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LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 1

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

OFFICER, BOARD, AND COMMISSION REPORTS
R1

President’s Report
Why “Joy:fully Lutheran”?
Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus, our Savior
and Lord:
The writer of Hebrews states:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great
a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every
weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let
us run with endurance the race that is set before
us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter
of our faith, who for the joy that was set before
him endured the cross, despising the shame, and
is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Consider him who endured from sinners such
hostility against himself, so that you may not
grow weary or fainthearted. (Hebrews 12:1–3)
As I write, the governor of New York just signed a bill
guaranteeing the “right” to abort a child up to the moment of
birth, which frees from any guilt an abortionist who would deliver a child still living and kill it outside the womb. Other states
are lining up with similar legislation. Sixty-one million children
have been aborted in the U.S. since Roe v. Wade in 1973. The lie
which denied “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” (Declaration of Independence) will continue apace, claiming the
lives of tens of millions more.

The Lie Is the Death of Man
Hermann Sasse (1895–1976), who was a great friend of the
LCMS, described Germany in 1936 in a way very apropos for
our times:
The lie is the death of man, his temporal and
his eternal death. The lie kills nations. The most
powerful nations of the world have been laid
waste because of their lies. History knows of
no more unsettling sight than the judgment rendered upon the people of an advanced culture
who have rejected the truth and are swallowed
up in a sea of lies. Where this happens, as in the
case of declining pagan antiquity, religion and
law, poetry and philosophy, life in marriage and
family, in the state and society—in short, one
sphere of life after another falls sacrifice to the
power and curse of the lie. Where man can no
longer bear the truth, he cannot live without
the lie. Where man denies that he and others
are dying, the terrible dissolution [of his culture] is held up as a glorious ascent, and decline
is viewed as an advance, the likes of which has
never been experienced. (Hermann Sasse, Union
and Confession, p. 1)

How Can We Speak of Joy?
Our LCMS convention will take place in another year of
temporal turmoil in our nation and the world. National politics
is unendingly rancorous and crude. Soundbite slander is the rule
of the day. Antagonism toward Christianity continues to rise.
The vilest forms of religion (like Satanism) are on the ascent.

Christianity in the U.S. is on the decline. The Catholic Church
is embroiled in scandals that shake its foundations and smear
other denominations with anti-Christian sentiment and bigotry.
The nation is deeply divided. There is no need to mention wellknown international challenges, which often affect our partners
around the world, harass our missionaries, and (in the case of
militant Islam) threaten their safety. How can we speak of joy?

No Surprise
First, let us not be surprised. We are in the “little season”
(Rev. 20:3). “For the devil has come down to you in great wrath,
because he knows that his time is short!” (Rev. 12:12). The number of the martyrs has not yet been fulfilled. “Then they were
each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the
number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be
complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been”
(Rev. 6:11). Satan has been “cast down” (Rev. 12:9) by the death
and resurrection of Jesus! But he is “loosed for a little season”
(Rev. 20:3) to cause havoc, even as the times are lengthened for
God’s purpose of bringing the Gospel to the world. The full
number of believers shall come into the Church! What privilege
it is that we, sinners that we are, are among God’s tools to accomplish this! Wow!

Jesus’ Promise
Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man
comes to the Father but by me” (John 14:6). Jesus Himself told
us it would be rough for the Church in the last days!
Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and
put you to death, and you will be hated by all
nations for my name’s sake. And then many
will fall away and betray one another and hate
one another. And many false prophets will arise
and lead many astray. And because lawlessness
will be increased, the love of many will grow
cold. But the one who endures to the end will
be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will
be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a
testimony to all nations, and then the end will
come. (Matt. 24:9–14)
And more important, Jesus also gave a promise, as true for
us as it was when He spoke it to His apostles: “I have told you
these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you
will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world”
(John 16:33). And our mission is VERY clear. “This gospel of
the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world.”
(Matt. 24:14). This is why the Church still exists. This is why the
LCMS exists.

Joy in the Midst of All That?
In the midst of all the trials and tribulations the Church
faces, Jesus promises, over and again, joy! This was promised by
Jesus to His apostles, and it’s also our promise. “These things I
have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy
may be full” (John 15:11). The apostle John, likewise, promised
joy to all who believed the apostolic message about Jesus and
were grafted into the fellowship of the Church thereby:
That which we have seen and heard we proclaim
also to you, so that you too may have fellowship
with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the
2019 Convention Workbook