The Westminster Shorter Catechism

What is the chief end of man? This well-known question is the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism. With this question, we are asked to examine what our primary purpose is as created by God. The answer given, “To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever”, is simple to learn and yet contains an unmeasurable depth. This question and answer is the first of 107 questions and answers found in the Westminster Shorter Catechism. It was first written in 1647 by the Westminster Assembly in London, England. It has since been a treasure of Bible-centered instruction taught and learned in churches and families throughout the world. While it was originally written for children, it contains rich instruction for everyone – for people of every age and intellect. We hope you will learn much from these lectures on the Westminster Shorter Catechism and that they will be a rich blessing for you.

Lessons

Lesson Number Title Summary
1 The Chief End of Man Have you ever thought about why you are here? Not the place where you are as you watch this video, but rather, why you are in this world. What is the purpose of your life? These are big questions....
2 God’s Word and What it Teaches In this lesson, we deal with two questions from the Shorter Catechism, the 2nd and the 3rd. These questions naturally follow the 1st. The first of these two questions identifies the standard by...
3 What is God? In this lesson, we will be introduced to the greatest thought that you or I can have. By “thought,” we don’t mean something we merely imagine. We mean that our minds get to think on the greatest...
4 The Holy Trinity In the space of only four Questions, you have been presented with some of the greatest truths one can encounter. Today’s lesson is no different. We take up another truth worthy of our attention,...
5 The Decrees of God In our lesson today, we look at two Questions that touch on God’s plan. As we’ll see, the Bible teaches us that God has a plan that includes all things that take place throughout this universe....
6 God’s Work of Creation Last lesson, we looked at God’s all-inclusive and perfect plan. He has decreed all, whatsoever comes to pass. He carries out this plan by his works of creation and providence. In today’s lesson, we...
7 God’s Creation of Man In this lesson, we look more closely at a particular part of his creation—mankind; you and me. It may be helpful to notice that the Catechism is following the order of the Bible itself. So if you...
8 God's Works of Providence The Bible clearly teaches that God made all things out of nothing. Do you remember the words from Latin that express this idea?—the words are, ex nihilo, “out of nothing”. God made everything, both...
9 God’s Special Providence Toward Man We have seen that God’s providence extends to all creatures and all their actions. This includes actions that we think are insignificant, but it also includes the most significant actions. Today...
10 The Fall of Man God established a covenant of life with man. He promised to Adam life for him and for his descendents, if he would obey his commandments. Today we give our attention to the sad history of our first...
11 What Sin Is Some think that a culture determines what is right or wrong. Others may think that it’s one’s own conscience. God himself tells us what is right and wrong. He does this primarily by his law, the...
12 The Fall’s Effect on All Mankind In an earlier lesson, we noted that Adam fell from the estate wherein he was created. This happened by his sinning against God. Today we learn that the consequences of this sin impacted many more...
13 The Sinfulness and Misery of Man’s Fallen State Our recent lessons have considered a number of Biblical truths that give us bad news. We’ve seen that Adam sinned as our representative, and that this sin has brought us into an estate of sin and...
14 The Covenant of Grace In today’s lesson, we consider the way of salvation, which is, of course, good news indeed. God delivers his chosen ones, his elect, out of the estate of sin and misery. His chosen people enter...
15 Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of God’s Elect We saw in our previous lesson that, though there’s no hope in us, or no hope by our own works, there is hope, and this hope is from God. God has established a gracious way of salvation, of...
16 The Incarnation What is the incarnation? How did the Son of God became man? In this lesson we learn how he took upon himself a true human nature, with flesh and blood. He’s truly human, but he’s sinless from his...
17 Christ’s Office of Prophet In this lesson, we continue to learn about our Redeemer, in his office of Prophet. A prophet reveals God’s will. In the Old Testament, a prophet was given a supernatural gift to reveal what...
18 Christ’s Office of Priest Last lesson we were introduced to the fact that Jesus Christ, as a Prophet, reveals the will of God for our salvation. Now we will discover another office he fulfills. He is also a Priest. And so,...
19 Christ’s Office of King So far, we have looked at two of the three offices Christ, as our Redeemer, carries out. He’s that Prophet that instructs in the will of God for our salvation. He’s the Priest that offered up...
20 The Humiliation of Christ We have seen that our Redeemer is the eternal Son of God. We’ve seen that he took upon himself a true body and a reasonable soul at his incarnation. We’ve also seen that he serves as Prophet,...
21 The Exaltation of Christ In this lesson, we discuss Question #28. We will consider how the Lord Jesus Christ was exalted into glory. The Son of God incarnate was raised up to the highest glory that there is, and yet he is...
22 Redemption Applied As Prophet, Priest, and King, the Lord Jesus Christ humbled himself to save his people, and then he was exalted in glory. But how does his work benefit us? How do we become saved? Questions #29 and...
23 Effectual Calling In this lesson, we will look at Questions #31 and #32. We will focus on the important Biblical teaching of effectual calling. Exactly what is it? What does it mean? And what does this mean to the...
24 Justification Now we get to look at one of the great blessings of salvation, in Question #33 of the Catechism. We will find out what justification is, what it means, and why it is such a wonderful blessing.
25 Adoption We’ve been learning about salvation, and the wonderful blessings that come to us when we are saved. Last lesson, we learned about justification, and now we get to find out about Question #34, and...
26 Sanctification We’ve learned that Salvation includes the great blessings of justification, and adoption. But there is more! Question #35 talks about something called Sanctification. But what exactly does that...
27 Blessings of Salvation in This Life In the last three lessons, we learned of the three great blessings in salvation in Jesus Christ. But there are even more good things for the Christian. Question #36 talks about the many benefits...
28 Blessings of Salvation at Death Last lesson we looked at the benefits that Christians get in this life. Now Question #37 tells us that true Christians even have good things happen to them when they die. You may be surprised to...
29 Blessings of Salvation at the Resurrection What is the resurrection? And is there really a judgment day? In this lesson, we get to find out all about these things, as we look at Question #38 in the Catechism. You may be surprised to learn...
30 The Duty Required of Man The past lessons have been all about God, and his works, and his plan of salvation. Now starting with Question #39, we will start to learn about what God requires from all mankind. How can we know...
31 The Ten Commandments: A Preface of Grace Now we begin to look at the Ten Commandments, and we begin with the preface, “I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” God introduces...
32 The Ten Commandments: Love for God Now God sets before his people his holy will, the Ten Commandments, which is also called the law of God. This summarizes for us his will for us. So we begin in this lesson with the first...
33 The Ten Commandments: Love for God’s Worship This lesson looks at the second commandment, which is all about how we are to worship God. Yes, there is a right way to worship God, and this lesson explores what that is. We will also look at what...
34 The Ten Commandments: Love for God’s Name A person’s name is important, for it tells us about them, and identifies them. God gives us the third commandment to tell us to be careful when we use his name. In this lesson, we will look at many...
35 The Ten Commandments: A Day for Holy Love Now the fourth commandment comes and directs us in one way we can love God. It commands us to use the time he has appointed for his holy worship, and to do so in a holy way. In this lesson, we’ll...
36 The Ten Commandments: Love for God’s Day Last lesson we learned what the fourth commandment means, what it requires, and which day is the Christian sabbath. We learned about the things we should do on the sabbath. Now we will look at some...
37 The Ten Commandments: Love within Our Relationships In the first four commandments, we’ve seen what it looks like to love God. Now, beginning with the fifth commandment, we will learn what it means to love other people. If we love God, we will love...
38 The Ten Commandments: Love for Life Every man and woman, boy and girl bear the image of God, and God has given them life. This lesson helps us better understand what the sixth commandment means, and why we should do everything we can...
39 The Ten Commandments: Love for Purity In this lesson we are introduced to yet another way to love God and our neighbor. But have you considered purity? Not just for yourself, but to protect the purity of others is a big part of the...
40 The Ten Commandments: Love for the Lord’s Allotment What does it mean to steal? This lesson on the eighth commandment reveals that there’s a lot more to stealing than we thought. In fact, this commandment is about more than not stealing from others,...
41 The Ten Commandments: Love for the Truth In the ninth commandment, we learn that speech is a wonderful gift from God. We show our thoughts, ask question, and express our desires. Such a noble gift as speech and communication should be...
42 The Ten Commandments: Love from Within The last of God’s commandments focuses almost exclusively on the inward desires of the heart. In this lesson, we learn about the sin of coveting, and what it means to be content with what we have....
43 Understanding Our Sin We’ve learned previously that sin is any lack of conformity to or transgression of the law of God. So now that we’ve considered God’s law, the Ten Commandments, we are better able to understand...
44 Escaping God’s Wrath and Curse: Saving Faith In the last lesson, we saw all the ways we sin and what each sin deserves. God must punish every sin against his good, holy, and just law. But we also learned that God saves sinners by sending his...
45 Escaping God’s Wrath and Curse: Repentance unto Life We’ve previously noted that there are two aspects of how God saves sinners. We learned in the last lesson about saving faith, and in this lesson we will learn about the other aspect, which is...
46 Escaping God’s Wrath and Curse: Means of Grace All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, so that all of us deserve God’s wrath and curse. So how can we escape from that? Well, this is the first of three lessons which answer that...
47 Means of Grace: The Word of God The first means of grace is found in the Word of God, but it’s not just by reading it. In this lesson, we learn the importance of how we read, how we study, and how we listen and pay attention when...
48 Means of Grace: The Sacraments Another means of grace is in the Sacraments. So what is a Sacrament, and how can it help us to find and know God’s grace? This lesson teaches us all about the Sacraments of the New Testament, what...
49 Means of Grace: Christian Baptism The first of the two sacraments is Baptism, and this lesson takes us into a deep understanding of this great picture of the gospel of Jesus Christ. How is Baptism a sign and seal of the covenant of...
50 Means of Grace: The Lord’s Supper Now we turn in this lesson to the other of the two New Testament sacraments, The Lord’s Supper. We will delve into all the many questions you may have about this beautiful sign and seal God has...
51 Means of Grace: Receiving the Lord’s Supper As we saw in the last lesson, the Lord’s Supper is full of much mean that goes beyond our understanding. In this lesson, we will learn what is needed for us to receive the Lord’s supper rightly,...
52 Means of Grace: Prayer Previously we have seen that the primary means of grace instituted by the Lord Jesus Christ are his Word, the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and prayer. We’ve looked at the Word of...
53 The Lord’s Prayer: The Preface Our Lord Jesus was a man of prayer. One time, when he was praying, his disciples asked him to teach them how to pray. So he taught them what has become known as The Lord’s Prayer. But it is not...
54 The Lord’s Prayer: The First Petition When we pray, we are asking God for something. That is also called a petition. There are several parts in the Lord’s Prayer that he taught his disciples. In this lesson, we explore the first...
55 The Lord’s Prayer: The Second Petition As we come to this lesson, let’s remember the foundation provided us in the Preface, “Our Father which art in heaven.” As we do that, we must remember God is in heaven, and is able to provide us...
56 The Lord’s Prayer: The Third Petition In this life, we see people prioritizing their own desires and their own wills. This causes friction between people, in families, and between nations. People say, “I want this,” and “I want that.”...
57 The Lord’s Prayer: The Fourth Petition We have already learned that Jesus teaches us to come near to God by his grace, to address God as our Father, and to seek to give God glory, for his kingdom to come, and his will to be done. But in...
58 The Lord’s Prayer: The Fifth Petition There are many thing that we need in this life, and we’ve seen how we can ask God for them. It is wonderful that God provides these things. But in an earlier lesson, we also learned that we are all...
59 The Lord’s Prayer: The Sixth Petition The Lord Jesus has taught us many things about how to pray. But there is still one more thing to ask God for. What does it mean to be tempted? How can we be safe from the evil in this world that...
60 The Lord’s Prayer: The Conclusion We’ve seen that Christ teaches us to draw near to God in prayer, to call on God as our Father in heaven, to seek his glory, and how we should ask God to supply all our many needs. In this lesson,...