Scripture Memorisation: 76 Foundation Verses for Family Worship (ESV)
What are the 76 Foundation Verses?
The Foundation Verses are a carefully selected collection of 76 Bible verses designed specifically for scripture memorisation in family worship and children’s discipleship. This programme helps lay a strong foundation of faith, encouraging children to memorise and cherish God’s Word from an early age.
Developed in partnership with Desiring God, the ministry of John Piper, this scripture memorisation plan is designed to help children internalise God’s truth naturally through repeated exposure to short and simple verses. https://truth78.org/collections/foundation-verses-resources?
Why Is Scripture Memorisation Important?
📖 “From infancy, you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 3:15)
The Bible verses children memorise at an early age become lifelong spiritual guides that shape their faith and worldview.
📖 Scripture memorisation helps children store God’s Word in their hearts
🌱 Lays a strong foundation of faith from an early age
🙏 Encourages spiritual growth through parent-child engagement
💡 Makes it easier to understand God’s character and the core of the Gospel
Memorising scripture is not just about learning words—it is a process that helps children love and trust God as they grow.
How Are the Foundation Verses Structured?
- Includes 76 carefully selected short and simple Bible verses
- Designed for toddlers and pre-readers (ages 2–5) to memorise easily
- Covers essential biblical truths about God, Jesus, obedience, trust, and love
- Encourages family discipleship through scripture memorisation
How to Use Scripture Memorisation in Family Worship
👂 Read the verse to your child daily and repeat it together
📝 Use drawings or hand motions to make learning more interactive
🎶 Turn Bible verses into songs to help with memorisation
🙌 Pray together and discuss the meaning of each verse
Start Scripture Memorisation and Build a Strong Foundation in God’s Word!
Memorising scripture from a young age fills a child’s heart with God’s truth and lays the groundwork for a close relationship with Him.
Throughout 2025, challenge your family to memorise one verse per week and apply God’s Word in daily life.
📖 “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11)
🙏 Start scripture memorisation together today!🙏 Start memorising together today!
1. Genesis 1:1
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
2. Matthew 6:24a
No one can serve two masters.
3. Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
4. Psalm 1:6
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
5. Isaiah 30:15b
In quietness and in trust shall be your strength.
6. Isaiah 43:5a
Fear not, for I am with you.
7. Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
8. Proverbs 30:5
Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
9. 1 Chronicles 16:34
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!
10. Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
11. Psalm 56:3
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
12. Psalm 121:1-2
I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
13. Psalm 121:3-4
He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
14. Psalm 121:5-6
The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.
15. Psalm 121:7
The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
16. Psalm 121:8
The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
17. Psalm 86:7
In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me.
18. Proverbs 18:10
The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.
19. Psalm 95:3
For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
20. James 1:17a
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.
21. Exodus 20:2-3
I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.
22. Exodus 20:4
You shall not make for yourself a carved 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.
23. Exodus 20:7a
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
24. Exodus 20:8
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
25. Exodus 20:12a
Honor your father and your mother.
26. Exodus 20:13-15
You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal.
27. Exodus 20:16
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
28. Exodus 20:17a
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.
29. Ephesians 6:1
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
30. Joshua 1:9b
Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
31. Psalm 1:1
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers.
32. Psalm 1:2
But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
33. Psalm 1:3
He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
34. Psalm 1:4
The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
35. Psalm 1:5
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
36. Psalm 1:6
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
37. Hebrews 13:16a
Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have.
38. Proverbs 19:20
Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.
39. Luke 18:27b
What is impossible with man is possible with God.
40. John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
41. Psalm 100:1-2
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!
42. Psalm 100:3
Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
43. Psalm 100:4
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!
44. Psalm 100:5
For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
45. James 4:7-8a
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
46. Proverbs 3:11-12
My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.
47. Romans 12:21
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
48. 1 Peter 5:7
Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
49. Proverbs 15:1
A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
50. Deuteronomy 6:5
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
51. Psalm 118:24
This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
52. Leviticus 19:18b
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
53. Luke 6:38
Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap.
54. Psalm 119:10
With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!
55. James 1:19b
Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.
56. Proverbs 16:24
Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.
57. Hebrews 13:5
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
58. Proverbs 17:17a
A friend loves at all times.
59. Philippians 2:3
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
60. Philippians 2:14
Do all things without grumbling or disputing.
61. 1 Peter 5:8
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
62. Romans 3:23
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
63. Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
64. 1 Corinthians 13:4-5a
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude.
65. 1 Corinthians 13:5b
It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful.
66. 1 Corinthians 13:6
It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
67. 1 Corinthians 13:7
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
68. Ephesians 6:10
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
69. Proverbs 1:10
My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent.
70. 2 Corinthians 10:17
Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.
71. Proverbs 29:11
A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.
72. Psalm 119:11
I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
73. Philippians 4:11b
For I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.
74. Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
75. Philippians 2:4
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
76. Psalm 36:5
Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.
🎉 All 76 Foundation Verses Complete! 🎉
God’s Word is the foundation of our homes, providing a firm and unshakable guide as children grow in their faith. Foundation Verses are more than just memorisation; they are a journey of learning, prayer, and living out God’s truth as a family.
📖 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (Deuteronomy 6:5)
Centre family worship around scripture, and let the whole family memorise, pray, and experience God’s love together.
