An old goal with a new routine...
My purpose and desire for Biblical memory work has always been to impact the students’ hearts and relationships with God. My hope is that this new routine will have such an impact and allow the Holy Spirit to work, not just in the life and heart of the student, but the family as well.
So, how are we going to try to get God's word from the BIBLE to BRAIN to FAMILY to HEART?
With your (the parents) help!!
Here's how this is going to work:
On Thursday morning, each student will write the Bible passage for the week on a notecard. The reference, title, and passage should all be included on the notecard. This notecard will serve as the study tool for the week.
Parents will now be the assessors of the memory work. After studying and practicing, either on their own or with their parents, siblings, or friends, the students will recite the Bible passage to their parents. Parents must sign off on the notecard that the student successfully recited (according to the parents' standards - I have no intention of micromanaging this) the Bible passage. This will count for 20/25 points earning an 80% for the work, and shows the BIBLE to BRAIN portion of the objective.
For the BRAIN to FAMILY to HEART portion of the objective, the goal is for each student to have a conversation with their parent(s) about the passage, examining these questions and any others that come up:
- What happened in this passage?
- Why did the author write this down?
- What is God’s message to you in this passage?
- How do you relate to this passage?
- How does this passage impact your faith?
Whether in the car, at the dinner table, on the couch, or wherever and whenever makes sense for your family and schedule, if this conversation takes place, parents should note that on the notecard as well. This will result in the final 5 points being assigned, but the ultimate desired result is that the family has a conversation about God and faith, and that the hearts of the students and family members are impacted by these Biblical passages.
Notecards must be shown to Mrs. Schulze by the next Thursday morning (sooner is fine). Once shown to Mrs. Schulze, the students are encouraged to put the notecards in their Bibles for future reference and reflection.
I'm excited for the conversations that will begin happening at home surrounding these Bible passages, and I pray that they will be a tool of the Holy Spirit to bring the students and their families closer to God.
Our new memory passage is the next seven verses of Psalm 103. Some of these verses sound familiar because they are a common piece of liturgy - "the Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love." We hear these words during the absolution, the time when the Pastor looks at us after we've confessed our sins and declares God's love for us, even though we're sinners. What power that has to free us to be the loved children of God! As we look further in the passage we learn even more what "slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love" means.
