Know Them By Heart (Part 2)

Memorizing First Principle Bible Passages

Here are four more sets of first-principle passages.¹All passages are from the ESV  Can your Sunday School and CYC kids tell where each passage is found in the Bible?  Can you? This ready-to-use matching activity can be used several ways.

Try it yourself: Read each passage and try to match it with its reference. Use a Bible, Bible app, or the answer key to check your answers. How many did you get right?

Cover up the references. Then read each passage and try to recall where it is found in the Bible.  Do you know them by heart?

Use it as a class activity. Here are some ways to do this:

• Give each student a set of 12 passages and references (without the answer key).  Have them work together as a class to see how many they can match. When they think they’ve got it right, let them use their Bibles or Bible apps to see how well they’ve done. Talk about the passages and have the students tell what they think each one means. (Additional suggestion: have students list the passages in the front of their Bibles when they get home, labeling the lists as “Return of Christ,” “Resurrection of the Dead,” etc.)
• Form teams and have them take turns trying to match a passage with its reference. Keep score.
• Write each passage on a file card. Write its reference on another card. Use the cards as a matching/manipulative activity.

Download the Cards (PDF)

It is helpful for students to know where these first-principle passages are found in the Bible, but, of course, the lists are not exhaustive.  The Bible has a lot to say about these subjects.  So here is another suggestion: as an additional homework assignment, have your students add to the lists.  Have them use their study tools at home to find at least two additional passages under each heading.²A good summary of first-principle passages can be found in The Christadelphian Instructor.  Have them share their findings with the rest of the class.  Also have them add the passages to the lists they are developing in the front of their Bibles.

Send me an email if you would like a ready-to-print copy of this activity.

Jim Harper
(Meriden, CT)
2harps4u@gmail.com