When you think of learning the alphabet (the ABCs), you think of this being a foundational exercise for your preschoolers or kindergarteners, right? Well, I am here to tell you that I have a spiritual alphabet exercise or challenge which is good for the whole family — from preschoolers to parents. This is the family alphabet Scripture challenge.
Why develop this for the family?
Being Christians we have always been told, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:1-2). As well as, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory” (Colossians 3:1-4). I think that these verses and others like them are encouraging us to think more about God and the Word of God throughout our days. Our minds must be refocused on Scripture — what is really the Truth around us — since we are fed lies from the world around us. When our minds filled with Scripture, down times are filled with powerful and transformational Truths for your whole family.
What did you develop?
This is not a new concept. When my children were in preschool/kindergarten, their Christian curriculum had verses that corresponded with the letter that they were learning. It was special for us to be learning the Scriptures as we were learning Language Arts.
But my mother who was a kindergarten teacher for many years took this concept a step further. She began memorizing other verses to correspond to letters of the alphabet as a spiritual challenge and discipline. She used free time in her day to challenge her mind to think of other Scriptures for each letter.
How does this work? 2 ways:
1. Gather your family together and have a Scripture challenge night.
Without using a Bible see how many verses your family can think of that begin with a specific letter. Start with the letter “A” and see if you can come up with a verse that starts with that letter. Maybe someone will immediately think of: “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” Or someone else may add, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Then you move on to the letter B. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.” OR “Be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you.”
Your family continues this challenge until it is stumped by a letter of the alphabet. How far did you make it? Some letters are much harder than others, and I have labeled a verse starting with a different letter even though it begins with “the” or “a”. For example, you could put Romans 3:23 under “F” because it technically begins with “For” or you could label it as an “A” since the next word is “All”. You can pick the rules of the challenge for your family. You may also have a version of the Bible that you prefer use for Scripture memorization.
2. Secondly, challenge your family to memorize more Scripture this school year, by using the alphabet as your guide.
Go to my document here. Print it out or look at it digitally. Find a verse for each letter according to the age of your child or the context of your family. Highlight the verse for each child or member of the family. Begin memorizing the verse that you picked for the letter A. Some may only take a day to memorize it, or it may be one that your family already knows. Then add a “B” verse and master it.
When you have memorized those two verses, say them together. Start with the “A” verse and then following it with the “B” verse. Continue like this until you have reached “Z”. Yes, there are even verses on my list for the letters Q, X, and Z! (If you would like some tips on how to memorize verses, click here for my top 10 tips!)
This can be a beautiful exercise for you children and for you as the parent. When I am having a hard time sleeping in the middle of the night, I will start my Alphabet Scriptures. I will start with “A” and get as far as I can before falling asleep. Other times I will see how many verses I can remember for each letter. When I am doing housework or going for a walk, I challenge myself to think of my Alphabet Scriptures. It is a special way to be filling our hearts and minds with the Bible throughout our days. It also helps our minds to not get lazy by mindlessly going onto our phones.
This mental exercise is great for the whole family. Can you see your 10-year-old coming up to dad and asking him to say his Alphabet Scriptures? What about your 5-year-old? I can hear her little voice as she recites her verses on a video chat with Nanna. (Get the grandparents involved in the memory work, too?)
Overall, the goal for our Family Alphabet Scripture Challenge is simple. Let’s intentionally fill our lives with the Scripture to know Him more and be more filled with the Truth. This will help us to renew our minds (replacing lies with the Truth of the Word) as the Bible commands us to!
Reviewing these Scriptures this way is amazing. I coordinate the ministry for refugee children at my church and we have used this system for a few years. It is really helpful. Thanks for this additional list!
You are welcome! I really like using this system in our downtime — when we are waiting in the car or other times when we are tempted to pull out some electronics to fill the time!