NEWS & VIEWS 
Please Note: After 10:30 a.m. during Sunday worship; 
all entry doors to St. Paul’s are locked for security measures. 
Please enter using the main church doors. Thank you for your cooperation.

Welcome to Worship at St. Paul ’s - May you experience the enlivening presence of God as you gather with God’s family to celebrate God’s amazing grace. A special welcome to anyone who is visiting this morning. Please record your presence by signing the guest register in the lobby (library area) to the east side of the sanctuary. LARGE PRINT bulletins and hymn books are available with our ushers.     

March 7, 2010    

Catechism for Today

Question: How did God respond to sin?

God responded to sin in judgment by condemning it and in grace by establishing a covenant with humanity, promising after the flood never again to destroy all life. Then God chose the people of Israel to become partners in a covenant promising to Abraham and Sarah, our forebears in faith, to be Israel’s God. In return, they promised to be God’s people, to love, worship and serve God alone.

Feb. 28, 2010  

A Catechism for Today

In 2005 the General Assembly commended this document as a “teaching resource”. Each week (or most weeks ! ), one question and answer will be included for your reflection in the insert. It might make a good item for discussion at lunch or something to use as “memory work” for the week.

Question: What is the effect of sin?

The effect of sin is spiritual death, that is, it has marred but not destroyed the image of God in us. It infects and distorts all our relationships with others and with ourselves. While we have not lost our distinctive human capacities, they are subject to the corruption of sin. We are enslaved by our sin and are helpless to save ourselves.

Question: What is sin?

Sin is turning against God. It is breaking or failing to fulfil the laws of God; the missing of God’s intention for our lives. Sin is exposed by the perfect life of Christ: our pride by his humility, our sloth by his obedience, our falsehood by his truth. The power of sin is present in all of life, including the societies in which we live. As sinners, we participate in the indifference, injustice, and violence of our world.

Question: What comfort is it that God rules?

We can be patient when things go against us, thankful in all circumstances, and confident that nothing can separate us from God’s love.

Question: If God rules why is there evil and suffering?

Evil and suffering are a mystery and fill us with anguish. History reveals the grim march of human cruelty through the ages including our own. We behave horribly to one another, nation to nation, race to race, religion to religion, person to person. Disease and disaster also add to the toll of suffering. In such a world only a God who has entered into our sufferings can help. As we ponder our Saviour upon the cross, we know that God is with us in our pain

Question: Does God Rule The World?

All events in this world are under the care of God. But there is a difference between what God permits and what God causes. We do not know how divine care and human freedom intersect but proclaim a God of love who watches over us and works all things for good.

Question: Why do we believe in God’s providence?

The story of salvation as told in the Bible reveals a God who continually maintains and nourishes all creation. From the beginning God has actively upheld and preserved the existence of the universe, provided for all creatures and cared for humankind.

Question:  What responsibility do people have for the care of the earth?

We are not owners but stewards of God’s good earth. We are to care for it by not exhausting its resources or polluting its atmosphere, soil or water. We are to protect the earth, share its resources and conserve it for future generations.

Question:  Why did God make us male and female?

God created us male and female for our mutual help, comfort and joy. God also gave us the gift of marriage for the birth and nurture of children, for the joy of family life and the well-being of human society. Our creation as sexual beings is God’s loving purpose for all of us. Married or single, as male and female, we compliment, depend on and need each other.

Question #12: What does it mean to confess that God is “almighty”?

We affirm that God is mighty in all things. After speaking of God as great and powerful, Jeremiah exclaims, “Nothing is too hard for you” (Jeremiah 32:17). The prophet connects God’s power with God’s steadfast love. God is a God of love and this love is powerful beyond measure. God’s great love was revealed in Jesus’ death on the cross and God’s power was shown in raising him from the dead (Romans 4:24).

 Question #11: In calling God “Father” do we mean that God is male?

No. God is Spirit and is neither male nor female. Scripture speaks of God as Father but also represents God as saying, “As a mother comforts her child, I will comfort you” (Isaiah 66:13). God’s fatherhood is the source and pattern for human fatherhood and motherhood.

Question #10: Why do we call God “the Father”?

First and foremost, the word “Father” identifies God as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In calling God “my Father and your Father”, Jesus invites all humanity to acknowledge and to share with him the privilege of being God’s Child.

Question # 9: What do we believe when we say, “I believe in God, the Father almighty”?

Believing is more than agreeing that there is a Supreme Being. In believing we trust in and commit ourselves to the God who is declared in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments and revealed in Jesus Christ. The Creed affirms that God is the Father and that God is almighty.

Question 8: Are faith and reason contradictory?

No. Faith uses reason and always seeks to understand. Not only are we commanded to love God with all our mind as with all our heart and soul, but we are also counseled to be ready at any time to give an answer to anyone who wants a reason for the hope that we have in us.

Question 7: Does faith exclude all doubt?

Faith is often assailed by doubts and anxieties. Like the man who came to Jesus and sought healing for his son, we also say, “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.” The strength of our faith may vary but we are assured by Jesus that if we have faith as a grain of mustard seed, it will grow and increase through communion with him, on whom faith depends from start to finish.

Question #6: Each of the three parts of the creed begins with the words,  “I believe.” What does it mean to believe?

Belief or faith is a wholehearted trust in God, created in us by the Holy Spirit through hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ. It involves confessing Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, repenting of our sin, and resolving by the power of the Holy Spirit to live the Christian life. Faith is nurtured and renewed by worship, hearing the proclaimed Word, celebration of the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, prayer and the reading of scripture.

Question #5 What as Christians are we to believe?

We are to believe the gospel, a summary of which is contained in the Apostles’ Creed. While not written by the apostles this brief confession of the church’s essential faith had its origins in the first century and has instructed and guided Christians through the years connecting us in a common faith with the earliest Christian communities.

Question #4. Is the pursuit of science incompatible with faith in God?

No. We believe that God created a universe with its own order which we can explore by scientific investigation. Yet scientific investigation and the Christian faith differ in their goals and approaches. While science proceeds by theorizing about and testing the universe, the Christian faith is primarily concerned with knowing God who exists above and beyond the creation. The Christian faith values all efforts to understand the universe that God has made. We are guided by the conviction that all truth comes from God.

Question #3 Yet some people no longer believe there is a God. Why do we believe in God?

We believe in God because we are part of a community of faith which through the preaching of Christ’s gospel and the work of the Holy Spirit creates and nourishes faith. We believe in God because of revelation. God is revealed in the history of Israel and supremely in Jesus Christ. Through God alone can God be known. We believe in God because the universe poses the question: “Where did all of this come from?” We reply: “It came from God. God made it. God is creator. The world is charged with the glory of God and the universe points to its maker.” We believe in God, because we are made in the divine image and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in God.

Question # 2 What does it mean to know, love and serve God?

  We know God in Jesus Christ witnessed to in scripture. We love and serve God in worship and in the care and compassion we show for all creation. Worship draws us into the work of Christ. In union with him, we pray and work for the healing and salvation of the world. Christ calls us to a life of kindness and generosity. How can we love God, whom we cannot see, without loving those whom we can see?

Question 1:  What is God’s purpose for our lives?

“We have been made for joy; joy in knowing, loving and serving God, joy in knowing, loving and serving one another, joy in the wonder of all God’s works”.

Looking for more information on events? 
If you look in our Calendar section, you will see what is happening!

  Kelby is one of our teens. Go to www.caringbridge.org and type in kelbybalch to view the journey that she and her family is on with  a disease called Dystonia. We are posting the address on this site, so that you may learn about her journey, and keep Kelby and her family in your prayers!   

The 2009 Annual Reports are now posted!