“Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” Proverbs 27:17

Purpose
To promote Christian growth and maturity by being accountable to other like-minded men in being faithful to daily Bible study, Scripture memorization and prayer.

Structure

1. 3-5 men agreeing to meet on a weekly basis.
2. The textbook is the Bible; the Holy Spirit is the instructor.
3. Simple Leadership - one man taking responsibility for the health of the group, assuring commitment to the “Iron Man Covenant.”
4. Iron Man Groups (IMG) are composed of men at different levels of spiritual growth. Yet all men are accountable for the same purpose - continued spiritual growth.

Guidelines

1. Each commits to memorize a portion of Scripture of the Holy Spirit’s leading; the portion of Scripture to be memorized is up to each man.
2. The Scripture should be identified within 2 days after meeting so there is time to memorize and apply that Scripture.
3. When meeting, men take turns quoting their Scripture word for word, then share insights that the memorization and meditation process has revealed.
4. Accountability means:
5. If no Scripture is memorized, men will attend regardless.
6. You will inform your group if you cannot attend a meeting (no one should wonder where you are)
7. Iron Men meet to share failure and victory, not criticize, condemn, or lecture.
8. Confidentiality must be maintained; this is a closed group of men who will build tremendous trust with each other.
9. All men will commit to the Iron Man Covenant

Benefits to Accountability

1. Better fulfill our roles as Christian men
2. Better fulfill our roles as godly husbands and fathers
3. Understand the meaning and the need for responsible church membership
4. Establish deep, effective relationships with other Christian men
5. Grow the desire to make a lifelong commitment to small group accountability

Starting an Iron Man Group

1. Start with as few as 2 men but target 3-5. Over 5 becomes difficult to limit the meeting to 1 hour and men can become “anonymous.”
2. Seek to build the group with men demonstrating a range of spiritual growth; be about “disciple-making.”
3. Understand and commit to the Iron Man Covenant
4. Foundational Scripture - there is no right or wrong way to select Scripture since Iron Men are encouraged to allow the Holy Spirit to direct them. However there is high value to use “Foundational Scripture” as a starter.
5. Psalm 1:1-6
6. Proverbs - read one chapter in Proverbs daily. You will read through the Proverbs in one month.
7. Psalms - 5 Psalms per day will cover the Psalms in one month. A guide sheet will show how to rotate through a cross-section of the Psalms (example: Psalm 1, 31, 61, 91, 121. Then Psalm 2, 32, 62, 92, 122, etc)
8. Gospel of John, I John

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As a freshman in high school, I traveled with Teen Missions, International to Switzerland. That was the summer I first sensed God giving me a desire to serve him full time. One of the most helpful parts of the summer was the Bible memory. I can still remember trying to memorize what felt like a Bible verse a day for the entire mission trip.

The verses I committed to heart are still with me, over 25 years later. I use them on a weekly basis in sermon preparation, counseling and my own personal walk with Christ.

As David, my oldest son, prepares for his freshman year in high school, I know one of the best ways I can help prepare him is to have him commit the same 40 verses to his heart. After some web searching, I found a list of the verses in KJV translation. I reformatted them into the New Living Translation and created a set of memory card.

Note: The format of these cards is intended for double-sided printing.

40 Verses to Learn in the Summer - NIV Translation

I hope others are able to use these cards to help their children memorize these key verses.

Tags: Bible Memory, Family

I recently completed a fifty-two week series on the book of Hebrews. This book has such strong emphasis on the new covenant we have through Christ that it appears to undervalue the Mosaic covenant.

Hebrews 8:13 says, "In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away."

While teaching that section, I compared the Old Covenant to trash. Was this too strong of a comparison? Was the Mosaic covenant undervalued? At the outset, let me be clear, none of God's covenants are trash. My words were intended to be strictly comparative to what we have in Christ. It is similar to my old computer. When I bought it, I spent good money for what was the latest technology. Today, it is nothing more than scrap metal compared to my Macbook Pro. The greatness of the New Covenant through Christ so greatly outstripped the Old Covenant that the Mosaic Covenant experienced extreme devaluation next to Christ. Read More...

Tags: Old Covenant, New Covenant, Mosaic Covenant