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REFORMATION SUNDAY October 26, 2025 Pastor Tom Steers Christ the Saviour Lutheran Church All hymns in this service were written by Martin Luther and sung during the Reformation OPENING HYMN 655 “Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word” Lutheran Service Book https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8ViZi7M5p4&list=RDS8ViZi7M5p4&start_radio=1 Confession and Absolution Page 184-185 The Introit Psalm 91, verses 1-4 1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” 3 Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. 4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. Collect Prayer: Almighty and gracious Lord, pour out Your Holy Spirit on Your faithful people. Keep us steadfast in Your grace and truth, protect and deliver us from false doctrine, and defend us against all enemies. Help us to remember that we are saved by Your Grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. Grant that Your Church preach the purity of this Gospel, through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Our First Reading -- Ephesians 2: 4-9 Psalm 46 Our Second Reading -- Romans 3:19-28 Our Gospel Reading -- John 8:31-36 HYMN OF THE DAY 953 “We All Believe in One True God” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9VolOFsnPI&list=RDO9VolOFsnPI&start_radio=1 THE SERMON -- REFORMATION DAY 2025 Brothers & sisters, peace, grace, and mercy be to you through God our Father, and our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen. Every year on Reformation Sunday, we remember an event that shook the world: a monk with a hammer, a Church door in Wittenberg, and 95 theses that sparked a worldwide movement. But Reformation Day is more than nostalgia. Much more than just celebrating Martin Luther, a true hero of Church reform. It’s about the eternal Gospel of Jesus Christ, that the Reformation recovered and proclaimed with clarity: that sinners are justified by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. And so, the question today is not just, “What happened back then?” but rather, “Why does it matter now?” The answer is simple: because the truth that Jesus speaks in John, Chapter 8, is still the truth we need. We continue to be enslaved by sin. We’re still tempted to trust in ourselves for redemption. And we are still in desperate need of the salvation and eternal life that only Christ can give. THE ENSLAVEMENT OF SIN Jesus says, “Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.” That’s not a popular message in our world. We live in a culture that prizes autonomy, self-expression, and freedom defined as doing whatever people want. But Jesus unmasks the lie: sin is not freedom. Sin is slavery. Think of how sin works. The more we indulge it, the more it controls us. The more we justify it, the more it blinds us. Whether it’s pride, greed, lust, anger, or unbelief, sin isn’t a harmless choice—it is a chain around the heart. And no matter how hard we try, we can’t break free by our own strength. That’s why the Lutheran Reformation, the original reformation of the Church, was necessary and so important. In Luther’s day, the Church had replaced the Gospel with human works, with the sale of indulgences by the pope, the adoration of relics and statues, which promised forgiveness, and the false security that we could climb our own way up to Heaven. But the truth of Scripture is clear: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We are not free people who occasionally stumble; according to the Bible we are captives who need to be rescued. THE FREEDOM OF THE SON But, thanks be to God, Jesus does not leave us in slavery. He says, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” Notice that freedom isn’t something we achieve. It’s something Christ gives. How does He do it? By taking our slavery upon Himself. On the cross, Jesus bore the full weight of our sin. He entered into our prison so that He could smash the bars from the inside. His resurrection is the declaration that the chains are broken, our debt paid, and that the grave has lost its power over you. This is the heart of the Reformation: justification by faith. As Luther rediscovered in Romans 1:17, “The righteous shall live by faith.” Not by human ‘good works’ or merits. Not by indulgences purchased, or pilgrimages, or praying to dead saints. But by faith alone, in Christ alone. And this faith is not a human achievement or ‘decision’. It is the gift of God, worked by the Holy Spirit through the Word and Sacraments. Baptism washes us clean. Absolution declares us forgiven. The Lord’s Supper feeds us with the very body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of sins. These aren’t symbols of what we do for God; they are the means of grace, what God does for us. ABIDING IN THE WORD Jesus says, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.” The Reformation was and is, at its core, a return to the Word of God. Luther translated the Bible into the language of the people so that every Christian could hear the voice of Christ for themselves. And so, the call of Reformation Day is not simply to admire what Luther bravely did, but to abide in the same life-giving Word. To hear it in Church, read it, mark, learn, and inwardly digest. In a world filled with competing voices—political slogans, cultural trends, social media noise—the Word of God remains the one voice that works faith and gives eternal life. It is the sword of the Spirit that cuts through lies. It is the truth that sets you free. THE ONGOING NEED FOR REFORMATION But let’s be honest: the temptation to drift from the Gospel, from the Bible, didn’t end in the 16th century. Many churches today are still tempted to compromise the truth, to soften the Law, to dilute the Gospel, or to replace Christ with self-help and moralism. We see this in churches that deny the Biblical truth that God’s gift of marriage is one man, and one woman. Churches that disregard the sanctity of life from conception, until its natural end. Things the culture says we have a right to, should even be ‘proud’ of, but that God’s Word, in the Bible, clearly tells us is sin. That is why we still need the Reformation — not a new one, but the same one. Not innovation, but preservation of Holy Scripture. Not novelty, but fidelity. The Church has been reformed, not by human creativity, but by the living Word of God. And so, Reformation Day, is not a museum exhibit. It is a call to repentance. It is a summons to return to the baptismal font, to the pulpit, to the altar, to Christ Himself. LIVING IN FREEDOM What does this freedom look like in daily life? It is not the freedom to sin, but the freedom to serve. As Luther wrote in his treatise, The Freedom of a Christian: “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.” Because Christ has set us free from sin, death, and the devil, we are free to love and serve our neighbor. We are free to forgive as we have been forgiven. We are free to live not for ourselves only, but for the glory of God and service to His Church. This freedom is not abstract. It shows up in the ordinary vocations of life: • parents raising children in the faith, workers doing their jobs honestly, • citizens seeking the good of their community, • Christians bearing witness to Christ in word and deed. Free Indeed Dear friends, the Reformation is centered on one man -- Jesus Christ, the Son who sets us free. It is about the Word that endures despite persecution. It’s about the Gospel that still saves today. So, on this Reformation Sunday 2025, let us rejoice that we are not slaves, but sons and daughters of God. Let us trust in God’s Word and Christ’s offer of salvation. Let us cling to the cross where our freedom was won. And live as people who are free, indeed. To Christ alone be the glory. Amen. PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH SERVICE OF THE SACRAMENT Page 194 Post-Communion Collect (Left-hand column) Page 201 BENEDICTION Page 202 CLOSING HYMN 657 “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igH38WLuyC0&list=RDigH38WLuyC0&start_radio=1