About 13:Seven Faith

Throughout the history of the Church, followers of Jesus have taken time to "meditate" (Psalm 119:15) and even memorize the Word. Although early church Scripture memorization looked very different than the styles of memorization we use now, but it was still valued in the church.

Dallas Williard once wrote: "Bible memorization is absolutely fundamental to spiritual formation. If I had to choose between all the disciplines of the spiritual life, I would choose Bible memorization, because it is a fundamental way of filling our minds with what it needs. This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth. That’s where you need it! How does it get in your mouth? Memorization" ("Spiritual Formation in Christ for the Whole Life and Whole Person" in Vocatio, Vol. 12, no. 2, Spring, 2001, p. 7)

When Martin Luther recalled his discovery of justification by faith alone in Romans 1:17 he said, "Thereupon I ran through the Scriptures from memory."

Thirteen:Seven Faith is based on the Hebrews 13:7 that says, " Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith." (emphasis added). We can see the outcome of the lives of local leaders and church leaders throughout history and "imitate their faith," their disciplines, their lives. So each week at LTF we have a new passage/verse of Scripture, a Catechism* Q&A, and Songs to memorize and meditate on to help inform our minds, while praying the truths found within will transform our hearts to be more like Jesus.

Scripture may be obvious to most, but many people learn and recall things in different ways. Some can memorize 20 songs, but barely remember last weeks memory verse from church. Some can remember what they read in a science book in school six months ago, but can't recall the lyrics to a song they heard six minutes ago. So we use many different ways to memorize and recall the great truths of the Bible. (Granted, the catechism and the song are NOT scripture, but they speak of truths found in scripture) So check out the different sections and use them as the Spirit would direct you. Strive to memorize the truths you read and hear and meditate on what the truths mean for your life and lives around you.

*Catechism is defined as: a summary of the principles of Christian religion in the form of questions and answers, used for the instruction of Christians. Using catechisms became standard practice in the Reformation era to educate children in the home and christians in the church so they would understand the teachings of the Bible. Many catechisms have been written, we will be using the New City Catechism created by Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. It has been adapted from the Reformation catechisms and is formatted to that it is completed in 52 weeks (perfect for our purposes here).