Yesterday marked the 500th anniversary of the occassion where Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on indulgences at the door of the castle church of Wittenberg. This event is considered the start of the Protestant Reformation.
Just to mark how different this year was from others, there were several events and conferences commemorating the date. Even churches which traditionally would not give the time of day to this date were almost forced to offer some kind of commemoration, with more or less success.
In the case of my church, besides the simple fact that it is Calvinistic, November 1st is its anniversary, and thus commemorating Reformation Day just comes naturally as a tie-in with the anniversary celebration. This year we started as a church a conference series, Sendas de gracia [Paths of Grace]. As the first year of this event and in view of the 500th anniversary of Luther’s Reformation, this year’s theme was “Footprints of the Reformation”. There were talks on the impact the Reformation made on communications, rule of law and education. The conferences were rounded out by a panel-debate on the impact of Reformed doctrine in the life of the local church. I had the privilege to speak on the second talk, on the subject of “Impact of the Protestant Reformation in the formulation of the Rule of Law”. All in all, it was very blessed.
In addition, the previous weekend I was invited by a Pentecostal (!) church to speak on the subject of “Grace Alone” (Sola Gratia), on Saturday; and I also preached at a Presbyterian church on the subject of “What Does Mean To Be Reformed Today” on that Sunday.
Well, that was hectic. Thanks God for all His blessings, and the opportunity to speak about His word.