Sinclair Ferguson

Hopefully they would not say the gospel is I have done enough, but that Christ has done everything.

but how we articulate our theology and how we actually experience the Christian life sometimes can be very different.

And so that's one of the questions that, I mean, going back to your asking another question beyond the question of question number four, that pastorally in homes and families, as well as for catechists and ministers, the catechism became a real tool

to explore the Christian life and Christian faith in a very comprehensive way.

Yeah, I think the first thing to do is to get one.

And it's conceivable that somebody listening to our conversation might think, got to get the Shorter Catechism, got to charge full ahead.

We need to be patient, take our time and read it for ourselves and take time to taste it.

Take time even to notice the questions that you find particularly helpful, the answers you find particularly helpful.

You know, different ways of making your coffee.

There's the French press, you know, I'm in a hurry, boom.

And then there's the drip feed.

And I think usually the drip feed method in learning something new is better.

And then if I may tell another story,

Our church had a youth staff, youth staff go away a couple of times a year with the young people, weekend away, some of the parents there are chaperones.

One weekend after the youth retreat, this story filtered through to me.

But at the end of the day, the youngsters were sitting around with a couple of the parents who were there as chaperones.

And end of the day, they're full of questions, probing questions.

And one of the parents is answering these questions very patiently, question after question after question.

When the youngsters have gone away, the other parent says to them, how on earth were you able to answer all these questions?

And the first parent, according to the story, just says, you know, all the answers are in the Shorter Catechism.