Reformed Children

Roy Pangemanan Reformers Martin Luther 15 October  This month topic are the Reformers because of Reformation Day in October.   During Martin Luther's time, the condition in the church wasn't very good. Only the priests and high ranking people in the church hierarchy because the Bible was only available in its original languages. Even then, the priests didn't want to share the word of God. Of course, the normal people began to get weary of the condition of the Catholic Church. Martin Luther was the first reformer in the Protestant  Reformation (although there were some people who tried to reform the church before). He was born in the German town Eisleben in 1483 to Hans and Margarethe, and Hans was a copper miner. In 1501, Hans sent Martin to law school. In 1505, however, something unique happened to Luther. There was a harsh thunderstorm and a thunderbolt nearly hit him, so he prayed to Saint Anna, the Catholic saint of silver-mining. He promised that he would become a mo...

 Pdt. Ivan Kristiono 1 Peter 1:13-20 All our hope is in Christ. In the world, we (Christians) are not people who give up, are cynical, and have no direction. We have hope for the future in Christ. People who commit suicide hope on humanity, and that's an example of why hope on something else than Christ is not correct. We must put all our hope on Christ. What is happiness? We must also put all our happiness on Christ. Wealth is empty but hope to God will not fade, it will not dissappoint. There are two extremes: some people are naive and think the world is always good and perfect. Then, there are those who are dissappointed and surrender their hope to evil, which produces hate. If we put our hope on Christ, it produces love.  The book of Ecclesiastes tells us that whether people succeed or not is according to God, and has been controlled by God. Do not put our hope on the world, but on Christ. We should live like an obedient child, in holiness. Sometimes it is said that "posit...

 17 Sep Heidelberg Catechism Heidelberg 16-19 Is there an exchange that is profitable for one side but requires the sacrifice of the other side? That's a rare exchange. We almost never see it happen. The Israelites offered burnt offerings to God to redeem their sins. However, animals only can temporarily wash some sins, but because animals were sacrificed again and again, this means burnt offerings were not effective. Only a human could fully wash away humanity's sin. The sixteenth question in the catechism is basically "Why must he (the person to redeem humanity) be a true and right man? Because a sinner cannot compensate for humanity's sin. He must be sinless (perfect). First Peter 3:18 tells us a righteous man must die for the unrighteous to compensate for their sin. That righteous man is Jesus. The seventeenth question in the catechism is "Why does he, at the same time, also must be God?" That is so, with his divine nature, he can carry the wrath of God w...

 Heidelberg Catechism #5: Questions 12,13,14,15 Jordan Frans Adrian 10 September, 2025 The Brothers Karamazov is a classic book by Fyodor Dostoevsky written in the late 19th century (1880). It was a bad situation in Russia at the time: externally there were problems, political and social and at home too. Everything seems to be hopeless for the three Karamazovs. Ivan Karamazov looks at the situation as hopeless but Alyosha Karamazov looks at God within the suffering. The Heidelberg catechism is divided into three main parts - questions three to eleven is about the misery of man, twelve to question eighty five the deliverance of man, eighty six to a hundred twenty nine gratitude in response to deliverance. So, within suffering, what should we focus in?  The twelfth question of the catechism asks how shall we escape God's judgement and return to his favor. The answer is that he must be satisfied (as he is just), either by works from ourself or other, to pay in full. God is a just...

 Chapel Gabungam Pdt. Ivan Kristiono 3 September, 2025 Yesterday there was online classes because of the recent demonstration. Do we need to care as Christians about the country? Yes, we need to care about it. The people have the right to complain since the purpose of thr government serves the people. Modern form of government where people can complain (but just reform, not revolution) is actually drrived  from Calvin's thought. Rousseau,  French a political philosopher, has stated that anyone who has not read John Calvin does not know true democracy. John Calvin's theology is a true form of democracy. Civil service is needed for democracies to function well. Civil service prepares peoples to become citizens. French philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville realized that France's democracy was dysfunctional. His famous work Democracy in America discovered that in America, democracy functioned well because of a large emphasis on civil service. Reflection: I learned more about gove...

  Heidelberg Catechism #5: Questions 9,10m 11 Pdt. Heru Lin 27 August, 2025 A person was found with thirteen cars and sevenr cars in his house after it was investigated when he was found to be guilty of corruption. By tricking people, he made a lot of profit. Before, he thought President Prabowo would pardon him because he (the person) was on his (Prabowo's) side. A few days larer, he was punished, instead of being pardoned.  That is a sin that is to the detriment of other people (those hit by the corruption), but what about sins that do not? They a,so should be punished. The ninth question of the catechism is "Does God expect humans to follow his law which cannot be done by humans?" Basically, why doesn't God lower his standards after humans fell to sin? They can't reach perfection. Is this unfair? God expects us to love him with all our heart, soul snd strength, and our neighbors as ourselves, but we are flawed humans. The New Testament doesn't lower the sta...

 Heidelberg Catechism #4: Questions 6,7,8 Vik. Happy Manurung Wednesday, 20th of August Romans 5:12 Question #6 of the Heidelberg Catechism Did God create humans as sinful? No, humans were created well and in the image of God: so they could understand, love, glorify and enjoy God (W.S.C 1 - "Glorify God and enjoy him forever") and with moral freedom, that we could choose if we wanted to obey God or rebel against him. Of course, we took the second path. However, when we fell into sin, we lost that moral freedom, and we, no matter how much good we do, fall short of God. However, when Christ came, we can finally be regenerated only through the Holy Spirit. Question #7 of the Heidelberg Catechism Where did our depraved nature come from? Total Depravity (the T of TULIP, an abbreviation of five Calvinist theological principals) is the total, all encompassing human nature of sin derived from the fall, which affects us in all respects. Where did our depravity come from? The Heidelber...

 This is an english text of Richard L Pratt's Public Seminar on 19th August 2025. The public seminar is titled "joy in life's struggles? ". This event is free and you do not need to register to enter. This only includes the dialogue of Richard L Pratt.  Richard Pratt: Good night! I'm so glad to be with you tonight. Thank you for coming out in the evening like this. Although I cannot see you because of the bright lights I believe you are there. I'm always glad to be with you in these evenings when we do special seminars. What we'll do is read from Ephesians 4, the first six verses of this chapter. "  As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.   Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hop...

Freedom and Liberation from Sin  Chapel Gabungan Jadi S. Lima Wednesday, 13 August (I had forgotten to bring the chapel notes home, so it is not as complete as usual) Jesus has liberated us from sin. He is Our Long awaited Messiah who is freeing us from the slavery of sin. Every 49 years, the Jews celebrate the year of Jubilee after seven cycles of Sabbath Years). In Luke 4:14-30, Jesus declares that He has come to bring Good News, proclaim good news, freedom and proclaimed the "Year of the Lord's Favor". Jesus and his coming is our religious independence from sin. This is like a proclamation of independence. In August 17, we will have the celebration of independence politically, but a much greater independence is one from sin.  Reflection: I just learned about Jesus' first sermon and how it was the "proclamation of our spiritual independence". I learned about this perspective and I think it is very fitting as we approach Indonesian independence day.