Standard Level

Requirement 1a

Memorize the Old Testament books of the Bible and the five groups into which they are grouped.

The Books of the Old Testament and the sections into which they are divided are as follows:

Books of Moses	History	Poetry	Major Prophets	Minor Prophets
Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Dueteronomy	Joshua Judges Ruth 1 Samuel 2 Samuel 1 Kings 2 Kings 1 Chronicles 2 Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah	Esther Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Solomon	Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Ezekiel Daniel	Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi

It is far easier to memorize these by song than by rote. There are many songs that go through the books of the Old Testament, and many of them can be found on Youtube. Listen to several and choose the one you like the best. Then teach it to your class, or add it to the songs you sing during your club's opening ceremonies. If your whole club sings the song at every meeting, by the end of the Pathfinder year, everyone in regular attendance will know the books of the Old Testament.

Requirement 1b

Demonstrate your ability to find any Old Testament book.

The first step in doing this is the know the order of the books and the section to which each belongs (see the previous requirements). Then if you open your Bible to the wrong section, it will be easy to flip forward or backwards through the pages until you get to the correct section.

A second tip is the know without having to think too hard if the book is before or after Psalms, which is right in the center of the Bible. Try opening your Bible to its center, and you should be looking at one of the Psalms. Now if you know that the book you are after is before Psalms, you know that it's in the first half of the Bible. Otherwise you know that it is in the latter half.

To get the Pathfinders to practice, have sword drills - you call out a text, and the first to find it indicates he or she has done so. Have them read the passage aloud to make sure they found it. Keep score, and offer a prize of some sort (it doesn't have to be much - kids at this age can be motivate by the simplest of prizes).

Requirement 2

Memorize a Bible text for the following subjects:

Prayer
Doctrine
Behavior
Salvation
Relationships
Promises/Praise
Great Passages

Prayer

Doctrine

Behavior

Salvation

Relationships

Promises/Praise

Great Passages

Techniques

There are several approaches to memorizing Scripture.

Erase the words: Write the Bible verse on a white board and have everyone read it aloud together. Then erase a word and have them read it again, supplying the erased word. Continue erasing words and reading the verse aloud until all the words are gone. At this point, the entire class should know the verse.

Hand write the verse: Write the verses down several times by hand until you can do it from memory.

In song: Many passages of scripture have been set to music. Memorizing the lyrics to a song is a lot easier than memorizing raw text, and the memory will last for years. If the verse you are trying to memorize has already been set to music, switch to the version of the text that matches the song. If it has not been set to music, make up your own tune. Explore different translations of the text to see which one lends itself best to your song.

Say it aloud: Hearing it and saying it will reinforce it much better than just "thinking" it will.

Say it with rhythm: This is similar to the "in song" approach from above, but it is often easier to make up a rhythm than it is to make up a whole tune. Clap your hands and stomp your feet at various places in the verse if that helps. Turn it into a clapping game like "pat-a-cake" and learn it with a friend.

Add action: How many songs do you know that have motions associated with them? If you're making up hand claps and foot stomps, it will help even more if you add other actions such as casting a fishing line, or tracing the outline of a heart in the air.

Make a rebus: A rebus uses pictures to represent words or parts of words. For instance, the word "I" is represented with a graphic depiction of an eye. If you spend enough time coming up with a clever rebus for your verse, you will likely have memorized it by the time you are finished.

Find structure in the verse: Write the verse out so that it highlights the structure. Recall that Hebrew poetry works by repeating an idea using different words. Line them up! We also find structure in New Testament verses. For instance, 1 John 2:3 could be written like this:

Now by this
we know that
we know Him,
if we keep His commandments.

This approach lines up the common words "we know" and helps the brain to organize the verse more effectively. It also lines up the third "we" with the first two, so that it's possible to memorize a shorthand for this verse - "we know, we know, we keep". This forms a skeleton upon which we can hang the rest of the words. Look for other structure as well, such as that the word following "we" always starts with a 'k' and has four letters.

Use a Puzzlemaker Online: to create written activities for scripture such as:

Crosswords
Wordles
Fill in the blanks/Missing letters
Blank out (Similar to Hangman)
Scripture Scrambles

Step On It: Print out each word of a passage on paper, one word per page in large print. Lay the paper on the floor and step down on each page as you say the text. Remove words from time to time.

Writers Block: Write each word of a passage on blocks of wood, one word per block. Mix up the blocks and put the text back together. Two block sets of the same verse makes for an exciting game!

Do you know some approaches? Click here to add them!

Requirement 3

Participate in a skit on one of the following Old Testament characters:

Joseph
Jonah
Esther
Ruth

Below are some skits that you might consider using for this requirement. If you have written a skit of your own, please consider adding it to our collection.

Ruth (puppet show)

Requirement 4

Research two early Adventist Pioneers (1844 to 1900) and present what you have learned.

There are Wikipedia articles on several Adventist Pioneers:

The presentation can be made during worship during a Pathfinder meeting, at vespers during a camping trip, as a children's story during a church service, or during Sabbath School.

Trail Companion

Requirement 5

Complete Companion requirements.

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References

Investiture Achievement/Companion/Spiritual Discovery