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LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2016, Page 83

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

CONVENTION
SERMON • 6

Fear Not, Confess Christ Boldly
M AT T. 1 0 : 2 4 – 3 3

by t he R ev. Kou Seying (K xf. N ya j Kub Th o j ) , Luth era n Fo un datio n Pro f e ss o r

of Ur ban an d Cross -Cultu ra l Minis try a n d Ass o c iate De a n f o r Urba n a n d
C ross -C ult ural Ministry at Conco rd ia S em ina ry, S t. L o uis
66th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod • July 12, 2016 • Matins

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, grace and peace
to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus
Christ. Amen.
On behalf of Concordia Seminary President Dale
Meyer, I bring you greetings from your seminary in St.
Louis. And I also especially bring you greetings from
your Hmong brothers and sisters across our Synod.
This is the year we are celebrating the 40th anniversary of LCMS Hmong ministry. There is a resolution
before you to give God thanks and praise for this milestone. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
In our increasingly pluralistic American society,
Christianity is simply one religion among many for
consumers to choose. I have heard parents in our
LCMS congregations say that when their children are
older, they can choose whatever they want to believe.
By giving options, we simply play to the idolatry of
the self. As different authors have pointed out, “the
search for truth has been replaced by the search for
self.”1 And many have “transferred authority from
Sola Scriptura to Sola Cultura.”2 Therefore, many
so-called Christians cannot confess Christ boldly.

bers and a leader of the congregation had become
friends with the vicar. They wanted to suppress the
truth, and they demanded that the supervising pastor
pass him due to the cultural sensitivity issue, especially in the context of honor and shame.
Can you imagine if the pastor were to cave in on that
day with all those eyes in the room, where the Bible
study was hijacked for this heated discussion and everyone was waiting to see what the pastor was going
to do with the truth? It is one thing to proclaim the
truth from the controlled environment of the pulpit;
it is another to make a bold confession of the truth
under duress. This was more than a cultural sensitivity issue. The integrity of the Gospel was at stake. It
had everything to do with proclaiming the truth and

Some years ago, a vicar had to be let go because he
simply refused to fulfill the basic requirements of his
vicarage. Long story short, many knew that this vicar
was not cut out to be a pastor. However, some mem Leonard Sweet, The Three Hardest Words in the World to Get
Right (Colorado Springs: WaterBrook, 2006), 44.
2
Os Guinness, Prophetic Untimeliness: A Challenge to the Idol of
Relevance (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2003), 65.
1

“Fear Not, Confess Christ Boldly”

U P O N T H I S R O C K • Sermon