Reviewing Your References

Time Posted on September 05, 2013 User Andy Comment 22 comments

We have made some changes to the reference review page. Years ago, it was added as an afterthought but we've since learned that memorizing verse references is key to being able to memorize verses.

Many of you will discover that you have a LOT of references to review. We recommend just doing a few each day until the number becomes manageable. Each memory verse now has an associated interval which will increase/decrease as you review your references. As you review your references each day, you'll find that the number will decrease fairly quickly. If you're feeling overwhelmed, there is a setting on your profile page called "Test All References"; uncheck that box and Memverse will only review the reference of the first verse of each passage.

For those of you working towards a consistency badge, you don't need to complete all your references each day. Incidentally, you can now check your consistency on your progress page. (There is a new graph below the regular progress chart.)

We also recently upgraded Memverse's entire framework and moved to a new server. The new server is faster and, with all the components of the website upgraded, we can focus on improving the rest of Memverse again.


Cat New Feature
Tag verse references, memory verses

2013 Bible Bee Practice Tests

Time Posted on August 15, 2013 User Alex Watt Comment 48 comments

We're happy to announce that the practice exams for this year's Bee are available one day earlier than they were last year, which means, today! Cheers to Matthew Minica and the three volunteer teams who created each of these tests. Please help spread the word to your Bible Bee friends!

Primary Test: PDF Answers: PDF
Junior Test: PDF Answers: PDF
Senior Test: PDF Answers: PDF

Please note that these practice tests were created by volunteers and are in no way endorsed by the Shelby Kennedy Foundation, which hosts the National Bible Bee.


Cat Resources
Tag Bible Bee, practice tests

2013 Bible Bee Quizzes

Time Posted on June 28, 2013 User Alex Watt Comment 173 comments

Would you like to join fellow Bible Bee students around the country for some practice competition and online encouragement? Bible Bee quizzes are back this summer (see below for full schedule and links to each quiz).

What to expect: You will have verses to recite in your own version (whatever you have chosen in your Account -> Profile), multiple choice questions based on 1 John (like the Written Test), and a few reference questions (where we give the text and you give the reference).

You don't even have to be registered for the Bible Bee to come to the quiz. Just practice material through the current week and you'll be ready!

Before each quiz, you'll probably want to get setup about 15 minutes early to make sure everything is working for you.

Hope to see you!

Update: Everyone, please make sure that your profile (click here) has your version set as KJV, NKJV, NASB, or ESV 2011 (NOT ESV 2007), or some questions will not work. Thanks.

Update 2: If you would like to see more quizzes on Memverse, consider submitting a quiz question or three (or more!) via this form. Thanks to everyone who already has. I will tell you if there are too many, but right now you should feel free to keep going :)

Remaining 2013 Quizzes:

- Friday, August 23, at 4:00 p.m. EDT. Finale Quiz! Click here to join!


Cat Quizzes

Memory Passages Have Finally Arrived

Time Posted on January 27, 2013 User Andy Comment 58 comments

Well, sometimes things just take a little longer than one expects. In this case, about two years longer!

A feature that has been sorely lacking in Memverse is the ability to memorize verses in the context of their containing passage. After many months of experimentation, we have released an early version of this new feature: Passage Review

Since this involved a significant number of changes to the software, it is likely that there are still kinks to be ironed out. We recommend waiting a week or so before you jump in and start using it.


Cat New Feature
Tag memory verses, memory passages

Walk through the Old Testament

Time Posted on December 31, 2012 User Phil Walker Comment 37 comments

Several years ago, I had picked a key verse for every chapter of the New Testament.  This year, I am picking a key verse for every chapter of the Old Testament.  GENESIS is done as you can see below.  I would love ideas for what you think should be key verses for any of the chapters in the other books.

For those who want to memorize these key verses, we are starting an accountability chart.  Every 10 verses equals 1 letter.  Since there are more than 260 chapters in the OT, we will have a creative variation on the accountability chart for those who make it through Z the first time.  To declare, give your first name, the first initial of your last name, the state or country you are from, and either the 10 references of the verses you memorized or a description.

I will be writing out a devotional for each of these key verses.  These will be listed on the Memverse Forum.  Anyone who would like to receive the daily verse with the devotional can request it by email to philjohn1558@yahoo.com

Which of the Genesis verses below have you found to be worth memorizing?  Which do you already know?

We would love to list all participants as an encouragement and inspiration to others.  We would also love to list all groups memorizing together.

2013 HAKOTS participants:  = Angela M; Anita; Connie McLean; Daniel; Idaman; Jacky Walker; Karen F; Lee C;  Lewi; Matthew Glick; Phil Walker; PrayerWarrior13; SavedByGrace = 13 people

Groups memorizing together:  Walkers (Phil, Jacky, Junior), Idaman, Daniel, and Lewi memorizing in the 1984 NIV at the STT Setia campus in West Jakarta, Indonesia

Accountability Chart: Those who wish can join our chart where we will list the first name, first initial of the last name, state (or country), and progress.  The first 260 verses convenently breaks down into 26 groups of 10 verses each to be declared.  Verses don't have to declared in order.  A sample declaration would be Zach J  NY  Genesis 1-10. On the chart, we will not go faster than a one verse per day pace.  However, you can declare whenever you want.

Angela M      OH    A   B

Lee C            NH    A

Karen F        WI    A   B   C   D

Matthew G  OH  A   B

I recommend memorizing this list of verses for Bible Bee enthusiasts, SavedbyGrace's "entire Bible" group, and any others who want a good overall grasp of the Old Testament.  Others may simply want a collection of 929 powerful treasures.  Please let us know if you are joining, if you have family or friends memorizing with you, and if you have any tips or ideas to encourage or support others in the group.  I will be using the Memverse Forum to post my daily email devotionals I send out based on these verses. I look forward to any feedback, insights, or thoughts you have as we interact with the daily Scripture and each other’s thoughts.

GENESIS 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
GENESIS 2:17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die
GENESIS 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.
GENESIS 4:7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.
GENESIS 5:24 Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.
GENESIS 6:9 This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.
GENESIS 7:23 Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; men and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.
GENESIS 8:22 As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.
GENESIS 9:16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.
GENESIS 10:9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; that is why it is said, "Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD."
GENESIS 11:4 Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth."
GENESIS 12:4 So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran.
GENESIS 13:17 "Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you."
GENESIS 14:18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High,
GENESIS 15:5 He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars - if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."
GENESIS 16:13 She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me."
GENESIS 17:7 I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
GENESIS 18:14 "Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son."
GENESIS 19:26 But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
GENESIS 20:11 Abraham replied, "I said to myself, 'There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.'
GENESIS 21:1 Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised.
GENESIS 22:14 So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."
GENESIS 23:4 "I am an alien and a stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead."
GENESIS 24:56 But he said to them, "Do not detain me, now that the LORD has granted success to my journey. Send me on my way so I may go to my master."
GENESIS 25:23 The LORD said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger."
GENESIS 26:22 He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, "Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land."
GENESIS 27:36 Esau said, "Isn't he rightly named Jacob ? He has deceived me these two times: He took my birthright, and now he's taken my blessing!" Then he asked, "Haven't you reserved any blessing for me?"
GENESIS 28:16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it."
GENESIS 29:20 So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.
GENESIS 30:22 Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and opened her womb.
GENESIS 31:24 Then God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, "Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad."
GENESIS 32:28 Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome."
GENESIS 33:10 "No, please!" said Jacob. "If I have found favor in your eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably.
GENESIS 34:9 Intermarry with us; give us your daughters and take our daughters for yourselves.
GENESIS 35:3 "Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone."
GENESIS 36:9 This is the account of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir.
GENESIS 37:28 So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.
GENESIS 38:1 At that time, Judah left his brothers and went down to stay with a man of Adullam named Hirah.
GENESIS 39:2 The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.
GENESIS 40:23 The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.
GENESIS 41:16 "I cannot do it," Joseph replied to Pharaoh, "but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires."
GENESIS 42:1 When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, "Why do you just keep looking at each other?"
GENESIS 43:14 "And may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man so that he will let your other brother and Benjamin come back with you. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved."
GENESIS 44:32 "Your servant guaranteed the boy's safety to my father. I said, 'If I do not bring him back to you, I will bear the blame before you, my father, all my life!"
GENESIS 45:7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
GENESIS 46:4 "I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph's own hand will close your eyes."
GENESIS 47:31 "Swear to me," he said. Then Joseph swore to him, and Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
GENESIS 48:20 He blessed them that day and said, "In your name will Israel pronounce this blessing: 'May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.' " So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.
GENESIS 49:24 But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,

GENESIS 50:20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 


Cat Churches and Groups
Tag memory verses, old testament

Hidden in the Heart

Time Posted on November 01, 2012 User Andy Comment 12 comments

Jeremy Walker at Reformation 21 has a very thoughtful blog post on the importance of Bible memorization. His key point is that:

One of the consequences of the internet-trained brain seems to be an inability to hide very much - not much of the Word of God, to be sure - in our hearts. That results in a crippling weakness in the battle for godliness.

[...]

If we are to be holy we need to hide the word in our hearts, and that means a deliberate commitment to memorisation and meditation. It means a refusal to allow our brains to be trained by the world, a resistance to the laziness that the interweb can breed in our all-too-susceptible minds; it means a commitment to holiness that is willing to re-train and develop the faculties of our hearts contrary to the trend and tendency of the age in which we live, and to make sure that we pack into the armoury that array of weaponry necessary for the constant fight against ungodliness, temptations within and without.

It's definitely worth taking the time to read the whole post.


Cat Resources
Tag blog, memorization

Some Reorganization

Time Posted on October 29, 2012 User Andy Comment 33 comments

We have made some adjustments to the main menu to reflect the new emphasis on a staged approach to memorizing.

The old 'Memorize' tab has been renamed 'Review'. It contains the links to the usual daily review of the memory verses you already 'know'.

The 'Learn' section contains tools relating to getting a memory verse stuck in your head initially.

We've also made a few improvements to the new 'Learn' tool (cunningly arranged under the 'Learn' menu). If you get stuck on a word you can now press the down arrow and the word will be temporarily revealed. Some of the other problems that people encountered should also be cleaned up.

Finally, a reminder: if you find a verse with an error, the best way to let us know is to navigate to your memory verse on the 'Home --> My Verses' page, find the offending verse, and click on the 'Verified' label in the final column. This will report the error and usually results in the verse being corrected within a day or two.


Cat Tips
Tag menu, learn, memory verses, getting started

Starting New Memory Verses

Time Posted on October 16, 2012 User Andy Comment 57 comments

First, welcome to all the new members who were referred from Challies.com. We had 20x the usual number of signups yesterday. Great to see so many new people and looking forward to getting to know you all.

Today we want to foreshadow some upcoming changes on Memverse. We started Memverse with two motivating ideas: 1) making it simple to keep track of and review one's memory verses online and 2) using the Supermemo algorithm to efficiently retain a large number of memory verses.

Over the past three years it has become clear that there was a gap in the functionality. It is difficult to learn a new verse without an intensive period of repetition at the start. To solve this we have been working on a new feature which will allow you to get a verse 'stuck' in your head before you start the period of review. It is still a work in progress but you can try it out. It will likely evolve over the next few weeks so feedback in the comments is welcome.

Our plan is to build this page into the 'flow' of the website. More details on that in a future post.


Cat New Feature
Tag learn, memory verses

Key Memory Verses for the Lesser-known Books

Time Posted on September 10, 2012 User Andy Comment 15 comments

Have you ever found it difficult to keep straight the main themes of the various books of the Bible? While many can outline the key arguments of Romans, few could summarize Hosea. That is why it is helpful to memorize a key verse or two of the lesser-known books. I'll use Hosea to illustrate.

Hosea is a difficult book to outline but it can be divided into two parts. The first three chapters describe an adulterous wife and a faithful husband, symbolic of the unfaithfulness of Israel to God through idolatry. The remainder of the book expands on this allegory through a series of prophetic messages and concludes with a promise of restoration.

Memorizing some of the key verses of Hosea can capture the main theme. If I had to pick only one I would probably choose Hosea 1:2 as it contains the symbolism on which the first section is based.

When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, take to yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness, because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the Lord.”

There are a few other key verses to memorize in this book. Hosea 2:23 foreshadows the grafting into the tree of the Gentiles:

I will plant her for myself in the land;
    I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one.’
I will say to those called ‘Not my people,’ ‘You are my people’;
    and they will say, ‘You are my God.’”
Finally, Hosea 14:3 elucidates the root cause of our adultery and the problem of idolatry:
Assyria cannot save us;
    we will not mount war-horses.
We will never again say ‘Our gods’
    to what our own hands have made,
    for in you the fatherless find compassion.”
Memorizing those three verses, while clearly no substitute for thoroughly reading the entire book, will capture a lot of Hosea's warning to the northern kingdom. Remember that the reason to memorize the Bible is to come to a deeper understanding of God so that we too are not 'destroyed from a lack of knowledge'.
 

 


Cat Tips
Tag Hosea, minor prophets, key memory verses

Last Quiz Before Local Bible Bees

Time Posted on August 24, 2012 User Andy Comment 59 comments

At 4pm (EDT) today (Friday, August 24th, 2012) we will be holding the final online quiz before the local Bible Bees. We would like to encourage as many of you as possible to join. There is no need to be entered in the Bible Bee. There is no need to be young. If you're young at heart and love the Bible, join us.

The entire quiz will be multiple choice and, as far as I know, will predominantly cover 2 Timothy. To be clear, you don't need to have memorized any part of 2 Timothy to join the quiz.

So why you should you join? Five reasons:

  1. You will have an opportunity to wish the younger Memversers well as they head in to the local competitions as they attempt to qualify for the national finals.
  2. You will be motivated to get to know your Bible better. I've joined the occasional quiz and can assure you that you will be astounded at the depth of knowledge on display.
  3. Participating will restore your faith in 'the youth of today'.
  4. You will probably want to read 2 Timothy before the quiz and that alone is worth it.
  5. It's a whole lot of fun!

We hope in the future to make the weekly quizzes a fun activity for everyone. Consider this a trial run and join us.

Note: this is a live, online event. Click here a few minutes before the event starts to enter the quiz 'room'.


Cat Quizzes
Tag quizzes, Bible Bee, 2 Timothy

2012 Bible Bee Practice Tests

Time Posted on August 17, 2012 User Alex Watt Comment 96 comments

With just eight days till the Local Bees & Celebration Ceremonies across the country, we have some practice tests to help you brush up. All of the following tests were written by other Bible-Bee-Memversers. Thank you to everyone who worked on them!

Age Division Test Answers
Primary PDF | DOC PDF | DOC
Junior PDF | DOC PDF | DOC
Senior PDF | DOC PDF | DOC

Cat Resources
Tag Bible Bee, Practice Tests

2012 Bible Bee Study Helps

Time Posted on June 26, 2012 User Alex Watt Comment 32 comments

Thanks to Mr. Walker, there is a slew of resources to help you with your Bible Bee memory verses this year. In addition to Bible Bee verses he put up on Study Stack here and on Impress Kids, Mr. Walker has some PDFs of prompterized passages, complete passages, and the first five words of each passage, in all five Bible Bee versions:

  Complete Passages Prompterized Passages First Five Words
NIV PDF PDF PDF
ESV PDF PDF PDF
KJV PDF PDF PDF
NKJ PDF PDF PDF
NAS PDF PDF PDF

Also, Matthew Minica is working on a practice test and calling once more for volunteers. After July 4th, volunteer recruitment ends and the work commences. All willing and able-minded persons should refer to this forum thread.

Update 07/26: Jonathan Peterson, a Memverse user, also created a tool accessible here: www.memverse.com/bible_bee_tool. Thanks Jonathan!

And finally, don't forget about the quizzes as an iron-sharpening-iron experience.

We hope the tools will help you make the most of this summer's studying!


Tag Bible Bee, Resources, memory verses

2012 Bible Bee Live Quizzes

Time Posted on June 21, 2012 User Alex Watt Comment 173 comments

** Please see end of post for future quiz dates. **

Are you ready for some friendly competition? We sure hope so. This summer we'll again be hosting live online quizzes for the Bible Bee, which will include the following features:

  • Recitation, reference, and multiple choice questions (all automatically scored -- recitation and reference questions in your preferred version)
  • Opportunity to talk with the other contestants (you'll be encouraged)
  • Mini Scoreboard that updates after each question (for a little competition)
  • Roster of all contestants present (so you know who else is there)

We hope you can join us!

Here's what to do to get ready:

  • Study your material...
  • Sign up for a free Memverse account if you don't already have one...
  • Update your browser for an optimal experience...
  • Mark your calendar...
  • And click here on the day of the quiz to go to the "room"!

We're so excited and pray you all have a great time in the Word this summer! We'll be updating this post with more dates and times for future quizzes, so stay tuned. And please, invite your Bible Bee friends to join us!

Update: Finale Quiz is Friday, August 24, at 4:00 p.m. EDT; and we need your help building it...


Tag Bible Bee, Live Quiz

Add a Description for Your Group

Time Posted on June 20, 2012 User Andy Comment 17 comments

We have added the ability for groups on Memverse to add a short description of the goals of the group. We have set it up so that the leader of the group is able to easily edit the description.

Enquiring minds will want to know who the group leader is. For groups that had previously been created we have set the leader to be the person with the most completed memorization sessions. In the future, the leader will be whoever creates the group.

In the event that the leader of a group becomes 'Inactive' (hasn't memorized for a month), the leadership will pass to the person in the group with the most completed sessions. Clearly being a group leader is a miniscule honor; A more suitable term would be 'Administrator'.

We would encourage those of you leading a memory group to use the 'Description' field to encourage your group members, keep them up to speed on which memory verses they should be working on, BBQ's you'll be hosting at your home, and anything else you can dream up.


Cat New Feature
Tag memory groups, group description

ESV 2007 Version Added

Time Posted on June 18, 2012 User Andy Comment 13 comments

Those of you doing your Bible Bee memory verses in English Standard Version will be pleased to hear that we've added the 2007 version. Please note that there are now two English Standard Versions. If you've been using ESV up until now and would like to keep your memory verses on the 2011 edition then you don't have to do anything. Those of you who would prefer to use the 2007 version will have to delete your memory verses and re-add them in the old edition.

It appears that the English Standard Version has adopted an approach whereby they will continue to make changes over time and obsolete the old editions. I think as Bibles enter the digital age, this is going to become more and more common. For the English Standard Version we will probably ensure that those of you who remain on the most current edition will always do so. If there is demand, we will continue to support the legacy editions for as long as possible.

As someone who is still on the NIV 1984 edition I realize that this can be disconcerting, but I do think that in the future we should all expect our digital Bibles to be continuously updated, just as the rest of our software is kept up to date.


Tag English Standard Version

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