I am glad you all are enjoying it. I literally was just going to reference it, but after rewatching his intro, I thought we all would enjoy. The recitation is also really good (as a recitation... clearly the words or His Words and are perfect). And the reminder about how these letters were intended and expected to be heard when written is a good reminder about the importance of proclamation, corporate worship, preparedness, etc.
That is awesome, Secundus! You may or may not be memorizing the whole book, but below is a link to a guy who recites all of I Corinthians in a worship service. I am not suggesting your memorize a whole book or try and "measure up" to this guy by sharing it. I simply wanted to share it because it was inspirational to me to pursue memorizing scripture. Also, I just watched it again, and his introduction was so interesting, I thought you and everyone might find it encouraging as well. Regardless, I hope you continue to grow in the love of Christ as a result of all your engagement with the Word.
Peace, The Moviegoer
Note: the article lists lots (14) of reasons to memorize scripture, but the video I referred to is at the end of the article.
Congrats, PCA! I am assuming your username reflects your membership in the PCA (Presbyterian Church of America). Welcome. I am a PCA member despite it not being reflected in my username. Anyway, glad to see you on the site and working on the WSC! Keep up the good work!
Thanks, JDJDJD. And seriously, someone shared a link of a really solid professional performer on stage reciting all of Mark. This was encouraging and intimidating at the same time. I don't know that I could live up to that one. I have started I Peter, but I am hoping it won't take another 100 million points to complete that one. Though I am still peppering chapters of Mark into my daily work, just to keep it retained.
joosep, it certainly isn't required, but I do wonder if there is a connection to improved memory based on each method (typing and recitation). I still struggle with both, but I believe they complement one another.
Hats off to JDJDJD and a nod to Secundus's hopeful target. PeterP would likely been a winner if I wasn't also going back and covering older material at the same time, but I think we can all agree that if Cali2022 had been correct, I may not have made it.
joosep, thanks for digging up the old prediction. I couldn't figure out how to find it yesterday, so that is much appreciated.
Thanks for the update joosep! You are taking on quite the challenge, and I love it. Also, I did things a little differently for Mark (getting closer to 100% before moving on), but I really like your approach. There is something really helpful in taking on bigger sections of the narrative at one time. I think it would have helped me. One thing that I have been struggling with, and I am wondering how you approach it. Do you do any recitation verbally, apart from the site work? I did initially, but haven't been able to keep up. So, 1-6 are pretty solid, 7-10 are rough, 11-6 are solid (mostly because they are most recent). Thoughts?
Thanks again, to all of you. There have been so many awesome stories, experiences, methods, testimonies shared, and all have contributed to the ongoing effort. I considered shooting a video of a full recitation, but someone posted a full video recitation of Mark that a professional did (it was impressive), and I am not sure my version would inspire. And it would be long. I have only done 6 chapters at any give stretch and that works out to about an hour for me, so the full book would probably clock a little under two hours... Yikes. Philippians makes a lot more sense (excellent work Final Asgard) because I understand that the epistles were often read to congregations in order to share them. I am sure the Gospels worked similarly, but I really do think epistles work better as sermons. That said, I am so happy to have spent these many hours in Mark. I have learned a lot about myself, and more importantly about Jesus and His love for us. How amazing that we have these eyewitness accounts of the life of Jesus that go way beyond simple delivery of facts. I may take a day or two off... or I may jump right in to I Peter. Either way, I am excited to keep going through the Bible with you all.
Praise the Lord for His overwhelming love and grace,
And just like that... Mark is done 100%. Total score 100,225,800 (with a lot of reinforcement of chapters 1-16 along the way). Thanks to everyone for all of the encouragement along the way. Soon, I move on to I Peter. Praise be to God.
Hi, mrsmoo! And I hope everyone's celebrations were uplifting and honoring to the Lord. And thanks for the good words, joosep. I still haven't finished Peter, but as far as memorization is concerned, I hope I am never finished. I know that our position before God is not based on merit or performance (how could we possibly add to the work Jesus did on our behalf), but I want to always seek more of Him.
David Mamet, the playwright, wrote a book on acting called, "True and False." And in the book he makes a claim that an actor's ability to deliver an honest and true performance hinges on how well the actor knows and understands the script. In other words, it isn't so much about method acting and try to perform based only on experience, but rather understanding what the author of the work developed and intended for the character. I really believe that the work of memorization and study work hand in hand and help us know more about God and His love for us. The more I know and understand this, the more deeply and faithfully I can do the things He calls me to do. I will still always struggle with sin(s) and my own selfishness, but God doesn't call us to leave us as we are. He slowly transforms us and works in spite of our sin and shortcomings to grow His kingdom!
What I love about this site, is that most of the folks I have talked to really get this idea. And for the record, it isn't about knowing God more than others, it is simply about knowing Him more and more... with the ultimate hope that that will draw us into his Kingdom more and more where He will graciously use us for His glory.
Thanks, joosep! Me too! I will probably start right away, but don't be surprised if I just enjoy a day. However, I am really looking forward to I Peter.
Haha, joosep! My final section is Mark 16:14-20. As I was going through my first run this morning, each verse was falling to 100%, and I was getting more and more excited with each verse, at 16:19, I was super excited because I never studied the verses individually. I thought if I got up through 19, I was done. Alas, one more final verse.
Thanks, Treeswallow! The funny part is that I crossed 100,000,000 on the exact day that I reached 100% on all but the final verse (16:20) of Mark. I have 1 verse left.
Thanks, Treeswallow! The funny part is that I crossed 100,000,000 on the exact day that I reached 100% on all but the final verse (16:20) of Mark. I have 1 verse left.
Haha, joosep! My final section is Mark 16:14-20. As I was going through my first run this morning, each verse was falling to 100%, and I was getting more and more excited with each verse, at 16:19, I was super excited because I never studied the verses individually. I thought if I got up through 19, I was done. Alas, one more final verse.
Thanks, joosep! Me too! I will probably start right away, but don't be surprised if I just enjoy a day. However, I am really looking forward to I Peter.
Moviegoer, I totally agree, a day off or even a few days off, there's nothing wrong with that. It all depends on how God has called you to use this tool we have, I mean, this website. Each of us uses in a different way according to our own personalities and so on :) As long as our end goal is to know our Lord better, then it's all to the good :)
Hi, mrsmoo! And I hope everyone's celebrations were uplifting and honoring to the Lord. And thanks for the good words, joosep. I still haven't finished Peter, but as far as memorization is concerned, I hope I am never finished. I know that our position before God is not based on merit or performance (how could we possibly add to the work Jesus did on our behalf), but I want to always seek more of Him.
David Mamet, the playwright, wrote a book on acting called, "True and False." And in the book he makes a claim that an actor's ability to deliver an honest and true performance hinges on how well the actor knows and understands the script. In other words, it isn't so much about method acting and try to perform based only on experience, but rather understanding what the author of the work developed and intended for the character. I really believe that the work of memorization and study work hand in hand and help us know more about God and His love for us. The more I know and understand this, the more deeply and faithfully I can do the things He calls me to do. I will still always struggle with sin(s) and my own selfishness, but God doesn't call us to leave us as we are. He slowly transforms us and works in spite of our sin and shortcomings to grow His kingdom!
What I love about this site, is that most of the folks I have talked to really get this idea. And for the record, it isn't about knowing God more than others, it is simply about knowing Him more and more... with the ultimate hope that that will draw us into his Kingdom more and more where He will graciously use us for His glory.
And just like that... Mark is done 100%. Total score 100,225,800 (with a lot of reinforcement of chapters 1-16 along the way). Thanks to everyone for all of the encouragement along the way. Soon, I move on to I Peter. Praise be to God.
Congratulations on the 100000000! 👏👏👏 That is such an achievement. And so delighted you finished Mark’s gospel the next day! That is an amazing achievement too. Well done. And I’m sure you’ve been blessed through the journey. Will you be posting a you tube link of you reciting it all. Perhaps that’s too much to ask 🙈😁😳🤭
Thanks again, to all of you. There have been so many awesome stories, experiences, methods, testimonies shared, and all have contributed to the ongoing effort. I considered shooting a video of a full recitation, but someone posted a full video recitation of Mark that a professional did (it was impressive), and I am not sure my version would inspire. And it would be long. I have only done 6 chapters at any give stretch and that works out to about an hour for me, so the full book would probably clock a little under two hours... Yikes. Philippians makes a lot more sense (excellent work Final Asgard) because I understand that the epistles were often read to congregations in order to share them. I am sure the Gospels worked similarly, but I really do think epistles work better as sermons. That said, I am so happy to have spent these many hours in Mark. I have learned a lot about myself, and more importantly about Jesus and His love for us. How amazing that we have these eyewitness accounts of the life of Jesus that go way beyond simple delivery of facts. I may take a day or two off... or I may jump right in to I Peter. Either way, I am excited to keep going through the Bible with you all.
Praise the Lord for His overwhelming love and grace,
Congratulations Moviegoer! That’s an awesome achievement, and reflects your commitment to the project. Who won the prediction contest? I’m pretty sure someone guessed 100 million, didn’t they? But most of all I appreciate your comment above about knowing God more and more. Basically that’s what we’re all here for, isn’t it? I pray that each of us, as we learn Scripture a little or a lot, will come to know God more and more each day.
It seems the winner is JDJDJD. I did a search and found this comment from TheMoviegoer when he summarised the predictions:
"95,000,000 PeterP, and a hopeful joosep. 100,000,000 JDJDJD, and a hopeful Secundus 110,000,000 Secundus's actual prediction 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 Cali2022"
Hats off to JDJDJD and a nod to Secundus's hopeful target. PeterP would likely been a winner if I wasn't also going back and covering older material at the same time, but I think we can all agree that if Cali2022 had been correct, I may not have made it.
joosep, thanks for digging up the old prediction. I couldn't figure out how to find it yesterday, so that is much appreciated.
Ahhh so it was final Asgard doing Philippians. Sorry didn’t mean to put you under pressure. Mark possibly is a bit too long 😂🙈 Just so encouraged that you finished. Well done. 👏👏 Can’t believe the prediction of 100,000,000 was almost spot on. 😃 We’ll have to give predictions at some point for your next goal. 😂
Thanks, JDJDJD. And seriously, someone shared a link of a really solid professional performer on stage reciting all of Mark. This was encouraging and intimidating at the same time. I don't know that I could live up to that one. I have started I Peter, but I am hoping it won't take another 100 million points to complete that one. Though I am still peppering chapters of Mark into my daily work, just to keep it retained.
That is awesome, Secundus! You may or may not be memorizing the whole book, but below is a link to a guy who recites all of I Corinthians in a worship service. I am not suggesting your memorize a whole book or try and "measure up" to this guy by sharing it. I simply wanted to share it because it was inspirational to me to pursue memorizing scripture. Also, I just watched it again, and his introduction was so interesting, I thought you and everyone might find it encouraging as well. Regardless, I hope you continue to grow in the love of Christ as a result of all your engagement with the Word.
Peace, The Moviegoer
Note: the article lists lots (14) of reasons to memorize scripture, but the video I referred to is at the end of the article.
I do find 1 Corinthians fascinating. It shows Paul's personality, I feel as if I know him as I read it he was such an emotional man but yet also a man guided by and controlled by the Spirit of God. No plans yet for memorizing all of it though :) but who knows, God knows. thank you for that link, I will look at it :)
Thanks for the link to the Corinthians recitation. He does it very well, reinforcing the text with changes in pace, tone, emphasis, and hand gestures. I haven’t watched it all yet, but I’ll come back to enjoy the rest.
I am glad you all are enjoying it. I literally was just going to reference it, but after rewatching his intro, I thought we all would enjoy. The recitation is also really good (as a recitation... clearly the words or His Words and are perfect). And the reminder about how these letters were intended and expected to be heard when written is a good reminder about the importance of proclamation, corporate worship, preparedness, etc.
joosep, you're too kind. We happen to share an affinity for the Word. I am sure that there are many things you have already taken away from in your study of Luke. I don't know if your blog covers that kind of thing, but I would love your insight on Luke's gospel as you see fit to share!
Before taking any serious look at the epistles, my gut reaction is that Peter is keenly aware of the importance of his testimony and that he would want Mark and others know that it should be written down and shared if and when he passed away. I wonder how Peter felt about how close he was to Christ's return. Obviously, from our perspective, it has been thousands of years since Christ ascended, and I believe that Peter probably thought Christ might return in his lifetime. I believe that he is telegraphing to Mark that should he pass, he wanted to make certain that his (Peter's testimony) is recorded and shared fully. I don't think it is behind the scenes but right up front. I think he is setting the expectation that should Jesus not return before Peter's death, it will be profoundly important for the testimony to be documented and shared. Because of the nature of Mark's narrative, I believe Peter did provide some clear guidance for Mark. Would Mark have naturally told the story of Peter's betrayal so honestly if not given clear direction? Here is someone he looked up to and for whom he served as secretary. My guess is that he would be tempted to tell Christ's story without showing how flawed Peter was. In other words, I believe Peter shared with Mark that his crazy suggestion at the transfiguration, the rebuke of Christ's honesty about the cross, and the denials, had to be emphasized by Peter and embraced by him in order for Mark to so clearly drive them home.
I love this question, and I am curious about how I might respond after a thorough study and memorization. For example, many narrative sections of Mark have changed for me as a result of study. I don't mean that there has been a complete reversal of thought, but certainly my perspective has been significantly impacted by the time and study applied in this process.
joosep, that is one primary reason I selected I & II Peter. I am Presbyterian (PCA) and believer in Reformed Theology. As a result, Paul was a natural big name in study growing up and over the years. As such, I never really did a solid, focused study on Peter. Over the years, my respect for Peter has grown, and after Mark, I thought it would be good to also be familiar with his epistles. I was tempted to jump to Romans, but because or my memorization of Mark, I feel Peter's letters deserve my continued attention.
Haha! Thanks, joosep! 9 verses! I am about to start. We'll see if any more fall. My guess is Saturday, but you never know! Also, I have modified my spreadsheet to include I & II Peter... when the time comes.
Joosep, I don’t know… I think you’re quite an inspiration all on your own. Great work on the blog and more directly on your progress in Luke. I will follow with keen interest. I also appreciate the meditative goal. The memorization process can be far from meditative (downright mechanical at times), but it has opened up study for me in profound ways. And I feel like the benefit and value of this kind of memorization is used by the Holy Spirit in ways we can’t even measure. Keep up the good work may God be glorified in all that you do!
Thanks, joosep! I will certainly let you know. These last verses have started tumbling, and it is making it a little chaotic in terms of moving through the verses needing completion. All verses now are in Chapter 16, so I am super close.
Also, I have started reading 1&2 Peter in preparation for the next book, but I will not begin work until done with Mark.
I just checked. I see that you are at 662 verses of Mark fully learned, out of 674. You're almost there! When this is all over, when you reach your goal, I plan to ask, "Which verse was the last to reach 100%?"
Thanks, joosep! I will certainly let you know. These last verses have started tumbling, and it is making it a little chaotic in terms of moving through the verses needing completion. All verses now are in Chapter 16, so I am super close.
Also, I have started reading 1&2 Peter in preparation for the next book, but I will not begin work until done with Mark.
Joosep, I don’t know… I think you’re quite an inspiration all on your own. Great work on the blog and more directly on your progress in Luke. I will follow with keen interest. I also appreciate the meditative goal. The memorization process can be far from meditative (downright mechanical at times), but it has opened up study for me in profound ways. And I feel like the benefit and value of this kind of memorization is used by the Holy Spirit in ways we can’t even measure. Keep up the good work may God be glorified in all that you do!
Thanks, joosep! These last verses are coming... slowly but surely. And thanks on the points total. Mark has taken way more points than I ever anticipated.
I was on a missions trip in July of 2017 in Nicaragua where I met a pastor of a small village church who was physically blind. He had a braille Bible but claimed that he had memorized the entire thing. I was completely skeptical upon hearing it, but listening to him preach and spending a couple of days with him, my skepticism was short lived. I certainly believe that it is possible, but like any and all of this, I also believe this is a function of the Spirit, calling, vocation, etc. I don't think that at my age, stage of life, vocation, calling, etc., that memorizing the whole Bible is something I would even consider undertaking. However, I will say that what joosep, you, online247, and many others are doing on this site is edifying and helpful in unimaginable ways. To me, it is about knowing our God and savior Jesus Christ more fully.
I agree. I still don't know if tackling an entire book is the way to go, but I am committed at this point. I will have to see how this next one goes to decide. Keep up the good work in John and Genesis!
MarkAnthony! I actually started with John on this site... John 1:1 with the intent to memorize John. But I had just finished teaching Mark and kept revisiting it, so I switched. I hope to one day get back to John, however, I want to do an epistle next... I & 2 Peter, Hebrews, or Romans are in the running. BTW, anyone have a favorite commentary recommendation to share for any of those? My favorite Mark commentary is by William Lane.