As mentioned in an earlier post, my community group has been going through and learning the New City Catechism (NCC) together. The catechism is an excellent resource for small group study. To help others utilize NCC, my friend Brian Malcom and I have recently begun creating discussion questions for each of the questions.
Here’s what we have for NCC 1-4:
Q1 Discussion Questions
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What does it mean to be “not our own,” and what makes this our greatest hope?
How does belonging to God apply differently in life than in death? How are they related?
If we, as believers, belong to God in body and soul in life and in death, how does this apply to non-believers? What does this have to do with our conversion?
Since Christ is God, why is He listed separately?
John Calvin notes, “O, how much has that man profited who, having been taught that he is not his own, has taken away dominion and rule from his own reason that he may yield it to God!”. What ways might he be referring to?
What does Thomas Brooks mean when he says, “thou hast a greater interest in me than I have in myself”?
Tim Keller refers to the “basic motive” and the “basic principle” of what it means to live the Christian life. What are these, and how do they relate to one another?
How does this question relate to and remind us of the gospel?
Q2 Discussion Questions
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Why is the question worded, “What is God?” rather than “Who is God?”
What is God not (and what can’t he be)?
What does this question tell us about our position in relation to God? How does this differ from our relationship with God?
How do these attributes of God affect our daily life?
Why must we not take one aspect of God and make it ultimate? How can this be our tendency?
What does it mean for “no thing” to happen except through Him and by His will?
How does this question relate to and remind us of the gospel?
Q3 Discussion Questions
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What does it mean for God to be “the one true and living God,” and how does this trinitarian view differ from that of other religions?
What makes the doctrine of the Trinity difficult to grasp?
What are the seven truths that Kevin mentioned in the video that make up the doctrine of the Trinity?
Despite the lack of the word “Trinity” in the Bible, why do we understand this doctrine to be true?
What are the roles of each person of the Trinity?
How does the community found between the persons of the Trinity impact the way we, as believers, consider community?
Can you reject the doctrine of the Trinity and still be a Christian?
How does this question relate to and remind us of the gospel?
Q4 Discussion Questions
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What is the significance of being created?
What does it mean to be created in the image of God? How does this distinguish us from the rest of creation?
How do we glorify God as image bearers?
Of what importance is it that both male and female equally bear the image of God?
How do the four purposes (knowing Him, loving Him, living with Him and glorifying Him) affect our life?
What role do each person of the Trinity play in our bearing the image of God?
What does it mean to live to His glory? What are some counterfeit or temporary “glories” of this culture that we may otherwise be seduced by?
Why is it “right” that we should live to God’s glory? If it is right, what would be “wrong?”
How does this question relate to and remind us of the gospel?
4 replies on “New City Catechism 1-4 Discussion Questions”
Do you have discussion questions for all of the NCC?
No, sorry!
I would be interested to know what your discussion came up in relation to the first question about Q2 – Why is the question worded What is God? rather than Who is God? A number of people have asked me the same thing! I would like to have a better response than my initial fumblings.
Our young adult group is going through this Catechism as well and I think we came to the conclusion that the reason we have “what is God” instead of “who is God”, is because who is God comes to conversations where anyone can say who God is. Some may believe that all gods are connected or the same. By asking “what is God”, we focus on God being the only God and instead, focuses our minds on what we read in the answer. D. A. Carson touched on this as well when he mentioned the cipher. Anyone can use the word God and mean something completely different from another person. In this case, what is God, sticks to what God’s Word says He is compared to what we may think God is.
Does this make sense?