Back to Basics

For the first few weeks of January we'll be picking a series that we started this time last year back up. The purpose of the series is to cover the ground of the basics of our faith through the Heidelberg Catechism, the faith-teaching document of the Reformed Church. Last week we covered Q&As 29-32 and talked about the meaning of the name Jesus Christ... identifying Jesus as our Savior and as the Anointed One sent to save us. This led us to talk about what Christ showed us about God and his expectation that we don't just have right belief, but right practice that follows.

This week we'll focus in on questions 33-36, which are these:
Q. Why is he called God's "only Son" when we also are God's children? A. Because Christ alone is the eternal, natural Son of God. We, however, are adopted children of God adopted by grace through Christ.
Q. Why do you call him "our Lord"? A. Because not with gold or silver, but with his precious blood he has redeemed us from sin and from the power of the devil, and has bought us, body and soul, to be his very own.
Q. What does it mean that he "was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary"? A. That the eternal Son of God, who is and remains true and eternal God, took to himself, through the working of the Holy Spirit, from the flesh and blood of the virgin Mary, a truly human nature so that he might become David's true descendant, like his brothers and sisters in every way except for sin.
Q. How does the holy conception and birth of Christ benefit you? A. He is our Mediator and, in God's sight, he covers with his innocence and holiness the sinfulness in which I was conceived.

There are a few things in here we could focus in on and I'm not sure what the sermon would emphasize. Please share with me your thoughts and what you'd like to talk about if you were going to delve into these questions & answers. Thanks, Pastor Eric