33. Question: Why is He called God’s only begotten Son, since we also are children of God?
Answer: Because Christ alone is the eternal, natural Son of God.[1] We, however, are children of God by adoption, through grace, for Christ’s sake.[2]
[1] John 1:1-3, 14, 18; 3:16; Rom. 8:32; Heb. 1; I John 4:9. [2] John 1:12; Rom. 8:14-17; Gal. 4:6; Eph. 1:5, 6.
34. Question: Why do you call Him our Lord?
Answer: Because He has ransomed us, body and soul,[1] from all our sins, not with silver or gold but with His precious blood,[2] and has freed us from all the power of the devil to make us His own possession.[3]
[1] I Cor. 6:20; I Tim. 2:5, 6. [2] I Peter 1:18, 19. [3] Col. 1:13, 14; Heb. 2:14, 15.
The post below is three years old, but has lots of good links about St. Patrick and is well worth checking out. At the very end of the post I have included a new video on St. Patrick from the Apostleship of Prayer. Enjoy.
Blessings,
Dale
As I write this I am wearing a green shirt. I began the day in a light blue shirt. But my kids steadfastly refused to stop pinching me until I yielded to the tradition of St. Patty’s Day.
I got to know a little about St. Patrick through two sermons/lectures. One was by Joe Morecraftand the other by T.M. Moore. Both men captured my imagination as they revealed to me more than I ever knew about this incredible Christian man. I’ve provided three short articles and/or devotionals below that will introduce St. Patrick to you. God used him mightily and celebrating his life every March 17 is probably a good thing insofar as it points us to Christ and what one person can do for the Kingdom of God.
St. Patrick: Why His Message Still Matters
Brother Colmán Ó Clabaigh, OSB
at CrossWalk.com
March 17 is upon us again, and all over the world everyone is an honorary Irishman or Irishwoman for 24 hours. St. Patrick’s popularity is a result of the wanderlust of the Irish, and there is no corner of the world in which his name is not honored.
Yet, if his name is known, his story is less familiar and his message often gets drowned out by the parades, the plastic shamrocks and the green-dyed beer.
The little knowledge we have of him comes from two letters he wrote in the course of his missionary work in fifth-century Ireland.
Click hereto read the whole article. (also, make sure to check out the great links to more info on St. Patrick at the end of the article.)
Today is St. Patrick’s Day. Most people think of this day as a time for wearing green and that’s about it (unless you’re Irish!). St. Patrick gets relatively little attention on his day, so I thought I might offer a few thoughts in his honor, including a prayer that is attributed to him.
Patrick’s story reads like an Indiana Jones-type adventure. Raised in Britain (yes, not Ireland), Patrick was captured by pirates in A.D. 405 when he was only sixteen years old. The kidnappers whisked him away to Ireland and sold Patrick into slavery. He spent eight years as a captive in this pagan land.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! We are right to remember this great saint, who labored so diligently in the cause of the Gospel, against unimaginable odds, but with unprecedented fruit. Sechnall, Patrick’s contemporary, was correct in referring to him as the light of God to the Irish. That, indeed, is what he was.
And what about us? Patrick’s mission field was all of Ireland, and he lit up the house with his diligent and faithful work. Our mission field is wherever God has set us, in the places and among the people we see week-in and week-out. Are we shining the gift of the Gospel on the people around us or concealing the gift of God under the bushels of timidity, fear, or simple disobedience?
29. Question: Why is the Son of God called Jesus, that is, Saviour?
Answer: Because He saves us from all our sins,[1] and because salvation is not to be sought or found in anyone else.[2]
[1] Matt. 1:21; Heb. 7:25. [2] Is. 43:11; John 15:4, 5; Acts 4:11, 12; I Tim. 2:5.
30. Question: Do those believe in the only Saviour Jesus who seek their salvation and well-being from saints, in themselves, or anywhere else?
Answer: No. Though they boast of Him in words, they in fact deny the only Saviour Jesus.[1] For one of two things must be true: either Jesus is not a complete Saviour, or those who by true faith accept this Saviour must find in Him all that is necessary for their salvation.[2]
[1] I Cor. 1:12, 13; Gal. 5:4. [2] Col. 1:19, 20; 2:10; I John 1:7.
Where do you look for direction, security, peace, purpose, confidence, and eternal life? With all of the competing voices in our culture, there’s a lot of confusion for men today. The world in which we live offers many options for where men might find such things. The Bible offers one: Jesus Christ.
Beginning the first week in April, our men’s discipleship ministry will start a new study entitled, I Am: Discovering Who Jesus Is. This 8-Lesson study will look at our basic needs from the perspective of the great “I AM” statements of Jesus, found in the Gospel of John.
Please come and join us for this new study. Not only will you get to know Jesus better, you will also have the opportunity to get to know other men who are on the same journey as you.
Starting Dates
Monday, April 1st (7:00 – 8:30pm, Family Life Center)
Wednesday, April 3rd (6:30 – 7:30am, Family Life Center)
If you have any questions about this new study or our men’s ministry, please don’t hesitate to call me at 396-2676 or email me at DaleTedder@yahoo.com.
O almighty God, who are a most strong tower to all those who put their trust in thee, to whom all things in heaven, in earth, and under the earth do bow and obey: Be now and evermore our defense, and make us know and feel that there is none other name under heaven given to man in whom and through whom we may receive health and salvation, but only the name of thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Taken from The Methodist Book of Worship for Church and Home, 1965
Forbid, O God, that we should forget, amid our earthly comforts, the pains and mortal anguish that our Lord Jesus endured for our salvation. Grant us this day a true vision of all that he suffered: his betrayal, his lonely agony, his false trial, his mocking and scourging, the torture of the cross; that, remembering his sufferings and death, we may give ourselves wholly to thee; through the same Jesus Christ our only Lord and Savior. Amen.
From The Methodist Book of Worship for Church and Home, 1965
The Son of God, Our Lord
