An often repeated verse or verses in a sermon may not be typically unique to the preacher. According to Bible Memory Goal, “there are 31,102 verses in the Bible, which is made up of 23,145 verses in the Old Testament and 7,957 verses in the New Testament.” However, patterns emerge after several years of preaching, and certain verses tend to reoccur more often than others…especially for me.
Every pastor and speaker I know has a pattern to their speech and a delivery style. And as much as I would like to adjust or change sometimes, this article is the exact opposite. I am choosing to lean into the patterns that I have. So, I began to think about what verse or verses a listener who is new to me would need. Try to think about this list as a verse starter pack in a game of listening to a sermon by Pastor Mark.
The Extended Verse Pack
Romans 12:1 – “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
I know that we typically quote Romans 12:1-2 together. However, in my sermons, I will stop with the point of our spiritual worship.
James 1:2 – “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.”
It was not that long ago when it felt like I was quoting this verse in every sermon. Teaching through the book of James helped settle a lot of this repetition down for me. But why would we think we would only get one kind of trial?
Revelation 22:13 – “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
When quoting verses that God says about Himself, there may not be many that compare to Rev 22:13.
Amos 7:8 – And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass by them;”
Another Amos verse.
John 3:17 – For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
I do not quote John 3:16 a lot. I assume that you have heard 16.
Psalm 2:4a – He who sits in the heavens laughs
I love the fact that our Bible tells us that God laughs. In all of the characteristics of God- His holiness, His omniscience, or His omnipresence- there is something very important to me: that our God laughs.
Genesis 1:1 – In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
John 1:1 – In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the Word was God.
For me, sometimes Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1 get quoted together…and I think that was the idea that John wanted from us.
Matthew 12:34b For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
The pastor/counselor in me I deeply enjoy when I hear someone say, “I didn’t mean to say that.” Really? Then why did it come out of your mouth? We need to look for patterns in our speech. If we are constantly speaking anger, violence, and hatred, it should be a warning sign of what is inside our hearts.
Pastor Mark’s Take Away:
At the end of the day, I hope that preparing you a small amount gives you a headstart on listening to me present a lesson or sermon. Many preachers and teachers do not consider the pattern of our most used verses, but I promise it is there. Pastor/teacher, if you are still wondering, ask a teenager who respects and loves you, and they will quickly tell you what things you repeat almost weekly. You can never tell there may be a bingo game that is played based on your common sayings. Yes, I have been the recipient of a bingo game made of my sayings.
Please enjoy, and I look forward to our next time around God’s Word together!
You can view the original starter pack of verses by clicking here.
All verses quoted from The ESV Study Bible: English Standard Version. Crossway Bibles, 2008.
Mark Rogers
Pastor Mark is the primary author and content creator of pastormarkrogers.com. Additionally, he serves as Pastor of Lighthouse Sylva. You can find out more by clicking the About Page.
