Book of the Week: Luther's Small Catechism

My friend Dave Moerbe, a pastor in Alabama, inspired me to have a book of the week and to start with Luther's Small Catechism.  Dave serves an LCMS congregation in an area where Lutheranism is relatively unknown and this presents challenges.  I admire that he has met these challenges by teaching and preaching and without compromising.  He features on his congregation's website both a book of the week and a weekly focus on an individual section of the catechism.

The catechism is something that most of us take for granted.  We used it in confirmation and now it sits on a shelf.

That's pretty much what happened with mine, until college.  In college, being a pre-seminary student and a PK (pastor's kid), I regularly had people ask me questions about God and the Bible.  Usually I knew the answer, but I had a hard time knowing where to go to show others the answer.

Until I picked up my catechism again.  There I found answers to questions and Bible verses to back up the answers.  I found a wealth of information that I had taken for granted.

Now, as a pastor, I am amazed at how I am only beginning to grasp those "basic" things that the catechism teaches.  As I've studied God's Word I am amazed at how the catechism truly does capture the meaning of God's Word.

Daily dying to sin and rising to righteous living is far more profound than I realized as a 7th/8th grader.

So if you haven't done so lately, pick up that catechism and page through it.  I'll bet you'll find something that draws you in, something you needed to be reminded of, or something you didn't know before.  And if you don't have one, see me and I'll get you one or you can order one here. 

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