497 years ago today, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the Castle Church in Wittenberg starting what later became known as the Protestant Reformation. Which means that in 3 years, all the world will be observing the 500th anniversary. If you are beginning to prepare your own congregational celebrations, don’t forget to include resources for your youth. And if you’re looking for a place to start, you’d have a hard time finding a better resource than this one produced by the Luther Memorial Foundation in Wittenberg. They are in charge of the Luther and Melanchthon houses in Wittenberg, Luther’s birth and death...

Two Bible Story Jams up this week. The first follows the Narrative Lectionary with a reading about Jesus healing the centurion’s slave (Luke 7:1-17) and uses some of the original folks from our first BSJ event in early December. The second is brought to you by some of the confirmation students at Bethlehem Lutheran Church. They’re talking about a story we sometimes hear in Lent, of when Jesus heals a “sinful” woman while dining with a Pharisee (Luke 7:36-50). Listen as the kids imagine the reaction of Jesus and others as she bathes Jesus’ feet with tears and washes them with her hair. Okay, listen to the kids as...