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THE MAGIC SQUARE: HOW TO BECOME FAMILIAR WITH THE
25 NEW TESTAMENT SCRIPTURE MASTERY SCRIPTURES
Janice Lee Griffith Tate
START LEARNING
Fill in the Fifth Horizontal Row
The magic square is a method to help students start learning
all 25 scripture mastery scriptures from the first day of seminary.
It uses vision, rhythm, rhyme, and movement to cement the
location and main idea of each scripture into the students’ minds.
(Note: The teacher needs to know the scriptures on the first day
of class to be able to teach them. Then all that is needed is a
chalkboard, chalk, and eraser.)
Continue singing “Titus, Philemon,” and then put an H in the
first box of the fifth row for the scripture mastery scripture in
Hebrews. Then put a J in the next two boxes for the two scripture
mastery scriptures in James. Sing “Peter, Peter, John, John, John,
Jude,” and then put an R in the last two boxes for the scripture
mastery scriptures in Revelation. Check and make sure the fifth
row reads H J J R R.
DRAW THE MAGIC SQUARE
ERASE AND REPEAT
During class time, draw a large square on the chalkboard. Draw
four equally spaced vertical lines and four equally spaced
horizontal lines inside the box. You now have 25 boxes. These
make up the magic square.
At this point you should erase the board and rebuild the magic
square a few times until the students know the sequence of the
books.
As you fill in the magic square, sing the Primary song “The Books
in the New Testament,” which uses the same tune as “Praise to
the Man” (see Children’s Songbook, 116).
Fill in the First Horizontal Row
Starting with the box in the top left-hand corner, you will fill in
the first horizontal row as you begin to sing the New Testament
books. Sing “Matthew” and put an M for Matthew in each of the
first four boxes because the first four scripture mastery scriptures
are found in Matthew. Sing “Mark,” but there are no scripture
mastery scriptures in Mark. Go on to sing “Luke” and put an L
in the last box of the first row because the fifth scripture mastery
scripture is found in Luke. Check and make sure your top
horizontal row reads M M M M L.
Fill in the Second Horizontal Row
Continue singing the song. As you sing “John” put a J in each box
in the second horizontal row because there are five scripture
mastery scriptures in John. Check and make sure that the second
horizontal row reads J J J J J.
Fill in the Third Horizontal Row
Continue singing the song. Put an A in the first box of the third
horizontal row for Acts, an R in the second box for Romans, and
a 1C in the last three boxes and in the first box of the fourth row
because there are four scriptures in 1 Corinthians. Check and
make sure that the third row reads A R 1C 1C 1C.
Fill in the Fourth Horizontal Row
You already have a 1C in the first box of the fourth horizontal
row, so continue singing “Second Corinthians, Galatians,” and
then put an E in the second box for Ephesians. Continue singing
“Philippians, Colossians,” and then put a 2T in the third box for
2 Thessalonians. Put a 2T in the last two boxes of the fourth row
for the scripture mastery scriptures in 2 Timothy.
Check and make sure the fourth row reads 1C E 2T 2T 2T.
ADD THE SCRIPTURE CHAPTER NUMBERS
Add the numbers for the scripture chapters by starting with the
first horizontal row and saying:
• “Matthew 5—lights alive” as you put a 5 by the first M.
• “Matthew 6—Masters don’t mix” as you put a 6 by the
second M.
• “Matthew 16—Keys revealing” as you put a 16 by the third M.
• “Matthew 25—For the least strive” as you put a 25 by the
fourth M.
• “Luke 24—Resurrected Lord” as you put a 24 by the L.
Introduce the rest of the chapter numbers the same way.
Second Row
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“John 3—Born of me”
“John 7—Know from heaven”
“John 10—Sheep in American pen”
“John 14—Love is seen”
“John 17—Life is knowing”
Third Row
• “Acts 7—Stephen sees heaven”
• “Romans 1—Ashamed by none”
• “1 Corinthians 10—Escape temptation again”
Since the next three scriptures are all in 1 Corinthians 15, put
a 15 by each of the 1Cs.
• “Adam rising”
• “Dead baptizing”
Fourth Row
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“Celestializing”
“Ephesians 4—What are leaders for”
“2 Thessalonians 2—Apostasy not new”
“2 Timothy 3—Perilous times shall be”
“2 Timothy 3—Scriptures for me”
© 2004 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA. English approval: 10/02. 71105
Fifth Row
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“Hebrews 5—Priesthood alive”
“James 1—Lack wisdom”
“James 2—Faith and works too”
“Revelation 14—Angel flying”
“Revelation 20—Judgment aplenty”
ERASE AND ASSEMBLE
Erase and assemble the magic square frequently over the first few
weeks of seminary. The actions that accompany each scripture
will help trigger the rhyming phrases. Working on it frequently
will help students learn the location and a main idea for the 25
New Testament scripture mastery scriptures, help them gain
confidence in their knowing them, and lead to a personal
understanding of each scripture.