Category: PASSION Catechism

Q&A#3: Our God Reigns

On By BrianIn PASSION Catechism

Q/A#3
Q: What more can we know about God?
A: God is a spirit, present everywhere, and reigning with perfect power, knowledge, wisdom, and goodness.

O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you.
– II Chronicles 20:6 (ESV)

Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!
– Psalm 31:19 (ESV)

Q&A#2 Reflections: Three Persons

On By BrianIn PASSION Catechism

Q/A#2
Q: Who is this God we are to love?
A: This God is the LORD, the one true God in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King.  – Jeremiah 10:10a

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. – Matthew 28:19

Verses for Further Reflection
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. – John 1:1

 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit… You have not lied to man but to God.”– Acts 5:3-4

And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” – Matthew 3:16-17

 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. – II Corinthians 13:14

…according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood…. – I Peter 1:2a

Discussion Questions Related to the Verses
Who is the Word (Jesus)?  Who is the Holy Spirit?
How do we see each person at work in Jesus’s baptism?
How does each person contribute to our salvation?

Q&A#2 Reflections: True God

On By BrianIn PASSION Catechism

Q/A#2
Q: Who is this God we are to love?
A: This God is the LORD, the one true God in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King.
– Jeremiah 10:10a

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
– Matthew 28:19

Verses for Further Reflection
Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,
for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!
Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.
 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.
They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see.
They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell.
They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk;
and they do not make a sound in their throat.
Those who make them become like them;
so do all who trust in them.
O Israel, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.
O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.
You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.
– Psalm 115:1-11

Discussion Questions Related to the Verses
What other gods are you tempted to glory in or trust in?
What is happening in your life right now for which you need to trust in the Lord?

Q&A#2: Verses for Reflection

On By BrianIn PASSION Catechism

Q/A#2
Q: Who is this God we are to love?
A: This God is the LORD, the one true God in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Verses for Further Reflection

Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel
and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts:
“I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.
– Isaiah 44:6

“Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
– Isaiah 45:22

Remember this and stand firm,
recall it to mind, you transgressors,
remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, “My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose.”
– Isaiah 46:8-10

Discussion Questions Related to the Verses

Who is the one true God?

What do you learn about the one true God from these verses, and what significance does each truth have for your life?

Q&A#2: Our God

On By BrianIn PASSION Catechism

Q/A#2
Q: Who is this God we are to love?
A: This God is the LORD, the one true God in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King.
– Jeremiah 10:10a (ESV)

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
– Matthew 28:19 (ESV)

Q&A#1: Verses for Reflection

On By BrianIn PASSION Catechism

Q: What is our primary purpose in life?
A: Our primary purpose in life is to love God and people, in response to His love for us, for the glory of God.

Verses To Reflect on God’s Love For Us
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. We love because he first loved us.
– I John 4:7-11, 19

And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
– Ephesians 5:2

Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!
– Psalm 115:1

Questions To Ponder
What do these passages teach us about God’s love for us?
How should his love for us spur us on to love Him and people?

Q&A#1: Verses for Reflection

On By BrianIn PASSION Catechism

Q: What is our primary purpose in life?
A: Our primary purpose in life is to love God and people, in response to His love for us, for the glory of God.

Verses To Reflect on Loving People for His Glory
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
– I Corinthians 13:4-7

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
– John 13:34-35

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
– I John 3:16-18

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
– I Corinthians 10:31

Questions To Ponder
What do these passages teach us about loving people?
How do you need to grow in your love for others?

Q&A#1: Verses for Reflection

On By BrianIn PASSION Catechism

Q: What is our primary purpose in life?
A: Our primary purpose in life is to love God and people, in response to His love for us, for the glory of God.

Verses To Reflect on Loving God for His Glory

And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good?
– Deuteronomy 10:12-13

You shall therefore love the Lord your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always.
– Deuteronomy 11:1

If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
– John 14:15

But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.
– Revelation 2:4

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
– I Corinthians 10:31

Questions To Ponder

What do these passages teach us about loving God?
How do you need to grow in your love for God?

Q&A#1: Our Purpose

On By BrianIn PASSION Catechism

Q/A#1
Q: What is our primary purpose in life?
A: Our primary purpose in life is to love God and people, in response to His love for us, for the glory of God.

And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment.  And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
– Matthew 22:37-40 (ESV)

And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us,
a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
– Ephesians 5:2 (ESV)

Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,
for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!
– Psalm 115:1 (ESV)