A note from our teaching elder . . .
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Dr. Martin Luther’s career as a reformer began ordinarily enough. Troubled by the church’s sale of indulgences in his native Germany, Luther followed a practice common in the 16th century: he publicly posted his proposal to debate the practice on the Castle church door in Wittenberg, where he taught theology and Scripture in the local university. Persuaded by the reasoning that, if the church might err in the matter of indulgence sales, might she not also err in other matters? Eventually he arrived at a simple conclusion. The holy Scriptures were to be the final court of decision for the church in all matters of faith and practice. If indulgence sales contradicted biblical teaching, they should be discontinued. Rapidly this maxim, sola scriptura (Scripture alone), spread across Christendom, birthing the Protestant reformation and restoring biblical practices to the church.
This month Christians worldwide remember with gratitude the 500th anniversary of Luther’s nailing his 95 theses to the Castle Church door in Wittenberg, Germany. Please join us to hear three Christian biblical scholars recount the events of those days long ago and also to proclaim the significance of sola scriptura for the church today.
Welcome!
Daniel C. Coleman, Pastor
Our Speakers
Dr. Mark Sidwell: Sunday, October 29, 2017
Professor of Church History, Bob Jones University
9:30 am worship service: “Luther’s Search for Salvation”
6:00 pm evening session: “Luther’s Search for Authority”
(light buffet supper after the evening session)
Dr. Sidwell earned a BA in History from Bob Jones University and an MA and PhD in Church History from the BJU Seminary and Graduate School of Religion. He also completed a Graduate Certificate in Ancient and Classical History from the American Public University System. He has over thirty years’ experience in college teaching, textbook publishing, and library archival work. He is a member of the American Society of Church History, the Conference on Faith and History, and the South Carolina Historical Association. Among his published works are Free Indeed: Heroes of Black Christian History, The Dividing Line: Understanding and Applying Biblical Separation, and the high-school textbook United History for Christian Schools. He also edited and contributed to the anthologies Faith of Our Fathers: Scenes from Church History and Faith of Our Fathers: Scenes from American Church History.
His special interest is the role of religion in history. He teaches courses in Ancient Near East and Greece (with discussion of the intersection of biblical history with that era), History of the Renaissance, History of the Reformation, and Civil War and Reconstruction. In addition he teaches a survey History of Christianity for the School of Religion and a Seminary course in Historical Theology.
Dr. Sidwell is a member of Faith Free Presbyterian Church in Greenville, South Carolina.
Dr. Louis Schuler: Monday, October 30, 2017
Lutheran Music Director, classical educator, editor of Cantus Christi hymnal and psalter
7:00 pm first session: “The Role of Music in Martin Luther’s Liturgical Reformation”
(break for dessert and coffee)
8:15 pm second session: “How Luther Taught the Faith: Catechesis via Chorales”
Dr. Schuler has served as a music and choir director and educator at churches and schools across the United States. He has a BA in Music Education from St. Olaf College, Minnesota, an MA in Choral Conducting from the University of Iowa, and a PhD in Historical Performance Practice from Washington University, St. Louis. His performing specialty was wind instruments of the Renaissance and Baroque, and his dissertation dealt with the music of early German hymnody. He is the editor of the Cantus Christi hymnal and psalter. Additionally, he has also completed course work for an MA in Exegetical Theology from Covenant Seminary in St. Louis. He currently serves as Music Director at Hope Lutheran Church in Kansas City, Kansas, as well as teaching Latin and music at Whitefield Academy in Kansas City, Missouri.
Dr. Joseph Pipa: Tuesday, October 31, 2017
President, Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
7:00 pm first session: “Luther’s Assessment of the Medieval Sacramental System”
(break for dessert and coffee)
8:15 pm second session: “The Scriptural Response of the Protestant Reformers”
Dr. Joseph A. Pipa, Jr., is President of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary and Professor of Homiletic and Systematic Theology. Dr. Pipa received a BA from Belhaven College, an MDiv from Reformed Theological Seminary, and his PhD from Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia. He was awarded his Doctor of Divinity degree by the Board of Trustees of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in 2015. He has pastored several Presbyterian churches, taught at seminaries, and authored a number of books, including Galatians: God’s Proclamation of Liberty, The Westminster Confession of Faith Study Book: A Study Guide for Churches, and The Lord’s Day. He has also edited and contributed to various publications. Dr. Pipa is a member of Covenant Community Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Taylors, South Carolina.
You are invited . . .
to join with us on this momentous occasion
of the 500th anniversary of the
Protestant Reformation.
We anticipate an exceptional time
of study and festivity with
knowledgeable speakers, joyful
singing, a Sunday evening supper,
plus dessert and coffee during breaks.
There will also be nursery care available.
