“I am much afraid that schools will prove to be great gates of hell unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures, engraving them in the hearts of youth. I advise no one to place his child where the Scriptures do not reign paramount. Every institution in which men are not increasingly occupied with the Word of God must become corrupt.”

-- Martin Luther

Take a few moments to reflect upon our American society. The truth of Martin Luther’s words rings out loud and clear. Ponder all the institutions of our modern world that have recently had corruption, deceit, and cover-up exposed. Companies have been rocked by accounting scandals, government leaders are no longer trusted, and the list continues to grow. Our nation’s public schools are filled with abused and neglected children, and these schools have no means of providing peace, hope, or joy. So we see students who lash out at teachers, classmates, and the world in general.

This is the reason for the existence of St. Mark Lutheran School. Here the foundation of our curriculum is God’s Word as it is found in the Holy Scriptures. Here our students daily grow in the grace and knowledge of our LORD Jesus Christ. Through daily Bible and catechism lessons, our students learn that all people are sinners deserving of God’s wrath and punishment in hell, but they also learn that they are loved by God who sent His only Son Jesus to die on the cross and rise again from the dead to make payment for their sins and the sins of the whole world.

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”(Romans 3:23-24)

“God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.”(John 3:16)

Through God’s wonderful gift of the forgiveness of sins, we now have comfort, peace, and the hope of eternal life in heaven.

While we wait for the glories of heaven, we must still live our lives in God’s service here on Earth. For this reason, St. Mark Lutheran School also endeavors to train our students in the core subject areas (reading, math, science, history, art, etc.), just as in other schools, so that our students have all the knowledge they need to be successful in this life. All subjects are taught with deference to God’s Word as the ultimate authority.

More and more the institutions and preoccupations of our society appear to be the great gates of hell of which Martin Luther warned. Do we fear these things and the things yet to come?

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:37-38)

As we begin another school year, may this be our comfort, our joy, and our hope.