Reformation Night

Intro

Illust: I once went to a church the weekend of Christmas. Buddy the elf, old Christmas cartoons of Santa playing.

Is that wrong? No. It’s not sinful. They are layered fun traditions.

But I think it’s fair to say that our sin and the enemy does not want us thinking about the things of the Lord.

Can I be honest about halloween? I love costumes, I love candy, i love fall.

But I think the same thing of halloween. It’s not that those things are wrong, but rather I think that the day is meant to remind us of more godly things. I was shocked to learn that there is not one, but two Christian holidays on Halloween. You see originally it was instituted as All Hallow’s Eve in 837 in remembrance of dead martyrs.

I don’t mind that. i think it is important to remember the Christians who died before us. However, I don’t like what the catholic church did with it. Those saints are prayed to.

But now it is sometimes a celebration of fear and the supernatural.

The last few weeks we have been learning about the essentials of the faith.

These are all the parts necessary to believe in to be Christian.

Why is this important? Because there was a time where those all died.

The Story of the Reformation:

The Medicine

Many of you know Bible history, but you might not know what happened after.

Illust: The gospel was medicine that cured the disease of sin.

After Jesus ascended, the church endured persecution for 250 years.

Then in 313 AD, something strange happened. A roman emperor became Christian.

The gospel is still the focus. Curing sin.

But the church now had a new job, politics. influencing the state.

Eventually drifts start to tack place and what the Bible says begins to bend to what the Catholic Church says.

Play Video: Salvation in the Catholic Church.

2. The Rediscovery

Play Video: History of Martin Luther

3 Events:

First, Martin Luther.

Was not looking for change, he was looking for the medicine.

Second, the 95 Theses (1517)

Kirsten: “It was like posting on TicTok”

Third, the Diet of Worms (1521)

What "Diet" means: The word "diet" comes from the Latin dieta, meaning a formal deliberative or parliamentary assembly.

What "Worms" means: Worms is an ancient imperial free city located along the Rhine River in Germany (pronounced like Vorms).

3. The Ingredients

Faith Alone

To be saved, you don’t have to be a good person, because you aren’t you need to trust in Christ instead of yourself. Faith is the only thing needed for salvation.

Grace Alone

Christ Alone

Christ isn’t one of several

Scripture Alone

The Bible isn’t one voice among any. It is the only voice.

To the Glory of God Alone

We are not the main characters of the universe. God is.

Conclusion

This is all because one man wanted to know Jesus, and people put hurdles in his way. Works and money. To know Jesus, he had to go to the Bible.

We are concluding with this because you now know the foundations of the faith, but to be a true reformed Christian you need to know how to read the Bible for yourself so you can behold Christ more.

Introduce “A Mighty Fortress”

The Triumph of Truth through us. Stand firm in the Bible. It is nothing to be ashamed of. It is the winning side.