On October 31, 1517 Martin Luther posted his 95 thesis to the Wittenburg Church door in Germany to tell the Roman Catholic Church they were misleading the people and doing many practices that God did not require of His people. I've been told that he posted his thesis very purposely on All Saints Day.
Today our western culture celebrates death and darkness on October 31 - Halloween. Over time we have convinced ourselves, the church included, that as long as we don't dress up as demons and such, Halloween is all fun and games. Many churches have decided to provide a "safe" alternative to Halloween by hosting a Fall Festival. I am calling this "fence riding." Let's see how close we can get to a secular celebration of death and darkness (the opposite of what the Gospel preaches) under the masquerade of "safety." I let my kids participate in a Fall Festival last year. I walked away disgusted.
Our family is choosing to celebrate light & darkness on October 31 by remembering the Fathers of our faith. We celebrated Reformation Day with 3 other families on Saturday.
Scott posted the the 95 Thesis to our front door :)
Adeline dressed up as the Christian Princess Adelina. If you go to the link I provided, you can read a short description of her. We enjoyed the book! Matthias is a lion from Noah's Ark.
Scotty presented to the kids why we were celebrating the Reformation. He did an excellent job! He held up a blue beanbag and asked the kids its color. He reasoned out with them that the only reason they believe it's blue is because others in authority over them have told them so. He then related the idea to the Roman Catholic church and how in an illiterate age, they were telling people lies about God and the Bible and the people had no choice but to believe them. Martin Luther, among others, brought these lies to surface and refuted them.
We had a coloring contest of a castle with Martin Luther's hymn written above it - A Mighty Fortress is Our God, which we later sung together.
Fishing for Men
Here is my gang - Luther, Noah & lion, and Princess Adelina
Our game was a bean bag toss. You can break down all the reformers said into 5 Solas (listed on the game) - Sola Scriptura, Soli Deo Gloria, Solo Christo, Sola Gratia, Sola Fide - click on the link for a short description of each.
Adeline dressed up as the Christian Princess Adelina. If you go to the link I provided, you can read a short description of her. We enjoyed the book! Matthias is a lion from Noah's Ark.
Scotty presented to the kids why we were celebrating the Reformation. He did an excellent job! He held up a blue beanbag and asked the kids its color. He reasoned out with them that the only reason they believe it's blue is because others in authority over them have told them so. He then related the idea to the Roman Catholic church and how in an illiterate age, they were telling people lies about God and the Bible and the people had no choice but to believe them. Martin Luther, among others, brought these lies to surface and refuted them.
We had a coloring contest of a castle with Martin Luther's hymn written above it - A Mighty Fortress is Our God, which we later sung together.
Fishing for Men
Here is my gang - Luther, Noah & lion, and Princess AdelinaOur game was a bean bag toss. You can break down all the reformers said into 5 Solas (listed on the game) - Sola Scriptura, Soli Deo Gloria, Solo Christo, Sola Gratia, Sola Fide - click on the link for a short description of each. 
Adeline pinning the 95 Thesis to the Wittenburg door.
Darton fishing
Adeline drawing a church for pictionary (DeNiel gave her clues how to draw it). Man, she is growing up fast!
We ended the night with smores and the kids enjoying hide and seek. It was a wonderful evening of Christian fellowship.
2 comments:
I'm smiling so big right now I can't contain it. I've become more and more disillusioned with the whole idea of Halloween and have to watch myself because I become pretty impatient when Christians try and white-wash it in all sorts of ways. It is is a holiday that has consistently celebrated/glorified death and the macabre. And now sensuality has been added to the mix with the unbelievably inappropriate costumes. At any rate, I'm obviously preaching to the choir. We love you guys a lot and miss you.
Reading David Platt's Radical has opened our eyes to American Christianity. Let's pray for an awaking for the American Christian culture.
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