7 Silly Tricks to Learn the New Testament in Order

Why Memorize The Book Order

You're in Bible study. Someone says, okay, everyone, turn to Colossians. So you open the table of contents, find the page, and turn right to it. That's what it's there for. I tell people to use it all the time. But what if you could hear Colossians and already know where it is? Right after Philippians. That's what we're doing today. Well, welcome everyone. I'm your host, Jacqui Adewole, and this is the Bible Basics Podcast, where every two weeks we break down the basics of the Bible into understandable bite-sized chunks. Well, this is a bonus episode, and it's a little different. Today we're going to learn the books of the New Testament, all 27 of them in order. That might sound like a lot, but we're going to break it into seven small chunks. And each chunk comes with a memory cue. Some of them are a little silly, but I believe that helps them stick. At least that works for me. You can follow along with your Bible's table of contents. And when we practice, I need you all to say the names out loud with me. Okay?

The Four New Testament Sections

Well, before we learn the names, let's look at how these 27 books are arranged. We can group them into four sections. First, the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. They tell us about Jesus' life, death, and his resurrection. The word gospel means good news. Then there's one book of history. That's Acts. It tells how the Holy Spirit empowered Jesus' followers to spread the good news after Jesus returned to heaven. Next, there are 21 letters. These are written to churches and to people, teaching them about faith in Jesus and how to live as his followers. And finally, one book of prophecy, revelation. Through visions, it shows Jesus' victory and how God finishes the story. So here's the pattern. There are four Gospels, one history book, twenty one letters, one book of prophecy. Altogether, that's four, one, twenty one, one. Four, one, twenty one, one. That's all twenty seven books. Knowing those sections, just knowing that, can help you find your place when you're still learning the names. Okay, now we're talking about the seven chunks, memory chunks.

Gospels Plus Acts Memory Picture

First, there's Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts. That's the four Gospels followed by Acts. And here's the memory picture. Imagine Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John acting up in church. Get it, acting up, Acts. So there's four grown men acting up in the back pew. Say it with me. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. And what are they doing? Acting up. Acts. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts. Okay, so that's the first chunk. We have that.

Romans Through Colossians Mnemonic

Now we come to the beginning of those 21 letters. This one's my favorite. I still use it all the time. The memory sentence is real Christian girls eat pork chops. Real Christian girls eat pork chops. So it's the first letter in every word of that sentence that helps us remember the book's names. So first there's the R in real, that's for Romans. There's a C in Christian, and that's for Corinthians. And by the way, there are two of those, first and second Corinthians. The G in girls is for Galatians. The E in Eat is for Ephesians. The P in pork is for Philippians. And the C in chops is for Colossians. So first let's say the memory sentence together. Real Christian girls eat pork chops. Real Christian girls eat pork chops. Now let's say the books. Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. Oh, and there's Colossians from the first sentence of this episode when I said turn to Colossians. Now you know where Colossians falls, right after Philippians. Can we do that one more time? First, the memory sentence. Real Christian girls eat pork chops. Now say it with me. Real Christian girls eat pork chops. Now with that sentence in mind, let's name the books. Say them with me. Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians.

The Five T Letters In Order

Well, now we're at chunk three. So after eating all those pork chops, the girls are thirsty. They want some tea. So the tea reminds us that this next grouping of books all begin with the letter T. There's 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus. There are five books. I think about five cups of tea. 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus. So how do we keep these names in order? Does Titus come first? Timothy come third. What's the order here? Well, this is a simple way to remember that. Thessalonians is the longest, so it goes first. Timothy is a little shorter, so it goes next. And Titus is the shortest, so it goes last. So we have the long, the shorter, and the shortest. But don't forget, Thessalonians and Timothy both have two books, and Titus has one. So say the books with me. First Thessalonians, Second Thessalonians, First Timothy, Second Timothy, and Titus. Okay, one more time. Thessalonians, Second Thessalonians, First Timothy, Second Timothy, and Titus.

Philemon And The Wrestling Cue

Okay, the next chunk. We've had five cups of tea. So for our memory picture, let's add some lemons. Five lemons. Philemon. I know this sounds silly. The book is called Philemon. And so I kind of relate that to five lemons. Philemon, five lemons. Philemon, five lemons. That sounds they sound alike, don't they? Well, that's our cue. So the book after the five books that start with T is Philemon. So let's say all those together. First Thessalonians, Second Thessalonians, First Timothy, Second Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. Now the next chunk. And we're going to use Philemon to help us remember the next two books. So back, remember those four guys acting up in church? Well, for this next scene, imagine there are two more guys, Philemon and James, and they're wrestling. So who wins? Philemon, because he bruised James. Get it? Philemon, Hebrews James. Okay, again, let me the the whole memory process. We have Philemon and James, and they're wrestling. Who wins? Philemon because he bruised James. Get it? Again, Philemon Hebrews James. I know, I know. My brain works in funny ways, but that picture helps me remember. So say it with me. Philemon Hebrews James. Okay, the next chunk.

PJs For Peter John Jude

After that imaginary wrestling match, everybody's tired. So it's time to go home and put on some PJs. The P reminds me of Peter. The J reminds me of John. And because I said J's is plural, so it's J for John, also J for Jude. So it's Peter, John, and Jude. Now, don't forget that there are two letters of Peter, three letters of John, and one for Jude. So here's the order. 1 Peter, 2 Peter. That's the P. 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude. Those are the J's. So let's say the whole chunk together. 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and Jude. Okay, those are PJs. And the last chunk is really just one book. It's the book of Revelation. That's the book of prophecy that I mentioned earlier. And it closes out the New Testament. So it's just revelation.

Full Run Through All 27

Now, let's put it all together. First, just the memory cues. First, there are four guys acting up in church. There's real Christian girls eat pork chops. There are five cups of tea, five lemons, Hebrews James, PJs, and Revelation. Now let's say all 27. I'll start with the memory verse or the memory cue, and then we'll say the books. Okay? Say them along with me if you can. We'll take our time. Four guys acting up in church. That's Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts. Real Christian girls eat pork chops. Romans, First Corinthians, Second Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. Five cups of tea, First Thessalonians, Second Thessalonians, First Timothy, Second Timothy, and Titus. Five lemons, Philemon, Hebrews James, Hebrews James. P.J.'s First Peter, Second Peter, First John, Second John, Third John, and Jude. And the last book, Revelation. That's the whole New Testament. Twenty-seven books. Let's try two without looking. What comes after Colossians? That's right. If you said First Thessalonians, you're on it. And what comes after Philemon? Hebrews. If you needed to check, that's okay. You can replay this episode anytime, any part of it, and practice it again.

Weekly Practice Plan And Closing

So why am I going through this? Why does this even still matter? Well, as those names become familiar, you'll be able to find passages more easily. You'll hear Galatians and know it comes after 2 Corinthians and before Ephesians. You'll recognize it as one of the letters. That gives you a little more context even before you start reading. And finding your place more easily gives you more time to spend with the passage itself. So here's something to try this week. One chunk a day. Seven chunks, seven days. Start with the first chunk today. Tomorrow, repeat that one, then add the next. Each day, say the names out loud. Check them in your table of contents. And then look away and try again. If you miss a day, pick it back up on the next one. There's no rush. So which chunk can you already say without looking? See how many more you can say by the end of the week. In a future episode, we'll do the same thing with the Old Testament. It has a few tricks of its own, including a little help from Christmas. Until then, keep reading, keep seeking, and keep growing in your faith.