Echoes of the Reformation - Leader Kit: Five Truths That Shape the Christian Life

by Brandon D. Smith, Trevin K. Wax (Contributor), R. Albert Mohler Jr. (Contirbutor)

THIS IS THE LEADER KIT which includes DVD and Leader Manual. TO REVIEW THE PARTICIPANT WORKBOOK, see other entry.

It's been 500 years since Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the All Saints' Church in Wittenburg, Germany. Luther's theses called for the reform of the church and served as the catalyst for the Protestant Reformation. And its impact is still felt today.

Genres: Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 2017

About the author

Brandon D. Smith works with the Christian Standard Bible and teaches theology at various schools. He's also the author of Rooted: Theology for Growing Christians and They Spoke of Me: How Jesus Unlocks the Old Testament, and co-hosts the Word Matters podcast. He holds a BA in Biblical Studies from Dallas Baptist University, an MA in Systematic & Historical Theology from Criswell College, and is pursuing a PhD in Theology at Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia. He lives near Nashville, Tennessee with his wife, Christa, and their two daughters.

Reviews

[Ebookwormy1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The highlight of this study is the excellent DVD/ streaming videos that go along with the text. A brief introduction by a pastor/ teacher is followed by a discussion group consisting of Trevin Wax, Dr. Albert Mohler and Pastor Kevin DeYoung. These discussions are prescient, lively and inspiring. The notes section to help follow along with video contained a good balance of pertinent quotes and adequate white space for jotting down ones own thoughts.

The study is less orderly. First of all, you watch a video about what you WILL study in the coming week, instead of what you HAVE studied. Our group struggled with being behind and before - it was easy to get confused as to what information we were to be studying. The amount of material was manageable, perhaps too much so. Because you knew you didn't have 5 days of work, you might just live life for a couple of days, then come back to it and get confused about which section was due. :O

The writing of the study was good, with patchy spots where it seemed to lose flow. The topic is voluminous, but the narrative was not overly analytical, and it was successful in kicking off excellent table discussions which far exceeded the book and stuck with me longer. That is an accomplishment, but it often seemed to happen despite the questions for completion/ discussion given, which seemed awkward, such as:
- How did you feel about church history before reading this lesson? pg 24
- How did the video challenge your view of Scripture? pg 35
- In what ways do you treat God's grace like an additional benefit rather than all-sufficient? pg 59
- How often do you have a hard time believing in God's promises? pg 91
- Name 3 people who need to hear the good news of Grace alone (pg 97) and then the next week the same question on Christ alone (pg 119)?

In general, our group felt put off by language that either hinted/ required/ assumed sort of immediate cosmic shift based on participation in the study or tritely repetitious or just difficult to answer. We had people at all different knowledge levels, who were eager to discuss their life experiences and the material, so we still had wonderful table discussions.

The videos were a 5,
book a 3,
questions/ discussion guides a 2,
and our table discussions a 5.

In the end, I think all found the overall experience helpful, and an appropriate way to spend the fall leading up to the 500th Anniversary of Martin Luther's 95 Thesis being nailed into public discourse on Oct 31st 1517. I would recommend the study for groups - with the understanding you'll need the videos - and the caveat that you'll have to work around/ supplement the questions.

In my opinion, personal study of this book alone would not be as beneficial as other books on the Reformation. If you are reading individually, without a group, consider the following:

Here We Stand, 31 day devotional, DesiringGod.org
On-Line Devotional featuring a biography of a different person each day
https://www.desiringgod.org/here-we-s...

Here I Stand, Bainton, 1950
Classic biography of Luther
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Heralds of the Reformation, Hannula, 2016
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Brandon Gillelan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to shore myself up on the 5 Solas. As a Catholic there were many misconceptions on the church. There are too many to site them all but one consistent theme throughout the book was concerning the Catholic Church system of “works-based salvation.” The Catholic Church has never taught “works-based salvation. The Catechism of the Catholic Church emphasizes that while salvation is ultimately a gift of God's grace, good works are a necessary and integral part of the Christian life, FLOWING FROM FAITH and cooperating with God's grace. “Grace is favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and eternal life. Grace is a participation in the life of God.” (CCC #1996-1997)

In addition to getting your information from non-Catholic sources, please also get information from Catholic sources and come to your own conclusion. For example, if I want to know what Baptists believe, Mormons believe, or Jehovah Witnesses believe, in addition to maybe asking my priest about them, I’m gonna go directly to devout people of these groups and/or their websites, books, etc. Trust what your pastor tells you but VERIFY. God bless 🙂