Timothy J. Shrimpton

Timothy J. Shrimpton

Interior design and layout: Timothy Shrimpton Cover design: Pamela Dunn The diagrams used in this curriculum are from Luther s Catechism 2017 Northwestern Publishing House. All rights reserved. This publication may not be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated, or converted to any electronic or machine-readable form in whole or in part, except for brief quotations, without prior written approval from the publisher. ISBN 978-0-8100-2920-0 Northwestern Publishing House 1250 N. 113th St., Milwaukee, WI 53226-3284 www.nph.net 2018 Northwestern Publishing House Published 2018 Printed in the United States of America ISBN 978-0-8100-2920-0

Growing in Grace Catechism Course Introduction Many students arrive in catechism class without a clear knowledge of Bible history. Growing in Grace incorporates longer sections of Scripture, often Bible history lessons, to teach the Small Catechism. As the students grow in their knowledge of the six chief parts of Christian doctrine, they will also grow in their knowledge of God s plan of salvation as it has been given us throughout the pages of the Old and New Testaments. This 32-lesson course was designed to teach through Luther s Small Catechism in one year. The lessons are designed to be a bridge between earlier elementary Bible history and catechism instruction and more common formats for adult Bible classes. While aimed primarily at middle school students, this course could be adapted to teach adults who have an interest in reviewing their training in Luther s Small Catechism or as the foundation for an adult instruction class akin to a Bible Information Class. For a chronological overview of Bible history with applications from Luther s Small Catechism, consider this course s sister course, Growing in the Word. Leaders may wish to alternate the two courses year by year. The Growing in Grace curriculum is flexible and can be adapted to a variety of teaching schedules or situations. Different options are listed in the schedule templates in the Teacher s Guide Digital Resources. Those who use this curriculum in a Lutheran elementary school setting generally are able to teach one lesson per class period. In order to cover some topics more thoroughly, you may choose to split some lessons (especially longer ones) over multiple class periods. Those who meet less often for longer periods of time (e.g., for public school confirmation instruction) should be able to teach one lesson per meeting with ample time for reviewing homework, taking quizzes, etc. If your yearly schedule doesn t allow for 32 sessions, some shorter lessons that coordinate well with each other may be combined (e.g., Lessons 1 and 2, Lessons 13 and 14, Lessons 15 and 16) into a single class period. Lesson 1 serves as a brief introduction to the structure of the course. Depending on your setting and customs, this lesson could serve well to introduce the course as you make home visits before the class sessions begin or in an introductory meeting or class with parents. It will help parents understand the various features of the course, as well as how those features can benefit them as they review the lessons with their student. Important parts of each lesson are color coded to help them stand out. A summary of these colors and their significance can be found in Lesson 1. Each lesson is built on one or more primary Scripture readings designed for the students to look up and read aloud in class. These main sections are usually portions of Bible history that serve to teach, illustrate, or at least introduce the doctrinal and catechetical points taught in the lesson. Supplemental passages are also included throughout each lesson. The teacher may wish to have the students look up each of these passages in their Bibles, or if time is limited, they may provide the students with a printed list of passages. The Key Terms boxes have been designed for quick identification and easy reference. They serve as a concise summary or review that will help students master the material in each lesson. These terms can serve as a source of material for quizzes and tests and perhaps even for confirmation examination. Assigned readings from Luther s Catechism help the students review the concepts covered in each lesson. The reading may also serve as a help for the worksheets that follow. (Page numbers correspond to Luther s Catechism 2017 Northwestern Publishing House.) The Worksheets at the end of each lesson may serve as homework, as a useful review for the next class period, or as an in-class activity that students can work through together. iii

This teacher s guide includes Digital Resources with the following useful components: PowerPoint presentations covering the questions and answers of every lesson Spreadsheet schedule templates for personalizing the schedule of the course, including memory work assignments Supplemental passage handouts for students, offered in various English Bible translations Digital versions of each worksheet Digital lists of every lesson s Key Terms for easy use in review, quizzes, and tests iv

Table of Contents Lessons 1. Class Introduction... 1 2. God s Word (Q 1-11)... 4 3. Law and Gospel (Q 20-31, 111-117)... 9 4. The Triune God Creates the World (Q 1-2, 4, 118-129)... 13 5. God Preserves His Creation (Q 130-135)... 20 6. The Ruin of God s Creation and Our Need for a Savior (Q 137-143)... 25 7. Jesus Two Natures and His Work (Q 144-148, 168-174)... 30 8. Understanding Jesus Work: Prophet (Q 149-153)... 36 9. Understanding Jesus Work: Priest (Q 154-156, 160-167, 218-219)... 40 10. Understanding Jesus Work: King (Q 157-159, 224-231)... 45 11. The Means of Grace and Faith (Q 180-194, 216-217, 220-223, 294-300)... 50 12. Faith and Good Works (Q 136, 175-179, 195-204)... 56 13. The Blessings of Baptism (Q 301-314)... 61 14. The Meaning of Baptism in My Daily Life (Q 232-238, 315-320)... 66 15. The Blessings of the Lord s Supper (Q 346-358)... 70 16. The Proper Reception of the Lord s Supper (Q 359-364)... 76 17. The Holy Christian Church and Local Congregations (Q 205-215)... 80 18. The Public Ministry and the Keys (Q 321-345)... 87 19. The Uses of the Law (Q 12-19, 97-110)... 95 20. Honoring God (Q 32-43)... 102 21. Worshiping God (Q 44-50)... 109 22. Honoring My Neighbors (Q 51-65)... 115 23. Honoring Marriage (Q 66-77)... 123 24. Honoring God s Gifts to My Neighbors (Q 78-90)... 129 25. Identifying the Source of Sin (Q 91-96)... 135 26. Prayer (Q 239-258)... 140 27. God s Kingdom and His Will (Q 259-267)... 146 28. God s Gift of Daily Bread (Q 268-273)... 151 29. God s Forgiveness and Our Forgiveness (Q 274-279)... 155 30. God s Protection (Q 280-290)... 159 31. God s Unending Praise (Q 291-293)... 164 32. Life After Confirmation... 168 All question references correspond to Luther s Catechism 2017 Northwestern Publishing House. Indexes Key Term Index... 171 Scripture Reference Index... 175 Catechism Part Index... 181

Lesson 3 Law and Gospel Catechism Questions 20-31, 111-117 What are the two main teachings of the Bible? Matthew 3:7-12 John the Baptist Condemns Sin John the Baptist s job was to get the people ready for Jesus ministry. He got them ready, in part, by pointing out the people s sins. 1. Some of the people listening to John had the wrong idea about why they would go to heaven. What was their wrong idea? See v. 9. They thought they would go to heaven because they were related to Abraham. 2. What does John the Baptist say about that plan? Family relationships don t determine who will go to heaven. [If he wanted, God could produce children for Abraham out of the rocks.] 3. The religious leaders didn t want to admit it, but they and everyone else deserved God s anger and punishment. According to Jesus in Matthew 19:17-19 and Matthew 5:48, how good do you have to be to get to eternal life? Perfect. 4. What did John say that should have made the religious leaders afraid as they thought about the fact that they weren t perfect? God would judge those who don t produce good fruit those who sin. 5. None of us have been perfect. According to Romans 6:23a, what is the result of our sin? We will die. The ultimate result of sin is eternal death in hell. Pictures of Disobedience God uses several different terms in the Bible to describe what we do when we disobey him. We ll run into these terms as we read God s Word this year, so it will be good to understand them. Sin Missing the mark. We re supposed to shoot arrows perfectly at the center of a bull s-eye, but we often miss by doing the wrong thing and missing God s perfect target. Trespass Crossing a line or going someplace where we are not supposed to go. Transgression Breaking away from something good for something bad. Iniquity Not measuring up to God s standards. 6. The Bible teaches that we are sinners who deserve punishment. This teaching is God s Law. According to Romans 3:20 and Galatians 3:10, why can t we get to heaven by keeping God s Law? The law only shows us that we are sinful and can t get to heaven by keeping the law. Key Term Law: The part of God s Word that tells us what we should and shouldn t do, the punishment we deserve, and our need for a Savior. [A short summary is: Do! Don t do! ] We will look at the Law in greater detail in Lessons 19-25. 9

John 1:29-34 John the Baptist Points to the Solution to Sin Because we cannot obey the Law perfectly as God demanded, we were in a hopeless situation. God sent Jesus to be our Savior to rescue us when we couldn t help ourselves. John the Baptist made clear to everyone who would listen to him that Jesus was the Savior we all desperately needed. 7. John the Baptist didn t just proclaim the Law and thus condemn the people for their sins. He also showed them the solution to their sins. What was that solution? Jesus. 8. John is proclaiming the Gospel. What is the difference between the Law and the Gospel? The law teaches us the bad news that we are sinners. The gospel is the good news that Jesus has saved us. [The law shows our need for a Savior, and the gospel shows us our Savior.] Key Term Gospel: The part of God s Word that tells us what Jesus has done for us to take away our sins. [A short summary is: Done! ] Key Term Savior: The one who takes away people s sins. [Jesus name means The LORD saves. ] 9. Now read all of Romans 6:23. Because of Jesus, what happens to us now after we die? We will live with God forever in eternal life! The Lamb of God John calls Jesus the Lamb of God, which is a picture drawn from the celebration of Passover (Exodus 12:1-29). When the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, God rescued them by convincing the king of Egypt, Pharaoh, to let the people go. He convinced him by working miracles that largely hurt Pharaoh and his people. The worst was the last plague, where God went through all of Egypt and killed all the firstborn children, both people and animals. God provided safety for his people from this terrible plague. God told them to sacrifice a flawless lamb and paint the doorway of their homes with the blood. The blood saved them from death. The Passover was a remarkable picture of how Jesus death (his blood) paid for our sins and protects us from death. We remember this miraculous saving as well as Jesus connection to it when we sing the Agnus Dei (Latin for Lamb of God ) in church, usually just before Communion. There we sing, O, Christ, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world, have mercy on us.... Grant us your peace. 10. It is important for us to hear both Law and Gospel regularly. What would happen if we only ever heard the Law? We would become depressed because we would have no hope. 11. What would happen if we only ever heard the Gospel? We might forget how serious our sin really is. 10

Lesson Question: What are the two main teachings of the Bible? The two main teachings of the Bible are law (what we should and should not do, the punishment we deserve for disobeying God, and that we need a Savior) and gospel (the good news that Jesus saved us). Homework Catechism Memory Work: Bible Passage Memory Work: Be able to define Law, Gospel, and Savior. Read pp. 40-45, 117-122 in Luther s Catechism. Complete Worksheet #3 on the following page. 11

Worksheet #3 I. Law or Gospel Look up and read the passages listed below. If the passage is the law, write an L in the blank. If it is gospel, write a G. 1. Romans 3:20 (L) 2. John 3:16 (G) 3. Isaiah 57:21 (L) 4. Ephesians 6:1 (L) 5. Exodus 20:13 (L) 6. Romans 3:23a (L) 7. Romans 3:24 (G) 8. Ephesians 1:7 (G) 9. 1 Peter 1:3 (G) 10. Romans 4:8 (G) 12

Lesson 12 Faith and Good Works Catechism Questions 136, 175-179, 195-204 What role do good works play in a Christian s life? THE THIRD ARTICLE OF THE APOSTLES CREED I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy Christian church, the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen. What does this mean? I believe that I cannot by my own thinking or choosing believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him. But the Holy Spirit has called me by the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way he calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church he daily and fully forgives all sins to me and all believers. On the Last Day he will raise me and all the dead and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true. Acts 16:16-34 Paul and Silas Comfort the Jailer in Philippi Paul and Silas were put into jail for helping a young girl with an evil spirit. They told others about their faith in Jesus even when in jail. 1. How was a slave girl able to earn money for her masters (v. 16)? Because of power from an evil spirit, she was able to predict the future. 2. What was she doing that annoyed Paul, Silas, and Luke (vv. 17-18)? Calling out after them and making claims about them. 3. What she said about Paul and his companions was true. Why do you think they wanted her to stop? It was distracting from their work and perhaps hurting their reputations. 4. Why were the girl s masters so upset with Paul and Silas (vv. 19-20)? Paul and Silas cast out the spirit and ruined her owners source of income. 5. What happened to Paul and Silas? They were dragged before the authorities, beaten, and thrown in prison. 6. Why do you suppose Paul and Silas were joyfully singing hymns to God, even after they were beaten and thrown into prison (v. 25)? They were thankful that they knew the true God; they were still alive. 7. After the earthquake, why do you think the jailer was going to take his own life (v. 27)? He assumed that all the prisoners had escaped. The penalty for allowing an escape was death. 56

8. The jailer likely had heard Paul and Silas praying and singing hymns about Jesus. How do we know that the Law must have been working on his heart (vv. 29-30)? He fell down trembling and asked how to be saved from his sins. 9. We learned in Lesson 9 that when Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, he secured General (Objective) Justification, which means that everyone s sins are forgiven. What did that mean for the jailer? Jesus paid for his sins. 10. Paul told the jailer to believe in Jesus (v. 31) as the way to be saved to have Faith (see Lesson 11). What does that mean? Trust what God has said in his Word what Jesus had done for him. 11. The jailer was overjoyed when he realized that there was nothing he could do to earn God s forgiveness but that he could simply trust God s promise to save him. How did he express his joy (vv. 33-34)? He took care of Paul and Silas and shared the Good News with his whole family. 12. What can we do to earn God s love and forgiveness? Nothing. 57

13. What can we do to show our thanks to God for his love and forgiveness? Live our lives the way God wants us to. Key Term Good Works: The things believers do according to God s will, out of thanks for all God has done. Key Term Life of Sanctification: Living a life as God s forgiven child, filled with good works. In Lesson 19, we will talk about using God s Law as a Guide (Third Use of the Law) to show us how to joyfully thank God with our lives. 14. Read 1 John 1:7b; Romans 10:17; Philippians 2:12-13; and Ephesians 2:8-10. What credit can we take for our forgiveness, our Faith, and even our Good Works? We can take no credit. God gets 100 percent of the credit for all of them. 58

15. If we are unwilling to live as God wants us to live, even after we have come to know that God has loved us and forgiven us, what might that say about our Faith? Read James 2:14-17,26. It might be dead, or at least very weak. 16. We will not always do what God wants us to do. We will fail to show our thanks to God for forgiving us and giving us eternal life. What will Christians do when we don t live our Life of Sanctification well when we don t do the Good Works we should to thank God? Read 1 John 1:9 and Colossians 3:15-17. Confess our sins, trust that we are forgiven, and ask God to help us live for him. Lesson Question: What role do good works play in a Christian s life? Good works are the way we show our thanks to God for his forgiveness. They are not the reason we are forgiven. Homework Catechism Memory Work: Bible Passage Memory Work: Be able to define Good Works and Life of Sanctification. Read pp. 141, 178-182, 195-202 in Luther s Catechism. Complete Worksheet #12 on the following page. 59

Worksheet #12 I. Essay Respond to the following statement using complete sentences and paragraphs. If you need more space, you may write on a separate piece of paper. This lesson was about showing our thanks to Jesus for forgiving our sins. We can and should do this in every part of our lives. Write a brief essay about (1) what it means to you that Jesus died to give you eternal life and (2) what you think you ll be doing five years from now to serve and thank Jesus for his forgiveness. 60