Urgent Prayer Requests
* Petra Lau and her family, friends of Karla – her father was murdered
* Bill Sugar, friends of the Diamonds, Lymphoma
* Pete Koelling, health concerns and special request for prayer.
* Special prayer for Zachary
* Cynthia Wordlaw, need for a kidney
* Dennis fighting kidney failure
* Sandy & Rachelle, working many hours (plus Rachelle is under the weather) & Julie at Mizzou
* Dan, health concerns
* Mueller family, Alicia’s pregnancy
* Marilynn Norvell
* Gene & Lois Schulze at home
* Mark & Julie Johnson and the situation with their Illinois home
* Our church and need for revival
Upcoming Activities
1. Ladies Book Study, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.
2. Bible Study (Brief Books) and Prayer Meeting, Wednesday, 7 p.m.
3. Men’s Breakfast and Book Study, Saturday, 8 a.m.
4. Church Council Meeting, Saturday, 9 a.m.
5. Sunday school, Sunday, 9:15 a.m.
6. Worship Service, Sunday, 10:30 a.m.
7. Discipleship Training (Elisha), Sunday, 5 p.m.
”If God has thus wondrously provided for the fulfillment of His own gracious appointment … then surely we need not, we must not, we dare not, doubt His ability ‘to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him.’”
John Lillie
Operation Christmas Child
This Sunday is the last one available for you to contribute to this year’s Operation Christmas Child. All shoeboxes need to be returned on Sunday. Any donations you wish to be made (gifts and/or cash) must be turned in on Sunday.
Monday evening you are invited to the Walker’s home for a Packing Party. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. If you want to participate but do not have directions, please talk with the pastor in person or call him at 636-233-0645.
DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME
Daylight Savings Time ends this coming Sunday morning at 2 a.m. Please make certain you set your clocks BACK 1 hour before going to bed on Saturday evening.
We are “falling back” this weekend which gives you an extra hour of sleep Saturday evening into Sunday morning. Everyone will be well rested for morning worship (and Bible Study at 9:15!).
Reformation Sunday
Yesterday we briefly recognized Reformation Sunday which is always the Sunday before October 31. Many Baptists, to their loss, are unaware of this day or the importance of October 31. Allow me briefly to recap the events which we remember at this time of the year.
Martin Luther was born in Germany in 1483. His father wanted him to become a lawyer and he was attending a university working to achieve that objective. However, when he was caught outside in a violent thunderstorm in 1505 and almost struck by lightning, he vowed to become a monk if the Lord spared his life. Later that year he entered the monastery.
Luther was always under conviction of his sins. He would confess his sins to a priest, walk away, and then return to confess some more. He punished his own body and was fearful of God. Nothing in his religion brought him any peace to his soul.
In 1510 he was sent by his superiors to Rome, the home of the pope. While there he relized something was terribly amiss with the practices of the church.
In 1511 he was sent to teach at a new university in Wittenberg, Germany. While studying for his lectures on the book of Romans in 1515, Luther realized that a right relationship with God was not possible by works, confessions, money, or the Pope. Rather, one need only trust Christ by faith to be saved.
Pope Leo was a great lover of the arts and exhausted the Vatican’s wealth on the purchase of art and the creation of new works. He desired to leave Rome more glorious than he had found her and one way he intended to do so was by the building of St. Peter’s Cathedral. This, of course, required money which was borrowed from European financiers. In order to repay the loan, Leo began selling various new indulgencies. One of these indulgences promised that those who purchased it would be totally forgiven of all their sins and avoid purgatory (the place where a dead soul must go until all his sins were paid according to the Catholic Church). In fact, one could purchase an indulgence for a deceased relative.
Johann Tetzel, a Catholic preacher, was sent into Germany to preach this indulgence and collect the revenue. He was very, very good at his job and the Vatican treasury was receiving a strong income.
Luther was greatly concerned about the false hope indulgences gave to people, upset at Tetzel stealing the money of his countrymen, and certain the Pope, if he knew what Tetzel was doing, would stop the Catholic preacher. On October 31, 1517, Luther posted 95 theses against indulgences on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. The theses were written in Latin and this was the typical method for publicizing a request to debate. Luther never intended to split from his church. He was sure, however, his arguments against indulgences and other current Catholic teachings would be heard and agreed to by the church leaders.
Needless to say, Luther underestimated the impact of his action. The theses were translated into German and spread rapidly throughout the land. The Pope and other church officials saw a drop in the sale of indulgences and began efforts to quiet Luther. Ultimately, he was excommunicated from the church and declared an outlaw of the Holy Roman Empire in 1521.
Many in Germany, Switzerland, and other European countries followed Luther in his attempts at reform. These protesting reformers (hence, Protestant Reformation) preached that salvation was by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone to the glory of God alone according to the Word of God alone. As a result, new churches came into existence across Europe and England opposed to the Roman Catholic Church. Included among these reformers were men who taught that baptism is only for those who are true believers in Christ and that the local church is to be a body of gathered believers evidenced by their baptism. These men are the spiritual ancestors of Southern Baptists today.
So, October 31 marks the anniversary of Luther nailing his 95 theses, the match which ignited the Reformation. We thank those who have gone on before us for their courage, their commitment to the Word of God, and their devotion to Jesus Christ! Reformation Sunday provides us with an opportunity to remember all they accomplished for us and for the glory of God.
Pastor’s Postscripts
This week’s edition is a bit longer than usual but I thought the brief explanation on the Reformation would be worthwhile. If you are unfamiliar with this period of church history, I strongly encourage you to do some reading on the period and/or some of the personalities involved. There are many biographies on Martin Luther alone. If you have an interest, talk with me and I will point you to some good works on the subject.
A reminder of our Church Council meeting this Saturday at 9 a.m. This is an important meeting because, among other things, we need to discuss our plans for Thanksgiving and the Christmas holidays. Also, we will get an update on our church sign plus I have some news to share with you about some musical instruments.
Men, we will meet at 8 a.m for breakfast and our book study. Bring your breakfast and join us for this time of fellowship. Sometimes I think we spend more time sharing than we do examining the book but that’s an important part of fellowship as well! Even if you have not been a part of our study in the past, come out anyway and join in the fun.
May the Lord grant you a wonderful week! See you Sunday morning (remember, set your clock back an hour!).