

Revelation 3:19

Copyright 2012, Jennifer Thorson, thepurposefulmom.com

Verses About Sin and God’s Grace – ESV

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ

Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

{But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners,} Christ died for

us. Romans 5:8

…and are justified by his grace as a gift, {through the redemption that is in

Christ Jesus}. Romans 3:24

{And there is salvation in no one else}, for there is no other name under heaven

given among men by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12

Copyright 2012, Jennifer Thorson, thepurposefulmom.com

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. {No one comes to

the Father except through me}.” John 14:6

For by grace you have been saved through faith. {And this is not your own

doing; it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.}

Ephesians 2:8-9

He saved us, {not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according

to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy

Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that

being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of

eternal life}. Titus 3:5-7

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105

BONUS - You may enjoy reading and committing to memory Romans 10. There are

many verses within this chapter that speak boldly of how the word of faith brings

salvation that I couldn’t choose just one to highlight in this memory program!