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Welcome back, friends! I'm so glad you've joined me today, because we're going to set the stage and discuss our plan as we memorize Romans 8 together.
If you've been following the podcast for a while, you know I'm currently memorizing the book of Romans and am working on chapter 5 at the moment. I hope to finish it before our Romans 8 Bible study starts in just a couple of weeks. Chapter 8 is going to be an amazing chapter to study—and an incredible one to internalize!
Listen to how John Piper explains why it's so beneficial to start with Romans 8. On an episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast at Desiring God, he said:
“The reason I suggest that we all get going with Romans 8 (if we haven’t done it) is that this chapter is probably the greatest chapter in the Bible. It is always relevant. It always has something to say. I told the students, ‘I don’t think you will ever be in a situation where Romans 8 will not be useful to you.’ It goes from:
No condemnation; to
The substitution of Christ in our condemnation; to
The peace and life that the Spirit brings; to
The inability of the flesh to do anything; to
The promise of the resurrection; to
The assurance of our adoption and the witness of the Spirit; to
The promise of glorification; to
The sufferings and groanings of the entire creation and us believers, as we wait for redemption; to
The struggle of prayer and the Spirit’s help in prayer; to
The great promise that everything works for our good; to
The foundation of that promise, in predestination and calling and justification and glorification.
It’s the promise that He will give us all things, the impossibility of separating us from Christ, and the invincible love of God. I mean, this chapter is just so full. I wish every believer would give the time and effort to memorizing this chapter. It is absolutely incomparable.”
— John Piper, Ask Pastor John Episode 257 at Desiring God
You might be asking: What will Scripture memory look like as we work through Romans 8 this fall, and how will we implement it into the podcast?
First, if you haven’t already, head over to the blog to print out a memory plan (or create your own). Here on the podcast and blog, we will work through two verses a week starting the week of September 19th. That puts us on track to finish by the week of January 30th! I will include a link in the show notes—or if you're reading this on the blog, you can find the schedule HERE.
Each week, I'll post two separate podcast episodes covering our assigned verses. I'll guide you through answering the 5 W's and H (where applicable) and share key insights I discovered while digging into the original meaning behind words in the text. We’ll end each episode by reviewing the verses together, giving you ample time to practice before wrapping up for the day. You can easily listen on the go, at your desk, or whenever fits your routine.
I also highly recommend reading or listening through chapters 1–7 when you have time. As you read, take notes on what you learn about God or even highlight references to Him in your Bible. If you're memorizing the Berean Standard Bible (BSB) version, I recommend listening to the audio version I created right here on the podcast. You can find all of those recordings grouped on my blog or by scrolling back through past podcast episodes.
If you're using a different translation, you can use the Bible app to listen while driving to work or getting ready in the morning. Another great option is recording yourself reading the chapter using the Voice Memos app on iPhone or the Voice Recorder on Android.
Once everything is set up, plan to read or listen through chapters 1–7 over the next week or so, and then add chapter 8 starting September 13th (or a couple of weeks in, depending on when you're listening). I call this step "preparing before you memorize." Building this foundation gives you valuable context before diving into chapter 8.
Finally, over the next couple of weeks, create your first-letter grid and write out the first few verses on index cards so you're ready to hit the ground running.
In our next episode, I'll share a general overview of Romans chapters 1–7 so we're fully prepared for chapter 8! Until next time, start listening, get those index cards ready, and stay rooted!
"I use AI editing tools as a virtual proofreader to help polish my grammar and sentence structure, but all thoughts, studies, and words shared here are my own."
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