Tell Me a Story . . .
Oct 22 - Nov 20, 2023
The Restless Heart of Martin the Monk
October 29, 2023 • Pastor Bryan Eckelmann • Romans 1:16–17
Brother Martin fully dedicated himself to monastic life, the effort to do good works to please God and to serve others through prayer for their souls. Yet peace with God escaped him. He devoted himself to fasts, flagellations, long hours in prayer and pilgrimages, and constant confession. But the more he tried to do for God, it seemed, the more aware he became of his sinfulness. - The demands of study for academic degrees and preparation for delivering lectures drove Martin Luther to study the Scriptures in depth. Luther immersed himself in the teachings of the Scripture and the early church. Slowly, terms like penance and righteousness took on new meaning. - With joy, Luther now believed and taught that salvation is a gift of God's grace, received by faith and trust in God's promise to forgive sins for the sake of Christ's death on the cross. This, he believed was God's work from beginning to end.
Tell Me a Story . . .
October 22, 2023 • Pastor Bryan Eckelmann • John 3:1–10, John 3:16–21, John 7:50–52, John 19:38–42
A Pharisee wants to follow Jesus; but Nicodemus meets Jesus at night, presumably out of fear that he would be seen with Jesus. Fully aware of Nicodemus’ double-mindedness, Jesus describes unbelief as loving darkness and hating the light (John 3:19-21)! God is not done with Nicodemus.