John 3:16. God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Heb. 1:1, 2. God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.
READING.—The Child Jesus in the Temple, Luke 2:41-52; or Mary sitting at Jesus' Feet, Luke 10:38-42.
ILLUSTRATIONS.—Study of the Scriptures: Jesus and the Apostles at home in them, Matt. 4:4-10, Acts 2: 14 seq. Timothy, II Tim. 3:15. The Bereans, Acts 17:10-12. Variously received: The Parable of the Sower, Luke 8:5-15.
CHAPTER II.
THE CATECHISM.
The object of catechetical instruction is to fit us for communicant membership in the Church. Those who were baptized in infancy are members of the Church; but they are not admitted to the Lord's Supper, and hence do not become communicant members, until they have been instructed and confirmed.
Luther's Small Catechism is our text-book for catechetical instruction. It is not only the best book for this purpose, but is one of the Confessions of our Church, and should become our personal confession of faith, it is called Luther's Small Catechism, because Luther wrote a larger one also.
THE AUTHOR of our catechism was Dr. Martin Luther (b. 1483, d. 1546), the great Reformer, through whom God effected the Reformation of the Church, in the sixteenth century. He began the Reformation with his Ninety-five Theses against the sale of indulgences, contended against the many errors and abuses that had crept into the Church, and preached and taught the pure truth of the Gospel, until his death. (Ninety-five Theses, 1517; Translation of the Bible into German, 1522-34; Larger and Smaller Catechisms, 1529; Augsburg Confession adopted 1530.)