Saturday, August 30, 2008

Devotions began like any other night...

We sang a few hymns, then got into our cathechism questions...

Haddon, who made you?

God.

Gideon, what else did God make?

God made all things.

Nolan, why did God make you and all things?

For His own glory.

How many Gods are there?

Nolan piped up...ONE!

And how many persons are there in that one God?

Nolan answered again...THREE!

And who are they?

Nolan again...The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost!

Before John could ask another question...Nolan added...

And I LOVE those guys!!

3 comments:

Lindsay said...

that is great. I think that you all use the same material as the divitos. What Catechism do you use?

Shannon said...

Right now, we are using The Family Worship Book by Terry L Johnson. It's more of a resource book for family devotions.

We have another book by Starr Meade called Training Hearts, Teaching Minds...but we feel that it is too old to do right now with all the kids. By getting the kids to memorize the shorter catechism now, when we decide to the Meade book, it will be more application, since they will already know the catechism :)

Adam Pastor said...

Greetings Shannon

It is so wonderful to train up children in the way of the Lord.
Simply wonderful, especially in light of
Deut 6.4-7

(Deu 6:4-7) Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

The above is the Jewish creedal statement (which they call The Shema) which defines who their GOD is.
Jesus, himself, the Messiah, quotes this verse as the foremost (first) of all the commandments in Mark 12:28-34.

My point is: have you noticed that in this creedal statement which is Jesus' creed (therefore, as Christians, followers of Christ, this ought to be our creed);
there is no room for a three persons in One God?
Note the scribe's response:
(Mark 12:32) And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:

It is obvious then, that neither Jesus nor the scribes believed that their GOD consisted of "three persons"!

If Jesus was never taught this concept when he was a child in light of Deut 6.4-7 (the first of all the commandments), then is it right that we teach such things to children??
Surely we ought not to!

Jesus' creed stipulates that GOD is ONE i.e. ONE Being, ONE Person, for there is one God; and there is none other but he:

Jesus identifies his Father as
the only true GOD.
[John 17.3]
Paul concurs ...

(1 Cor 8:4) ... that there is none other God but one.
(1 Cor 8:6) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; ...

Thus, there is solely ONE GOD,
the Father.


Children can easily understand that.
Indeed, this was the understanding of the early church
(TO US there is but one God, the Father)
This teaching is indeed foundational for a child's understanding of GOD; i.e.
the fact that GOD is ONE & this ONE GOD is the Father;
indeed, the GOD & Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
[2 Cor 11.31, Eph 1.3, Col 1.3, 1 Pet 1.3]

Therefore, I encourage you, Shannon, as a truthseeker, to consider the difference between Jesus' creed and the catechism that you are using.

Yours In Messiah
Adam Pastor
The Human Jesus