Introduction
Morning Blessing: I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen. — The Small Catechism: Daily Prayers.
As you may remember, the final project for Christian Devotional Classics at Evangelical Seminary birthed this series. The student who presented on Martin Luther (1483-1546) and A Simple Way to Pray (. . . for Master Peter the Barber) (1535) began the class with a devotional including a Morning Blessing, a consideration of A Mighty Fortress is our God (more below), The Apostle’s Creed, and an Evening Blessing (at the end of the post). As an Emerging Scholars Network blog post, I apologize for only beginning to scratch the surface. I commend to you pieces by Christianity Today and the Christian Classics Ethereal Library as additional on-line resources. If you have recommendations, please share them in the comments section. Thank-you.
Martin Luther (1483-1546)
Martin Luther was born on November 10, 1483, to Hans and Margaret Luder in Eisleben, Germany. While Christopher Columbus was crossing the ocean blue and “finding the Americas” (1492) instead of a new trade route to East, Martin’s father was a miner. In 1497 Martin studied at a monastery in Madgdeburg connected with the Brethren of the Common Life Order. Many famous men had attended the school, including Erasmus (1466 – 1536), a future antagonist, and Thomas à Kempis (c. 1380 – 1471), author of The Imitation of Christ — the focus of an earlier post. Due to the expense of this school, his parents transferred Martin to Eisenach. While in Eisenach, Martin was cared for by a woman in the community. In 1502 he received a Bachelor’s Degree from Erfurt and his father invested in Martin’s law education. [Read more…] about Christian Devotional Classics: Martin Luther