Catechizing Is Investing

A church that is alive invests in its youth, taking its children along toward a bright future with Christ and caring for them through family, school, and catechesis. Catechesis is pastoral care where the doctrine of the church is taught and learned, helping boys and girls to live with God, ask questions, and understand the life of the church. It is a meeting of the generations and a transfer of faith, where children are guided on the way of the covenant so that the future church may know and follow the living Christ.

Applicable Preaching

The article explains that preaching is the ministry of the Word, where an age-old Bible text brings a clear message for the congregation today. It shows that the sermon is like serving food, based on the work of Christ and meant to be received and internalized by the hearers through the work of the Holy Spirit. Application is not just a part at the end, but the whole sermon, as the Spirit works through the Word to bring salvation into the lives of people.

The Elder and the Preaching

Minister and elder are partners in the joy that is experienced in their office work; in the disappointment and sorrow that will be the portion of the office-bearers of the church when they experience opposition to God's good Word and the slowness of heart to understand it in the church. They are also partakers of the promises given by Christ for their faithful ministry, as our form for ordination attests.

Does this Teaching also Make People “Awake”?

This article considers the charge that the Reformed doctrine of the free grace of God invites people to live in a drowsy/buoyant/lacklustre way. It shows that this charge has come from revival movements in history. It then discusses the difference between these movements (and their proponents) and those who hold to the principle that the church ought to be continually reforming. It explains three differences between the revival movements and the established churches, and shows how the former does not lead to a real reformation of the church.