# The Lutheran Pioneer_St. Louis_1919_S27 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) ca = - - ~ lodges, ete. The Lutheran Pioneer. The great Antichrist has appeared, and he has been unmasked and sorely wounded by Luther, God’s servant. But finally the Lord will destroy him with the brightness of His coming. Our time is, verily, the last hour. Also the other signs that are to foreshadow the last day are fulfilled. ‘There are now so many more antichrists than in John’s days. Think of the Russellites, the Christian Scientists, the Unitarians, the Spiritualists, the Nor has the Pope of Rome changed his-character. All this points to the fact that the end may be very near. By the grace of God let us be prepared to meet our Lord. — In an extra- ordinary degree the following hymn verse applies to our present times: O God, how sins’ dread works abound! Throughout the earth no rest is found, And wide has falsehood’s spirit spread, And error boldly rears its head. Therefore we do well to pray daily: Lord Jesus Christ, with us abide, For round us falls the eventide; Nor let Thy Word, that heavenly light, For us be ever veiled in night. H. OstEerHus. ———_+- -o_____—_——__- Luther Conference. Luther Conference convened for its semiannual session in New. Orleans January 2 and 3. Despite the very inclement weather, cold and rainy, the roll-call showed but two of the brethren absent. The members apparently no longer fear cold weather on conference days. Perhaps they realize that the “heated discussions” that must be engaged in (brotherly, of course) have not lost the magical effect of driving all chilly sensation that may have been brought on by the weather out of the system. The stove is lighted merely to keep everything aglow ! Here are the conference happenings. The first morning session was opened with sing- ing and prayer. Prof. H. Meibohm, chairman, gave Conference a brief and interesting talk on present conditions. The speaker charged his hearers to.“be neither discouraged nor dismayed.” Now that God has given victory to our beloved country and pre- served the Gospel in our midst, the speaker urged, we should all the more zealously labor-in His vine- yard until our task is finished. After this encouraging talk, Conference heard a paper by the undersigned on the subject, “The 24 Importance of Training Our Children for Good Citizenship.” The paper carried out the following trend of thought: Good citizenship is demanded by divine injunction. Christ declares: “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s,” Matt. 22,21. The Apostle says: “Let every soul be subject to the higher powers; for there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God,” Rom. 13, 1. For this reason children should be clearly shown that good citizenship is a matter of conscience; a duty to be performed by all, and for which we must expect no compensation here on earth. It is a duty that we should render cheerfully in obedience to God’s express will and command. A man may be a good citizen and not a Christian, yet a good Chris- tian must necessarily be a good citizen. The paper emphasized the fact that good citizenship is not an innate quality in children, but must be cultivated. “Train up a child in the way he should go,” Prov. 22, 6. In the morning session of the second day Prof. R. A. Wilde of Luther College read a paper bearing the title, “More Advertising.” Convincing proof was given that we workers in the Colored Mission, as well as of the Lutheran Church in general, have been too conservative about advertising, especially about using printers’ ink. He showed that more advertising is necessary if we wish to keep abreast of the times. A few practical hints were given in the paper on the profitable use of Lutheran litera- ture, bulletin boards, directories, newspapers, tracts, pulpit programs, etc. All these are means which can be successfully used to accomplish our purpose of making known the Gospel. In defense of the position taken in his paper, Professor Wilde showed that Christ and His apostles had availed themselves of every legitimate means to reach the people. In conclusion the essayist called attention to the work done by the American Publicity’ Bureau, 234 E. 62d St., New York, which is willing to assist in every way to carry on the good work of giving the church more advertising, and he called on every worker in the avail himself of the Bureaw’s assistance. mission to In the afternoon session Rey. C. P. Thompson, of Napoleonville, La., read a sermon based on 2 Cor. 3,5—11. He grouped his thoughts around the theme, “Why Must We Ministers Preach Chiefly the Gospel and Not Chiefly the Law?” He showed that the Law is a ministration of the letter, while the Gospel is a ministration of the Spirit; that