Over the past 14 months, I have been asked the same question hundreds of times. When people discover that the eye of hurricane Katrina passed right over Lakeshore, they ask, “Did the storm destroy your church?” Our answer remains, “No. The storm did not destroy the church. It did demolish the buildings, but the church still stands strong.” While the winds and water wiped our structures completely off of the property and left our entire congregation homeless, the storm could not rip apart the community of faith God established in Lakeshore.
On Reformation Day, as I think of churches being demolished or standing strong, I’m reminded of Martin Luther’s bold assertion: the church stands or falls on the doctrine of sola feda (Faith Alone). I preached Romans 1:17 this past Sunday.
The body of Christ in Lakeshore shows strong resolve to move forward for God’s glory. As we begin to make plans to re-build our church buildings we want to hold onto the five solas of the reformation by standing solidly on scripture alone, proclaiming salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone. We set our feet on the sure promise that Jesus made, “upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”
btw, in celebration of Reformation Day, check out the audio from today’s “Renewing Your Mind” broadcast. “Martin Luther’s Here I Stand” hosted by Max McLean.
