Pastor John, last time you explained why you memorize Scripture, why it's a priority for you, and you challenged us to memorize Romans chapter 8, the whole chapter. Last time you said you wanted to give us some concrete practical suggestions on how to do that, so let's talk about that today.

What are some very basic steps that can help us memorize a chapter of Scripture? When I was a pastor at Bethlehem, we always began the year with a focus on the Word and prayer. And in that week, we'd have a kickoff on Wednesday night, and we'd emphasize Scripture memory.

And one of those years, I remember a few years ago, Sam Crabtree, the executive pastor, stood up and he recited the entire Sermon on the Mount. It was riveting, because Sam's a good reader anyway. And I remember at one point, he started walking across to the side of the platform as he was beginning Matthew 7, "Judge not that you be not judged, for with the judgment you pronounce you'll be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.

Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but don't notice the log that is..." And when he got to the word "log," he had timed it to stand beside one of those massive wooden columns in our sanctuary, and he put out his hand and he said, "Why do you notice the log?" And he put his hand on that just as he was reciting it.

I'll never forget that. It was just so amazingly powerful that he was doing the recitation, that he had this picture of a log, you know, 40 feet tall, and just massive. So I have had some amazing experiences of people reciting Scripture. John Bloom, the president of Desiring God, recited the entire book of Hebrews from memory as the main message in one of the worship services at his church.

And so I've been working on this and believe in it, and I want to help people with some hows here. So here's a suggestion. Andy Davis has written a little booklet. It's online for free in a PDF called "An Approach to Extended Memorization of Scripture." And I would recommend everybody look at it, but I'll give you the summary of how it helped me here.

So if you're going to memorize Romans 8 with me over the next 40 days or so, because there are 39 verses in it, that is a verse a day, I'll show you how I do it. And this is just basically I'm repeating what Andy says, so I give him full credit for these suggestions, and I thank him for inspiring me and helping me.

So day one, that might be tomorrow for you, day one, you read "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." And you read it 10 times. You put your eyes on it and read it 10 times. Now you'll have it memorized before the 10th time, but keep reading it.

Don't lift your eyes off it. And look at every different word, because looking is part of fixing it in your brain. Then when the 10 times is done, you close your eyes or shut your Bible and say it from memory 10 times. And I would suggest each time you say it, emphasize a different word.

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ." "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ." "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ." "There is therefore now no condemnation." And as you mention each of those words, new meanings probably will flash before your eyes and fix the word, not only because of its content, but because of the meaning of it in your mind.

So when you're done with that, take a few seconds, you're done for the day, as far as memorizing Romans 8. Next day, day two, you say that verse 10 times without looking. If you have trouble, you look, get it down, and then you go to verse 2, do exactly the same thing.

Read it 10 times, close your eyes, say it 10 times, and then say the two together. And same thing day three. Recite verses 1 and 2, and then say the third verse 10 times, I mean read it 10 times, then say it 10 times, and right on through 39 times.

The trick is going to be staying with it and repeating the long passage. It gets longer every day, so it's going to take more time every day to do this. But it doesn't take a lot of time. I'm setting aside maybe 10-15 minutes a day in the new year to nail down some things that I've worked on in the past and to make some progress.

I want to memorize Philippians again. I had it a couple of years ago, and I want to make sure I have it again when I teach on it in the fall. So that's my suggestion. Go to Andy Davis's article online, grab it, don't grow weary in this battle. Pray, pray for strength as you begin, and let the Bible talk to you powerfully, and commit to do it.

It's just infinitely worth it. Yes, excellent. Thank you, Pastor John. And that booklet by Andy Davis is again titled, "An Approach to Extended Memorization of Scripture." You can search for it online, and you'll find it easily enough. Now this commitment to extended Bible memorization requires a lot of time.

This is a big commitment, and I think, Pastor John, this presses forward an important and really an inescapable question about settling on one translation of the Bible. So let's talk about that on Monday. Until then, check out the redesigned DesiringGod.org where you can find thousands of books, sermons, articles, and blog posts from John Piper.

I'm your host, Tony Reinke. Have a great weekend. DesiringGod.org DesiringGod.org