Aidan's Memory Verses

While I have been a bit slack since starting it, Aidan and I have started getting back into his verse memory work.

We started sometime last year when Kate and I realized that he had memorized an astonishing amount of songs and details from Thomas. So, we figured he was ready to begin putting eternal things into his little head.

Back when I was in Bible college I took a class called Bible for Teachers. In this class we read an article that talked about how most Evangelical churches' Sunday school classes are driven by the "immediacy of salvation". This means that typically when we get a child in our SS we think, "I/We have to teach them about Jesus immediately, I must take them to the Cross today." This is instead of thinking, "How great that we have this child in our church and, God willing, they will be here for years to come giving us all this time to begin to teach them the whole counsel of God!"

I think children should hear about Jesus (and grown-ups should too!), but I was really struck by this article and its perspective that rests (a tad bit) upon God sovereignly ruling over time and events, meaning I/we can take the time to teach the ways and Word of God in its/His totality believing God honors His truth and His Word will accomplish all that he desires for it to and will not return to Him void.

SO, when I started Aidan's memory verses I started with the beginning and we are moving through what I feel are the important points in God's Story. I am sure we will miss some important verses along the way, but I figure that we have a lot of years to fill in the gaps.

When I teach Aidan a new verse I start by saying the verse to him a couple times in short phrases. (For some of the verses I do take the liberty of paraphrasing slightly.)

For example, with Genesis 1:1, I say to Aidan, "In the beginning...God created...the heavens and the earth." Then I repeat it and then the third time I have him repeat each phrase after I have said it. We do this step once or thrice a night. It usually only takes him a couple nights before all he needs is "In the..."

Currently we are working through the Lord's Prayer. Then we will get back to Genesis. Kate thinks Davis is almost ready since he has been so close in his singing to actually phrases (he already speaks actual words). We'll see...