Last week Tim Keller asked “Why Catechesis Now?”

This morning TGC introduced the New City Catechism, adapted by Tim Keller and Sam Shammas from Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York.

TGC explains that catechisms have at least three purposes:

1. Comprehensively explain the gospel, including the building blocks on which the gospel is based.
2. Address and counteract the heresies, errors, and false beliefs of our time and culture.
3. Form a distinct people, a counter-culture that reflects the likeness of Christ individually and communally.

The New City Catechism adapts three other catechisms:

1. Calvin’s Geneva Catechism
2. the Westminster Shorter and Larger Catechisms
3. the Heidelberg Catechism

More:

• It has 52 Q&As, one for each week of the year.
• The answers have two levels: a simpler version and a more complex one (e.g., for children and adults).
• Each Q&A includes commentary from a historical preacher and a short video from a TGC council member or pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church.
• The catechism is available online.
• The Q&As are available in a 7-page PDF.
• The interactive iPad app is free.
• You can change the settings online and in the iPad app:

5 Related Resources

Four recent books:

1. DeYoung, Kevin. The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism. Chicago: Moody, 2010. (Cf. the first ever rap song about the Heidelberg Catechism.)
2. Johnston, Mark G. Our Creed: For Every Culture and for Every Generation. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2012.
3. Piper, John, ed. A Baptist Catechism. Minneapolis: Desiring God, 2012. (Free 40-page PDF)
4. Trueman, Carl R. The Creedal Imperative. Wheaton: Crossway, 2012.

Questions with Answers by Dana Dirksen

(From #3 in “Bible Memory for Young Children“)

A mother and her children sing Bible verses and Q&A taken from a digest of the Westminster Shorter Catechism (Stephen Hildebrandt’s The Catechism for Young People). Some are more catchy than others (e.g., “How can you glorify God,” sample 3 here).

• Vol. 1. God and Creation (samples)
• Vol. 2. The Fall and Salvation (samples)
• Vol. 3. Christ and His Work (samples)
• Vol. 4. The Word of God (samples)