The Lord has given many opportunities to share the Gospel with those who know English since I have been here. Today was the first of eight opportunities I get to share the Gospel in a worship setting with those visiting Wittenberg. Among the worshippers today were a couple from Scottland and one from Denmark. The Scottish couple shared how faith and grace are no longer embraced by the majority of the people living in Scottland today. They very much appreciated the pure preaching of God's Word. The young man from Denmark is growing in his faith and has been very interested in the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther. He has a masters in religion and wants to know more about what Luther teaches concerning the faith. What a wonderful opportunity for witness today.
Where's Pastor?
Yesterday, I was in front of the Town Church of St. Mary's here in Wittenberg. It's also been simply called Town Church or City Church. So, if you guessed any of those answers, you'd be correct. This is not only the oldest building in Wittenberg, but it is also referred to as the mother church of the Reformation. According to reformation scholars, Luther preached more than 2,000 sermons here. The interior of the church contains the reformation altar which has a four-paneled altar peice that stands above the altar that tells the story of the foundation of our worship and history of the reformation. It was crafted around 1547. The panel on the upper left portays Phillip Melancthon as John the Baptist with the artist portraying himself as aiding him. The center panel shows the Last Supper with Jesus and the twelve apostles. The panel on the right depicts confession. And finally the bottom panel showing Christ crucified in the middle also reveals Martin Luther preaching the Word of God and what Christ's death means for us. There is so much more to share concerning these panels rich with the history of the reformation which I will share when I return. Here are a few more pics of Town Church of St. Mary's.
Where's Pastor today?
Today I preached on Faith alone and Grace alone. Here are a couple of very personal quotes from Luther about faith and grace.
"I say with the full conficence of your heart that Christ came for your sake, in order to free you from the Law...and...if you are able to say yes to this, you have what is called faith, and this faith does everything...but this faith does not gow by our own powers. On the contrary the Holy Spirit is present and writes it on the heart."
"For almost twenty years and I still feel the old clinging dirt of wanting to deal with God tehat I may contribue something, so that He will have to give me His grace in exchange for my holiness. And still I cannot get into my head that I should surrender myself completely to sheer grace."
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