How to Play
We recommend playing this as a cooperative game, especially if you are planning to use it to introduce a lesson on Scripture Memory.
Be encouraging and give hints to help everyone succeed in this game.
Have everyone sit in a circle.
The youngest player will begin by thinking of an item you can buy in a supermarket.
For example, the youngest player can say, “I went to the supermarket and bought some grapes.”
The player to the left will repeat what the first player said and add 1 more item.
For example, “I went to the supermarket and bought some grapes and bananas.”
The next player will carry on by saying, for example, “I went to the supermarket and bought some grapes, bananas and milk.”
Carry on adding 1 item per player, until you are back to the first player.
The first player then repeats the entire list one final time.
(If you have too few or too many players, set a target number of items for each round.)
Play as many rounds as you like.
Variations
For a more challenging game, list the items in alphabetical order.
For example, apples, bananas, carrots…
If your players are more familiar with animals than items in a supermarket, you can play, “I went to the zoo and saw…”
Bible Lesson – Scripture Memory
Discuss
1. Did you enjoy this game? Why or why not?
2. In what ways was this game easy?
3. In what ways was this game difficult?
4. Can you remember anyone’s telephone numbers? Whose numbers do you know?
5. Do you know who to call in times of emergencies? Tell us more.
Say
In this game, we memorized a list of random items that we supposedly bought from the supermarket. It was just a game, and it’s not important for us to memorize the list.
But it is useful for us to memorize some other things.
For instance, we need to know some important telephone numbers, so that we know who to call if we need help.
Discuss
6. Do you know any songs by heart? Which songs?
7. How did you memorize those songs? Tell us more.
8. Have you ever found yourself singing those songs to yourself? Tell us more.
Read
Psalm 119:9-11
9. What are some reasons why the Bible is important?
10. What does it mean to “hide your word in my heart”?
11. Why does the psalmist hide God’s word in his heart?
12. Why is hiding God’s word in our heart good for us?
Say
The Bible is God’s Word.
It is important for us to read the Bible to learn more about God and how we should live.
There are many reasons why memorizing the Bible is good for us.
For example, when we feel sad, the Bible can encourage us and remind us of God’s love.
Memorizing the Bible can also help us stay away from sin.
Discuss
13. Do you know any Bible verse by heart? Which verses? How did you manage to memorize these verses?
14. What are some helpful ways to memorize the Bible?
Conclusion
Trying to memorize many Bible verses at a time can be difficult.
But most of us can manage memorizing small chunks of information at a time, just like in the earlier game. When we remember one item at a time, and slowly add more items and repeat them many times, it helps us memorize the whole list.
So, if we memorize small chunks of Bible verses at a time, we will gradually memorize entire verses. And over time, we can memorize many, many verses!
Encourage everyone to memorize Psalm 119:11.
