THE REFORMATION Marin Luther never intended to start a new church. His study of the Bible convinced him that many things taught by the church of his day were man-made. Luther wanted the church to stop teaching these errors and return to the pure doctrines taught by Christ and the Apostles.

A new church had to be built. The cornerstone of this new church would be the Bible. If the Christian Church is to be built on God's Word working in the hearts and lives of people they need it written in their own language. Luther translated the New Testament from Hebrew to German while at the Wartburg in 1521. With the help of Hebrew scholars he completed a translation of the Old Testament in 1534.

As he visited various churches he saw different forms of worship and that the pastors and people knew little about Christian doctrine. They need a clear and simple statement of what they believed. Luther met this need in 1529 by writing two catechisms. The Large Catechism was written for adults and The Small Catechism for children.

The worship format had to be changed in keeping with the new teaching. People were given a more active part in the service. German replaced Latin and participation was encouraged through singing.To Luther the preaching was the central part of any church service.

For the Lutheran Christian there was now a new way of life. The honest labor of any Christian was sacred becaue God blessed it. No longer were good works done to earn God's favor. God gives His favor freely, and the believer does good works because he is a new creature in Christ who loves God and wants to please Him.