Reformation Sunday

So What?
What difference does the Reformation make in our lives today?

You know you are a Lutheran when...
You only serve Jell-O in the proper liturgical color for the season.

You didn't know chow mein noodles were a Chinese food.

During communion you hum the hymns so you can see who's at church that Sunday..

Rather than introducing yourself to a visitor at church, you check their name out in the guestbook

A midlife crisis means switching from the old hymnbook to the new one.

You forget to put water in the baptismal font but never forget to put water in the coffee pot.

The pastor skips the last hymn to make sure church lasts exactly 60 minutes.

You make spaghetti at your house with the little macaroni noodles because they're not so messy then.

You don't make eye contact when passing someone in the hall because you think it's impolite.

You think a meeting isn't legitimate unless it's at least three hours long.

Peas in your tuna noodle hotdish add too much color.

You make change in the offering plate for a ten. ..the only open pew is up front, so you volunteer to shovel the sidewalk.

Ole and Lena are really the names of your relatives.

Do you know what it means to be a Lutheran? Besides all the cute funny one liners shared just now and the comedy behind “Church Basement Ladies”. Who are we as Christians who define ourselves as Lutherans? What difference does our identity mean?

Lets face it, unless we as a church make it a priority for the future generations and the youth in our church what our identity is, how it shapes and informs us, and what difference it makes we will quickly loose what we have come to understand ourselves as, namely Lutherans.

The greatest result of the reformation that we bear witness to today is revealed in the words from Jeremiah. “No longer shall they teach one another, ‘Know the Lord.’, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.” We have the knowledge that God acts to bring about salvation to the vilest of sinners. The knowledge of this is no longer secret, hidden in the minds and words of only a secret select in the church, but rather is clearly spoken and embraced. This is the gift of the reformation. That God would stir up in a monk named Martin Luther a quest to know God not just for his wrath but also for the grace that comes to us new every morning. This is the good news.

What Difference then does the Reformation make in our lives today?
Applying the Text to Our Lives

(1) Grace Alone.

GRACE IS EVERYTHING FOR NOTHING TO THOSE WHO DON'T DESERVE ANYTHING

“For these is no distinction, since all have fallen short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his GRACE as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith.”

“Grace is given to heal the spiritually sick, not to decorate spiritual heroes” Martin Luther

For Luther the encounter of grace found only in God’s Word was enough for him to finally believe that God forgives the sinner and grants new life, truly and endlessly. He wouldn’t have to scratch his way back into heaven through good works, outdoing his neighbor in the number of prayers spoken, or even look religious to gain the favor of God.

For me it was these words from Ephesians 2:8-9 which have been etched on my heart,

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.”

Thank God salvation is not dependent on my efforts to somehow win over God. Doing good works is a product of our faith - ‘created in Christ for good works’ is what defines us as Christians.

(2) Word Alone

“If you continue in my Word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth and it will set you free.”

“I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

In a typical week, during how many days, if any, would you read the Bible, not including the time you are at church? Daily, 13%; 3 times a week, 32%; Not at all, 43%. Barna Research Group, 1992
What happened since the reformation? In a world overtaken by multi- media, television - our attention span is gone. If God’s word is a gift given to us and is in our own native language then why not find ourselves deep in it?
“The Bible is the cradle wherein Christ is laid.” Martin Luther

(3) Faith Alone

“A person is made right (justified) by faith apart from works prescribed by the law”

“All who call on God in true faith, earnestly from the heart, will certainly be heard, and will receive what they have asked and desired, although not in the hour or in the measure, or the very thing which they ask. Yet they will obtain something greater and more glorious than they had dared to ask.” Martin Luther

“Faith is a living and unshakable confidence, a belief in the grace of God so assured that a man would die a thousand deaths for its sake”
Martin Luther

For Bonhoeffer, faith was a matter not of taking a stance but of being a follower of Christ.

Our faith compels us to be bold, confident, and assured in the witness that we share with our neighbor. For we are saved by grace alone revealed to us through God’s Holy Word and this gift comes to us through faith.