What Must I KNOW?

Heidelberg Catechism Lord’s Day 1

 Q1. What is your only comfort in life and in death?

A.  That I am not my own, but belong – body and soul, in life and in death – to my faithful savior Jesus Christ.  He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny 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.

 Q2. What must you know to live and die in the joy of this comfort?

A. Three things: 

-First, how great my sin and misery are;

-Second, how I am set free from all my sins and misery;

-Third, how I am to thank God for such deliverance.

 This is a brilliant gospel summary to memorize, especially if everyone else in the New Members class is doing it.  The Heidelberg Catechism edition we use in the class has a plethora of scripture passages to support each answer; checking the references allows one to explore the context and content further. 

 Many gospel truths are stated or implied: the depth of sin under the curse, the need for a savior, Christ’s death and resurrection, heaven, and the Christian’s commitment to love and thank Jesus by obeying His commands.  Other truths are included: the existence of and freedom from the devil, God’s promises to be with us and to work things for our good, and the nature of the Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

 The verb in Question Two , “know,” is a preciously subtle way of stating that salvation is by faith alone.  I cannot earn it; I must do what Jesus taught – repent and believe.

 

Sons of Sceva

Several events in the Bible describe miraculous events which draw people’s attention and involvement while provoking the amazement and wonder side of fear. 

Acts 19.11-20 contains the semi-comedy of the sons of Sceva trying to harness the power of the Holy Spirit for casting out a demon.  They had seen Paul do it and figured they knew the formula. When the sons command, “We adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims,” you expect the man with the demon to say, “What do you mean, ADJURE?” Nobody uses that anymore.”   

The recorded response of the demon is more subtle comedy and quite logical – “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” And then the scene turns to slapstick as the demon-guy beats the crap out of the brothers, tears off their clothes, and throws them fleeing from the house, naked and bleeding.

The result in Ephesus is instructive: “And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled.”   It was scary to know that one man could overpower seven; it brought fear when they realized the power that Paul had access to for healing and miracles needed to be used wisely. The chapter goes on to say that many believers and non-believers gave up their magic arts practices and burned their sorcery books.

As with the entire book of Acts, “So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.”

Mary Poppins

Did you hear that Mary Poppins moved to San Francisco and opened a fortune-telling shop?  She gives readings after smelling people’s breath.  The sign over the door says,

“Super California Mystic – Expert Halitosis”

 

And, Mary employed a dwarf as an assistant fortune teller.  The dwarf robbed a bank and has not been captured.  The headline in the San Francisco paper read,

“Small Medium at Large”

Preach The Gospel

Regularly preaching the gospel to yourself is a good way to stop being robbed of joy by the pressures and weeds of everyday life.  Similarly, preaching the gospel to each other is a good way to remind a group of the foundational things of “first importance.”

Prayer activity: 

Hand out paper. 

Each person has five minutes to write a summary of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Feel free to use Bible verses, hymns, catechism answers, or your own words. 

Each person preaches the gospel to the others.

Pray, especially giving thanks and praise to the author of salvation.

Why a Category “Fear and Awe”?

This category used to be called “Kept Promises.”  It is true that the LORD keeps his promises, but that is only one part of what makes the One True God of the universe AWESOME!   Creator, sustainer, comforter, redeemer, defender, healer, provider… the descriptive list has limitless potential beyond keeping promises.

The Fear aspect is not the terror of horror movies, but rather consists of two biblical concepts: 

(1) Understanding the world and myself as created entities of a glorious and grace-filled God – “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1.7) and

(2) Applying the knowledge in a God-oriented manner in real-life situations – “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111.10).

The guidelines for A. Knapp Fear and Awe entries:

–          Big (the universe) or small (inner workings of the cell) – size does not matter when describing God.

–          God IS awesome! Jeremiah 9.24: “Let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth”

–          God is big and I am small. Micah 6.8 “and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

–          Know that God communicates in many ways, and all communications need to square with the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.

 

You might like to check out the reasons for the other categories in this blog – click on the WHAT’S WITH THIS CATEGORY heading above.

Man Walks Into A Bar

This is more a conundrum than a joke, but…

A man walks into a bar and asks for a glass of water.

The bartender takes down a shotgun and fires a blast, just missing the man.

The man says, “Thanks,” and leaves a $5 tip.

Why the thanks, and why the tip?

 

 

 

(From an NCIS episode)

 

The man had the hiccups.

God’s Chosen Ones

Colossians 3 starts with a command – “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”   

The writer, Paul, then proceeds to make sure you know what the things of the earth are, with a list that catches everyone up at some point: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. PLUS: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk.  Do not lie.

Those are the ways in which you once walked, but now as a Christian you have been raised with Christ; as God’s chosen ones  you must put on the new self, which includes:

-Compassionate hearts

-Kindness

-Humility

-Meekness

-Patience

-Bear with one another

-Forgive each other as the Lord has forgiven you

-Put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony

-Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts

-Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly

-Teach and admonish one another in all wisdom

-Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs

-Do all things in the name of the Lord Jesus.

-Thank God the Father

Christians are not perfect, but the changed heart when one is born again and the ongoing help of the indwelling Holy Spirit makes a very positive difference in the way they live their lives.

One Another

Tim and Wanda Madden came to town this past Sunday, so we had a small “Community” reunion of couples (Gerry and Judy Gothro, Steve and Marilyn Herwaldt, Allan and Diane Knapp, Pat and Judie Quinn, plus the Gothros’s daughter Jennie and her two kids) who lived in the same Lansing, Michigan neighborhood circa 1977-1987.  Community was our best effort at living out all the “one another” commands in the New Testament – love one another, bear with, encourage, admonish, teach, forgive, honor, serve, etc.  See Colossians 3.12-17.

We all attended University Reformed Church and developed special bonds of friendship during those years.  We had not seen the Maddens in at least ten years – the last time they came through town, the party broke up when a phone call came that the Herwaldt’s dryer had caught fire – but it was easy to catch up on kids, work, church, and lives.

Community was not perfect.  There were times of conflict, and at least three couples involved over the years ended their marriage in divorce.  But we remembered several excellent activities we shared:

–          Work and Feast Days.  One house was chosen each summer month.  The owners made a list of fix-ups they would like to accomplish, and they bought materials.  Two or three people created activities and crafts for the kids.  Most people worked on the house tasks, providing tools, sweat, and fellowship.  A couple of people made lunch.

–          Weekly meetings.  The location changed over time, but there was always a Bible study, prayer time, and excellent singing.

–          Welcome Back from Vacation.  When a family would go away, the others would stock their refrigerator and provide a meal on their return.  Sometimes the house would also get cleaned, but food was the real reward.

–          Daily / Weekly Morning Prayer.  The men would meet to pray early in the morning, some years every weekday, sometimes once a week.

–          Shared Raising of Kids.  So many babies born and grew up in the neighborhood, and they learned to play with one another – Hot Lava on the hill, Fox and Hounds in the school yard, pretend games galore in back yard play areas. And the parents learned wise ways of teaching and training.

–          Special Rescues.  There were a couple of stories of Mom Melt Downs that required immediate attention.  “Intervention” was not a popular word yet, but we knew how to do it when the baby rolled down the stairs in her walker or the wringing washer quit in the middle of six loads of jeans.

The evening ended with much appreciated “prayer for one another”,  including thanksgiving for abounding grace in our lives, supplication for family and friends in need, and praise for the creator who brought us all together back then, and on Sunday.