This chapter discusses God's love and mercy as shown through Jesus Christ, the commandments, and his covenant with the Israelites. It describes how God promised to send a savior for humankind and how the Israelites worshipped a golden calf while Moses received the 10 commandments on Mount Sinai. Jesus is the greatest sign of God's love and mercy, and God's laws are meant to show his love. The chapter also provides background on key biblical figures like Moses and terms such as covenant and providence.

1. God, Our Loving
Father
Chapter 4

2. Key Words
 Mercy - God’s love and forgiveness.
 Jesus Christ- He is the greatest sign
of God’s love.
 Covenant - In the Bible, a solemn
agreement between God and his
people.

3. Key Words
 Commandments - Following God’s laws,
the commandments would lead God’s
people to be faithful to him.
 Moses - While he was on Mt. Sini for 40
days and 40 nights the Israelites were
worshiping a false god.
 Providence - God’s plan for and protection
of all creation.
 Plan -In his plan of salvation for humankind,
God promised to send someone who would
save human beings from sin.

4. Chapter Notes
 When Moses was on Mt. Sini receiving the
10 commandments the Israelites forgot the
one, true God and made a false god, a
golden calf, to worship.
 The message of the creation stories in the
Old Testament have the same message:
that God loves all that he has created and
that humanity is the peak of his creation.

5. Chapter Notes
 Jesus Christ is the greatest sign of
God’s love.
 God is merciful and gives us laws out
of love.
 God’s love for human beings is
everlasting.
 Abraham and Sarah obeyed and
trusted God completely.

6. Chapter Notes
 In the Bible, providence is a solemn agreement
between God and his people.
 God’s plan for protection of all creation is called
providence.
 Human beings have not always been faithful to
God.
 In the Book of Genesis, in the second account of
creation, God creates human beings first and
makes them his partners in caring for creation.
 In the Book of Genesis, in the first account of
creation, God creates human beings last.

7. Chapter Notes
 The two accounts of creation that are found
in the Old Testament show life as a gift that
God gives us out of his great love.
 In the Book of Exodus we can read about
God freeing the Israelites from slavery in
Egypt.
 In the Bible, a solemn agreement between
God and his people is called a covenant.

8. Chapter Notes
 God promised Abraham that his
descendants would become a great nation.
 God helped Moses to free the Israelites
from slavery in Egypt.
 In the account of God’s covenant with Noah.
God made a promise to humankind that a
flood would never again destroy life on
earth.

9. Chapter Notes
 Moses went up to Mt. Sini where God told
him that the Israelites should worship God
alone as their one true God, and in return he
would make them his special people.
 In the Old Testament there are many
accounts of God’s mercy, which is his
forgiveness and love.
 God blessed Abraham and Sarah with a son
whom they named Isaac.

10. Curriculum Facts
 There are 46 books in the Old Testament
and 27 books in the New Testament.
 Tradition comes from the Apostles and
hands on what they received from Jesus’
teaching and example and continues today
in the teaching office of the Church.
 The Gospels are the heart of the all the
Scriptures because they are the principal
source for the life and teaching of Jesus
Christ.

11. Curriculum Facts
 The two factors that kept the earliest
Christians from writing about Jesus are:
1. They were strongly eschatological, that is
they believed the end time was near and
Jesus would return soon, so there was no
need for writing things down.
2. Witnesses were still alive who knew Jesus;
when the end time did not appear imminent
and the first generation of Christians died
then works of a more permanent nature (the
new testament) appeared.

12. Curriculum Facts
 Jesus spoke Aramaic to his disciples
however, the New Testament, written in 50-
150 AD, used the language know as Koine
Greek, the common dialect used in the first
century.
 The Sacred Scripture, the Old and New
Testament, were written by human authors
who were inspired by the Holy Spirit.
 Sacred Scripture is the speech of God as it
is put down in the writing under the breath of
the Holy Spirit.

13. Curriculum Facts
 The sacred books the Father who is in
heaven meets his children with great love
and speaks to them.
 Jesus asks the following of his disciples :
1. Do the will of the Father
2. Be childlike
3. Serve others
4. Take up your cross
5. Love one another
6. Give up your possessions