A Congregation at Prayer ~ An Introduction

Martin Luther encouraged an active life of devotion and prayer. He encouraged his parishioners to read, study, learn and memorize the catechism as a family—and yes, even at a very early age! 

So, as a congregation, we are seeking to heed the suggestion by Luther and turning each day of the week to the Word and the Catechism. We will begin this journey at the beginning of the Small Catechism. This will be a nine month walk through the Six Chief Parts of the Catechism and the Table of Duties. Each year we are encouraged to “pray through the Catechism,” meditating each week upon the truths of God’s Word according to the pattern laid out in the Catechism. 

• The Ten Commandments preach repentance. The message of God’s Law is necessary in order that we might receive the Gospel in repentant hearts. 
  
• The Creed preaches that Gospel to us by which we are saved from our sin and through which we are given the strength to make a beginning at keeping the Ten Commandments. The Creed is “the faith that saves and sanctifies us” as it proclaims all that our God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, has done for us for our life and salvation. Out of this faith in Christ the fruits of faith flow in love and service to the neighbor. 
  
• Out of this faith in Christ we learn to call God “Our Father” in the Lord’s Prayer, calling upon Him for every need that He has promised to meet in the Creed. The next three Chief Parts speak of the Word and Sacraments of Christ by which the faith of the Creed is imparted to us and by which that faith is continually nurtured, nourished, and sustained. 
  
• The Sacrament of Holy Baptism makes us Christians. By Holy Baptism we are united to Christ’s death and resurrection, clothed with Christ’s righteousness, given the gift of the Holy Spirit, and declared to be the beloved Children of God. 
  
• Under Confession and the Office of the Keys we learn that it is the ongoing preaching of the Gospel of Jesus’ forgiveness in sermons, catechesis, and absolution that our faith is continually refreshed in the struggle against sin and doubt. 
  
• In the Sacrament of the Altar we are given Jesus’ very body and blood as the highest expression of God’s love for us in the Gospel that we might live continually in His forgiveness and learn to love God and our neighbor, even as Christ loves us freely. 
  
• The Sacrament of the Altar leads us into the Table of Duties where our faith in Christ takes shape in our vocation to love our pastors, spouses, children, employers, and coworkers, as Jesus has loved us. 
  

St. Paul says, “Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” [2 Timothy 1:13, ESV] The Small Catechism gives us “the pattern of sound words” by which we learn to know ourselves rightly and to know our God and Savior Jesus Christ. 

For this reason, we offer this opportunity to continually meditate upon the truths of the Catechism that we might be grounded in the faith of the Holy Scriptures and the Gospel of Jesus Christ all the days of our lives. May God bless you as you ponder anew the great things he has done!