[17] And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. [18] And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. [19] For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, [20] and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. [21] And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, [22] he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, [23] if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
Tag Archives: extended memorization
Week 3 :: Col. 1:11-16
[11] May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, [12] giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. [13] He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, [14] in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. [15] He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. [16] For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
Week 2 :: Col. 1:6b-10
[6b] – as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, [7] just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf [8] and has made known to us your love in the Spirit. [9] And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, [10] so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.
Week 1 :: Col. 1:1-6a
[1] Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, [2] To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. [3] We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, [4] since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, [5] because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, [6] which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—
Memorizing Colossians
We began memorizing Colossians this week. Our mission, so to speak, is the commit Paul’s letter to memory in the next fifteen weeks. We should be done by Christmas.
I am excited about learning this book. Each week, I will post the verses we are learning. In between work and home, I will write up notes learned from my study — and from my partners, I hope to get their thoughts posted as well.
Paul teaches about the doctrine of Christ more fully and systematically than in his earlier epistles. Paul teaches about what they already have: a hope laid up in heaven, an inheritance with the saints, deliverance from the tyranny of darkness, a seat with the risen Christ. Against the false teachings facing the Colossians, Paul reminds them Christ had done all that was necessary for their salvation (O’Brien). From the ESV Study Bible, the key themes of Colossians are:
- Jesus Christ is preeminent over all creation, Lord over all human rulers and cosmic powers (Col. 1:15–20; Col. 2:9–10; Col. 3:1)
- God has worked through Christ to secure redemption and reconciliation for all who put their faith in him (Col. 1:13–14, 20–22)
- Believers are in Christ and thus participate in a relationship of solidarity with Christ in his death on the cross, his resurrection from the dead, his new life, and his fullness (Col. 2:9–14; Col. 3:1–4)
- Christ has defeated the powers of darkness on the cross, and Christians share in his power and authority over that realm (Col. 2:10, 15; see also Col. 2:8, 20)
- Jesus is the fulfillment of Jewish expectation, and Christians now share in the heritage of the old covenant people of God through their union with him (Col. 1:12, 21–22, 27)
- Believers are called to grow in maturity in Christ by getting rid of sinful practices and cultivating Christian virtues (Col. 1:10–12, 28; Col. 3:1–4:6)
Summer Memorization
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to travel in Israel and Jordan on a tour group led by my father-in-law. Traveling in the Holy Land sounded so cliche, and at first, I resisted taking the trip. My wife had gone already on another tour, also with her father, and she could not stop talking about it — and she signed me up to go when her dad began setting up another group. It was a wonderful trip, one that I am glad I took.
Yet, this post is not about the trip or pictures or food. It is about the Psalms. As we wrapped up our tour, we spent several days in and around Jerusalem. Our guide, Harrison Cohen, read from Psalm 122 as we ascended in the bus to Jerusalem. As you might guess, he read Psalm 122:6, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.” Later as we began our tour of the temple mount area, we stopped by the Western Wall. Many of the men were praying aloud or reading aloud, so I decided to read the “songs of ascent” (Psalm 120-134) while standing at the Western Wall.
When I finished memorizing Philippians using the “memory moleskine,” I wanted to make sure that I did not lose the momentum I had gained. I wanted to learn more Scripture. As a summer project, I laid out the songs of ascent. I had always heard great things about the Psalms, yet it was not until this effort to learn them that I grew to share that opinion. The songs of ascent seemed so real, so down-to-earth, focusing on what felt like our own real life struggles. The songs covered times of blessing and times of despair, times of worship and times of scorn from others, times of excitement and times when all seem against you.
Each summer if the schedule allows it, I am going to work through the Psalms. This summer, I will start at the beginning, working through the first twelve psalms. I have several books to help me as I study these, but I am most excited about reading “The Way of the Righteous in the Muck of Life” by Dale Ralph Davis.
Practical Helps for Extended Scripture Memorization
Practical Helps for Extended Scripture Memorization (by Dr. Andy Davis, FBC Durham, compiled by Tim Brister)
- Review old verses: Always give priority in your mind to the retaining of old verses even over the learning of new ones. You should begin every day’s work with review of old verses.
- Repetition over time: The absolute key to successful Scripture memorization is repetition over a long time period. This is how you retain old verses while learning new ones.
- Memorize the verse numbers: Memorize the verse numbers as if they were part of each verse. This will help prevent you from dropping out verses or even whole paragraphs when you’re reciting the book all the way through. It actually makes memorization easier in the long run! (Note from Heinrich: I did not do this with previous passages I have learned. I learned section by section, chapter by chapter. There are downsides with not knowing chapter and verse. I was concerned it would not flow as well with the text as I spoke it.)
- Photograph the verses with your eyes: Read each new verse ten times, covering each word as though photographing it with your eyes. Burn each verse into your brain with your eyes.
- Say it out loud: Another help in memorizing is to say the verse out loud to yourself. This helps the memorization process. It doesn’t have to be very loud, just loud enough so you can hear it. Also, try putting some feeling and interpretation into reciting the verses. This is actually a form of meditation on the verses as you are learning them.
- Recite the entire section of Scripture from memory for 100 consecutive days: If you have done your work well, after about the second week you probably won’t even need the Bible anywhere near you while reciting. This can be done anywhere. It will add no extra time to your busy schedule.
- Weed the garden: Simply take one of your Monday morning times after the 100 days (perhaps every other month) and just read the section by sight all the way through. This will correct errors, and thus “weed the garden.”