Sermon Notes for July 2

LUTHERAN CONFIDENTIAL: Wittenberg, Germany. Summer, 1515. Two years before the infamous 95 Theses are posted on the castle church door, a young monk and professor begins his lectures on the letter of St. Paul to the Romans. Martin Luther had wrestled with his inner demons and this opened his eyes to see the Christian life in a new way. Before there was a Reformation in the world, there was a re-formation of the heart!

SECTION ONE: "The New Way"

As Martin Luther began to write out his class notes to present Paul's letter to the Romans at Wittenberg, only a few years had gone by since his own trip to Rome. Luther said he ran around Rome like a "mad saint", zealous for spiritual enlightenment. However, he found that a lot of the activities lacked any spirituality and were set up more as a business to get people's money. 

Luther thought that by visiting every shrine and basilica in Rome, he would be earning favor with God. He may have been more than a little disappointed to find that people in Rome did not seem to take this as seriously as he did. Later, he opened up God's Word and saw the truth about good works.  This started to change his heart and his thinking. He realized he was following a written code that led to death. Yet, according to Romans 7, he had already died in Christ Jesus and now was free to live a new life. 

What does this discovery mean for us today? How can we enjoy the freedom we have in Christ and still follow the will of God for our lives? We'll open the first file of "Lutheran Confidential" this Sunday at our 10AM worship. Go deeper with Mr. Steve Stephens who will lead the adult Sunday School at 8:45AM and give us an introduction to St. Paul's letter to the Romans.