Doug's Lutheran Church Page

In this corner, I describe in detail my spiritual journey within the Lutheran Church and some background on the denomination. I thank the Lord for all the experiences and growth that I have had in each church group. I attended the Lutheran Church for the first 18 years of my life, and occasionally visited afterwards with my family.

Audio controls for A Mighty Fortress is Our God music

Martin Luther was a modest German scholar and monk who dared to criticize the excesses and abuses he observed within his beloved church. Because of his influence and ideas, the Protestant Reformation erupted in Germany in 1517. Luther had nailed ninety-five "theses," or articles of complaint, expressing his desire for reform within the Church, with no intention of rebellion against it. However, the Reformation gained unforeseen momentum and soon spread to other countries, dividing Western Christianity. Among other things, Luther brought an emphasis on the Biblical truth that people are justified before God by faith in Christ's sacrificial death and not as a result of any good works.

Luther was a musician and believed music to be second only to the Gospel itself. He was convinced that "music's only purpose should be for the glory of God and the recreation of the human spirit."

One of Luther's many issues concerned music within the Catholic Church. He believed that the songs sung in church should be understood by all, not just those who knew Latin. Luther believed that people should be able to participate in, rather than merely observe, their worship service; he therefore criticized the exclusive use of Latin, a language that only a few well-educated people understood. Instead of having chants by a choir of monks or priests who sang while the lay people listened, Luther wanted the congregation to join in the singing. He introduced a new kind of hymn, a congregational song, called the Lutheran chorale. Probably the most popular of all of Luther's hymns is A Mighty Fortress is Our God. I remember singing this song when I attended the Lutheran church. I also heard it when I watched the kids show Davey and Goliath on Sunday mornings.

A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD - by Martin Luther (1529), Translated by
                               Frederick H. Hedge (1853).

    A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
    Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
    For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
    His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
    On earth is not his equal.   
    
    Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
    Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
    Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
    Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
    And He must win the battle.
    
    And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
    We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
    The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
    His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
    One little word shall fell him.
    
    That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
    The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
    Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
    The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
    His kingdom is forever.
 
                            Amen.

I grew up attending Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Croton-on-Hudson, NY. The church is a part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA). I mostly attended Sunday School and enjoyed playing with the kids, though I did not always like getting dressed up. After moving to Coral Springs, FL, I attended Lutheran Ministry in Christ, pastored by Jerry Strazheim. When I was in 8th and 9th grade, I went through 2 years of confirmation classes that helped establish within me an intellectual foundation for Biblical principles and Christianity. At the end of the first year, I personally received Christ as Savior by faith at the age of 13 and thus entered into a personal relationship with God on June 3, 1980. With God's help I excelled in my academic pursuits in High School.