Your word is a lamp for my feet,
a light on my path. Psalm 119: 105
Let me introduce this blog
Hi! I’m Alice and welcome to Lamp For My Feet! I hope that this site is an encouragement and help to memorize Scripture and to understand how these verses fit in with the rest of the Bible, and also how they relate to us as individuals. Unfortunately recent events have stopped traditional Bible study as we knew it and hopefully this blog will provide a medium to study and interact personally, while not “in person”. I do not claim any great training in Biblical studies, but have been studying the Bible for many years.
Before we start I wish to make a disclaimer: All comments are subject to editing and the thoughts expressed are those of the individual expressing them, and are not those of any specific group or church.
How this study works
I have divided people arbitrarily into different age groups, but these aren’t restrictive. I plan to do this through recommended verses and accompanying activities. I also hope that there will be interaction among our readers that will help the learning process.
There are four groups represented. The first group is the Little Ones, up through age 5. Just as you sing songs to them from the time they are born, so Little Ones can begin to learn easier memory verses. The second group is the Elementary Group for ages 6 through 12. This group will learn longer verse selections and begin to think about what the verse states. The third group, from ages 13 through 16 is the Senior Group and will be encouraged to memorize even longer selections and begin to deal with more abstract thinking about how the verses relate to them. The fourth group is the Advanced Group from ages 17 through adulthood. This group will explore more deeply into the selected verses and their context within the Bible.
To assist in continuity, I am using the New International Version (NIV). Although there are several good translations, I have found that this is the translation most commonly used by other Bible memorization groups. Please be consistent in the version you use as this will help you to use your Bible when you look up passages related to the memorized verse.
Memory Verse 1
January 1,2021
Notes to facilitators:
-There are many good translations of the Bible. However, for consistency we will use the New International Version (usually referred to as the NIV) which is widely accepted as a standard translation. (Translations are different than paraphrases, but more about that later.)
-These activities are for the whole family to become involved in. If you as an adult do not feel comfortable with the highest level of memorization, chose the level at which you do feel comfortable. The important thing is to begin learning these verses.
-Although there are specific suggestions for each group, look at the other age groups’ activities/questions (especially the sign language suggestions) to see if there is something else that would be helpful.
-Try not to repeat these in a sing-song manner, but as a dramatic reading, being careful to learn the verses exactly as written.
-Make sure you include the verse reference as part of the memorization.
-Lessons are arbitrarily divided into four age groups, but some children are capable of going on to a higher level sooner than the age group in which they would be. The age groups are as follows:
Age Groups:
Little Ones: Up to age 5.
Group 1 (Elementary): 5-10
Group 2 (Senior): 11-16
Group 3 (Advanced): 17+
-The plan is to present one each month, however later starters can go back to the first lesson and advance at their own speed.
Lesson 1
This is such an appropriate verse(s) to have at the beginning of a new year. It is also a key verse to understanding the rest of the Bible.
First Verse:
Little Ones: Genesis 1:1
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Activities & Questions:
-Make sure that your child knows the meaning of each of the words.
-Teach them the very simple sign language for “beginning”. Here is the description, and you can go on the internet and see it demonstrated at: ASL: “start”/begin. Hold your non-dominant hand out in a flat handshape with the fingers together except for the middle and index finger. Place the dominant index finger at the base of the non-dominant index and middle fingers and twist the dominant index hand. Memory aid: Think of starting a car by turning a key.
-Ask child if they like to create things or make things, such as coloring a picture. Do they like to give it away to someone they love, like Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Grandma? In the same way God created something (the world and all the beautiful things in it) to give to someone He loves–you!
Group 1: Genesis 1: 1, 31
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
31God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.
Activities & Questions:
-Coloring pages from Creation Coloring Pages from ministry-to-children.com (There’s a ton of free fun stuff to use from there!)
-Spend time reading the whole creation account (Genesis chapter 1) several times from the Bible. It’s fine to read it from accurate Bible story books as well, but, please, read the section frequently from the Bible. Let your children see you holding the Bible and actually reading from the Bible (versus from your phone or computer).
– As age appropriate, help them locate the verse(s), preferably in their own Bible. Please always have them say the reference before and after quoting the verse(s).
Group 2: Genesis 1: 1, 27, 31
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
31God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.
Activities and Questions:
-This verse comes from the book of Genesis. What does the word “genesis” mean? How does this relate to the verses we’re learning?
-What did God use to create His world? What can you create out of nothing?
-What things can you “create” for someone you love? How about creating a rest time for your mom by watching the younger children for a while, create a clean car for the family, create a song of praise to God, create a special relationship with a senior citizen who may not have any family close by–the ideas are limitless! How do you feel God felt making so many beautiful things for us to enjoy?
Group 3: Genesis 1:1-2, 26-28, 31
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.
Activities & Questions:
-How would you use these verses to discuss with a non-believer about a radically different version of the development of the earth, i.e. evolution?
-Since we have evidence of dinosaurs, woolly mammoths, and other ancient animals, how does this fit in with the creation account here in Genesis?
-Looking at vs. 29, were humans originally designed to be vegetarians? Look for other references in the Bible to either support or disprove that humans should be vegetarians now.
-Aside from giving us a starting place for the rest of the Bible what is the primary purpose of Genesis? You will have to read further into Genesis to get a better understanding of this.
-Put a little perspective on the book: who wrote it, when was it written, was it the first book written, how do we know that it’s accurate?
-What new insights have you had from memorizing this section?
Lamp for my feet 