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Monday, August 23, 2010

Catechism

This morning I started a new devotional path with the boys. Over the summer we focused on the Bible's big story (again. We did that last summer too, but got distracted by the little - and fun - stories). We're using the Heidelberg Catechism - a Reformed Catechism that is old (1563; though the language was updated in 1998 for the RCA church) and more broadly reformed than, say, the Westminster Confession/Catechism. We'll do a question a day, but are flexible and may spend more than one day on some questions. Here's the first:

Question 1. What is your only comfort in life and in death?

Answer.
That I am not my own, but belong body and soul, in life and in death to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. Christ has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.

Oh, and I'm using Kevin DeYoung's book The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism as my guide.

2 comments:

Lisa Joy said...

I'm reading that book right now! I love Kevin deYoung. Look how reformed I'm becoming. :)

Dan Waugh said...

isn't it great...all of life makes more sense now, doesn't it!

I've only read three or four pages so far, but I've read glowing review of DeYoung's book and the Heidelberg Catechism, so the two together should be great.