Dear Christ the Redeemer family,
I hope you had a great summer! As we prepare for the fall, I want to share a new thing we will do at Christ the Redeemer starting this Sunday. As we aspire to grow in our common life of prayer and discipleship, we are introducing the Christ the Redeemer At-Home Catechism.
Over the past three years, we have had several different iterations of what we have called the catechumenate, which is an old way of talking about a school of discipleship. What we have now is something more simplified and accessible for all to participate. We call it the Christ the Redeemer At-Home Catechism. The at-home catechism is a simple way for us to practice daily prayer, Scripture reading, and engage with Christian teaching. It is something that can be used around breakfast in the morning, before bed in the evening, or at a community group.
The at-home catechism will be a three-year journey for us at Christ the Redeemer. We will cover what it means to believe in Jesus and God’s revealed truth, what it means to belong to Jesus and how we commune with God in prayer, and what it means to become like Jesus doing God’s will in the Spirit's power. The questions and answers found in the catechism are simple without being simplistic, offering both accessibility and theological depth.
The at-home catechism will help not just in covering the essentials of the faith but will help us to internalize Scripture and God’s truth. God’s word is powerful, and by it, we live. Throughout Scripture, we are exhorted to meditate on God’s word, to hide it in our hearts, and to let it dwell richly within us. As we memorize and absorb God’s word, it is my prayer that Scripture becomes the lens through which we see and understand our life and the world around us.
The at-home catechism will also be an aid to our prayer life. In it, there is space for both extemporaneous prayer and read prayers. The read prayers will follow a weekly rotation or will be associated with where we are in the church calendar. A read prayer will help us express what we wish we could say to God when we can’t find the words, but it will also provide us with biblical language as we worship God in prayer.
In our culture, we are constantly pulled toward distraction, and it is hard to stick with something, especially if you’re doing it alone. Scripture tells us that if we are alone in something, we break easier, but a threefold cord is not easily broken. I hope that by using the at-home catechism, we will become like a threefold cord as a congregation, supporting one another as we follow Christ. The at-home catechism will be a great tool for us to grow in our common life of prayer and discipleship. I hope you will join us as we grow together, even when we are at home.
Don’t forget to pick yours up this Sunday! Also, click here to see a video of me walking through how to use the Chris the Redeemer At-Home Catechism.
Grace and Peace,
Luke Rasmussen+
