SCRIPTORIUM 2008 A Celebration of Scripture
JEREMIAH 15:16 When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God Almighty.
May 16th - 18th are the dates when Scripture enthusiasts from around the country will converge on Hannibal, MO to quote 186 chapters of Scripture and encourage each other with God's Word. Now in it's 3rd year, this national event has drawn Scripture quoters from age 3 to 82. I went last year when JOB - SONG of SOLOMON was quoted. Lord willing, I expect to return each year and hope to bring more and more with me each year.
There is no charge at the Scriptorium for those who will be quoting Scripture. The church provides both housing and food for the weekend.
As of April 8th 2008, the following 46 chapters are still available:
Isaiah 19-20, 22-23, 29-32, 36-39, 48, 50-51
Jeremiah 13-14, 18-30, 32, 34-35
Amos 1-9
Micah 1-2, 6-7
I believe there are literally hundreds of Christians who would love to hear about and consider participating in Scriptorium 2008. My prayer is that all of them will hear about it one way or the other. Would you consider taking a little time and sharing this page with families, schools, churches, homeschool groups and others you know who love Scripture? May God bless you as you commit to knowing and loving Him more and more in 2008
In Christ, Phil Walker
(845)416-8010 philjohn1558@yahoo.com
Short inspirational words from Pastor Jim Woychuk
Scriptorium 2008 to Focus on Pre-exilic Prophets & Gospel of John May 16-18, 2008
Old Testament Books to be Memorized
- Isaiah, Jeremiah,Hosea,Joel
- Amos,Obadiah,Jonah,Micah
- Nahum,Habakkuk,Zephaniah
New Testament Book to be Memorized
- The Gospel of John
What is a Scriptorium?
Scriptorium is a gathering of Bible memorizers for the purpose of reciting and hearing major portions of God’s word. This weekend event also gives us a chance to encourage each other in the discipline of treasuring up God’s word in our hearts. This year’s Scriptorium will be held May 16-18, 2008, at Hannibal Evangelical Free Church, Hannibal , MO.
What’s New:
The Passages: This year our portion will be composed of the Hebrew prophets who wrote prior to the Babylonian exile (586 B.C.). For our purposes, that will include Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah. In a change from our previous Scriptoria, this year’s event will also have a New Testament passage, the Gospel of John. This makes a total of 186 chapters to recite, down from about 230 last year and 260 the year before.
The Event: The reason for reducing our scope somewhat this year is our perception that the weekends have been a little too packed. Last year, we had a Saturday afternoon fellowship time that really refreshed us and made for an excellent Saturday night recitation time. Of course God’s word is good for us, but in a tight weekend schedule we want to try giving ourselves a little more breathing space to let it soak in and talk with each other. We have found that God encourages us through the words of others who love Him and His word, and we want to allow time for that.
Selection & Preparation: We are using April 15th as our “Day of Accountability” We are asking that by April 15th, you have all your passages memorized (and ideally already informally presented as practice to a friend) or at least mostly memorized so that you are clearly at a point where you will be ready to present the Scriptures well at the Scriptorium. Please contact us by phone (573) 221-7889 or email scriptorium2008@sbcglobal.net by April 15th to certify which chapters you have memorized. If on the 15th it becomes clear that you may not be able to present the Scriptures you signed up for, please also contact us so that we might be able to find others to present those chapters. Note: I realize that some of you might just be hearing about the Scriptorium at a date later than the April 15th. If this is the case and you would still like to participate, please contact us and we will let you know what chapters are still available to quote at this year’s Scriptorium.
Scriptorium 2008 Questions and Answers
What translation should I memorize?
Our preference is for non-paraphrase translations on the more literal side: KJV, NKJV, NASB, ESV, NIV. Call for more information.
What are the accommodations like?
The campus has dorm rooms for men and women and some private suites for families. Some guests will stay with church families in their homes. Dorm housing features comfortable bunk beds and single beds.
Will we sit through the entire recitation?
The recitation will be broken into two-hour segments. If you’re coming, we ask you to attend at least half of these.
What else is there to do on the campus?
You can snack, hike the grounds, play basketball, pool, ping-pong, and Foosball; you can visit with other attendees.
What about meals?
Meals are being provided by the Hannibal Evangelical Free Church and will be served cafeteria style in the downstairs dining hall. The recitation will pause for one hour during meal times.
Will we recite the books in order?
In general, yes, but some exceptions will be made for those unable to be present at the time their books would naturally come up.
What if my mind goes blank when I’m reciting?
We plan to have prompters ready to help out in those moments. They’ll be ready with your translation and passage.
Can non-reciters come?
As long as we have space, we are accepting non-reciting guests as well.
Financial help for travel?
Please let us know if you need help in affording the trip.
When does Scriptorium 2008 begin?
We plan to begin at 1 pm on Friday, 5/16/08.
When does Scriptorium 2008 end?
With lunch on Sunday 5/18/08.
Credit at Homestead: Dr. David Pent is offering college credit at Homestead College of the Bible for Scriptorium work. Contact the school at 407-321-0320 for more information.
Location and contact information:
Scriptorium 2008 c/o Hannibal Evangelical Free Church 245 N. Levering Ave. Hannibal, MO 63401
Phone: 573-221-7889 Email:scriptorium2008@sbcglobal.net
Hannibal Navigation 100 Miles N. of St. Louis , MO 230 Miles NE of Kansas City , MO Airports/Amtrak: Quincy, IL ; St. Louis , MO 65 Miles S. of Iowa state line
Memorizing Under Grace
When a person believes in Christ, he enters a relationship of grace; the requirements of God’s law have been perfectly met in Christ, and believers are complete in Him (Col. 2:10; 1 Cor. 1:30; Romans 8:3). Therefore, God’s command for us to keep His word in our hearts (Deut. 6:4-6; Col. 3:16; etc.) comes to us not as a law by which we earn His approval and acceptance. We have all that and more in Christ. Rather, we treasure God’s word and invest the mental effort and time to learn it carefully because of what those words are and Whose those words are.
The words of the Bible give content to the faith by which we live (Rom. 10:17; Rom. 1:17; Gal. 2:20). If we walk by faith, we need a strong grip on those things in which are trust is placed. The words of the Bible are our charter of liberty (Psa. 119:145; John 8:31-32; Gal. 5:1), without a knowledge of which we fall back into slavish living, not unlike those share-croppers who lived enslaved lives even after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863.
So much more could be said, but further, the words of the Bible belong in our hearts because of Whose words they are, the words of the Creator of the universe, the words of the One who loves and wants us to know Him. Thanks to Scriptorium alumnus Scot Dollinger for raising the question of what it means to memorize Scripture under grace.
Golden Pages
We’re memorizing the “golden pages” of the Bible this year! Why call them “golden?” Well, for many of us with gold edging on our Bible pages, the pages of the prophets still have a lot of the gold left on them because we don’t turn there as often. Yet Jesus reminds us that His message is written in “the volume of the book” (Heb. 10:7), and we grow in grace as we learn of Him “beginning at Moses and all the Prophets” (Luke 24:27). So welcome to an opportunity to dig deeper and probe further into some of the best treasure regarding our common faith in the Lord Jesus. Paul found in Habakkuk 2:4 his foundation for the book of Romans, and no one has taken Habakkuk 2 yet! The magi learned about Jesus’ birthplace from Micah 5, and no one’s taken Micah 5 yet. The apostle who authored Hebrews was overjoyed about the blessing of the New Covenant found in Jeremiah 31, and that chapter is yet unclaimed. The apostles knew Amos 3 well enough to realize that Amos 3 reveals that Gentiles belonged in the church, but it’s still open for Scriptorium 2008. We look forward to the new heavens and new earth in which righteousness dwells, and what a blessing it would be if someone would take up Isaiah 65’s glowing report of what the kingdom will be like. And so much more . . . (Note: This paragraph has inspired many to take the chapters mentioned. The complete list of available chapters is listed at the top of this page.)
