LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1973, Page 55

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

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NTA ROT IE A EGP MOTT

ET ROR ROO IN ES IAT TP ET

enogeace tesa

PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS

Text: Jeremiah 1:4 ff. NEB

The Word of the Lord came to me: “Before I formed you
in the womb I knew you for My own; before you were born
I consecrated you, I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
“Ah! Lord God,” I answered, “I do not know how to speak;
I am only a child.” But the Lord said, “Do not call your-
self a child; for you shall go to whatever people I send you
and say whatever I tell you to say. Fear none of them, for
Tam with you and will keep you safe.” This was the very
Word of the Lord. Then the Lord stretched out His hand
and touched my mouth, and said to me, “I will put My
words into your mouth. This day I give you authority over
nations and over kingdoms, to pull down and to uproot, to
destroy and to demolish, to build and to plant.”

The Word of the Lord came to me: “What is it that you
see, Jeremiah?” “An almond in early bloom,” I answered.
“You are right,” said the Lord to me, “for I am early on
the watch to carry out my purpose.” ...

“Brace yourself, Jeremiah; stand up and speak to them.
Tell them everything I bid you, do not let your spirit break
at sight of them, or I will break you before their eyes.

“This day I make you a fortified city, a pillar of iron,
a wall of bronze, to stand fast against the whole land, against
the kings and princes of Judah, its priests and its people.

“This is the very Word of the Lord.”

Dear FRIENDS IN CHRIST:

Today with this opening of our 50th synodical con-
vention and celebration of our 125th anniversary of
existence, we are observing the birth and development
of a unique and great church body.

At a time such as this, we should look to the
past, to the present, and to the future as we consider
what is our origin, our mission, and our destiny.

The fathers of the Missouri Synod who set foot about
three quarters of a mile from the place where we are
here gathered on their first entrance into the United
States in 1839 were people who had a clear sense of their
origin, their mission, and a great dream and vision con-
cerning their destiny. They were people who had made
a definite decision, who had left their homes and their
possessions and all they held dear to come to America
in order to establish a truly Biblical and confessional
Lutheran church. It is obvious from the history of the
church which began to unfold almost as soon as they
arrived in Perry County that they also had a real sense
of their mission, and we who stand on their shoulders
as pigmies on the shoulders of giants, have some glimpse
of what God in His wisdom intended as their destiny.
We of this day and this convention can know also of our
origin, our mission, and under God and by His blessings
we can have some vision also of our destiny as a church
body.

In thinking such thoughts as these, one cannot forget
these great words of our text, spoken to a young man,
who referred to himself as a child without competence,
without courage, without vision, without perhaps very
many natural human resources. But he was a man who
was laid hold on by God. As the subsequent chapters
of the book of Jeremiah demonstrate, he lived in a dif-
ficult and turbulent time; he had a mission that brought
him disgrace, imprisonment, humiliation, and ignominy,

President J. A. O. Preus