During my childhood, my favorite Sunday school game was “Scripture Shoot-Out.” It was a game that helped students memorize the Bible verse of the day. This is how it worked… Two students were chosen and put back to back. The students would take steps forward as our teacher counted aloud. On three, we would turn around, face our opponent, finger guns out, and say (or shout) the Bible verse as fast as they could. The first student to finish saying (or shouting) the Bible verse was declared the winner.
We see a sort of scripture shoot-out in Matthew 4:1-11. In this passage, Jesus is tempted by Satan. Jesus refutes every lie and temptation with, “It is written…” (v. 4, 7, 10). Essentially, we see Jesus using scripture to combat Satan. We even see Satan trying to twist scripture against Jesus (v. 6) before Jesus shoots him down (v. 7).
This is why memorizing scripture is so important. Can you imagine if Jesus had to respond to Satan with, “Um, hang on… Let me Google something real quick… I think there’s a verse somewhere about that… maybe they haven’t been written yet…” Instead, he used the scripture that was embedded in his heart and mind as a weapon. After all, the Word of God is called a sword for a reason (Hebrews 4:12, Ephesians 6:17).
Memorizing scripture is so important. Especially in this day and age. While Google can be a useful tool, it does not replace having something embedded in our hearts and our minds. I think that’s what my Sunday school teachers were trying to do with fun games like “Scripture Shoot-Out.”
What helps you memorize scripture?
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Nick Chellsen 