LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1969, Page 54

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CONVENTION SERMON

Grace be with you all. Amen.

Will you pray with me and for me?

O Lord, open Thou mine eyes that I may behold won-
drous things out of Thy law. And then, when Thou hast
opened my eyes, then, O Lord, open Thou my lips, and my
mouth shall show forth Thy praise. Amen.

ESTEEMED PRESIDENT AND REVEREND CLERGY, HONORED
DELEGATES AND FRIENDS, BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF OUR
Lorp, MEMBERS OF THE Hoty FAMILy:

The burden of my message to you in this opening
service of our convention is the plea contained in these
few words:

AT DENVER — FOCUS ON THE CITY BEYOND

I was led to this thought as I searched the edifying
Word of God, looking for some passage of God’s com-
munication of ideas to His ancient people that He
might want us to share with one another in this holy
hour. This plea is directed to every delegate, layman,
lay woman, teacher, pastor, and teen-ager, and to the
little boys and girls who are at this service. At Denver
— focus on the city beyond. Basic to this plea are the
three short verses in Hebrews 11 where the holy writer
gives us a description of Abraham, the father of the
faithful. Hebrews 11:8-10 reads as follows:
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out
to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and
he went out, not knowing where he was to go. By faith
he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a foreign land,
living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the

same promise. For he looked forward to the city which
has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

We Tremble

As I attempt to share these words of Scripture with
you, I should like to point out first of all that if we at
Denver focus on the city beyond, then we will give
to our God the obedience of faith. But before I expand
on this thought I cannot hide from you the fact that in
this moment I am trembling. I tremble as I behold this
impressive scene at Red Rocks, the majestic mountains
surrounding us, the color of the rocks fascinating us,
many thousands of worshipers occupying the seats of
this amphitheater, all of them making ready to listen
to God. Who can be God’s spokesman at a moment like
this? I tremble.

There is another reason why I am trembling. It is
because I opened my forwarded mail this morning.
Although I thought it would not be too necessary, since
this is for some of us a partial vacation, I did open one
letter that had on it an airmail stamp from central
Europe. I looked at the letter and I trembled some
more. The writer said: “The president and vice-presi-
dents of the Missouri Synod have studied theology, but
they are no theologians.” Then I trembled.

Is there a theologian in the house? I ask it in all
sincerity. Perhaps never in my life have I wanted to
exchange places with him more than at this moment.
How I wish that he were standing where I am standing

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with my quaking heart, and I would be sitting in utter
tranquility where he is sitting! In a moment like this
the Holy Spirit whispers to us: “I'll give wisdom to
My people.” God could send us some messenger from
the great beyond, maybe Gabriel, maybe Michael. He
could bring us the gift we so much desire at this con-
vention: wisdom to replace our muddled theological
thinking, rest to replace the turmoil of our world. He
could bring us words that would bring harmony into
our disunity. We need some voice from the great be-
yond that would bring confidence to replace suspicion
and distrust among us, truth to replace our errors, and
faith to replace our doubts. Such a one would be
heaven’s gift to this convention of the Missouri Synod
while it is standing at the crossroads.

At this moment I hear the Holy Spirit whisper to
me: “Quit stalling and get down to business! Preach
the Word! Preach My Word!” So shall it be.

From your vantage point in this awe-inspiring set-
ting of Red Rocks, many of you can see in the distance
that delightful city of Denver, which has been such
a remarkable host to us all. For two years now the
name Denver has constantly been in the thoughts of
our people, not only of our leaders, but also of the
men and women of our churches. Sometimes the name
Denver made us tremble when we thought of the awe-

Vice-President Paul W. Streufert preaching at Red Rocks