Songs To Help Your Family Memorize Scripture

Things learned in song are remembered long.

And this is no less true when it comes to learning truths from the Bible. I can still remember each Bible verse sung on Steve Green’s Hide ‘em in Your Heart cassette tape as it played in our kitchen when I was a child. I still remember the Bible passages I learned while sitting on the floor in front of my mom as she played her guitar in our large family room; teaching us one of her new Scripture songs.

If you have a desire for your children to hide God’s Word in their hearts, employ the power of music as a memory aid!

An Unforgotten Song

For thousands of years, God’s Word has been sung by God’s people, rehearsing His character, His promises, and His mighty acts. In Deuteronomy 31, God instructed Moses to write a song recounting His covenant with His people.

Now therefore write this song and teach it to the people of Israel… Deuteronomy 31:19

God explained that this song would serve as an important reminder for them as they entered the promised land and encountered dangers and setbacks.

And when many evils and troubles have come upon them, this song shall confront them as a witness (for it will live unforgotten in the mouths of their offspring)… Deuteronomy 31:21

Songs can help us remember God’s promises! As parents, it should be our earnest desire that God’s works and words would live “unforgotten” in the mouths (and hearts) of our children.

Scripture Songs

Singing scripture is nothing new, in fact, the largest book of the Bible (the Psalms) is essentially a songbook. In the New Testament, Christians are commanded multiple times to sing psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16).

Today, we are richly blessed with thousands of Scripture-based hymns written over the centuries. And in just the past few decades, many Christian artists have released new songs and albums that set new tunes to Scripture texts.

Songs For Kids

When it comes to finding Scripture-based songs for kids, there are several options to choose from:

• Hide em’ In Your Heart by Steve Green is an album I grew up listening to and still enjoy. The music is fun and memorable.
• Hidden in My Heart albums include Scripture lullabies that we have enjoyed playing for our kids and ourselves at bedtimes as well as early in the morning as we wake up and start the day.
• Songs for Saplings is another option for parents to consider. The style is simple, with guitar and singing by Dana Dirksen.
• Fighter Verse Songs by Desiring God has quite a few sets which correspond to their memory verse program. They have a simple folk-style with contributions from various artists.
• If you are looking for a more contemporary style of music, there are a number of options to choose from including Seeds Kids Worship.
• Patch the Pirate doesn’t focus on Scripture songs per se. However, they have produced dozens of adventure albums that teach Biblical principles through engaging story-telling. Read a full-review here.

His Word In Me

My mom (Janis Dalrymple) heard the gospel for the first time as a teenager and became a follower of Jesus. She was so thrilled about knowing Christ in a personal way that she became hungry to memorize and meditate on His Word. When she married and four children came along, the desire of her heart was for them to know the Lord and love his Word at an early age, so she began to put Scripture verses to tunes so they could learn them more easily. Eventually she began to teach those songs to the children at her church, and as grandchildren have come along, they’ve inspired many other songs about lessons that little ones need to learn.

His Word in Me officially began in 2019 when my mom released her first album followed by another in 2020. These albums include beautiful Scripture-based songs that are great for a group at church or a sing-a-long at home or in the car. In addition to songs like “Pray, Always Pray” (1 Thess. 5:17) and “Go to the Ant” (Pro. 6:6-8) which teach individual Bible verses, she has also written songs like “Who Is My Neighbor,” based on the parable in Luke 10:29-37, and “Nicodemus,” relating his dialogue with Jesus in John 3.

On album two, these Scripture-based songs include “Days of Creation” (Gen. 1), and “Children, Obey” (Eph. 6:1) as well as fun preschool songs like “It’s Time to Take a Nap” and “Good Food.” You can stream these albums for free on Spotify or purchase them at HisWordInMe.com.

A to Z Scripture Songs

On July 29, 2024, His Word In Me released a new album accompanied by a video collection. This new project titled, A to Z is designed to teach 26 Bible verses with unforgettable tunes and beautiful hand motion videos.

Watch and listen to some samples of the album below.

The goal of this A to Z project is for families and churches to use this as a means of hiding God’s Word in the hearts of their children so that in the years to come, these stabilizing truths will help to guard them and grow them for the glory of God.

A Memory Challenge

If you don’t already have a good Bible memory plan (or even if you do), consider incorporating Scripture Songs into your family’s playlist through family devotions. Take one verse a week for your family to memorize and learn the song together so that you can say with the psalmist, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11)