It is sad to admit, but we are often too busy to really think about our prayers. For instance when is the last time you really questioned or wondered why you close your prayer with “Amen?” Have you considered how this word communicates an exclusive relationship between you and the Lord? Have you considered that […] The post Our Exclusive Amen (LD 52; Psalm 16) | 2010-2011 Catechism Sermons appeared first on Covenant United Reformed Church.
We can see in scripture the description of our God as a faithful shepherd. We certainly need to praise the Lord for his faithful care in bringing us through this life, and there is no mistaking that Christ identifies himself as a Shepherd in John 10. So, if this is true, then why does Christ […] The post Lead Us Not into Temptation (LD 52; Psalm 141) | 2010-2011 Catechism Sermons appeared first on Covenant United Reformed Church.
The Lord calls us to ask the Lord to forgive us our debts. Do we really stop to think about what this means? When we pray this we are confessing that we are indebted to the Lord. If this is the case, then how can we ask the Lord to provide for us? How can […] The post Forgive Us Our Debts (LD51; Psalm 143) | 2010-2011 Catechism Sermons appeared first on Covenant United Reformed Church.
When we ask the Lord to give us our daily bread, do we really believe that he can really provide for us? I mean honestly ask yourself, do you pray this prayer out of desperation or out of sincere faith and reverence for the Lord? How does the Psalmist assure us that the Lord can […] The post Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread (LD 50; Psalm 104) | 2010-2011 Catechism Sermons appeared first on Covenant United Reformed Church.
I hope that Christians everywhere pray that God’s will be done. This is what Christ commands us to pray in our example of prayer found in the Lord’s prayer. What does this mean? How can we as humans really want to have the Lord’s will be done? How does this request, and our desire to […] The post Your Will Be Done (LD 49; Psalm 103) | 2010-2011 Catechism Sermons appeared first on Covenant United Reformed Church.
We are those who are called by the Lord to pray, “Your Kingdom Come.” This is something that the Israelites would pray as well as us today. What is different about our praying this request verses the Israelites? How can we as Christians take Psalm 122 upon ourselves? If you are curious about these questions […] The post Your Kingdom Come (LD 48; Psalm 122) | 2010-2011 Catechism Sermons appeared first on Covenant United Reformed Church.
As Christian people we are called to live our lives before the face of God. When we consider the people of Israel we can wonder why they turn to idols made of hands. How do these idols also get in our way of living before the Lord? How are our idols parallel to the idols […] The post You Alone are Worthy of Glory (LD 47; Psalm 115:1) | 2010-2011 Catechism Sermons appeared first on Covenant United Reformed Church.
We are those who are commanded to call upon God as our Father in heaven. This is something that we can easily take for granted. How come we should not take this for granted? What is so encouraging about knowing we can call upon God as our Father? What is so assuring that God is […] The post Our Father (Ephesians 3:14-21) | 2010-2011 Catechism Sermons appeared first on Covenant United Reformed Church.
Do you consider yourself a wise person? If you do consider yourself wise how did you gain such wisdom? If you do not think you are wise what are you going to do to gain more wisdom? Our temptation is probably to read more or think more, but what does James challenge us to do? […] The post How Can I Gain Wisdom? (LD 45; James 1:5) | 2010-2011 Catechism Sermons appeared first on Covenant United Reformed Church.
When we think of coveting we think it is desiring something we should not have. This is something that even a worldly person could affirm is wrong, but why is it wrong for a Christian? Also, why would the catechism move from this tenth commandment to prayer? What does prayer have to do with this […] The post Pray without Ceasing (LD 44; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22) | 2010-2011 Catechism Sermons appeared first on Covenant United Reformed Church.
I hope as Christians we all affirm that we are to speak the truth and not be known as people who do any double talk. I hope that as Christians we affirm that when we say yes we really mean yes and when we say no we really mean no. I also hope that we […] The post Speaking the Truth in Love (LD 43; Ephesians 4:25) | 2010-2011 Catechism Sermons appeared first on Covenant United Reformed Church.
The world is a place where people are content to live in immorality. This immorality might not be so blatant, but even one’s motivation in conforming to a law, principle, or a system is skewed because they are not seeking to glorify the true God. How is the church to live? Are we supposed to […] The post Paul's Countercultural Movement (LD 42; 1 Corinthians 5:11) | 2010-2011 Catechism Sermons appeared first on Covenant United Reformed Church.
Society presents a causal physical encounter as something that is harmless. The presentation is that intimacy reserved for marriage is not really reserved for marriage. How do we know that we are to reserve physical intimacy for marriage? How do we know that the apostle Paul is not someone who just needs to be enlightened? […] The post Reserved for Marriage (LD 41; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8) | 2010-2011 Catechism Sermons appeared first on Covenant United Reformed Church.
are the ones who have murdered and they are bearing the consequences for their sin. Do we think about our guilt in committing murder? Do we think about the consequences of our actions towards our brothers and sisters in Christ? More importantly, what do we think about our witness to the community as we conduct […] The post Did I Murder? (LD 40; 1 Peter 3:8-22) | 2010-2011 Catechism Sermons appeared first on Covenant United Reformed Church.
The fifth commandment calls children to obey their parents. It also calls us to obey authority that is placed over us. Why should we want to obey authority? How are Christians supposed to function in their authority roles? How do Paul’s exhortations and motivations for conforming to Christ show us the power of heaven now? […] The post Heavenly Households (LD 39; Colossians 3:18-4:1) | 2010-2011 Catechism Sermons appeared first on Covenant United Reformed Church.
There is no doubt that we are saved by the gospel of message of Christ. So, if we hear the gospel of Christ to be saved then do we need to hear it again? In other words do we need to keep hearing the same message? Does hearing this same message become meaningless or are […] The post God's Means of Perseverance (LD 38; 1 Timothy 4:11-16) | 2010-2011 Catechism Sermons appeared first on Covenant United Reformed Church.
The apostle Paul calls down curses upon himself so the Corinthian church knows that he is not lying. This is rather extreme for Paul to take such an oath. Why does Paul go to this extreme? What does this tell us about taking such oaths? Why is the Corinthian church in such a dilemma? What […] The post God as my Witness (LD 37; 2 Corinthians 1:23) | 2010-2011 Catechism Sermons appeared first on Covenant United Reformed Church.
If someone stopped you on the street and asked you, “What is blasphemy?” What would you tell them? Would you have a very canned answer where you simply say that blasphemy is taking the Lord’s name in vain? Or would you say that it is misusing the Lord’s name? Would you agree that whenever we […] The post The Joy of the Lord (LD 36; Col. 3:17) | 2010-2011 Catechism Sermons appeared first on Covenant United Reformed Church.
The book of Hebrews is a great book that provides wonderful Christian encouragement. However, when we turn towards the end of the book there is the warning that our God is a consuming fire. This language does not invite us to draw near to God, and so how can this book be a wonderful treatise […] The post Our God is a Consuming Fire (LD 35; Hebrews 12:28, 29) | 2010-2011 Catechism Sermons appeared first on Covenant United Reformed Church.
We know that it is wrong for us to commit idolatry. I hope that we see it as a sin to trust in anything for our life, sustenance, or contentment other than the Lord. However, why is it really wrong to commit idolatry? How is idolatry such a smack in the face of the living […] The post Why Not be Idolatrous? (LD 34; Ephesians 2:11-18) | 2010-2011 Catechism Sermons appeared first on Covenant United Reformed Church.