Another Reformed Short Guy
Stories
Object:
Contents
What's Up This Week
A Story to Live By: "Another Reformed Short Guy"
Shining Moments: "Dreams" by Gail C. Ingle
Good Stories: "Room for All Saints"
Scrap Pile: "Reformation Tidbits"
What's Up This Week
Who's in favor of reforming the church again? Aren't we all? Reformation of the church needs to occur in every generation. Reggie McNeal writes in The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church (Jossey-Bass, 2003): "The current church culture in North America is on life support. It is living off the work, money, and energy of previous generations from a previous world order" (pg. 1). McNeal points out that "a growing number of people are leaving the institutional church for a new reason. They are not leaving because they have lost faith. They are leaving the church to preserve their faith" (pg. 4). He blames a club mentality, churches which do programming to meet their members' needs but do nothing to meet the needs of the poor and oppressed around them. "People all around us are in darkness. They are going to die unless someone finds a way to save them. Trouble is, the church is sleeping on the job. Too many of us have forgotten why we showed up for work. Even worse, many of us have never known" (pg. 19).
Our bishop gave copies of The Present Future to every United Methodist church in Wisconsin. We have ordered 25 copies for our congregation, and we are asking all of our key leaders to read it. The Present Future is available to churches for a 25% discount when ordering 25 or more copies. For more information click on: http://www.josseybass.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0787965685.html
While we celebrate Martin Luther and the old Reformation this week (see "Another Reformed Short Guy" and "Reformation Tidbits"), we might ask who will lead the reformation in this generation.
A Story to Live By
Another Reformed Short Guy
He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature.
Luke 19:3
On a sultry day in July of the year 1505, a lonely traveler was trudging over a parched road on the outskirts of the Saxon village of Stotterheim. He was a young man, short but sturdy, and wore the dress of a university student. As he approached the village, the sky became overcast. Suddenly there was a shower, then a crashing storm. A bolt of lightning rived the gloom and knocked the man to the ground. Struggling to rise he rose in terror: "St. Anne help me! I will become a monk." The man who thus called upon a saint was later to repudiate the cult of saints. He who vowed to become a monk was later to renounce monasticism. A loyal son of the Catholic Church, he was later to shatter the structure of medieval Catholicism. A devoted servant of the pope, he was later to identify popes with the Antichrist. For this young man was Martin Luther.
(Roland H. Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther, Mentor, 1955, pg. 15)
Shining Moments
Dreams
by Gail C. Ingle
For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay.
Habakkuk 2:3
Several times in my life I have had precognitive dreams. It was not until a later time that I realized what the dreams foreshadowed. This past summer was one of those times.
I was having difficulty breathing due to asthma and bronchitis, but I continued to smoke two packs of cigarettes a day. I had smoked for 40 years and was not about to quit. I had tried to quit once before, but was unable to stop. I loved smoking and hated it when anyone told me I "should really quit." On July 19, an "ozone action day," I was outside doing yard work: obviously something a person with asthma and bronchitis should not do. But I was stubborn and I wanted the yard to look perfect for the family party I was to host that Saturday.
When I awoke Saturday morning, I could barely breathe. I asked my neighbor to take me to the pharmacy to get a prescription for my bronchitis. When we got there, the pharmacist could tell I was having trouble breathing. He told my neighbor to take me to a doctor immediately.
I went to my regular clinic and was seen by a new physician. He gave me a nebulizing treatment that should have helped my breathing. However, it did not because I was in respiratory failure. The doctor told me I would have to go to the intensive care unit at the hospital or I would die. I told him I was going home to make a phone call to cancel my party. He reiterated that I would die if I didn't go to intensive care. I told him I would go home because I wanted to make a call to cancel the party, when what I really wanted to do was smoke. Despite having great difficulty breathing, I smoked one cigarette on the way home, one while I made the phone call to cancel the party, and one on the way to intensive care.
That afternoon, while I was in my hospital bed receiving oxygen, I remembered the dream I had twenty days before. In the dream, I was looking into my bedroom and saw Death walking around my bed, but he couldn't find me. This dream was enough to cause me to know that I was being given a second chance to live, that I would never be able to smoke again.
Two Bible passages have helped sustain me in what I consider to be a miracle, being smoke-free: "Death had its hands around my throat; the terrors of the grave overtook me. I saw only trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord: 'Please, Lord, save me' " (Psalm 116:3-4), and "Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (Acts 2:21).
Gail Christiansen Ingle taught special education in the Waukesha, Wisconsin school system for over 20 years. She enjoyed writing and some of her poetry was published. Gail was a member of the Genesee United Congregational Church. She entered eternal life on June 13, 2004. This story appeared in Sharing Visions: Divine Revelations, Angels and Holy Coincidences (CSS Publishing Company, 2003).
Good Stories
Room For All Saints
I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you in my prayers.
Ephesians 1:15-16
A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead. He remembered dying, and that the dog had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them.
After a while, they came to a high white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight. When he was standing before it, he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother of pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold.
He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side. When he was close enough, he called out, "Excuse me, where are we?"
"This is Heaven, sir," the man answered.
"Wow! Would you happen to have some water?" the man asked.
"Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up." The man gestured, and the gate began to open.
"Can my friend come in too?" the traveler asked, gesturing toward his dog.
"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets."
The man thought a moment, then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going.
After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road, which led through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence. As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside leaning against a tree and reading a book.
"Excuse me!" he called to the reader. "Do you have any water?"
"Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there." The man pointed to a place that couldn't be seen from outside the gate. "Come on in."
"How about my friend here?" The traveler gestured to the dog.
"There should be a bowl by the pump."
They went through the gate, and sure enough there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it. The traveler filled the bowl and took a long drink himself, then he gave some to the dog.
When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man, who was standing by the tree waiting for them.
"What do you call this place?" the traveler asked.
"This is Heaven" was the answer.
"Well, that's confusing," the traveler said. "The man down the road said that was Heaven too."
"Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That's Hell."
"Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?"
"No. I can see how you might think so, but we're just happy that they screen out the folks who'll leave their best friends behind."
(This story can be found on the web at http://www.carnatic.com/karmasaya/index.php?Heaven%20%26%20Hell. A version of this story was dramatized in an episode of Rod Serling's television show The Twilight Zone.)
Scrap Pile
Reformation Tidbits
Sometime from 1514 to 1519 -- scholars disagree on the exact time -- Martin Luther had what later came to be called the "Tower Experience." He was supposedly studying in his office, which was on the third floor of a tower built into the city wall of Wittenberg. True or not, for a long time he had anguished over this passage from Paul's Letter to the Romans (1:16-18):
...the gospel... is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes... For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."... The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men...
In 1519 Martin wrote: "Night and day I anguished until I saw the connection between the 'righteousness from God' and the statement that 'the righteous will live by faith.' Then I grasped that the righteousness from God is that righteousness by which through grace and sheer mercy God justifies us through faith. All at once I felt myself to have been born again and to have gone through open gates of paradise itself. The whole of Scripture took on a new meaning, and whereas before the 'righteousness from God' had filled me with hate, now it became to me inexpressibly sweet in greater love. This passage of Paul had become to me the very gate to paradise..." Many scholars believe that moment of revelation was also the birth of the Protestant Reformation.
(From Luther, Preface to the Complete Edition of Luther's Latin Works [1545], modified to agree with NIV Bible; Bainton, Here I Stand [1950]; Marius, Martin Luther [1992]. For more information about the life of Martin Luther, click on http://www.heroesofhistory.com/page63.html)
It is said that Dr. Martin Luther, professor of Moral Philosophy, nailed his 95 theses against the practice of selling indulgences to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg on October 31, 1517. Although historians dispute whether Luther really did nail the theses to the door of the Castle Church, he did send his theses to friends and a few bishops. An indulgence was a church-imposed confession of sin which took many different forms over the years. If you took part in a crusade or sent someone (for example a servant) on a crusade for you, your sins could be forgiven. When the Papal Court fell into financial trouble you were allowed to donate money for a crusade in order for your sins to be forgiven; it was as effective as going on a crusade yourself.
(For more information about the 95 theses, click on http://alt.wittenberg.de/e/seiten/thesentu.html)
On Reformation Sunday in 1997, Gunnar Anderson took his congregation on a sermon tour of places where Martin Luther lived out his faith. The tour included "Worms, where Luther was put on trial before the assembled power of the church, and of the state, and of the status quo. And they insisted he take it all back. They demanded he recant! The one stood before the many and boldly held fast, shouting, 'Here I stand!' Here I stand on what I believe. Here I stand on Jesus Christ! Here I stand on the truth of that scripture. Here I stand on the Grace of God. And in that same place this morning I stand, and you stand; and let us stand as well with Luther in the heritage of our church, with the courage of re-forming, not fearing to be innovative."
(From a sermon by Gunnar L. Anderson, St. Peter's Lutheran Church, North Plainfield, New Jersey, October 27, 1997. For the full sermon, click on http://www.intac.com/~blenderm/Sermon_10_27_96.html)
On April 17, 1521, Luther appeared before the Emperor and Reichstag. A row of his books was pointed out to him and he was asked whether he would recant them or not. Luther requested time for reflection. A day was given him, and on the next afternoon he was once more before the assembly. Here he acknowledged that in the heat of the controversy, he had expressed himself too strongly against persons, but the substance of what he had written he could not retract, unless convinced of its wrongfulness by Scripture or inadequate argument. The Emperor, who could hardly believe that such temerity as to deny the infallibility of a general council was possible, cut the discussion short. That Luther cried out, "I cannot do otherwise. Here I stand. God help me, Amen." is not certain, but seems not improbable. The words at least expressed the substance of his unshaken determination. He had borne a great historic witness to the truth of his convictions before the highest tribunal of his nation.
(Williston Walker, A History of the Christian Church, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1970, pg. 310)
The year was fifteen hundred and forty six, February 17, Eisleben, Deutschland. It was a cold, bitter winter night; the snow was falling in tons; the wind was blowing -- almost blizzard-like conditions. But inside that house across the cobblestone street from the huge St. Andrew's Church in Eisleben they were having a party. But upstairs, a 62-year-old man knew that he was dying. But he was not afraid: because he believed that there was a resurrection from the dead, the forgiveness of sins, and eternal life.
(From a sermon by Jeffrey D. McPike, Trinity Lutheran Church, Urbana, Illinois, October 26, 2003. [Adapted from a sermon by William G. Houser.] For the full sermon, click on http://www.trinity-urbana.org/sermons/2003/10-26-03_ReformationSunday.html)
**********************************************
New Book
The third book in the vision series, Shining Moments: Visions of the Holy in Ordinary Lives (edited by John Sumwalt), is now available from CSS Publishing Company. Among the 60 contributing authors of these Chicken Soup for the Soul-like vignettes are Ralph Milton, Sandra Herrmann, Pamela J. Tinnin, Richard H. Gentzler Jr., David Michael Smith, Jodie Felton, Nancy Nichols, William Lee Rand, Gail Ingle, and Rosmarie Trapp, whose family story was told in the classic movie The Sound of Music. Click on the title above for information about how to order. The stories follow the lectionary for Cycle A, which begins in December.
Other Books by John & Jo Sumwalt
Sharing Visions: Divine Revelations, Angels, and Holy Coincidences
Vision Stories: True Accounts of Visions, Angels, and Healing Miracles
Life Stories: A Study in Christian Decision Making
Lectionary Stories: Forty Tellable Tales for Cycle A
Lectionary Stories: Forty Tellable Tales for Cycle B
Lectionary Stories: Forty Tellable Tales for Cycle C
Lectionary Tales for the Pulpit: 62 Stories for Cycle B
You can order any of our books on the CSS website; they are also available from www.amazon.com and at many Christian bookstores. Or simply e-mail your order to orders@csspub.com or phone 1-800-241-4056. (If you live outside the U.S., phone 419-227-1818.)
**************
StoryShare, October 31, 2004, issue.
Copyright 2004 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., P.O. Box 4503, Lima, Ohio 45802-4503.
What's Up This Week
A Story to Live By: "Another Reformed Short Guy"
Shining Moments: "Dreams" by Gail C. Ingle
Good Stories: "Room for All Saints"
Scrap Pile: "Reformation Tidbits"
What's Up This Week
Who's in favor of reforming the church again? Aren't we all? Reformation of the church needs to occur in every generation. Reggie McNeal writes in The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church (Jossey-Bass, 2003): "The current church culture in North America is on life support. It is living off the work, money, and energy of previous generations from a previous world order" (pg. 1). McNeal points out that "a growing number of people are leaving the institutional church for a new reason. They are not leaving because they have lost faith. They are leaving the church to preserve their faith" (pg. 4). He blames a club mentality, churches which do programming to meet their members' needs but do nothing to meet the needs of the poor and oppressed around them. "People all around us are in darkness. They are going to die unless someone finds a way to save them. Trouble is, the church is sleeping on the job. Too many of us have forgotten why we showed up for work. Even worse, many of us have never known" (pg. 19).
Our bishop gave copies of The Present Future to every United Methodist church in Wisconsin. We have ordered 25 copies for our congregation, and we are asking all of our key leaders to read it. The Present Future is available to churches for a 25% discount when ordering 25 or more copies. For more information click on: http://www.josseybass.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0787965685.html
While we celebrate Martin Luther and the old Reformation this week (see "Another Reformed Short Guy" and "Reformation Tidbits"), we might ask who will lead the reformation in this generation.
A Story to Live By
Another Reformed Short Guy
He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature.
Luke 19:3
On a sultry day in July of the year 1505, a lonely traveler was trudging over a parched road on the outskirts of the Saxon village of Stotterheim. He was a young man, short but sturdy, and wore the dress of a university student. As he approached the village, the sky became overcast. Suddenly there was a shower, then a crashing storm. A bolt of lightning rived the gloom and knocked the man to the ground. Struggling to rise he rose in terror: "St. Anne help me! I will become a monk." The man who thus called upon a saint was later to repudiate the cult of saints. He who vowed to become a monk was later to renounce monasticism. A loyal son of the Catholic Church, he was later to shatter the structure of medieval Catholicism. A devoted servant of the pope, he was later to identify popes with the Antichrist. For this young man was Martin Luther.
(Roland H. Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther, Mentor, 1955, pg. 15)
Shining Moments
Dreams
by Gail C. Ingle
For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay.
Habakkuk 2:3
Several times in my life I have had precognitive dreams. It was not until a later time that I realized what the dreams foreshadowed. This past summer was one of those times.
I was having difficulty breathing due to asthma and bronchitis, but I continued to smoke two packs of cigarettes a day. I had smoked for 40 years and was not about to quit. I had tried to quit once before, but was unable to stop. I loved smoking and hated it when anyone told me I "should really quit." On July 19, an "ozone action day," I was outside doing yard work: obviously something a person with asthma and bronchitis should not do. But I was stubborn and I wanted the yard to look perfect for the family party I was to host that Saturday.
When I awoke Saturday morning, I could barely breathe. I asked my neighbor to take me to the pharmacy to get a prescription for my bronchitis. When we got there, the pharmacist could tell I was having trouble breathing. He told my neighbor to take me to a doctor immediately.
I went to my regular clinic and was seen by a new physician. He gave me a nebulizing treatment that should have helped my breathing. However, it did not because I was in respiratory failure. The doctor told me I would have to go to the intensive care unit at the hospital or I would die. I told him I was going home to make a phone call to cancel my party. He reiterated that I would die if I didn't go to intensive care. I told him I would go home because I wanted to make a call to cancel the party, when what I really wanted to do was smoke. Despite having great difficulty breathing, I smoked one cigarette on the way home, one while I made the phone call to cancel the party, and one on the way to intensive care.
That afternoon, while I was in my hospital bed receiving oxygen, I remembered the dream I had twenty days before. In the dream, I was looking into my bedroom and saw Death walking around my bed, but he couldn't find me. This dream was enough to cause me to know that I was being given a second chance to live, that I would never be able to smoke again.
Two Bible passages have helped sustain me in what I consider to be a miracle, being smoke-free: "Death had its hands around my throat; the terrors of the grave overtook me. I saw only trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord: 'Please, Lord, save me' " (Psalm 116:3-4), and "Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" (Acts 2:21).
Gail Christiansen Ingle taught special education in the Waukesha, Wisconsin school system for over 20 years. She enjoyed writing and some of her poetry was published. Gail was a member of the Genesee United Congregational Church. She entered eternal life on June 13, 2004. This story appeared in Sharing Visions: Divine Revelations, Angels and Holy Coincidences (CSS Publishing Company, 2003).
Good Stories
Room For All Saints
I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you in my prayers.
Ephesians 1:15-16
A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead. He remembered dying, and that the dog had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them.
After a while, they came to a high white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight. When he was standing before it, he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother of pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold.
He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side. When he was close enough, he called out, "Excuse me, where are we?"
"This is Heaven, sir," the man answered.
"Wow! Would you happen to have some water?" the man asked.
"Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up." The man gestured, and the gate began to open.
"Can my friend come in too?" the traveler asked, gesturing toward his dog.
"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets."
The man thought a moment, then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going.
After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road, which led through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence. As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside leaning against a tree and reading a book.
"Excuse me!" he called to the reader. "Do you have any water?"
"Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there." The man pointed to a place that couldn't be seen from outside the gate. "Come on in."
"How about my friend here?" The traveler gestured to the dog.
"There should be a bowl by the pump."
They went through the gate, and sure enough there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it. The traveler filled the bowl and took a long drink himself, then he gave some to the dog.
When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man, who was standing by the tree waiting for them.
"What do you call this place?" the traveler asked.
"This is Heaven" was the answer.
"Well, that's confusing," the traveler said. "The man down the road said that was Heaven too."
"Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That's Hell."
"Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?"
"No. I can see how you might think so, but we're just happy that they screen out the folks who'll leave their best friends behind."
(This story can be found on the web at http://www.carnatic.com/karmasaya/index.php?Heaven%20%26%20Hell. A version of this story was dramatized in an episode of Rod Serling's television show The Twilight Zone.)
Scrap Pile
Reformation Tidbits
Sometime from 1514 to 1519 -- scholars disagree on the exact time -- Martin Luther had what later came to be called the "Tower Experience." He was supposedly studying in his office, which was on the third floor of a tower built into the city wall of Wittenberg. True or not, for a long time he had anguished over this passage from Paul's Letter to the Romans (1:16-18):
...the gospel... is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes... For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."... The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men...
In 1519 Martin wrote: "Night and day I anguished until I saw the connection between the 'righteousness from God' and the statement that 'the righteous will live by faith.' Then I grasped that the righteousness from God is that righteousness by which through grace and sheer mercy God justifies us through faith. All at once I felt myself to have been born again and to have gone through open gates of paradise itself. The whole of Scripture took on a new meaning, and whereas before the 'righteousness from God' had filled me with hate, now it became to me inexpressibly sweet in greater love. This passage of Paul had become to me the very gate to paradise..." Many scholars believe that moment of revelation was also the birth of the Protestant Reformation.
(From Luther, Preface to the Complete Edition of Luther's Latin Works [1545], modified to agree with NIV Bible; Bainton, Here I Stand [1950]; Marius, Martin Luther [1992]. For more information about the life of Martin Luther, click on http://www.heroesofhistory.com/page63.html)
It is said that Dr. Martin Luther, professor of Moral Philosophy, nailed his 95 theses against the practice of selling indulgences to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg on October 31, 1517. Although historians dispute whether Luther really did nail the theses to the door of the Castle Church, he did send his theses to friends and a few bishops. An indulgence was a church-imposed confession of sin which took many different forms over the years. If you took part in a crusade or sent someone (for example a servant) on a crusade for you, your sins could be forgiven. When the Papal Court fell into financial trouble you were allowed to donate money for a crusade in order for your sins to be forgiven; it was as effective as going on a crusade yourself.
(For more information about the 95 theses, click on http://alt.wittenberg.de/e/seiten/thesentu.html)
On Reformation Sunday in 1997, Gunnar Anderson took his congregation on a sermon tour of places where Martin Luther lived out his faith. The tour included "Worms, where Luther was put on trial before the assembled power of the church, and of the state, and of the status quo. And they insisted he take it all back. They demanded he recant! The one stood before the many and boldly held fast, shouting, 'Here I stand!' Here I stand on what I believe. Here I stand on Jesus Christ! Here I stand on the truth of that scripture. Here I stand on the Grace of God. And in that same place this morning I stand, and you stand; and let us stand as well with Luther in the heritage of our church, with the courage of re-forming, not fearing to be innovative."
(From a sermon by Gunnar L. Anderson, St. Peter's Lutheran Church, North Plainfield, New Jersey, October 27, 1997. For the full sermon, click on http://www.intac.com/~blenderm/Sermon_10_27_96.html)
On April 17, 1521, Luther appeared before the Emperor and Reichstag. A row of his books was pointed out to him and he was asked whether he would recant them or not. Luther requested time for reflection. A day was given him, and on the next afternoon he was once more before the assembly. Here he acknowledged that in the heat of the controversy, he had expressed himself too strongly against persons, but the substance of what he had written he could not retract, unless convinced of its wrongfulness by Scripture or inadequate argument. The Emperor, who could hardly believe that such temerity as to deny the infallibility of a general council was possible, cut the discussion short. That Luther cried out, "I cannot do otherwise. Here I stand. God help me, Amen." is not certain, but seems not improbable. The words at least expressed the substance of his unshaken determination. He had borne a great historic witness to the truth of his convictions before the highest tribunal of his nation.
(Williston Walker, A History of the Christian Church, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1970, pg. 310)
The year was fifteen hundred and forty six, February 17, Eisleben, Deutschland. It was a cold, bitter winter night; the snow was falling in tons; the wind was blowing -- almost blizzard-like conditions. But inside that house across the cobblestone street from the huge St. Andrew's Church in Eisleben they were having a party. But upstairs, a 62-year-old man knew that he was dying. But he was not afraid: because he believed that there was a resurrection from the dead, the forgiveness of sins, and eternal life.
(From a sermon by Jeffrey D. McPike, Trinity Lutheran Church, Urbana, Illinois, October 26, 2003. [Adapted from a sermon by William G. Houser.] For the full sermon, click on http://www.trinity-urbana.org/sermons/2003/10-26-03_ReformationSunday.html)
**********************************************
New Book
The third book in the vision series, Shining Moments: Visions of the Holy in Ordinary Lives (edited by John Sumwalt), is now available from CSS Publishing Company. Among the 60 contributing authors of these Chicken Soup for the Soul-like vignettes are Ralph Milton, Sandra Herrmann, Pamela J. Tinnin, Richard H. Gentzler Jr., David Michael Smith, Jodie Felton, Nancy Nichols, William Lee Rand, Gail Ingle, and Rosmarie Trapp, whose family story was told in the classic movie The Sound of Music. Click on the title above for information about how to order. The stories follow the lectionary for Cycle A, which begins in December.
Other Books by John & Jo Sumwalt
Sharing Visions: Divine Revelations, Angels, and Holy Coincidences
Vision Stories: True Accounts of Visions, Angels, and Healing Miracles
Life Stories: A Study in Christian Decision Making
Lectionary Stories: Forty Tellable Tales for Cycle A
Lectionary Stories: Forty Tellable Tales for Cycle B
Lectionary Stories: Forty Tellable Tales for Cycle C
Lectionary Tales for the Pulpit: 62 Stories for Cycle B
You can order any of our books on the CSS website; they are also available from www.amazon.com and at many Christian bookstores. Or simply e-mail your order to orders@csspub.com or phone 1-800-241-4056. (If you live outside the U.S., phone 419-227-1818.)
**************
StoryShare, October 31, 2004, issue.
Copyright 2004 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., P.O. Box 4503, Lima, Ohio 45802-4503.
