I hope this year is off to a good start already and I pray it is a year of great spiritual growth for each and every one of you.

If you read my article from last month, then you will remember I told you that my 2026 resolution is to be like Apollos from Acts 18:24, who was a man “mighty in the Scriptures” (KJV), and it is my prayer that you will have that same goal. One way in which I intend to be “mighty in the Scriptures” is through more Bible memorization. When I first came to Christ I naturally began memorizing lots of Scripture. Christ was my new King and I loved Him and therefore loved His Word and wanted to know it more and more. It was my goal to hide His Word in my heart (Psalm 119:11). However, as the years have gone on, the specific discipline of memorization has kind of taken a back seat while I have focused on other disciplines and areas of study. You cannot do everything all the time! However, I miss the days of memorizing as much of the Word as I could and memorizing large chunks of Scripture. Therefore, I am challenging myself (and I am challenging you as well!) to memorize 1 and 2 Peter!

Now that might sound like a lot, but hang in there with me. 1 and 2 Peter are the two books we will be preaching through this year from January 11th until September 27th. My goal is simply to memorize the passage of Scripture that will be preached on the following Sunday. So for instance, on January 11th the sermon will be on 1 Peter 1:1-2, thus it is my goal from January 5-10 (Monday–Saturday) to memorize those two verses. And I will continue weekly until we finish the series in September.

I would like to encourage you to join me in hiding God’s Word in your hearts. This may still seem daunting, so I have already tried to make it as easy as possible. If you pick up one of the FBC Bible Reading Plans, you will see a new column that says “1 & 2 Peter Memory Plan” beside the normal Reading Plan column. For each day, you can easily see which verses are to be worked on. As I scan through the sermon series, this typically amounts to 3 to 5 memory verses per week, which is very attainable! Plus, you will have been thinking about the passage of Scripture all week long leading up to Sunday morning!

If you want to see real growth within our church, then we must be people of the Word! And I can think of no better way to help us grow than to commit to holding each other accountable to hiding God’s Word in our hearts a little at a time all together consistently throughout the year. So if you want to become “mighty in the Scriptures,” then join me on my journey! September will get here either way, why not have spent those nine months deepening your walk with the Lord?

Pastor Joshua