Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus … (Romans 3:23)
This verse is among the key texts for Reformation Sunday. It is a reminder that Luther’s 95 theses began with repent and pointed to the freedom Christ makes possible for the entire life of the Christian. Living into this freedom of God’s grace, reconciliation and hope in a world filled with despair, injustice and division is Christ’s invitation to us all. Luther Seminary along with our partners the National Lutheran Choir and Central Lutheran Church, invites you and your congregation to join with the global community and reflect on the future promise and possibilities for a bold Lutheran public witness. I encourage you to come and learn from theologians, musicians and those who may just be wondering about all the reformation fuss at the Reformation Festival.
“God’s gift of grace” was our theme for the second annual Give Day. If you had a chance to participate, thank you. Your gifts help make it possible for us to prepare deacons, pastors and other church leaders to share the radical gift of God’s grace for the world.
God’s gift of grace is shared in deep engagement with the word of God. We invite you to use the resource “Enter the Bible” to prompt a fresh engagement with how God’s Holy Spirit is reforming you and your community through the word of God.
We were recently featured again in “Seminaries that Change the World” which highlights schools on the leading edge of innovation. We have more work to do to strengthen the ways we learn from innovative communities around the country and the ways that learning changes our practices of leadership preparation. Our distributed learning students, who take a combination of online and in person intensive courses, have taught us a lot about faith formation in the communities where they are currently serving. We have shared a glimpse of some of those stories in this e-newsletter.
How are you living into the freedom of God’s grace as we approach the eve of the Reformation? How are you hearing God speak as you enter the Bible in your community? We are eager to learn in new ways what God is doing in your community as together we lean into the next 500 years of God’s Holy Spirit reforming the church in the world.