Meaningful Bible Texts To Be Memorized
The 23rd Psalm
(This beautiful passage, the most famous of the Psalms of David, is
called the Shepherd's Psalm.)
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures;
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul.
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me;
Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;
And I will dwell in .the house of the Lord forever.
The Lord's Prayer
(During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught His disciples how to
pray, giving them the Lord's Prayer.)
Our Father, Who art in Heaven,
Hallowed be Thy Name;
Thy Kingdom come;
Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the Kingdom,
And the Power,
And the Glory forever and ever. Amen.
The New Commandments of Jesus
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; this is the first and great
commandment. And the second is like unto it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as
thyself.
The Ten Commandments
Called God's ancient law, the Ten Commandments were given by God
through Moses on Mount Sinai. Written on two tablets of stone, the commandments were
divided with four on one tablet and six on the other. The first four regulate our
relations to God and the other six regulate our relations with our fellow men.
1. I am the Lord thy God; Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in
heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
Thou shalt not worship them, nor serve them.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy
work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.
5. Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord
thy God giveth thee.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet' thy neighbor's wife,
nor his manservant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is
thy neighbor's.
The Beatitudes
During the Sermon on the Mount, the most famous sermon ever
delivered, Jesus gave the assembled multitude the Beatitudes -- nine rules for
happiness.
1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
2. Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.
3. Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth.
4. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness; for they shall be filled.
5. Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy.
6. Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God.
7. Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God.
8. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake; for theirs is the
Kingdom of Heaven.
9. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner
of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad; for great is
your reward in heaven.
Matthew 5:3-12
In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus also gave the people three other
rules for righteous living.
"Seek ye first the Kingdom of God"
"Judge not that ye be not judged"
"Do unto others as ye would that they should do unto you"
This last precept has become known as the Golden Rule.
The Creed
The Nicene Creed was formulated at the first two Ecumenical
Councils. At the first council, held in 325 A.D. at Nicaea, .the first seven articles
were adopted. The second council, which convened in 381 A.D. at Constantinople, added
the last five articles of the Creed. The Creed expresses the belief of Orthodox
worshipers.
I believe in One God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth,
and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of
the Father before all ages.
Light of Light, True God of True God, begotten, not created, being of
one substance with the Father, through Whom all things were made.
Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven and was
incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became Man.
And was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was
buried.
And rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.
And ascended into heaven and sitteth at the right hand of the Father.
And He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead.
And His kingdom shall have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life,
Who proceedeth from the Father, Who together with the Father and Son is
worshiped and glorified. Who spake by the prophets.
And in One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins.
I look for the resurrection of the dead.
And the life in the world to come. Amen
Faith, Hope and Charity
(This chapter is considered by many students of the Bible and
literature as the most beautiful in the entire book.)
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not
charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries,
and all knowledge; and though I have faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have
not charity, I am nothing.
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give
my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity
vaunted not itself, is not puffed up.
Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily
provoked, thinketh no evil;
Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth
all things.
Charity never faileth; but whether there be prophecies, they shall
fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall
vanish away.
For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part
shall be done away.
When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I
thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face; now I
know in part: but then shall I know even as also I am known.
And now abideth faith, hope, and charity, these three; but the greatest
of these is charity.
I Corinthians, Chapter 13
Taken from: "Faith of our Fathers -- The Eastern Orthodox
Religion" by Stan W. Carlson and The Very Rev. Leonid Soroka, Dean UMW Published by The
Olympic Press, Minneapolis, MN -- Copyright 1954, revised in 1958.
Officially approved for publication by Metropolitan Leonty, Archbishop of NY, Primate,
ROGCChurch of NA, and The Rev. Joseph Stephanko, Censor, St. Andrew of
Crete Day, NY City, NY.
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