Reformation Day Chapel
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2012 Reformation Day Chapel – October 31st
Adapted from:
Calvin College Reformation Day Chapel 2005
10:00 by Kurt C. Schaefer
Please pray with me:
My Heavenly Father, I thank You, through Jesus Christ, Your beloved Son, that You kept me safe from all evil and danger last night. And I pray that you would save me today as well, from every evil and sin, so that all I do and the way that I live will please you. I put myself in your care, body and soul and all that I have. Let Your holy Angels be with me, so that the evil enemy will not gain power over me. Amen. (Luther’s morning prayer)
Martin Luther
Today is Reformation Day, a day on which all Christians of all times, places and traditions are called to remember the constant work of God’s spirit as He calls us, his people, out of unbelief and rebellion, into the glorious light of the gospel.
Why celebrate this continuous work of god in our lives on October 31? Because on this date, 495 years ago, a series of events began to unfold that brought the Holy Spirit’s work in the church into focus.
On the morning of October 31, a 33-year-old college professor woke up, got dressed, and had devotions. We began the chapel by praying his daily morning prayer. Then off he went off to teach his morning lecture. Now some background information is going to be a bit helpful. For most of his adult life he had been tormented by a question: How can a holy, just God accept a sinful person like me? It’s a question every morally serious person eventually faces: I’m messed up and if God exists and is Holy and Just then I’ve got a problem.
The morning lecture of October 31, 1517 found our young professor teaching from the book of Galatians. In chapter 3 we read:
3 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? 4 Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? 5 So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? 6 So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
The professor became so caught up in that morning’s ideas that by evening he had penned 95 debating points (we call these his 95 theses), questioning the religious practices of his day, and hung them on the college bulletin board (the church door). Martin Luther did not intend to change the world that day, but the Holy Spirit did.
John Calvin
The core ideas of the Reformation are sometimes expressed in four Latin phrases: sola scriptura (scripture alone), sola gratia (grace alone), sola fide (faith alone), sola Christo (Christ alone). In English: The Holy Spirit is always calling the Church to hear His voice in the Scriptures, and to acknowledge that we are saved at God’s initiative by grace through faith, not because of what we do but because of what the Lord Jesus has already done for us.
By the age of 24 John Calvin had accepted these ideas of the Reformation, and within two years he was forced to flee as a refugee to Switzerland. He was only 8 when Luther’s wrote his theses. Calvin studied in France for the priesthood and then for a career in law. At age 27 he wrote a treatise on behalf of the persecuted believers of France—his Institutes of the Christian Religion, a clear, systematic expression of the Reformation’s ideas. It said: Hey, this is what we believe. Afterwards, Geneva developed into an intellectual center for the Reformation, a place of refuge for harassed believers, and a home of renewal in Christian worship (Genevan Psalter hymnal).
John and Charles Wesley
Remember, the need for reformation is not limited to any one country or time period. John and Charles Wesley were born 200 years after Luther and Calvin, in Epworth England—their parents’ 15th and 18th children. The Wesley’s were what many consider to be a good Christian family. They went to church every Sunday and had Bible studies in their home.
Both brothers were educated in Oxford, ordained ministers, and traveled as missionaries to Georgia. Yet after all this, John and Charles were missing many elements of personal faith. (Sound familiar?) John, for example, had an adult profession of faith at age 34, after feeling his heart “strangely warmed” during a London meeting while listening to a reading of Luther’s preface to Romans.
When the Wesley’s revival movement was opposed by the organized church, they began preaching in fields and anywhere else common people could come to listen. Charles wrote over 6000 hymns—hymns meant not only to inspire, but also to instruct in the great truths of Scripture. Among them are O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Christ the Lord is Risen Today, and And Can It Be.
Today
Today, the call for reformation and renewal is still just as fresh and relevant as it was in 1517. God continues to call the church further up and further in (to use the words of C.S. Lewis). There is always a new aspect of the faith to be discovered or applied to our lives.
Aspects of renewal in our time:
-Gifts of the Holy Spirit (spiritual gifts)
-Prophecy
-Healing
-Miracles and signs and wonders
-Prayer
-24 prayer
-the importance of intercession
-Social justice
-combating global poverty
-working with poor communities instead of simply giving to them
-racism
-human slave trade
And just like every other renewal I can think of, this one has its own particular soundtrack. Christian music has changed drastically from the 80’s and 90s to now. No longer are “Christian” songs just about not being offensive to people, they’ve shifted into worship. We don’t just sing about Jesus, we sing to him.
That’s not to say we’re getting everything correct or that we all even agree with each other. None of the previous movements got everything correct or even agreed with the other movements of their times. No one claims to be perfect, but to be in on the reformation, we do our best with what we understand to pursue Christ and apply his word to our lives.
But I also want to give you a strong caution: you are not going to do great things for God. Rather, God is going to do great things through you and often in spite of you. He will use your weakness to display his power and majesty. Your job is to do the best you can and leave your failures at the cross. He chose you, not because of anything you did or will do; he chose you because of his grace.
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. (Eph 2: 8-9)
This morning I believe God wants to continue the process of reformation in our lives. For some I believe he wants to reveal his calling and purpose over our lives. For others he wants to remove some things we’ve held onto for far too long--obstacles to our receiving his grace. Some of you need to simply believe that he has forgiven you and let it go. I’d like to play you a song. While it plays I’d like you to close your eyes and let the words of the song become your words. Let it become an expression of your heart. His grace is enough, even for you. Even for me.
Listen to “Your Grace is Enough” by Matt Maher.
We work to reform all of life until all of our lives bring glory and honor to our heavenly Father. There are still aspects of our society where we need to see God’s transformative power at work: politics, business, banking, the military – from Main Street to Wall Street to Washington. That’s why this school exists; to equip you and to send you out to be reformers in whatever area of life you find yourself. No matter what your plans are for your life, God has a plan for your life. He has a calling on you to bring about his Kingdom—heaven on earth—in the 6 square feet around you.
Adapted from:
Calvin College Reformation Day Chapel 2005
10:00 by Kurt C. Schaefer
Please pray with me:
My Heavenly Father, I thank You, through Jesus Christ, Your beloved Son, that You kept me safe from all evil and danger last night. And I pray that you would save me today as well, from every evil and sin, so that all I do and the way that I live will please you. I put myself in your care, body and soul and all that I have. Let Your holy Angels be with me, so that the evil enemy will not gain power over me. Amen. (Luther’s morning prayer)
Martin Luther
Today is Reformation Day, a day on which all Christians of all times, places and traditions are called to remember the constant work of God’s spirit as He calls us, his people, out of unbelief and rebellion, into the glorious light of the gospel.
Why celebrate this continuous work of god in our lives on October 31? Because on this date, 495 years ago, a series of events began to unfold that brought the Holy Spirit’s work in the church into focus.
On the morning of October 31, a 33-year-old college professor woke up, got dressed, and had devotions. We began the chapel by praying his daily morning prayer. Then off he went off to teach his morning lecture. Now some background information is going to be a bit helpful. For most of his adult life he had been tormented by a question: How can a holy, just God accept a sinful person like me? It’s a question every morally serious person eventually faces: I’m messed up and if God exists and is Holy and Just then I’ve got a problem.
The morning lecture of October 31, 1517 found our young professor teaching from the book of Galatians. In chapter 3 we read:
3 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? 4 Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? 5 So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? 6 So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
The professor became so caught up in that morning’s ideas that by evening he had penned 95 debating points (we call these his 95 theses), questioning the religious practices of his day, and hung them on the college bulletin board (the church door). Martin Luther did not intend to change the world that day, but the Holy Spirit did.
John Calvin
The core ideas of the Reformation are sometimes expressed in four Latin phrases: sola scriptura (scripture alone), sola gratia (grace alone), sola fide (faith alone), sola Christo (Christ alone). In English: The Holy Spirit is always calling the Church to hear His voice in the Scriptures, and to acknowledge that we are saved at God’s initiative by grace through faith, not because of what we do but because of what the Lord Jesus has already done for us.
By the age of 24 John Calvin had accepted these ideas of the Reformation, and within two years he was forced to flee as a refugee to Switzerland. He was only 8 when Luther’s wrote his theses. Calvin studied in France for the priesthood and then for a career in law. At age 27 he wrote a treatise on behalf of the persecuted believers of France—his Institutes of the Christian Religion, a clear, systematic expression of the Reformation’s ideas. It said: Hey, this is what we believe. Afterwards, Geneva developed into an intellectual center for the Reformation, a place of refuge for harassed believers, and a home of renewal in Christian worship (Genevan Psalter hymnal).
John and Charles Wesley
Remember, the need for reformation is not limited to any one country or time period. John and Charles Wesley were born 200 years after Luther and Calvin, in Epworth England—their parents’ 15th and 18th children. The Wesley’s were what many consider to be a good Christian family. They went to church every Sunday and had Bible studies in their home.
Both brothers were educated in Oxford, ordained ministers, and traveled as missionaries to Georgia. Yet after all this, John and Charles were missing many elements of personal faith. (Sound familiar?) John, for example, had an adult profession of faith at age 34, after feeling his heart “strangely warmed” during a London meeting while listening to a reading of Luther’s preface to Romans.
When the Wesley’s revival movement was opposed by the organized church, they began preaching in fields and anywhere else common people could come to listen. Charles wrote over 6000 hymns—hymns meant not only to inspire, but also to instruct in the great truths of Scripture. Among them are O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Christ the Lord is Risen Today, and And Can It Be.
Today
Today, the call for reformation and renewal is still just as fresh and relevant as it was in 1517. God continues to call the church further up and further in (to use the words of C.S. Lewis). There is always a new aspect of the faith to be discovered or applied to our lives.
Aspects of renewal in our time:
-Gifts of the Holy Spirit (spiritual gifts)
-Prophecy
-Healing
-Miracles and signs and wonders
-Prayer
-24 prayer
-the importance of intercession
-Social justice
-combating global poverty
-working with poor communities instead of simply giving to them
-racism
-human slave trade
And just like every other renewal I can think of, this one has its own particular soundtrack. Christian music has changed drastically from the 80’s and 90s to now. No longer are “Christian” songs just about not being offensive to people, they’ve shifted into worship. We don’t just sing about Jesus, we sing to him.
That’s not to say we’re getting everything correct or that we all even agree with each other. None of the previous movements got everything correct or even agreed with the other movements of their times. No one claims to be perfect, but to be in on the reformation, we do our best with what we understand to pursue Christ and apply his word to our lives.
But I also want to give you a strong caution: you are not going to do great things for God. Rather, God is going to do great things through you and often in spite of you. He will use your weakness to display his power and majesty. Your job is to do the best you can and leave your failures at the cross. He chose you, not because of anything you did or will do; he chose you because of his grace.
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. (Eph 2: 8-9)
This morning I believe God wants to continue the process of reformation in our lives. For some I believe he wants to reveal his calling and purpose over our lives. For others he wants to remove some things we’ve held onto for far too long--obstacles to our receiving his grace. Some of you need to simply believe that he has forgiven you and let it go. I’d like to play you a song. While it plays I’d like you to close your eyes and let the words of the song become your words. Let it become an expression of your heart. His grace is enough, even for you. Even for me.
Listen to “Your Grace is Enough” by Matt Maher.
We work to reform all of life until all of our lives bring glory and honor to our heavenly Father. There are still aspects of our society where we need to see God’s transformative power at work: politics, business, banking, the military – from Main Street to Wall Street to Washington. That’s why this school exists; to equip you and to send you out to be reformers in whatever area of life you find yourself. No matter what your plans are for your life, God has a plan for your life. He has a calling on you to bring about his Kingdom—heaven on earth—in the 6 square feet around you.
