The catechism provides Christians with three essential things to know in order to live and die in comfort: 1) How great their sins and misery are in order to understand their need for salvation; 2) How they are delivered from all their sins and misery through God's grace; 3) How they are to be thankful to God for such deliverance through their grateful response. It structures these three teachings around the concepts of man's guilt, God's grace, and the believer's gratitude, mirroring the structure of the book of Romans. The catechism uses the word "faithful" to describe Jesus' character, emphasizing his trustworthiness in both saving and keeping all those who belong to him.

1. A Blessed New Year to you and yours!

2. James 4:14What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

3. Ephesians 5:15-16Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

4. Antiochus Epiphanes

5. Daniel 11:32 But the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.

6. ‘11Rediscovering the Good News that We Dare Not Forget!Coming to Grace Jan. 2, 2011

7. The Heidelberg CatechismA Christian catechism is?It is a means of instruction in the form of a series of questions and answers about God and the truths of Scripture (theology).

8. The Heidelberg Catechism (1563) The Bible

9. The Pilgrim’s Progress

10. The Imitation of Christ

11. The Heidelberg CatechismMost catechisms were for the most part structured around three teachings: The Apostles Creed

12. The Ten Commandments

13. The Lord’s Prayer The Heidelberg Catechism (1563)129 questions52 Lord’s Day Readings

14. The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechismby Kevin DeYoung.

17. The Structure of the CatechismQ3 – Q11 Man’s MiseryQ12 – Q85 Man’s DeliveranceQ86 – Q129 Man’s Response

18. The Structure of the CatechismQ3 – Q11 GuiltQ12 – Q85 GraceQ86 – Q129 Gratitude

19. The Structure of the CatechismMan’s Misery ---- GuiltMan’s Deliverance ---- GraceMan’s Response ---- GratitudeSame 3-fold structure found in book of Romans!

20. “I believe this sequence of concepts is the only proper way to understand and apply the Bible to our lives. Yet my perception of today’s Christian community is that we are largely imperative driven.” Jerry Bridges

21. “We major on ‘ought to’ and ‘how to’ with little regard for that which makes us ‘want to.’(p. 11) Jerry Bridges

22. The Structure of the Catechism Q3 – Q11 Guilt Q12 – Q85 Grace Q86 – Q129 Gratitude

23. Question 1: What is your only comfort in life and death?Answer: That I am not my own, but belong body and soul, in life and in death to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.

24. Answer (continued): Christ has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil.

25. Answer (continued): 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.

26. Answer (continued): 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.

27. Question 1: What is your only comfort in life and death?“security”

28. Question 1: What is your onlycomfort in life and death?“ultimate”

29. Question 1: What is your only comfort in life and death?What is it in life and in death that is our only real security? JESUS!

30. The WORKS of Jesus1. His work of REDEMPTION

31. 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.

32. “Redeem” = “To buy out” Used to refer to the purchase of a slave’s freedomWhen used of Christ’s work, it refers to the price Jesus paid to set us free from sin and Satan

33. 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.

34. 1 Peter 1:18-19For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

35. Titus 2:14Who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own…

36. Hebrews 2:14Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—

37. The WORKS of JesusHis work of REDEMPTIONHis work of PRESERVATIONNot only does Jesus SAVE us (redemption), He also KEEPS us (preservation)

38. Answer: 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.

39. Answer: 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.

40. John 10:14I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep. John 10:28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.

41. Matthew 10:29-31Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

42. Romans 8:28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, whohave been called according to his purpose.Romans 8:28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, whohave been called according to his purpose.Romans 8:28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

43. Answer: 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.

44. Philippians 2:13For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

45. The WORKS of JesusHis work of REDEMPTIONHis work of PRESERVATIONNot only does Jesus SAVE us (redemption), He also KEEPS us (preservation)

46. What one word does the catechism use to describe the character of Jesus?

47. Hebrews 2:17For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.Hebrews 2:17For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.Answer: That I am not my own, but belong body and soul, in life and in death to my faithfulSavior, Jesus Christ. (see Hebrews 2:17)

48. Hebrews 2:17For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

49. Hebrews 2:17For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.Hebrews 2:17For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.Answer: That I am not my own, but belong body and soul, in life and in death to my faithfulSavior, Jesus Christ. (see Hebrews 2:17)

50. Question 2: What do you need to know in order to live and die in the joy of this comfort?.

51. Answer: First, how great my sins and misery are; second, how I am delivered from all my sins and misery; third, how I am to be thankful to God for such deliverance.

52. The Structure of the CatechismMan’s Misery ---- GuiltMan’s Deliverance ---- GraceMan’s Response ---- Gratitude

54. ‘11Why Life Often Doesn’t Work!Questions #3-#11Pages 24-35