October 31st marks the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation of the Church. For Lutherans, the day holds special meaning as Martin Luther was the man who nailed the Ninety Five Theses to the doors of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany in 1517 setting the Reformation in motion. The Ninety Five Theses was Luther’s way of disputing the current church practice of paying for indulgences which absolved buyers from all punishments and granted them salvation. With the Gutenberg press available, the latin version of the theses was quickly translated into German and printed making it available to the commoners in their language thus sparking the viral spread.
One of the best documentaries about Martin Luther can be found in a three part YouTube series produced by Lutheran Hour Ministries in 2015 titled A Man Named Martin Luther - In this playlist, Luther's life and times are examined through history, religion and theology. It has all the suspense and intrigue and gives us a picture of the life of one man.
You can watch the three part Luther playlist here. (Note Part 1: The Man has 5 sessions for Bible Study purposes)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
This exceprt is taken from the YouTube synopsis: The influence and impact of Luther's life is the stuff of serious study. As a forlorn sinner feeling lost and desperate before a stern and exacting Judge, Luther desponded of all hope for eternity. But as one who came to cling to the Spirit-delivered truths of justification by faith and the liberty believers experience by God's grace, he rebounded to become a triumphant ambassador for the Gospel.
I hope you watch the series. It is so interesting! The courage, strength and persistence Martin Luther had is amazing. The Reformation of the church started with the power of God working through one man and one scrap of paper.
A lasting symbol of the Reformation is Luther's seal (shown at the top of this post). You can read Luther's explanation of his seal here. If you were to design a logo representing your beliefs, what would it look like?
Happy Reformation Day!
Smiles,
Wendy