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Dean Powery Preaches at 'Castle Church' Famous for Martin Luther's 95 Theses

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From left to right in the photo above: Ministers Bridget Gautieri and Lars Schulz, Duke Chapel Dean Luke Powery, and Professor Alexander Deeg stand in front of the doorway where Martin Luther is said to have posted his Ninety-five Theses.

Duke Chapel Dean Luke A. Powery preached a sermon titled And on June 29, 2025, at the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, made famous by the posting of Martin Luther’s Ninety-five Theses.

Dean Powery was in Wittenberg and Leipzig, Germany, for a theological conference “Homiletic Fire: Preaching and the Holy Spirit” organized by the Center for Protestant Worship and Preaching Culture. At the conference, he addressed the theology faculty of the University of Leipzig on the topic of “Traces of the Homiletic Spirit” and led a workshop on “Preaching in a Spiritual Key.”

“Ascending to the pulpit is not giving a lecture or a speech,” he said in his lecture. “As many Christians profess, the social practice of preaching makes sense only within an understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit.”

Watch the lecture:

 

A low-angle, close-up shot focuses on a richly carved, dark wooden pulpit in a church. A man with a beard and glasses, wearing a black robe and a green and blue patterned stole, is standing at the pulpit, speaking and gesturing with his right hand.
Dean Luke Powery in the Castle Church pulpit.
Two men in clerical robes stand smiling inside a grand church. On the left, a man wears a black robe with a green and blue patterned stole. On the right, a man wears a black robe with a white clerical collar. Between them and slightly in front is a light stone sarcophagus-like tomb.
Dean Luke Powery and Professor Alexander Deeg at the tomb of Martin Luther.
A man with a beard and glasses, wearing a light blue short-sleeved collared shirt, sits at a light brown wooden table. He is looking slightly to his left and speaking, with his right hand gesturing.
Dean Powery gives his presentation on “Traces of the Homiletic Spirit.”


 

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