I was born on a Sunday. Today is a Sunday. I am 62. This is Day 62 of our trip. It’s slightly raining…we call it “angel kisses”. My favorite! It’s gonna be a good day!!
I view age as a gift…another year to glorify God here on Earth! I look back on past years with fondness and look forward to more years of making memories!!
In Switzerland, we viewed a graveyard and between the birth and the death date is a plus sign. I love that!
We went to the hundred year old protestant church in Munich called St. Luke’s Church. Germany is where the protest began 502 years when Martin Luther nailed the 95 theses to the doors on several churches in Wittenberg, Germany.
Martin Luther challenged the authority of the Roman Catholic Church by teaching that salvation and, consequently, eternal life are not earned by good deeds or indulgences but are received only as the free gift of God’s grace through the believer’s faith in Jesus Christ and that the Bible is the only source of divine knowledge, and that all baptized Christians are a holy priesthood.
Luther translated the Bible into German which paved the way for the first English Bible translation by Tinsdale.
Guttenberg was a social media genius of his day. Get the Word out!! This was truly the Information Age!!!
The church was huge and beautiful. The stain glass was remarkably colorful.
By tradition, stain glass illustrated the Bible to those who were illiterate, could not read Latin and/or had no access to a copy of the Bible.
However, the showpiece of the church was an amazing organ.
It has been a long time since I have heard an organ. The sound and accoustics were awesome. The organist was a very accomplished musician.
The service was in German. The pastor was a woman and she spoke from above the congregation. That was a first for me. A little neck strain!!
Scripture Readings
Luke 16:19-31 The Rich Man and Lazarus.
John 5: 39-47 Witness of the Scripture
I can only assume that her sermon was based on these scriptures.
Hymns
Also, the hymns of Martin Luther influenced the development of singing in Protestant churches.
We had a hymnbook so were able to attempt pronunciations. Today the church was learning a brand new hymn to expand their repertoire which was written by an Englishman named Samuel John Stone. The hymn was The Church’s One Foundation. Hmmm. Why is this new to them? Would they call this Contemporary Christian Music? I have been singing it for years. Here is a short video of the “practice”.
An internet search of Samuel John Stone resulted in learning that the hymnodist had written 12 hymns based on the Apostles Creed and The Church’s One Foundation is just a hit single off a great album called Lyra Fidelium: Twelve Hymns on the Twelve Articles of the Apostles Creed.
Apostles Creed
TheApostle’s Creed was recited by the congregation in German. We were able to pick out a few words. Here are the 12 points with the 12 associated hymns written by Stone in italics.
1. I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth: None Else But Thee
2. And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord: God the Father’s Only Son
3. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary: The Son Forsook the Father’s Home
4. Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: My Saviour, I Behold Thy Life
5. He descended into hell: The third day he rose again from the dead: All The Sacrifice Is Ended
6. He ascended into heaven,and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty: On Olivet a Little Band
7.From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead: Mistful Are Our Waiting Eyes
8. I believe in the Holy Ghost: God the Spirit We Adore Thee
9. I believe in the holy catholic church: the communion of saints: The Church’s One Foundation
10. The forgiveness of sins: Weary of Earth and Laden With My Sins
11. The resurrection of the body: Winter in His Heart of Gloom
12. And the life everlasting. The World is Sad With Hopes that Die
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
I believe that a Christian can tell when the Lord’s prayer is being recited: the words, the reverence, the posture. We were able to pray in English along with their German.
Communion
After the pastor had blessed the communion, a small group of people went to the front of the church and up the steps to the altar. They arranged themselves in semi circle. The one on the end was given the bread of life. Then they passed the plate to the next person. After that, the fruit of the vine in a community cup was passed in a like manner, they all held hands, a prayer was said, hands were swung, and they hugged each other on both side.
Rob and I decided that we had the technique down. We stood up ready to go. There were twice as many people up on the altar platform, so we sat back down and decided to wait for the third wave. It never came.
Later, during their social hour, the pastor told us that the first wave was grape juice and the second wave was wine!!
Left Behind!!
beautiful celebration, Brenda