Our first stop was at the Schlosskirche, sometimes known as the All Saints church, which is where Luther is reputed to have nailed his 95 theses to the church door. In those days, the doors were used as a kind of bulletin board, where university staff could pin up notices and messages. Today the doors are made of bronze and have the 95 talking points engraved on them. (Here I am, under the umbrella, explaining to our group what is meant by the "95 theses.")
There, in front of the doors, we prayed that there would be people nowadays who are not afraid to take a stand for truth in our modern world, where many have lost a moral compass and issues like transgenderism and abortion are being championed and promoted by governments and education systems.
One of our later stops was at St. Mary's church, where Luther is said to have preached more than two thousand sermons. (Every day for six years!) We had a time of worship in the church, singing songs that proclaimed the goodness of God; then we went outside and prayed into various things that God had shown us previously (including the "poppy" prayer described in the post below.)
After a break to eat our picnic lunch, we went to visit the house where Luther lived with his wife, his six children, and a variety of interns and students. It now houses a museum and it was interesting to learn more about how they lived in those days and how they made the Bible (newly translated into German) a key part of their everyday lives. Knowing that thousands of people will pass through the house in this special anniversary year, we took time to pray that the glory would not all go to Luther... but that people would find their attention drawn to the truths of the Bible and that God would get the glory - just as Luther had desired and promoted so many centuries ago.
