CATECHISM CLASS 1

INTRODUCTION

ADULT CATECHISM: WEEK 1

INTRODUCTION:

What is a Catechism and where did it come from?

The ancient Jewish people used Catechism to train their children in the Jewish law and ethics code, along with rules and regulations of Jewish observances. Jesus himself would have been catechized as a young Jewish boy.

The history of the Christian catechism includes the development of a variety of catechisms over time, including:

The Didache: The earliest known catechism, written between 60 and 85 AD St. Cyril of Jerusalem's Catechetical Lectures: A series of talks given to catechumens in the fourth century The Small Catechism: Written by Martin Luther in 1529, this catechism broke up the Lord's Prayer, Apostles' Creed, and Decalogue into sections, with each section followed by the question "What does this mean?" The Heidelberg Catechism: Written by Caspar Olevianus and Zacharias Ursinus in 1563, this catechism became the most widely used in Reformed churches The Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms: Completed in 1647 by the Westminster Assembly, these catechisms became the standard Presbyterian catechisms The Catechism of the Catholic Church: Pope John Paul II officially approved the final version of this catechism in 1992. The decision to publish it came from the Second Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in 1985.

The word "catechism" refers to a manual for instruction, and the format often uses a question-and-answer style. Catechisms have been used to teach foundational Christian doctrines for centuries.

The actual Greek word means to teach orally or to instruct orally. The root of the word means to press in or to push in. The goal of Catechism is to use a question-and-answer system of learning that helps students memorize main doctrines or tenets of the faith. Along with the Q&A there is often an application phase where students are encouraged to think through how this doctrine affects their lives in all aspects and how it should cause them to understand the world, themselves, and God differently than does the world around them.

Week 1 Question:

What is our only hope in life and death?

Instructor:

Before you show the answer have each student speak on what they think this answer might be and why.

Answer: That we are not our own but belong, body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our savior Jesus Christ.

Take a moment and write this down below. Underline the phrases that stick-out to you or that you find important.

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INSTRUCTOR:

Have each person share what they underlined and why.

SCRIPTURE:

ROMANS 14:7-12

14:7 For none of us lives for himself and none dies for himself. 14:8 If we live, we live for the Lord; if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 14:9 For this reason Christ died and returned to life, so that he may be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

14:10 But you who eat vegetables only—why do you judge your brother or sister? And you who eat everything—why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 14:11 For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will give praise to God.” 14:12 Therefore, each of us will give an account of himself to God. [1]

EXERCISE:

Underline the words and phrases that stand out to you in the above passage. Share with the group what catches your attention.

COMMENTARY:

Pick two people to read the commentaries below.

JOHN CALVIN

If we, then, are not our own but the Lord’s, it is clear what error we must flee, and whither we must direct all the acts of our life. We are not our own: let not our reason nor our will, therefore, sway our plans and deeds. We are not our own: let us therefore not set it as our goal to seek what is expedient for us. . . . We are not our own: in so far as we can, let us forget ourselves and all that is ours. Conversely, we are God’s: let us therefore live for him and die for him. We are God’s: let his wisdom and will therefore rule all our actions. We are God’s: let all the parts of our life accordingly strive toward him as our only lawful goal. O, how much has that man profited who, having been taught that he is not his own, has taken away dominion and rule from his own reason that he may yield it to God! For, as consulting our self-interest is the pestilence that most effectively leads to our destruction, so the sole haven of salvation is to be wise in nothing and to will nothing through ourselves but to follow the leading of the Lord alone.

TIMMOTHY KELLER

The basic motive is that God sent his Son to save us by grace and to adopt us into his family. So now, because of that grace, in our gratitude, we want to resemble our Father. We want the family resemblance. We want to look like our Savior. We want to please our Father.

The basic principle then is this: that we are not to live to please ourselves. We’re not to live as if we belong to ourselves. And that means several things. It means, first of all, we are not to determine for ourselves what is right or wrong. We give up the right to determine that, and we rely wholly on God’s Word. We also give up the operating principle that we usually use in day-to-day life; we stop putting ourselves first, and we always put first what pleases God and what loves our neighbor. It also means that we are to have no part of our lives that is immune from self-giving. We’re supposed to give ourselves wholly to him—body and soul. And it means we trust God through thick and thin, through the good and the bad times, in life and in death.

QUESTIONS:

What does it mean that we are to put God first and His desires and not our own desires?

How might we determine what is the will of God in particular situations?

How does it make you feel to know that we are not to determine for ourselves what is right and wrong but, we are to rely fully on God’s word to determine right and wrong?

Exercise:

Split up in groups of two or three. In these groups work through what it means to not be your own but to fully belong to Jesus when it comes to how we live in this world?

Take 10 minutes and try to come up with at least 5 ways the current culture is at odds with the Biblical world view.

Example: Over the last few years both secular and Christian men and women have taken to use the term, “My body my choice”. How might this fly in the face of the Biblical worldview?

1. Your answer

2. Your answer

3. Your answer

4. Your answer

5. Your answer

EXERCISE:

The next exercise needs to be done individually.

Take 5 minutes and in the boxes below write down the areas of your life that you need to give to Jesus and stop living for yourself. Then at home finish filling it out.

Example:

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If you have time share some of your answers with the class.

MEMORIZATION:

One of the best things you can do is to memorize the basic doctrines of Scripture along with the Scriptures. Split back up into groups of 2 or 3 and work together to memorize the question and the answer as well as the Biblical reference.

Question: What is our only hope in life and death?

Answer: That we are not our own but belong, body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our Savior Jesus Christ.

Scripture reference: Romans 14:7-12

LAST QUESTION:

How is belonging to God and not to ourselves considered hopeful?

Prayer

Christ Our Hope, in life and in death, we cast ourselves on your merciful, fatherly care. You love us because we are your own. We have no good apart from you, and we could ask for no greater gift than to belong to you. Amen.

RESOURCES TO HELP YOU MEMORIZE AND WORK THROUGH THE NEW CITY CATECHISM:

Website to the Catechism: Mobile Apps for Your Phone or Tablet:

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[1]Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible (Biblical Studies Press, 2005), Ro 14:7–12.