Topical Memory System

How the system works

Two verses a week, reviewed until they stay

The Topical Memory System from The Navigators gives you sixty key verses arranged by topic. You learn one topic, which is two verses, each week. In thirty weeks you have a working set of Scripture you can draw on in conversation, in temptation, in prayer, and in doubt.

• Series A, Live the New Life. Christ at the centre, obedience, the Word, prayer, fellowship, witnessing.
• Series B, Proclaim Christ. The gospel in order: sin, its penalty, Christ's payment, grace not works, receiving Christ, assurance.
• Series C, Rely on God's Resources. His Spirit, strength, faithfulness, peace, provision, and help in temptation.
• Series D, Be Christ's Disciple. Christ first, separation from the world, steadfastness, service, giving, world vision.
• Series E, Grow in Christlikeness. Love, humility, purity, honesty, faith, good works.

Learning a new verse

1. Read it in context. Open your Bible and read the surrounding paragraph so you know what the verse is actually saying.
2. Learn the topic and reference first. The reference is the part people lose. The TMS pattern bookends every verse with it:

Topic → reference → verse → reference.
"Christ the Center. Second Corinthians five seventeen. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ … Second Corinthians five seventeen."

3. Build it phrase by phrase. Say the first phrase aloud until it is smooth, add the second, say both, and keep going. Always say it aloud.
4. Use spare minutes. Keep your cards (or this page) with you. Queues, commutes, and kettle time add up to far more than a sitting-down session.
5. Write it out. Writing the verse from memory, then checking it against the card, exposes the words you only half know.
6. Say it to someone. Each week, quote the verses to a friend who checks them word for word against the card. Being heard is the single best test.

Review is the heart of it

Learning a verse takes a few days. Keeping it takes review, and the system is built around it.

• Review each new verse every day for at least several weeks after you learn it.
• Go through every verse you have learned so far at least once a week. Keep the pack in two groups: the current series, reviewed daily, and older verses, reviewed weekly.
• Review aloud, and say the reference before and after, every time.
• Aim for word-perfect. Near enough drifts further every month; exact stays.

Meditate, don't just memorise

A verse you can quote but have not thought about is a half-finished job. For each verse ask three questions: what does it say, what does it mean, and what should I do about it. Pray it back to God in your own words. Joshua 1:8 and Psalm 119:11, both in the system, describe the aim: the Word in your mouth and in your heart, so that it shapes what you do.

A weekly rhythm

• Day 1. Read both of this week's verses in context. Mark them Learning here. Learn topic and reference, then the first verse phrase by phrase.
• Days 2 to 4. Add the second verse. Review both every day, plus the daily group.
• Days 5 to 6. Write both out from memory. Run a Review session on this series.
• Day 7. Quote the week's verses to your partner, then review every verse learned so far. Mark verses Memorised once you can say them word-perfect, reference to reference, without help.

About this page

The Topical Memory System is a programme of The Navigators, published by NavPress. The verse list and topic headings are theirs; the explanations above are a summary in other words. The official workbook and printed card pack (available in NIV, ESV, NASB, KJV, NLT and other versions) are at navigators.org. Verse text is from the English Standard Version (ESV). Your progress is saved in this browser only.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license.