Brothers & Sisters,

             It is true.  We are a proud Protestant church.  Happy, kind, and generous to our friends from Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions, I hope, but are passionately Protestant.  As our church’s logo demonstrates, we believe the Five Solas of the Protestant Reformation are important.  The church stands and falls on the doctrines of Sola Scriptura and justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.  Therefore, I believe we ought to honor what took place 500 years ago on October 31^st.  Let me encourage you to honor the Reformation in at least 3 ways.

            First and foremost, read your Bible and trust in Christ.  What good is the recovery of the authority of Scripture and the recovery of the biblical doctrine of salvation if we do not open our Bibles and read of the sufficiency of Christ’s death on our behalf?  Let us not forsake the reading of God’s Holy Word.

            Second, give yourself to learning about the Reformation.  You can do this in a couple of ways.  The easiest way would be to attend the free public lecture that we’re hosting on October 24 at 7pm.  Come and listen as Dr. Brian Lee discusses how the Protestant Reformation has shaped our world over the last 500 years (FREE tickets are available on the church website).  In order to add to your learning, a free copy of Dr. Michael Reeves' booklet, Freedom Movement: 500 Years of Reformation, will be given to the first 50 people who arrive.  If you aren’t able to get a copy of that booklet, read another book on the Reformation.  You can read a biography, like Roland Bainton’s Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther. Or you could read a book with a broader sweep (which really covers the reformations that took place during the Reformation era) like Michael Reeves’ book The Unquenchable Flame: Discovering the Heart of the Reformation. Both books are available on ABC’s book nook.

            Finally, pray for continuing reformation in our hearts, lives, and church.  If we hold fast to God’s Word, then by his Spirit he will change us through it.  The truth is, we need to be changed.  We need to be changed to be more and more like Christ, and more and more faithful to Christ.  Pray that God would give us the spirit of the Reformation, “Semper Reformanda,” always reforming.

Warmly in Christ,

Mike