Questions for October 28, 2012

Reformation Sunday

John 8:31-36

31 Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; ³²and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’ ³³They answered him, ‘We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, “You will be made free”?’

34 Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. ³⁵The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. ³⁶So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

Romans 3:21-26

21 But now, irrespective of law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, ²²the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, ²³since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; ²⁴they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; ²⁶it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, we give thanks for those who have gone before us and blazed the trail of faith.  Today we remember Martin Luther and all the reformers.  We are grateful for their passion and commitment and pray that you would use us to make a difference in the church in this time and place.  We pray for your church that we may always strive to examine ourselves, and our ministries, in light of the Gospel and your message of grace.  In Jesus Name, AMEN.


1. Being a Reformation Church can be difficult because it means dealing with issues that are often controversial.  How do you feel about being a part of a denomination that discusses social issues like abortion, the death penalty, human sexuality, etc.
2. In  John’s gospel for today Jesus tells us “If you continue in God’s word… you will know the truth and the truth will set you free”.  Is it possible for two faithful Christians who are both “continuing in God’s word” to come to different understandings of the “Truth”?  If not, how can we know who is “right: and who is “wrong”?  If so, how can two people have different versions of the “Truth"?
3. We often have to pick and choose which battles to fight in life. Luther chose to draw that line with the sale of indulgences. (“Here I stand…)  He backed it up with his understanding of Romans 3:21-26 and the doctrine of “justification by grace through faith”.  What are there “battles worth fighting” for in the church today?  How do we deal with different interpretations of scripture (“truth”) on either side of those debates?
4.  Martin Luther nailed 95 theses (statements) to the door of the church inviting the church into debate.  That was a common practice.  What was unique about this event was the speed with which news of these radical statements spread throughout Germany.  It was the cutting edge technology of the day (Guttenberg's printing press) that caused the wide dissemination of the material.   Some argue that without the printing press the Reformation would not have had the impact it did.   How has technology helped and/or hurt the church today?
5. How have you seen the Reformation Spirit working through Living Word?