Hey Martin! What's that?

As Martin Luther worked as a pastor, he thought it was important that everyone understand some basic things about being a Christian. He thought people should be able to read the Bible in their own language and so he wrote the first translation of the Bible in German.

He also thought people should know something about:

• The Ten Commandments
• The Lord's Prayer
• The Apostles' Creed
• Confession
• The Sacrament of Holy Baptism
• The Sacrament of Holy Communion

So he wrote a little book called The Small Catechism which was meant for parents to use to teach their children.  We still use that little book because Luther did a really good job of explaining.

In each section of the catechism, Luther uses questions and answers. It's kind of like when you were younger and you would ask your parents, What's that?  about almost everything you saw.  In The Small Catechism  Luther answers the what's that  questions about the most important things Christians want to know.

We'll be talking more about The Small Catechism  in class, so if all of your questions aren't answered here, please put them in the Comments section, and we'll talk about your questions at church.