Reformation Day Resources from SchoolhouseTeachers.com

This post contains affiliate links - using affiliate links from Homeschool Coffee Break helps fuel this blog and our homeschool - thank you!

I think this year more people than ever are aware that October 31st is Reformation Day, because this is the 500th anniversary of the date when Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on a church door in Wittenburg, Germany.

So a very quick history review: Martin Luther was a Catholic priest and scholar in Germany during the 1500s. As he studied, Luther noticed differences in what the Bible said and what the Church was actually practicing. He announced his famous 95 Theses (or points of debate) by posting them on the door of the church in Wittenburg, Germany, on October 31, 1517. Within weeks, these challenges to Catholic practices and doctrines were translated and distributed across Germany, sparking what became known as the Protestant Reformation. Luther himself was put on trial for heresy, but stood firm even through the threat of excommunication. Luther's desire was to refocus the church on salvation by grace through faith - to proclaim assurance of God's grace, freely given to all who believe. Those who followed his teaching eventually came to be known as Lutherans, and all other Protestant churches came from Luther or his influence as well. 

The true treasure of the Church is the Most Holy Gospel of the glory and the grace of God ~Thesis 62

The Reformation began a revolution in religious thought and practice and resulted in widespread changes in the church and society of Europe. It also shaped political thought throughout Europe; affected colonial development as the New World was being settled; and changed the religious and political landscapes and worldview of the entire Western world.

Here I stand; I can do no otherwise. God help me. Amen! ~Martin Luther in a speech at the Diet of Worms, 1521

Find out more at: Luther 2017 | 500 Years of Reformation

Do you want to know more about Martin Luther and the Reformation? Maybe make it part of your homeschool studies this week? SchoolhouseTeachers.com has you covered. 

For high schoolers, there's this three hour documentary - This Changed Everything - and it has a detailed study guide to go with it. This is what we're planning on watching instead of the reading assignment on Luther that's scheduled in our History course. I know the reading would take a lot longer than three hours, so watching the documentary will save time and the information should "stick" better, especially with my high schooler that prefers visual learning.

In the History of Christianity study, take a look at How Should We Then Live, episode 4; and History of Christianity, Part 3. These studies are also geared for high school age.

The course Experiencing Christianity: Creation to the Reformation guides students through a tour of Bible and church history starting with Creation and ending with the time of Martin Luther and the Reformation. (This course is recommended for students in Grades 5-9) So although only the last two lessons discuss John Wycliffe, the "Morning Star of the Reformation" and Martin Luther and their contemporaries, you'll also find links to several interesting related videos. In the video series They Lived for God, geared for high school age students, there are videos about Jan Hus, Martin Luther, and William Tyndale. These are just part of the entire series of forty-one documentary videos about men and women who made a great impact on history because of their faith. The Experiencing Christianity course also links to two videos from the series Lighting the Way, intended for elementary through early middle school - those about Martin Luther and William Tyndale.

And finally, in a course on Renaissance History for elementary through middle school students, Lesson 30 through 35 are all about the Reformation and Reformers.

SchoolhouseTeachers.com is a wealth of information and curriculum about the Reformation and so many other subjects for all ages!

A mighty fortress is our God,

A bulwark never failing.

Our helper He amid the flood

Of mortal ills prevailing.

~Psalm. Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott (1529)

~Hymn written by Martin Luther, based on Psalm 46

Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to Homeschool Coffee Break by Email!

 ©2006-2017 Homeschool Coffee Break. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://kympossibleblog.blogspot.com/