Sinclair Ferguson

And however we do it, however we do it,

unless we catechize our children, we will be handing them over to the catechists of the world.

And the catechists, some of the catechists of the world are clearly determined that you will think this way.

So when I was a youngster, I remember people of my parents' generation lamenting what was happening in the Soviet Union.

how unless you thought a certain way and conformed a certain way, there were jobs that you would not get.

There were educational opportunities you wouldn't have.

And it was lamented.

And now it's actually come true in the Western world.

There'll be areas of medicine and science and education that are being closed down to people because they have Christian convictions.

So much so that I think in some places, the ultimate sin is to have Christian convictions.

And that means, I think, if we are teaching the Shorter Catechism, the challenge to us as catechists, as parents or ministers or whatever, is that we actually live it out ourselves.

We've been thinking all this week about the people Jesus encountered and who encountered Jesus during the week of his Passion.

And today is what we call Good Friday.

I don't think we know for sure how it came to be called that.

Most of us have heard at least one sermon on what makes Good Friday good, with the answer being that on that day the greatest good since the creation of the world was accomplished.

But there's another tradition that suggests the origin lies in the Old English, God's Friday.

This day commemorates the work of God for our salvation.

But did anyone who participated in the events of that day think of it at the time as a good Friday?

It certainly didn't seem like that for any of the people we've been talking about this week, for Judas Iscariot, or Peter, or Pontius Pilate, or at the time for Simon of Cyrene.

Nor for others.