May 29, 2022 | Question 22

Question 22: Why must the Redeemer be truly human?

Answer: That in human nature He might on our behalf perfectly obey the whole law and suffer the punishment for human sin; and also that He might sympathize with our weaknesses.

Kids Answer: That in human nature He might on our behalf perfectly obey the whole law and suffer the punishment for human sin.

Key Scripture: Hebrews 2:17

Additional Scripture: Hebrews 4:15; 1 John 4:2-3; Philippians 2:5-8

Think of what it means to have a fully human Jesus—a Jesus just like you in every way. Beset with your same weaknesses. Prodded by the same temptations. Provoked by the same passions. He experienced the same trials of life as you do. He knows what it is to experience great pain, great loss, and great suffering. He has had loved ones become sick and die. He has been despised and rejected by many. He has been betrayed by one of His closest friends. He has been abandoned. There is no amount of human suffering you could possibly experience that Jesus has not felt and more. This is your Redeemer. He knows you.

Questions to ask: (To help process the truth we learned. Ask yourself, a friend, your group, or your family questions to talk through it together)

• Could Jesus have possibly sinned?

• Could a divine-human Jesus really understand temptation?

• Was Jesus human before the incarnation?

• Has God changed as a result of the incarnation?

May 22, 2022 | Question 21

Question 21: What sort of Redeemer is needed to bring us back to God?

Answer: One who is truly human and also truly God.

Kids Answer: One who is truly human and also truly God.

Key Scripture: Isaiah 9:6

Additional Scripture: 1 John 1:1; John 1:14; Colossians 2:9

The great impossibility of the redemption is that you or I could not possibly perform it. The great offense of our sin is such that we could only pay our price individually and not for another. But neither could an angelic being perform it–and such a small sacrifice it would be among a legion of angels–though untainted by sin, he could not possibly give us any merit, having none of his own. Nor could a purely divine being accomplish the work. His perfection would be entirely self-contained and could not spill over to cleanse our hearts. Only some combination of perfect divinity and full humanity could both fully satisfy the righteous requirements of the law and also pay the due penalty for our sin. Only Jesus, the Son of God in human flesh, can fulfill this requirement.

Questions to ask: (To help process the truth we learned. Ask yourself, a friend, your group, or your family questions to talk through it together)

• Why is it that you or I could not serve as a redeemer for another?

• Could an incredibly saintly individual live so righteously as to merit grace for another?

• Why must our redeemer be both God and man?

May 15, 2022 | Question 20

Question 20: Who is the Redeemer?

Answer: The only Redeemer is the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, in whom God became man and bore the penalty for sin Himself.

Kids Answer: The only Redeemer is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Key Scripture: 1 Timothy 2:5

Additional Scripture: Romans 3:25; 1 John 2:2

The death of Jesus is the only possible solution to our sin. God’s wrath must be appeased and our sin must be dealt with. In addition we must be made sinless and righteous. If any one of these conditions is left unmet our salvation would be up to us and we are utterly incapable of saving ourselves. As our Redeemer, Jesus satisfies the wrath of God, bears the punishment for our sin, completes our perfect obedience to the Law, and imputes His righteousness to us. He has completed our salvation.

Questions to ask: (To help process the truth we learned. Ask yourself, a friend, your group, or your family questions to talk through it together)

• What does it mean to redeem something?

• What are we redeemed from?

• What are we redeemed for?

April 3, 2022 | Question 14

Question 14: Did God create us unable to keep his law?

Answer: No, but because of the disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve, all of creation is fallen; we are all born in sin and guilt, corrupt in our nature and unable to keep God’s law.

Kids Answer: No, but because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve, we are all born in sin and guilt, unable to keep God’s law.

Key Scripture: Romans 5:12

Additional Scripture: Romans 6:17; Romans 5:12,19; 2 Chronicles 6:36 God created man truly free and with full ability to obey Him but Adam, as a representative for mankind, disobeyed God’s Law and now we, as His descendants are born enslaved to sin. We are born with a “total inability” to keep God’s rules and find ourselves enslaved to sin. We are still truly free but our hearts are infected with a love for sin. If we are left to our own devices we will always choose sin, even when it is destructive. Thank God that He does not leave us on our own! Through Jesus we have been set free from bondage to sin. He gives us a new heart and a new spirit, makes us love the Law of God, and helps us to obey.

Questions to ask: (To help process the truth we learned. Ask yourself, a friend, your group, or your family questions to talk through it together)

 • What if Adam had kept the Law perfectly in the Garden?

• If it had been you in the garden rather than Adam, would theresults have changed?

 • What does it mean that we are born with a “total inability” tokeep God’s Law?

 • If we love sin and are enslaved to it then how is it that the worldis not worse than it is?

• Can someone who is enslaved to sin still make altruistic choices? How can this be?

March 27, 2022 | Question 13

Question 13: Can anyone keep the law of God perfectly?

Answer: Since the fall, no mere human has been able to keep the law of God perfectly, but consistently breaks it in thought, word, and deed.

Kids Answer: Since the fall, no human has been able to keep the law of God perfectly.

Key Scripture: Romans 3:10-12

Additional Scripture:  James 1:23-24; Romans 7:7-8; Galatians 5:1

“As a result of the fall we’re not just spiritually impaired but incapacitated. We’re not just weak; we have no innate power to obey God’s law and glorify Him. We’re estranged from our Creator, from one another, and from the rest of creation. In this spiritually disabled condition, we’re unable to obey God’s law not only in our actions and words, but even in our thoughts, attitudes, and motivations. As the prophet Jeremiah put it, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” And so we stand alienated and guilty before the holy God of heaven and earth.”

—Leo Schuster, Senior Minister, Christ the King Presbyterian Church

Questions to ask: (To help process the truth we learned. Ask yourself, a friend, your group, or your family questions to talk through it together)

• Why would God make rules we are unable to keep?

• What is the penalty for breaking God’s Law?

• If we could keep God’s Law perfectly, what would that accomplish?

March 20, 2022 | Question 12

Question 12: What does God require in the ninth and tenth commandments?

Answer: Ninth, that we do not lie or deceive, but speak the truth in love. Tenth, that we are content, not envying anyone or resenting what God has given them or us.

Kids Answer: Ninth, that we do not lie or deceive. Tenth, that we are content, not envying anyone.

Key Scripture: James 2:8

Additional Scripture:  Ephesians 4:14, 25; James 1:17; 1 Timothy 6:6-7 These commandments speak to us, and they call us forth to truth-telling. And not just to truth-telling, but to the truth spoken in love. They call forth a bridling, a restraining, and a channeling of desire to things that are good and right. They call us to things that God has legitimately given to us for our enjoyment, and to be content in how God has distributed His blessing, how He rules His creation. They call us not to go outside of that contentment by taking things, for if we do, we destroy society, culture, and our neighbors.

Questions to ask: (To help process the truth we learned. Ask yourself, a friend, your group, or your family questions to talk through it together)

• Why is lying wrong?

• Is lying ever justified?

• Are there times when we lie even when telling the truth?

• Who is the source of all that we have and own?

• How can we find godly contentment in what we have?

March 13, 2022 | Question 11

Question 11: What does God require in the sixth, seventh, and eighth commandments?

Answer: Sixth, that we do not hurt, or hate, or be hostile to our neighbor, but be patient and peaceful, pursuing even our enemies with love. Seventh, that we abstain from sexual immorality and live purely and faithfully, whether in marriage or in single life, avoiding all impure actions, looks, words, thoughts, or desires, and whatever might lead to them. Eighth, that we do not take without permission that which belongs to someone else, nor withhold any good from someone we might benefit.

Kids Answer: Sixth, that we do not hurt or hate our neighbor. Seventh, that we live purely and faithfully. Eighth, that we do not take without permission that which belongs to someone else.

Key Scripture: Romans 13:9

Additional Scripture: 1 John 3:15; Matthew 5:28; Ephesians 4:28 It is good to keep in mind that none of the commandments are arbitrary

–they are reflections of the very character and nature of God. God reveals Himself to us through the commandments He gives to us. How reassuring it is, then, that God will not take our lives unjustly, He will never get tired of us and move on to someone else, nor will He ever rob us of any joy as we follow Him or withhold from us any good thing. We can rest knowing that our lives are the Lord’s and He will do for us only what is for our good joy and His great glory.

Questions to ask: (To help process the truth we learned. Ask yourself, a friend, your group, or your family questions to talk through it together)

• Why are hatred and murder so closely related?

• Why is lust the same as adultery in the eyes of Jesus?

• God will never withhold from us any good thing and yet we often find ourselves disappointed. Why is that?

March 6, 2022 | Question 10

Question 10: What does God require in the fourth and fifth commandments?

Answer: Fourth, that on the Sabbath day we spend time in public and private worship of God, rest from routine employment, serve the Lord and others, and so anticipate the eternal Sabbath. Fifth, that we love and honor our father and our mother, submitting to their godly discipline and direction.

Kids Answer: Fourth, that on the Sabbath day we spend time in worship of God. Fifth, that we love and honor our father and our mother.

Key Scripture: Leviticus 19:3

Additional Scripture: Hebrews 10:25; Ephesians 6:2

Jesus tells us “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am meek and humble and you shall find rest for your souls.” The promise of salvation is not just a promise of eternal worship but a promise of coming rest. When Christian life is difficult we can take joy that it is striving for a little while followed by an eternal rest! So we do not give up hope and do not give up patiently waiting and eagerly working toward the rest that is to come. But the rest that Christ promises is not only a rest to come, but a rest for us now. We can rest in Christ and His finished work. We can rest in His certain promises. And we can rest in the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Questions to ask: (To help process the truth we learned. Ask yourself, a friend, your group, or your family questions to talk through it together)

• How can we rest while still fulfilling other commands to work diligently?

• What does it mean to honor your father and mother, and how does this differ from simple obedience? 

• Is it possible to obey without honor or honor without obeying?

February 27, 2022 | Question 9

Question 9: What does God require in the first, second, and third commandments?

Answer: First, that we know and trust God as the only true and living God. Second, that we avoid all idolatry and do not worship God improperly. Third, that we treat God’s name with fear and reverence, honoring also His Word and works.

Kids Answer: First, that we know God as the only true God. Second, that we avoid all idolatry. Third, that we treat God’s name with fear and reverence.

Key Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:13-14

Additional Scripture: Isaiah 46:9; 1 Corinthians 8:6

“So why do these commandments insist on us worshiping God alone and worshiping God as He is and not as we want Him to be? Why is the third commandment so insistent on honoring and respecting His name and His character? It is because God created us with a desire that only He can fulfill—a desire for Him. If we are always trying to change Who God is or replace Him with something else, we’ll never be at peace. We’ll never experience true comfort, true significance, or true joy. We’ll never be whole. But if God is at the center of our lives, not another god or a revised version of God, but the true and living God, we’ll truly be at peace. This is precisely why Augustine wrote, ‘You’ve made us for Yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in You.’”

—John Lin, Lead Pastor, Redeemer Presbyterian Church

Questions to ask: (To help process the truth we learned. Ask yourself, a friend, your group, or your family questions to talk through it together)

• What idols exist in our lives?

• What is proper worship of God?

• What is improper worship of God?

• What does it mean to treat God’s name with fear?

February 20, 2022 | Question 8

Question 8: What is the law of God stated in the Ten Commandments?

Answer: You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below—you shall not bow down to them or worship them. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Honor your father and your mother. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony. You shall not covet.

Kids Answer:  You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Honor your father and your mother. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony. You shall not covet.

Key Scripture: Exodus 20:3

Additional Scripture: Matthew 22:37-40; 2 Timothy 3:2-7; James 2:10; Romans 8:1-4

It is quite easy to keep individual commandments. One can go an entire lifetime without murdering, stealing, or committing adultery. But the difficulty lies in keeping all of the commandments. James reminds us that the law stands as links of a chain. Break one link, one commandment, and the entire chain fails. If you fail to honor your parents, you are also guilty of murder. Thanks be to God for Jesus Christ! He has provided an escape from the condemnation of the law!

Questions to ask: (To help process the truth we learned. Ask yourself, a friend, your group, or your family questions to talk through it together)

• What idols exist in our lives?

• What does it mean to keep the Sabbath day holy? How can we do this as 21st century Christians?

• Are the 10 Commandments meant to give an explicit definition of holiness or an implicit example of holiness?

• How has Jesus set us free from the law?

February 13, 2022 | Question 7

Question 7: What does the law of God require?

Answer: Personal, perfect, and perpetual obedience; that we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; and love our neighbor as ourselves. What God forbids should never be done and what God commands should always be done.

Kids Answer: That we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; and love our neighbor as ourselves.

Key Scripture: Matthew 22:37-40

Additional Scripture: James 2:10; Deuteronomy 6:4-7; James 4:17

When you ask, “What does the law of God require?” the short answer is perfect obedience. Now, that sounds daunting, but we have to understand that the perfect obedience that the law demands is a response to God’s saving initiative. The context of grace motivates a response of wholehearted devotion to the God who saves. It is a response of faith that is called love. We cannot obey perfectly, but there is good news: Jesus came to do what we ourselves could not do. As our human representative, Jesus fulfilled the law of God by perfectly obeying God’s commands and by paying the penalty of death that all lawbreakers owe. The Gospel is, in part, an announcement that all who confess that they are guilty of breaking God’s law, turn away from their sins, and trust in Jesus have their sins forgiven and Jesus’ perfect obedience accounted to them. The good news is that under the new covenant, God’s people are empowered to obey God’s law. Once again we see that the commands of God don’t establish a relationship with God. Obedience is our response to God’s saving work. It is a loving response of faith. God has saved us in Jesus Christ, and we respond by trusting Him in loving obedience. —adapted from comments by Juan Sanchez

Questions to ask: (To help process the truth we learned. Ask yourself, a friend, your group, or your family questions to talk through it together)

• Why is perpetual obedience required?

• Is it possible to love God without loving your neighbor?

• Is the law of God a way of obtaining grace or a response to grace?

• Can anyone perfectly keep the law? Has anyone?

February 6, 2022 | Question 6

Question 6: How can we glorify God?

Answer: We glorify God by enjoying Him, loving Him, trusting Him, and by obeying His will, commands, and law.

Kids Answer: By loving Him and by obeying His commands and law.

Key Scripture: Deuteronomy 11:1

Additional Scripture: Romans 8:19-22; Hebrews 2:8; Revelation 21:1

Pastor John Piper has said, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” It is worth noting that truly glorifying God encompasses more than just enjoying, just trusting, just obeying, etc. In fact to really give God glory is to give Him the whole of your life, holding nothing back. Obedience with love, love without obedience, or both yet without enjoyment is not true glory. God does not seek only our obedience but also our affection and attention. True service to God is a life fully consumed by and dedicated to His glory.

Questions to ask: (To help process the truth we learned. Ask yourself, a friend, your group, or your family questions to talk through it together)

• Why does it matter that we enjoy God?

• What does it mean that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him? How do we find satisfaction in God?

• How can we discover God’s will, commands, and law?

• What specific things do you do to enjoy God?

January 30, 2022 | Question 5

Question 5: What else did God create?

Answer: God created all things by His powerful Word, and all His creation was very good; everything flourished under His loving rule.

Kids Answer: God created all things and all His creation was very good.

Key Scripture: Genesis 1:31

Additional Scripture: Romans 8:19–22; Hebrews 2:8; Revelation 21:1

God created everything inherently good and inherently glorifying. However, sin messed everything up. As a result of sin we no longer see the inherent good, glorious creation. We live in a world with natural disasters, disease, poverty, and other ills. These are not a result of God’s negligence but of man’s disobedience. As believers, we look toward a day of redemption–a new heaven and a new earth. This is part of our responsibility as Christians–to bring restoration and redemption to our world by calling the world to repentance and combatting sin’s ill effects.

Questions to ask: (To help process the truth we learned. Ask yourself, a friend, your group, or your family questions to talk through it together)

• What does it mean that God created all things by His Word?

• Does creation by the Word of God allow for alternate theories like creation through evolution or other natural processes?

• How can we help to restore creation?

• What are some implications of the fact that we await a new earth?

January 23, 2022 | Question 4

Question 4: How and why did God create us?

Answer: God created us, male and female, in His own image to know him, love Him, live with Him, and glorify Him. And it is right that we who were created by God should live to His glory.

Kids Answer: God created us, male and female, in His own image to glorify Him.

Key Scripture: Genesis 1:27

Additional Scripture: James 2:1–7

Because every person is created in the image of God, every life, from the moment of conception to the moment death, has infinite worth and value. As image bearers, mankind is unique from all other parts of creation. We are also created with purpose and that purpose is found in God Himself. Not only is it right that we should find ourselves in God, but it is only in God that we will find true joy, satisfaction, and fulfillment.

Questions to ask: (To help process the truth we learned. Ask yourself, a

friend, your group, or your family questions to talk through it together)

• What does it mean to be created in the image of God?

How does this distinguish us from the rest of creation?

• How do we glorify God as image bearers?

• Of what importance is it that both male and female equally

bear the image of God? 

• How do the four purposes (knowing Him, loving Him, living with

Him, and glorifying Him) affect our life?

January 16th, 2022 | Question 3

Question 3: How many persons are there in God?

Answer: There are three persons in the one true and living God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are the same in substance, equal in power and glory.

Kids Answer: There are three persons in one God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Key Scripture: 2 Corinthians 13:14

Additional Scripture: 1 Corinthians 8:6; Colossians 2:9; 2 Corinthians 3:17

The doctrine of the Trinity has been called the most important

doctrine that nobody thinks about. While it may seem insignificant,

it is a core belief that sets our faith apart from others. One immense

implication of this truth is that as individuals created in God’s

image, we are created for Community. The God who has never

existed outside of community invites and enables us to enter into

community with Him and with one another. Our community should

mirror that of God’s–complete unity within incredible diversity.

Questions to ask: (To help process the truth we learned. Ask yourself, a

friend, your group, or your family questions to talk through it together)

• How does the community found between the persons of the

Trinity impact the way we, as believers, consider community?

• How can our community with one another better reflect the

community of God?

• Who in God–God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy

Spirit–do you know the best?

• Who in God–God Father, God the Son, and God the Holy

Spirit–do you know the least?

January 9th, 2022 | Question 2

Question 2: What is God?

Answer: God is the creator and sustainer of everyone and everything. He is eternal, infinite, and unchangeable in His power and perfection, goodness and glory, wisdom, justice, and truth. Nothing happens except through Him and by His will.

Kids Answer: God is the creator of everyone and everything.

Key Scripture: Psalm 86:8-10,15

Additional Scripture: Colossians 1:15-17; Isaiah 46:9-10

What’s really important to see and understand... is that we are not

permitted to take one attribute of God and make everything of it. We

cannot, let’s say, take His sovereignty and forget His goodness. Or take

His goodness and forget His holiness (His holiness is what makes Him

the God of judgment). Or take His judgment, even the severity of His

judgment, and forget that He’s the God of love, the God who has so

much loved even His rebellious creatures that ultimately He sent His Son

to bear their sin in His own body on the tree. In other words, to get to the

heart of who God is and to bow before Him in some small measure of

genuine understanding, it’s important to think through what the Bible says

again and again and integrate the whole with the same balance and

proportion that Scripture itself gives. That calls us to worship. And if we

put anything else in the place of God, that is the very definition of idolatry.

—D. A. Carson, Christian Author

Questions to ask: (To help process the truth we learned. Ask yourself, a

friend, your group, or your family questions to talk through it together)

• What circumstances tempt you to believe that God is not good?

• Are there times when you suspect that God is powerless to sustain

and provide what you need? What do you tend to do when you

conclude God is not providing what you need?

• What about God being “unchangeable in His power and perfection”

creates for us a sense of safety and security?

• Even though God is “unchangeable in His power and perfection,”

describe ways in Scripture where God demonstrates His amazing

creativity and adaptability to His people’s circumstances and needs.

January 2nd, 2022 | Question 1

Question 1: What is our only hope in life and death?

Answer: That we are not our own but belong, body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our Savior Jesus Christ.

Kids Answer: That we are not our own but belong to God.

Key Scripture: Romans 14:7–8

Additional Scripture:  Isaiah 43:1–2; Colossians 3:21–23

The basic principle then is this: that we are not to live to please ourselves. We’re not to live as if we belong to ourselves. And that means several things. It means, first of all, we are not to determine for ourselves what is right or wrong. We give up the right to determine that, and we rely wholly on God’s Word. We also give up the operating principle that we usually use in day-to-day life; we stop putting ourselves first, and we always put first what pleases God and what loves our neighbor. It also means that we are to have no part of our lives that is immune from self-giving. We’re supposed to give ourselves wholly to Him—body and soul. And it means we trust God through thick and thin, through the good and the bad times, in life and in death.

—Tim Keller, retired pastor

Questions to ask: (These will help process the truth we learned. Ask yourself, a friend, your group, or your family questions to talk through it together.)

• What appeals to you about viewing yourself as “belonging, body and soul, both in this life and in death, to God and to Jesus our Savior?”

• What about viewing yourself as belonging, both in life and death, to God does not fully fit how you view yourself and what you desire?

• What does this question tell us about our position in relation to God? How does this differ from our relationship with God?

• What would this new identity, hope and desire do to improve the lives and witness of church members in our economic and social system?

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