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Table of Contents:
General Notes: We are a classical Protestant Christian Apologetics camp and believe the "lost tool" of catechesis is very valuable in shaping our hearts and minds. Read this article by Brett Kunkle for more on the classical model and the value of catechism.
Most of the Catechism questions will be addressed in our daily "core class" and others will be brought up later in the day during the evening message or devotional. Also, each point will be expanded upon in the lessons, Socratic dialogues and cabin discussion groups.
Awards: Students will have an opportunity to receive a reward at the end of camp for memorization of various camp catechisms and the supporting verses that go with them. More info is coming soon on the rewards opportunity!
Note To Campers before camp: Campers are encouraged to start reading Cold Case Christianity and review the catechism questions before camp. It is not, however, required and students will have time to work on it during camp.
Abbreviations:
CCC- Cold Case Christianity by J. Warner Wallace
You can download a printable version of the full Ambassador's Creed and Camp catechism below:
Camp Catechism:
Sunday
Focus of the Day- God's Glory provokes us to engage with the world.
Question: Who is God?
God is the Creator and sustainer of everyone and everything. He is eternal, infinite, and unchangeable in his power and perfection, goodness and glory, wisdom, justice, and truth. Nothing happens except through him and by his will. (NCT, 2, Psalm 86:8–10, 15)
Question: How many persons are there in the Godhead?
Answer: Within the ONE being that is God there exist three co-equal and co-eternal persons, namely, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Question: Who is Jesus?
Answer: Jesus is the un-created, eternal Word of God. He created all things and nothing came into existence apart from Him. He the only-begotten Son of God. He is God of God, light of light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being one in substance with God the Holy Spirit and God the Father. The second person of the Triune Godhead. He is the only mediator between God the Father and man and our all sufficient eternal High Priest (Titus 2:13; 2 Peter 1:1; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Hebrews 4:14-16)
Question: How can we be saved?
Answer: Only by faith in Jesus Christ and in his substitutionary atoning death on the cross; so even though we are guilty of having disobeyed God and are still inclined to all evil, nevertheless, God, without any merit of our own but only by pure grace, imputes to us the perfect righteousness of Christ when we repent and believe in him.” (NCC, 2.29; Ephesians 2:8-9)
Question: What is the gospel?
The gospel is the announcement of the good news that the only true God, the just and gracious Creator of the universe, has looked upon hopelessly sinful men and women and has sent his son, God in the flesh, to bear his wrath against sin through his substitutionary death on the cross and to show his power over sin and death in the resurrection from the grave so that everyone who turns from their sin and themselves and trust in Jesus alone as savior and Lord will be reconciled to God forever.
Question: What is the chief and highest end of man?
Answer: Man's chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully enjoy Him forever. (WLC, 1.1)
Question: Why should we engage with the lost about the truth of God's Word and His Gospel?
Answer: We glorify God by making disciples of all nations and teaching them to obey all that he has commanded, teach others to build their life upon the unchanging foundation of God's good Word and expose unbiblical ideas that are dangerous to the advancement of the gospel and flourishing of society. (Matthew 28:18-20; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5; 1 John 5:3; Acts 17:16-34; Ephesians 5:11; 6:10-20; Matthew 7:24-27).
Question: How should we engage with the world as ambassadors of Christ?
Monday
Focus of the day: "Loving Truth"
Corresponding Cold Case Christianity (CCC) chapters: 1,2, 3
Question: How should we love God with our mind?
Answer: Because we want to Glorify God, we should love and defend the truth and flee from sin that entangles our hearts and clouds our pursuit of truth.
Longer explanation: We should also seek to take captive every thought and think about everything from the perspective of a biblical worldview and seek to use our mind to better know and make God known through each of our Spiritual gifts (1 Cor 12:12-31; 13:6; Philippians 1:7; Hebrews 12:1; Matt 22:27; 2 Corinthians)
Question: What is faith?
Answer: Active trust in that which we have good reason to believe.
Question: What does it mean to have a Biblical worldview?
Answer: Since we are sanctified by submitting to the truth of God's Word alone (Sola Scriptura), we want to take captive every thought in the fear of the Lord as we seek to think about honoring the Lord Jesus in everything we do.
Longer explanation: Having a biblical worldview means affirming the inerrancy of the Bible and no death before the fall (humans and animals), a literal Adam and Eve, the sinfulness of man, the sin of homosexuality and abortion, the full humanity and deity of Jesus and his total sufficiency to save sinners and the purity of faith alone as the only gospel, (John 17:17; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5; Proverbs 9:10; Colossians 3:17; Genesis 3; Romans 4:3, 5:12; 8:20; 11:6; Galatians 2:16)
Question: What is the Word of God?
Answer: The Holy Scriptures of the 39 Old and 27 New Testament are the Word of God, the only rule of faith and obedience. (adapted from WLC, 1.3)
Question: According to the Bible, what keeps us from pursuing the total truth of a Biblical worldview?
Answer: Our sinful nature causes us to suppress the truth in unrighteousness and not rightly knowing God as a good provider of all our needs (Romans 1:18-20).
Question: How should we think about doubt?
Answer: We should always ask ourselves whether our doubt is "faith-seeking-understanding" or "rebellion seeking justification."
Tuesday
Focus of the day: "Testing the Eyewitnesses"
Corresponding Cold Case Christianity (CCC) chapters: 4, 5, 11, 13, 14
Question: How do we know that the gospels were written during the time of eyewitnesses?
Answer: There are unlikely names attached to the four gospels & we have good reasons to believe they were written before A.D. 70.
Question: How do we know that the disciples weren't motived to make up the gospels?
Answer: The disciples had nothing to gain by making up the resurrection of Jesus. They weren't motivated by money, relationships, or power. They were beaten, tortured and killed for proclaiming that Jesus rose from the dead.
Question: How do we know that the gospels were accurate in their recordings about Jesus?
Answer: The authors included embarrassing details in the gospels and used accurate names to the region of Judea in the first century and specific topographical details are described accurately.
Question: How do the gospels pass the historical test?
Answer: The gospel passes the historical test with (1) multiple sources confirming the event (2) Independent sources that are different (3) Authors that had nothing to gain (4) Contextually credible (5) Recorded near the time of the event and it’s a (6) Internally consistent story (they are telling the same story)
Wednesday
Focus of the day: "The Enduring Word"
Corresponding Cold Case Christianity (CCC) chapters: 6, 7
Question: How do we know that the gospels weren't corrupted after the disciples of Jesus died?
Answer: by looking at several strands of evidence in the ancient biblical texts, we can separate artifacts from the evidence and discover the original (CCC, 99-110).
Question: How do we know that the disciples of Jesus were able to accurately remember the life and teachings of Jesus to record accurate history?
Answer: Not all memory is created equal . Powerful and unique events make it far more likely that specific details can be recalled accurately (CCC, 86).
Thursday
Focus of the day: "Echoes of Christ"
Corresponding Cold Case Christianity (CCC) chapters: 8, 12
Question: What does history tell us about Jesus outside of the Biblical account?
Answer: We have around 12 sources outside of the Bible confirm major details of Jesus life.
Question: What does the 'chain of custody' reveal about the disciples of the apostles?
Answer: Church history teaches us that the disciples of the disciples accurately preserved the rule of faith and teaching of the disciples up to the earliest full copies of the Bible.
Friday
Focus of the Day: "is Christ Center?"
Corresponding Cold Case Christianity (CCC) chapters: Postscript
Question: What is the difference from belief IN and belief THAT?
Answer: One who believes that Jesus rose from the dead but hasn't had their life altered by those facts. The one that believes IN Jesus has been born again and is now a daily case maker for Jesus. (CCC, 255-261; John 3:3; Romans 8:9-11)
Question: What is saving faith?
Answer: Faith is a gift from God whereby his sheep display repentance & active trust in the Lord as a result of hearing the gospel in the Word of God whereby they receive a new heart and pass from spiritual death to life (2 Timothy 2:25; Hebrews 12:2; Romans 10:9).
Further explanation: All true believers will bear fruit and persevere in their faith until their death where they will see Jesus face to face (Romans 10:17; Philippians 1:6; 2 Timothy 2:25; Mark 4:20: John 15:5).
Question: How should the believer think about all fields of knowledge?
Answer: All subjects, understood rightly in light of God's Word, are intended to point us back to God and lead us to worship Him. (Romans 1:20; Psalm 19:1)
Question: What is the cosmological argument?
Answer:
Everything that begins to exist has a cause.
The Universe had a beginning.
Therefore, the universe had a cause.
Question: What type of cause of the universe does the cosmological universe point to?
Answer: A spaceless, timeless, immaterial, all powerful, personal cause. This describes qualities of God.
How and why did God create us?
God created us male and female in his own image to know him, love him, live with him, and glorify him. And it is right that we who were created by God should live to his glory. (NCT, 1, Gen. 1:27)
Question: How can we glorify God?
Answer: We glorify God by enjoying him, loving him, trusting him, and by obeying his will, commands, and law. (NCT, 6, Deuteronomy 11:1)
Question: What is the church?
Answer: The church is both a universal and local body of believers in Jesus who have professed faith in Christ alone, by faith alone through grace alone under the authority of God's Word alone to the Glory of God Alone.
Further explanation: Jesus is the head and Chief shepherd of the church, which is his chosen bride with Biblically qualified under-shepherds (Colossians 1:18; Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 4:11,12; 2 Thessalonians 2:2-9; Ephesians 1:10; 5:23; 1 Peter 5:2-4; 1 Timothy 3:1-7).
Question: How should every ambassador of Jesus think about the church?
Answer: All believers are obligated to join themselves to local churches when and where they have the opportunity.
Further explanation: All who are admitted to the privileges of a church are also subject to the discipline and government of it, according to the rule of Christ. (LBCF 1689, 26.12; 1 Thessalonians 5:14; 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 14, 15.)
Question: How can the "witness of the church" be an apologetic to the lost world?
Answer: The Church can be a witness to the world by serving others, loving our enemies, praying for our leaders and giving generously to help advance the gospel.
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