I was recently preaching at Radius about Father Maximilian Kolby, a Catholic priest who willingly laid down his live in the Auschwitz concentration camp to save the life of another man, Francis Gajowniczek.  Following this event, the Catholic Church conferred upon Maximilian its highest honor, that of sainthood.  During the sermon, I noted that I personally do not believe in conferring sainthood upon individuals (also known as canonization), as I see no biblical precedent for it and most people to whom it is given don't even want it! 

However, in lieu of sainthood, I do reserve the right to confer another honorable title upon individuals who do courageous and extraordinary things for Jesus, and that title is STUDHOOD.  You see, God makes you a saint by cleansing you with the blood of Jesus, but you can make yourself a STUD in the Kingdom by standing up and believing God enough to do something extraordinary for his Kingdom.  That is what Maximillian did in 1941, and that is what a guy named Martin Luther (pictured here) did in Europe in the 16th century.  And anybody who goes above and beyond the call of duty and earns the Radius title of STUD in the Kingdom is worthy of a full Sunday sermon, so that is what we will deliver this weekend. 

Think about it.  If you worship Jesus at any church other than a Catholic church, your church was birthed by the movement 'Stud' Martin Luther began at great risk to his own life.  And even if you worship Jesus at a Catholic church, you now worship him in English, not Latin, and you have your own English Bible, because of Martin Luther's courageous reforms.

So this Sunday we will celebrate a little known Christian holiday called Reformation Day, which celebrates Martin Luther's life and ministry.  We will examine the life and teachings of Martin Luther and apply them to our lives today, in hopes that a few of us will step up to the plate and achieve the great honor of 'Studhood', or 'Studettehood' where applicable . . . See you there.