Tim Keller and The Gospel Coalition have prepared a gift for Christ’s church: The New City Catechism. Catechisms serve God’s people by serving the truth of God and his Word to our minds and hearts so that we might delight in him.

Here’s an excerpt from Keller’s introduction:

Question 1.What is the chief end of man?
Answer: Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.

Question 1.What is your only comfort in life and death?
Answer: That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.

These words, the opening of the Westminster and Heidelberg Catechisms, find echoes in many of our creeds and statements of faith. They are familiar to us from sermons and books, and yet most people do not know their source and have certainly never memorized them as part of the catechisms from which they derive.

Today many churches and Christian organizations publish “statements of faith” that outline their beliefs. But in the past it was expected that documents of this nature would be so biblically rich and carefully crafted that they would be memorized and used for Christian growth and training. They were written in the form of questions and answers, and were called catechisms (from the Greekkatechein which means “to teach orally or to instruct by word of mouth”). The Heidelberg Catechismof 1563 and Westminster Shorter and Larger Catechisms of 1648 are among the best known, and they serve as the doctrinal standards of many churches in the world today.

THE LOST PRACTICE OF CATECHESIS

At present, the practice of catechesis, particularly among adults, has been almost completely lost. Modern discipleship programs concentrate on practices such as Bible study, prayer, fellowship, and evangelism and can at times be superficial when it comes to doctrine. In contrast, the classic catechisms take students through the Apostles’ Creed, the Ten Commandments, and the Lord’s Prayer—a perfect balance of biblical theology, practical ethics, and spiritual experience.

. . . Because we have lost the practice of catechesis today: “Superficial smatterings of truth, blurry notions about God and godliness, and thoughtlessness about the issues of living—career-wise, community-wise, family-wise, and church-wise—are all too often the marks of evangelical congregations today.”

This catechism has several unique features:

• Length: 52 questions, one for each week of the year.
• Explanation: In addition to Scripture, written and video commentary supplement each question.
• All Ages: Children’s answers are indicated by words highlighted from adult answers, allowing families to learn together.
• Three Parts: 1) God, creation and fall, law (20 questions); Christ, redemption, grace (15 questions); Spirit, restoration, growing in grace (17 questions).
• Several Formats: The catechism is available in iPad and web-based formats. Questions and answers are also available in Pdf form.

Along with the release of this project, The Gospel Coalition, Tim and Kathy Keller have published a number of articles at the TGC Blog:

• “Why Catechesis Now?“
• “Introducing New City Catechism“
• “Why Write New Catechisms?“
• “Catechism – With OUR Kids?“

Click here to get started at your own pace. Or, for a one-year plan that starts today (October 22), subscribe to weekly updates via e-mail or RSS on the New City Catechism blog.

If you’ve been around DSC for a while now, you may have heard Ryan address the subject of depression. Of course, there are different kinds of depression, but one often neglected kind of sadness for Christians comes from what could be called, spiritual desertion.

Last week, John Starke posted audio to an interview with Ryan about this subject over at The Gospel Coalition Blog. Here’s the introduction with a link to the interview:

We regularly pray personally and corporately for God to increase the sense of his presence among his people. But what happens when it feels like God has withdrawn his presence? What introspective questions should we ask? What prayers should we pray?

Ryan Kelly, pastor of preaching at Desert Springs Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Council member for The Gospel Coalition, talks with Mark Mellinger about the doctrine of desertion. He describes how this doctrine helps us make sense of the psalms and our experience of spiritual dryness. Kelly reflects on a scary time in his life and directs us to Puritan writing on this topic, since so few modern writers address desertion directly.

Click here to download Ryan’s interview with Mark Mellinger.

If the subject of depression and spiritual desertion is of interest to you, you may find several links helpful. This past spring, Ryan preached two sermons on depression from Psalm 42 and 43, “How to Really Talk to Yourself,” and, “Unpacking Depression: Why Are You Downcast?.” In follow up to these sermons, we posted two blogs, including links to books, articles, and other resources helpful for understanding this subject: “Resources for Depression and Spiritual Desertion,” and, “Why Are You Downcast, O My Soul?” Unpacking Depression.”

Then, back in 2006, Ryan conducted a Saturday Seminar on depression that explored the Bible’s teaching on how we should understand and address depression as Christians.

A number of wonderfully biblical books on the subject of marriage have been published in the last few years.

Here are a few examples:

• What Did You Expect?: Redeeming the Realities of Marriage, Paul Tripp
• No Ordinary Marriage: Together for God’s Glory, Tim Savage
• This Momentary Marriage: A Parable of Permanence, John Piper
• When Sinners Say “I Do”: Discovering the Power of the Gospel for Marriage, Dave Harvey

There are others, but any of these books would be a great place to start for any couple looking for a good marriage book. Until sin is gone, we will all need help in our marriages – newer couples and more seasoned couples alike.

Tim and Kathy Keller, authors of, The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God, delivered a two-part hour long talk at the recent Gospel Coalition National Women’s Conference. Their talk is titled, “Marriage in Gospel Focus,” and it is worth your time:

[RSS and email readers, click here to view this video]

Click here for a link to the audio from this session, and here for more talks from the 2012 National Women’s Conference. Also click here for a chapter-by-chapter summary of the book taken from its introduction.

In the course of Ryan’s mini-series on praise in the Psalms, the subject of singing has come up a number of times. Paul tells us to, “[address] one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” (Ephesians 5:19). Singing to one another about God and singing with one another to God has a way of winding the truth we sing around our hearts. Truth is beautiful set to song, and it is even more beautiful when we sing it together.

Though I hold many cherished memories of [my father], perhaps the most vivid was his excitement over singing certain hymns. By all accounts he possessed at best an “average” voice when it comes to uniqueness and tonal quality. But he sang his favorites with a conviction that was beyond convincing and was by far one of the loudest and most joyful voices in a congregation of approximately 350. I remember looking up at him and “checking him out” while he was singing… “Is he for real?” I would wonder. When he would catch me looking at him he would simply “lock-eyes” with me and sing all the louder while he broadened his grin to match proportion with his pleasure.

He wouldn’t just sing hymns at church either. I can think of many times when the two of us would be welding up a go-kart frame or swapping an engine on a Saturday afternoon and he would spontaneously break into a hymn. In my teens and early twenties I actually found it annoying given the perplexity of some of the situations we would be deep into. But then again I would eventually come around and sing with him anyway. I just never managed to muster the joy he got out of it. I didn’t think about it then but I can see clearly now that he was blessing me with rich God honoring doctrine. That he was lovingly cramming truth into my psyche that would not return void in my soul.

The now heart-softening aspect of these memories is that I am standing here in my church singing these same time impervious truths in front of my children. I catch them looking up at me and I wonder if I am anywhere near as good an example as he was. I get caught up and overwhelmed when I recognize the blessing that God had granted me in an earthly father. How diligent Dad was to bless me in an eternal way without ever making a point to tell me that he was doing it.

Stephen goes on to recount his father’s death. It’s quite moving, and relates the enduring impact of this father’s voice on his son.

. . . Now almost two years later I am still unable to sing a lot of those “old-Baptist” tunes without experiencing the “echo” of my father. I count it a privilege to sing these rich truths in tribute to the one true God; but I also experience the benefit of knowing I am fulfilling the scriptural command to honor my earthly father as well.

If the congregation is actually the choir, then we should have a rank of male choir leaders. So, men, let’s sing out and sing loud! If you aren’t looked to by a son on Sunday morning, you are still looked to by someone. Read Stephen’s whole post here and look forward to “leading the choir” on Sunday morning.

If you read this blog, you probably speak English. But perhaps Spanish is your primary language, or perhaps you have a relationship with someone for whom Spanish is their primary language. As a church, ministry among Spanish speakers is an important part of what it means to fulfill Jesus’ great commission, a commission to make disciples which includes teaching them to obey all that Jesus commanded (Matthew 28:18-20).

With that in mind, here are three opportunities for Spanish speakers:

Spanish Translation on Sunday Morning

A Spanish translation of DSC’s Sunday morning service is provided each Sunday during the 10:45 AM service. Spanish translation headsets are available on Sundays at the Information Center in the foyer. If you or someone you know would like to take advantage of this, please contact the church ahead of Sunday to give notice that you will need translation by emailing Carolyn Rush at carolyn@desertspringschurch.org.

Spanish Speaking Community Group

DSC has a new Spanish speaking Community Group open to all Spanish speakers and those desiring to improve their Spanish. This group meets on Thursday evenings for a meal, fellowship, worship, and study in Spanish. For more information, please contact the church office at 505.797.8700 or by email at info@desertspringschurch.org.

The New Spanish 9Marks Site

Many of you will be familiar with 9Marks Ministries, a ministry founded by Mark Dever and dedicated to “building healthy churches.” 9Marks was with us as a sponsor at Clarus in 2011, and has produced a number of books about healthy church life that we heartily recommend.

9Marks recently launched a version of their website in Spanish. Visit the new and expanding site here.

¿Qué es 9Marks?

9Marks es un ministerio dedicado a equipar líderes de iglesias con una visión bíblica y con recursos prácticos. Nuestra meta es simple: Iglesias que reflejen la gloria de Dios.

9Marks has also released several of their books in Spanish and other languages, including Chinese, French, German, and Korean. For a list of translations, click here.

Spanish Bibles

We always have a number of Bibles available in Spanish. To obtain copies for yourself or others, contact Clint at the church office at 505.797.8700 or by email at clint@desertspringschurch.org.