Sunday School students scream in panic as bazooka-carrying soldiers crash into the tiny classroom. A skinny soldier seems to be the ring-leader. His thin lips curl cruelly as he stares around the classroom at the cowering children.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll right!\u00a0 Grab the Bibles,\u201d he snarls to the goons behind him.\u00a0 The soldiers hastily grab every last Bible in the classroom and \u201cmove out\u201d without even knocking over a single desk.<\/p>\n
Sound like a restricted third-world country?\u00a0 Actually, it was an American Sunday School classroom, and the \u201csoldiers\u201d were church members recruited by the teacher to confiscate all the Bibles. Students then spent the rest of the class time trying to recreate as much of the Bible from memory as they could.\u00a0 You\u2019d better believe that those students didn\u2019t ever forget the importance of memorizing God\u2019s Word!<\/p>\n
How can you <\/em>maximize the portion of your class in which you share the memory verse with the class?\u00a0 Let\u2019s use the acronym \u201cIPEAR\u201d to remember a handy method for teaching memory verses in your class.<\/p>\n If you were fishing, wouldn\u2019t you bait your hook first?\u00a0 And wouldn\u2019t the quality of the bait determine how many fish you interest?\u00a0 The same goes for when you\u2019re about to teach a verse.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t mean to compare God\u2019s word to a hook, but in this stage, you are going to bait your students and, with any luck, make them want<\/em><\/strong> to learn the verse. \u00a0Your introduction could start with anything\u2014sometimes, the more startling the better!<\/p>\n For example, if you were getting ready to teach Jeremiah 33:3 (\u201cCall to me, and I will answer you\u2026\u201d), you would simply pull out your cell phone in the middle of whatever you were doing, and say, \u201cI\u2019m sorry, I\u2019ve got to make a phone call.\u201d\u00a0 Don’t let the children know you are getting ready to teach the verse.\u00a0 Just let them wonder what on earth you\u2019re doing!<\/p>\n Then, after pretending to dial, you could stomp your foot in frustration and sigh, \u201cThe line\u2019s busy! Aren\u2019t you glad that God\u2019s line is never too busy when you want to talk to Him?\u201d<\/p>\n What if you were teaching Romans 3:23 (\u201cAll have sinned and fall short\u2026\u201d)? \u00a0You could put two masking tape lines on the floor and have the children try to jump from one to other.<\/p>\n Whatever you do, try to snag ’em with the introduction!<\/strong><\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve snagged your little fishies, you\u2019re ready to present the Word of God to them.\u00a0 At this point, you want to have the memory verse marked in your Bible, so that you can flip to it quickly.\u00a0 If you have the verse printed on a visual, you can hold it up to have children follow along as you read it from the Bible.\u00a0 This helps children, especially young ones, connect that the verse on your visual is coming from the Bible.<\/p>\n After presenting the verse, you need to explain<\/em> any unusual words.\u00a0 One little boy learned Luke 19:10.<\/p>\n “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n After learning this verse, he asked his teacher, \u201cWhy did Jesus save the witch <\/em>(which)?\u201d\u00a0 Obviously, this little fellow needed some explanation!<\/p>\n What should you explain?\u00a0 Look for big words like \u201credemption\u201d and \u201cpropitiation,\u201d but also look for little words like \u201che\u201d and \u201cone\u201d that might refer back to something or someone else not mentioned in the verse.\u00a0 For this step, you might want to think through how you would explain a concept like \u201credemption\u201d to the kids in your class.<\/p>\n This is the \u201cSo what?\u201d step of teaching a verse.\u00a0 Why is it important that the kids know this particular verse?\u00a0 Is it a promise from God that they should trust?\u00a0 Is it a command that they should obey?<\/p>\n Some verses may only apply to saved children.\u00a0 If the verse you\u2019re teaching happens to be applicable only to believers, point that fact out.\u00a0 Remind your class that anyone who does not know Christ can\u2019t keep God\u2019s commands, claim His promises, or whatever that verse happens to be.\u00a0 If you have time and the kids\u2019 attention, this could be a good segue into the gospel.\u00a0 If kids are getting antsy (and you\u2019ve been wordy already) just say something like, \u201cIf you would like to know how to be saved, keep listening, because we\u2019ll talk about that during the lesson.\u201d<\/p>\n This is the part where you play some sort of game or sing a song to help the kids remember and repeat the verse.\u00a0 There are many creative ways to review and repeat the verse, but those will have to wait for some future blogs!<\/p>\n Let me give you a hint with the \u201crepetition\u201d phase:\u00a0 start it when you first start teaching the verse! Have the kids repeat it as soon as you \u201cPresent\u201d it, then again after you \u201cExplain\u201d some of the words, and again after you \u201cApply” it.\u00a0 That way, you not only break up your teaching with activity, but you\u2019re also beginning to cement the verse in kids\u2019 brains even before you begin a formal memory game.<\/p>\n This technique obviously takes some practice to master.\u00a0 And don\u2019t feel like you have to do all of it each time you teach a verse.\u00a0 But is there a particular element you see in which you could improve?\u00a0 Are you strong in repetition, but weak in explanation?\u00a0 Or maybe you explain the verse, but never apply it directly to the kids.\u00a0 It might be helpful to practice taking this Sunday\u2019s memory verse and writing out what you would do for each area.<\/p>\n Have fun maximizing memory with your class!<\/strong><\/p>\n * As far as I can tell, this method was first popularized by Child Evangelism Fellowship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How can you maximize the portion of your class in which you share the memory verse with the class? Let\u2019s use the acronym \u201cIPEAR\u201d to remember a handy method for teaching memory verses in your class.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":137,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[4921,24,33],"tags":[4924,42,40],"yoast_head":"\nIntroduce<\/h2>\n
Present<\/h2>\n
Explain<\/h2>\n
Apply<\/h2>\n
Repeat<\/h2>\n
Practice<\/h2>\n
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