Scripture Alive!

Hello Friends,

Maybe you’re thinking, “I’ve memorized scripture before. What’s the difference between that and learning scripture by heart for biblical storytelling?” I am so glad you asked! 

Memorizing scripture is an initial step on the path to biblical storytelling. So if you already have scripture passages memorized, wonderful! Consider yourself well on your way to being a biblical storyteller! 

If you haven’t memorized scripture, no problem. Read on. The life benefits are amazing!

But wait, are memorizing and learning by heart the same thing? 

Many people use the terms interchangeably. But, for the purposes of learning scripture to tell as a biblical storyteller, let’s consider memorizing to be step one. Learning by heart comes as you spend time working with a story. 

You may have experienced this: memorizing scripture only lasts for a short time, often only a month or so.

When you learn scripture by heart, you know it so well that the story feels like it’s living inside you. You’ll find yourself in a situation you wouldn’t ever have associated with a Bible story before. Then suddenly, God brings to your mind how that story living in you is relevant right here, right now in this down-to-earth situation going on around you.

WOW!

But (you probably knew there would be a “but”), this sort of learning does not happen automatically or in a vacuum. 

AN INVITATION

Try out these steps to move scripture from “memorized” to “learned by heart” so you can tell scripture as a storyteller. 

• Choose a favorite Bible story. It really doesn’t have to be long. One of my favorite stories to tell is Luke 10:38-42. Only four verses. But, these four verses tell a powerful story.
• Memorize the passage (you’re on step one).
  • Choose an appropriate translation for telling. The NRSV is widely respected as well-translated while using language that sounds natural 
  • Yep, this part is definitely work. 
  • I like to go back and forth between reading the story out loud from a paper copy and then doing the best I can to say it out loud without looking. 
  • Break the story into chunks to make it more doable.
  • With repetition, you’ll get more of the story every time.
  • After several repetitions, challenge yourself to try the passage with the paper face down.
• Practice telling your story.
  • Please know that 100% word accuracy is not the goal. The NBSI recommendation is at least 75% word accuracy, with 95% content accuracy.
  • Try out different voices for different parts of the story.
  • Begin to tell some parts of the story more quickly and other parts more slowly.
  • Experiment with different volume levels for different parts of the story.

At this point you are likely to be surprised how much more the scripture is meaning to you than ever before, but keep going for even more blessings.

• Research your story. This is one of my very favorite parts.
  • Use  Bible Gateway (biblegateway.com) to look at your story in different translations. It’s fascinating that this can reveal nuances in the story.
  • Look at the cultural context for your story. Wikipedia often has relevant information.
  • Read commentaries online that explain the scripture. Research alert! – Try to find reputable sources and more than one perspective.

We’ve looked at the difference between memorizing scripture and learning it by heart. As with so many things, the only way to truly begin to experience the joy of learning by heart is by doing it.

This week choose a short Bible story and learn it by heart. I would love to hear which story you chose and what you experienced as you learned it!