Memory Work is Good for the Soul

Rector’s Rambling April 2012

Holy Week will soon be upon us. Some of you may remember that on the first Sunday of Advent, I challenged the parish to read those Bible passages suggested by Scripture Union in their “Essential 100 Bible Reading Plan” http://www.e100challenge.org.uk . Our target date for completion is Good Friday. Many people at St. John’s have taken that challenge seriously, and I believe our level of Bible literacy has increased as a result. In addition, I hope the regular discipline of Bible reading now seems more accessible to many of us here at the parish. Many of you know Betty Pugh, a long time parishioner of St. John’s. Although Betty is legally blind, she uses a special super magnifier and reads the Bible through on a regular basis. She asked me to suggest a list of Bible verses which Christians might memorize to their profit. I thought it was a good idea, and so here they are.

Some Favorite Memory Verses:

John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Matthew 28:19
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Romans 3:23
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Ephesians 2:8
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Acts 1: 8
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

2 Timothy 3:16
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:


Romans 10:9
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

John 1:12
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Romans 8:28
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Romans 12:1
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

These are just a few favorite Bible Verses. For a longer list, you might want to visit http://topverses.com , where you can access favorite Bible verses in many different translations.


If you have not already done so, I would also suggest you work on learning the Ten Commandments and Apostles’ Creed, reproduced here as they appear in “The Book of Common Prayer- 1979” http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp .

The Decalogue: Traditional (BCP page 317-318)

God spake these words, and said:
I am the Lord thy God who brought thee out of the land of
Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have none
other gods but me.

Thou shalt not make to thyself any graven image, nor the
likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth
beneath, or in the water under the earth; thou shalt not bow
down to them, nor worship them.

Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain.

Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day.

Honor thy father and thy mother.

Thou shalt do no murder.

Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Thou shalt not steal.

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

Thou shalt not covet.


The Apostles’ Creed (BCP page 66)

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth;

And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

Faithfully,
Bill+