We believe that a high view of Scripture leads to a high view of God, so we want to point children to God’s Word as much as possible! Memorizing Bible verses is a great way for kids (ages 0-100) to take the living and active gift of Scripture into our day-to-day lives.
This is why we are developing several “word-for-word” Scripture memorization songs to be released in 2024. This is something that parents and churches have been asking Go Fish to do for years now, and we are finally going for it!
The B-I-B-L-E….it’s in the book – huh! (If you don’t know what that means, it’s time to listen to our song, The B-I-B-L-E).
This is a common refrain among parents and Sunday School teachers who want to help kids engage with God’s word from a young age. In this post, we’d like to present some great Bible verses for Children and offer up some strategies to help children remember them quickly and easily. Let’s get started!
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
This was the only place to start our list, and it is probably the first Bible verse you thought of when reading the title of this article. If there is one single verse that defines Christianity and sums up the Gospel nicely, this is it. So, naturally, it’s a great place to start with kids. As an added bonus, the language of this verse is simple and easy to understand, and it’s short enough to be easy for kids to remember with just a bit of practice.
The Go Fish “John 3:16” word-for-word Bible Beat will be available on 3/8/24!
“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”
Another verse that is both concise and easy to remember. The message that God’s gift of the Bible will lead the way and light the path in life is a great one for young people to grasp from an early age. As a Bible verse for kids, this one is popularly set to music to make it even more memorable and engaging.
“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
When we hop on a plane to do a concert, every airline advises the same thing. In case of emergency, if traveling with children, FIRST put the oxygen mask on your own face and THEN assist your child. Well, that’s the same concept of this most popular verse. If you don’t love yourself well, you won’t be able to love your neighbor well either. When you are living an abundant life as a result of your freedom in Christ, you are able to love your neighbor too!
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
This was the first verse we included in our word-for-word Scripture song series!
This is an important truth for children to grasp that comes straight from Jesus Himself! Jesus is THE way. Not one of many ways.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Often children will hand me their Bible to sign at a Go Fish show. If you’ve ever done this, then you’ve seen me include this verse with my signature! This verse teaches children that the Bible is always the place to look for guidance, direction, and absolute truth.
“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.”
For young people growing up in a consumer-driven world, understanding that the Lord provides what is necessary can be a tricky lesson to teach. This classic Bible passage is a great one to present for the needed perspective that it offers. We can trust in God to give us everything we need.
“Do everything in love.”
We wanted to end our list with this verse because it’s a great reminder for all of us. Even if this verse is the only one that some of the kids remember or take with them, that alone will have been worth the effort.
Simply reading some of the Bible verses above to children is going to be a good start, but ideally, you’ll take some steps to help them remember the verses moving forward. For that, you might consider using some of the strategies below. Remember, the best learning style for one child might not work well for another, so mixing it up with various techniques is likely to lead to the best possible results for all involved.
Use Music. As you might expect, this is our favorite way to teach children about the Lord. Bible verse songs for kids are not only fun, but matching up verses to memorable, catchy tunes naturally makes them easier for the brain to recall later. Children’s music has a long and storied history in the church and we love doing our part to keep that history alive and well.
Include Visual Aids. Rather than just read the Bible verses to the kids, create (or purchase) some kinds of visual aids that can be used to reinforce the message and imprint the key passages in their minds.
Rely on Recitation. Forming long-term memories requires repetition. Repeating the verses over and over again is one of the best ways to make them stick. In a Sunday School setting, this can mean having the class repeat the verses back after you read them. At home, you might pick a certain verse to have the child repeat before bed every night for a week.
Make It Interactive. What is a fun way to memorize Bible verses? Make it into a game, of course! One of the best ways to keep kids engaged with learning about the Bible is to create games, quizzes, or puzzles that relate to the Bible verses in question. They’ll have fun with the activities and won’t really notice that they are learning along the way.
Go Fish believes deeply in the power of music to connect children with the Word of God. There are plenty of ways for children to learn the Bible, and variety is always good, but we think music should be at the heart of your strategy.
With that in mind, we’ve developed a large catalog of fun, engaging Christian songs that can be enjoyed by the whole family. To check out what we have available, feel free to stream our music on Spotify or AppleMusic, or head over to YouTube channel to watch some of our videos. We would be honored to have the opportunity to introduce your children to the powerful truths found in the Bible!
