Today we celebrated the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation. On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed 95 Theses on the Whittenberg Door. It was a list of things he wanted to dialogue about, concerns he had about the state of the church.
My husband, Pastor Mike came dressed as Apostle Paul. He started the service off by sharing Paul’s testimony and the truths he taught about Christ Alone, Faith Alone, Grace Alone, Scripture Alone, and To God’s Glory Alone.
More heroes followed. First, a Roman lady talked about the early church, martyrdom, and the conversion of Constantine, making Christianity legal. Next, Lady Matilda from the Middle Ages talked about the changes in the church during the Middle Ages where some of the truth of the Word of God were watered down.
John Wycliffe spoke next about his adventures as a student at Oxford and his attempts to call the church back to the truths of the Bible. His followers were called Lollards, so we passed out lollipops to help us remember their name.
John Wycliffe’s writings made their way to Bohemia to a priest named John Huss. John Huss spoke next about his experience digging into the Scriptures, discovering Wycliffe’s writings, being tried for heresy, and burned at the stake.
Martin Luther, influenced by the writings of John Wycliffe and John Huss, stood firm that the “just shall live by faith.” Martin and Katie Luther shared their testimonies and their commitment to the Truth found in the Word of God. At this point, Katie passed out a basket with little tiny scrolls in it to several members of the congregation who came forward to read their Thesis and tape it to our Whittenburg Door.
Lady Jane Grey, the nine-day queen of England spoke next, sharing some of the battle in England for the Reformation teachings to take root. She shared about her terrible death, as well as her tutor John Fox who she encouraged to write a book. John Fox wrote a book we call Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. Jane’s execution was included in his books.
The next speaker was a Christian lady from the 1700s who shared how the Reformation impacted the Church in Europe. She shared how that stirred up a passion to reach the lost.
Our final speaker was Count Zinzendorf, a wealthy nobleman who started a church within his castle village of refugees who were fleeing from religious persecution. These Moravians prayed and fasted for the lost around the world and ended up sending missionaries all over the globe.
We ended the service with worship through the ages. Here is our worship set list:
Agnus Dei (6th Century) JR Lead/Madelynn AG
Be Thou My Vision (Dallan Forgaill 6th Century Ireland) Madelynn Lead/AG
All Creatures of Our God & King (St. Francis 1225, Italy) Madelynn AG
A Mighty Fortress is Our God (Martin Luther 1527-1529, Germany) JR EG
Amazing Grace (John Newton 1779, England) JA Lead/JR EG/Mad AG
Holy, Holy, Holy (Reginald Heber 1826, England) JR EG
[I Will Boast] Nothing But the Blood (Robert Lowry 1876)
All in all, everyone had a great time. We learned more about the Reformation, the truths of the Reformation, and we enjoyed our heritage as believers in Jesus. It was a delight!
Happy Reformation Day!
Meredith Curtis
