Five hundred years ago, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the Castle Church door in Wittenberg. He had studied Scripture and realized that salvation comes not from indulgences and things spoken by man, but instead…
By Scripture Alone
By Grace Alone
By Faith Alone
Through Christ Alone
For the Glory of God Alone
It sparked the Protestant Reformation, causing the Church to return to reading, studying, and applying the solid Truths from the Bible!
Below are a few fun activities to get our kids thinking about the importance of this event and what God did to bring His people back to faith in Jesus Christ and His Word.
1) Picture Book
Read a book about Martin Luther such as Martin Luther: A Man Who Changed the World by Paul Maier or enjoy a chapter book by Danika Cooley titled When Lightning Struck.
2) Indulgences
– What was an indulgence? A piece of parchment paper sold by the Church with the promise to forgive the sin of a loved one that has already died. What was wrong with this practice?
– Play ‘Coin in the Coffer’. Set a tin can several feet away from a marked line. Give each child 10 coins. Have each child toss the coins into the can. Once all 10 of their coins have successfully entered the can, they have paid for an ‘indulgence’ and earn a ‘parchment’ (one piece of candy or another prize).
3) 95 Theses
– What was it? Discuss its importance.
– Print and hammer a copy of the 95 Theses to a wood board. 
– Read and discuss a few of the points. – Make and eat edible hammers! (pretzel rods with cubed cheese or pretzel sticks and marshmallows dipped in chocolate)
4) Diet of Worms
– What was it?
– Analyze Luther’s response. Why could he not recant?
5) On the Run!
Compete in a three legged race, a sprint, or relay race as a reminder that Luther was forced to flee for his life after standing up for his belief in the truth of the Bible.
6) Gutenberg Press:
– Explain the importance of this invention to the time period & watch a a video about the Gutenberg Press and/or about Johannes Gutenberg
– Experiment with stamping! Work in two teams to form a secret stamped message (Bible verse or Scripture reference to look up and read) by using foam letters placed backwards. Once the message is formed using the letters, have the other team use a paint and roller to ink the letters. Then, they can press the inked letters with paper to reveal the Bible verse.
7) Bible Translation
Scripture Printables for Candy Bar Bibles
– Discuss the importance of translating the Bible into languages common people can understand.
– Then, assemble candy bar Bibles!
8) Watch a 4 minute Animated Video about Martin Luther
9) Reader’s Theatre
Gather some props, don some simply made costumes, and perform a reformation day skit!
10) A Mighty Fortress is Our God
Read Psalm 46 and then sing this hymn that was written in 1529 by Martin Luther.
11) 5 Solas: The 5 Doctrinal Principles of the Reformation
– Give clues for kids to hunt for 5 items. (We chose a Bible, piano book, cross, fruit, and water. But, any items would do.) At each location, have available one copy per child of a sola definition and related Scripture to look up.
– Have children look up the Scripture reference, read it aloud, discuss its meaning, and then attach it to cross sheet.
– Allow elementary aged children to watch the Torchlighter video on Martin Luther (currently free through Amazon Prime)
– Have middle and high school aged kids listen to Piper’s explanation of the 5 Solas (at least the first and last one in the series) and color as they listen.
5 Solas: printable scrolls from Intoxicated on Life
12) Learn About Another Reformer
Guide children to read online articles about another Reformer. Then, they can write a paragraph and orally share their findings. You may want students to record their information on some of the pages in this Reformation Notebook from Homeschool Share.
John Wycliffe
William Tyndale
Martin Luther
John Knox
John Huss
John Calvin
13) Create Stained Glass Art commonly found in churches of that day.
14) Watch a Longer Movie about Martin Luther
Luther Movie Review from Plugged In
By Scripture Alone
By Grace Alone
By Faith Alone
Through Christ Alone
For the Glory of God Alone
We so need this reminder in our current day! We can be easily swayed by our culture and popular opinions if we are not grounded in the Truth found in Scripture. May we, each day, take time to align our hearts and minds to God’s Word.
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Please note that some of the above ideas were adapted from the following blogs…
Living and Learning at Home
Thinking Kids Blog
Speak Your Mind