The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1883, Page 18

Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

⤓ Download .txt · copy text

The Lutheran Pioneer.

Rome Has Not Changed. Letter from Arkansas.

Dear PIONEER :—

Since you heard from us last our chapel has
many a time been filled with devout hearers.
Not only the regular services during the past
months, but also our Lenten services on Wednes-
day evenings were well attended. This glad-
dens our hearts. But on Palm Sunday we had
occasion of special joy and thanksgiving. On
this day five new members were added to our
little flock, viz., Mr. Anderson Edmunds, Mrs.
Irene White, Miss Nancy Cox, Mrs. Melissa
Harrisson—wife of our deacon, Mr. Harrisson
—and Mrs. Mattie Harris. The Missis White,
Harrisson, and Harris were first baptized,
whereupon all—after an address had been de-
livered suitable to the occasion based on Zecha-
riah 9, 9.—renewed their baptismal covenant
by confessing their faith and promising sol-
emnly to continue in the confession of their
church and to conform their lives to the rule
of the divine Word and -to- remain true in
faith, word, and deed to the Triune God unto
death. Upon this their public confession they
were declared to be members of the Evangel-
ical Lutheran Church; and invited to partake
of all its privileges, goods, and blessings. And
now may our gracious God and Father continue
to be with them, that they may remain true to
the vows they made to their Lord; that they
may prove faithful unto death and obtain the
crown of eternal life.—Our chapel was very
crowded with the members and friends of our
church and all listened with breathless atten-
tion. The singing of an appropriate hymn by
the pupils: Jimmy, Seabron, Cora, Sudy, and
Charlotte contributed much to the solemnity
of the occasion.—Mrs. Smith was not con-
firmed on account of illness. She has been
very ailing for some time. May the Lord take
her under His treatment, alleviate her pains,
and soon restore her to health. As soonas she
has regained strength enough to venture to
visit her church she will, with Mrs. M. Stock-
ings, likewise be confirmed.

The Sunday school is in good condition. One
of the ladies of the church is assisting at present.
We have other members who are likewise very
competent to take charge of a class, and should
take an active part. We hope they will sooner
or later. Our Sunday school would be greatly
benefited by having more teachers. I am be-
ing convinced more and more that it would be
a great improvement to grade the children into
classes, and to arrange their Sunday school les-
son according to their abilities. But herein,
too, patience is required.

The number of pupils of our day school has
increased since our Jast report. We have had
great difficulty in finding place for all, on which
account it was very necessary that some change
and improvement should be made. The large
‘*desks”’ used heretofore, occupying much
space, and the inconvenience and troublesome-
ness of which will willingly be admitted by all
who have seen them, were done away with and

There are people who think the Romish
church has changed. They do not like the
strong expressions used by our Fathers of the
Reformation period in regard to Rome. Such
expressions as Antichrist, Babylon, &c., they
think too severe to apply to the pope and his
church. Those people are greatly mistaken.
Such a letter as the following, sent by mail to
a poor laboring man in a Western city, gives
an insight into the methods by which souls are
cheated out of their salvation and money is
provided for the Romish church.

NEw MELLERAY ABBEY,
(®. O. Box 1571.)

To pay off a heavy debt on our new half-finished
Abbey, we shall have two daily Masses—once for the
living and one for the dead—said every day, for a
period of 50 years, in which those who give a dona-
tion of $100 shall participate for 50 years. Those
who give $50 shall participate in the fruits of said
two daily Masses for 25 years, and so in proportion
down to §1, for which donors shall participate in
said two daily Masses for six months from date of
their donation. FATHER BERNARD, Prior.

No, Rome has not changed! ' Still does she
make salvation a matter of bargain and sale.
How would it do for ‘‘Father Bernard’”’ to
place at the end of this precious piece of lit-
erature some such word from the Bible as this:
“Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the
waters; and he that hath no money, come buy
wine and milk without money and without
price.””

2-0

The Holy Spirit.

By Dr. MARTIN LUTHER.

On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit be-
gan the New Testament. Then He openly
established His office and work, as Christ pro-
claimed Him, ‘‘the Comforter, and the Spirit
of Truth.”’

For He gave to the Apostles and disciples a
true, sure consolation in their hearts, and an
assured, joyful mind, so that they did not ask
whether the world and the devil were favor-
able or unfavorable, raged or laughed, but
went through the streets of the city, and
thought, ‘‘Here neither Annas, Caiphas, Pi-
late, or Herod are anything. We Christians
are all. All are our subjects and servants, and
we their lords and rulers.’’

That these poor beggars and fishermen, the
apostles, should step forth and preach as they
did, enraging the whole government at Jeru-
salem, bringing on themselves the wrath of-the
priests also, and of the whole Roman empire,
opening their mouths and crying, “Ye are
traitors and murderers,” knowing that they
wou'd in consequence be smitten on the mouth
—all this could not have been but through the

‘Holy Spirit.
; ae aoe :

Nor he is poor who has little, hut he who

substituted by a simple desk fastened to each
seat. We thus gained room for new benches
and can accommodate all pupils. The pupils we
have, may we also soon have a teacher to take
charge of them. It is true, one of the ladies
of the congregation has been assisting daily in
the afternoon since February 1st, thus giving
me time to make at least the most necessary
calls; but I continually feel impelled to take
more time to mission among those who are yet
lingering in perdition.—May the Lord soon
send us a man who with cheerfulness and con-
stancy will devote himself to our mission car-
ried on at Little Rock.

It-is the Lord’s work which has so far pros-
pered. May He continue to aid us and bless
our humble efforts so that our mission may re-
dound to His glory and the salvation of many
souls among the thousands that are yet wan-
dering in darkness. J. MEILAENDER.

Little Rock, Ark., March, 1883.

———

Wooden Swearing.

A missionary once said, ‘‘I hope, dear chil-
dren, that you will never let your lips speak
profane words. But now I want to tell you
about a kind of swearing which I heard an old
woman speak about not long ago. She calls it
‘wooden swearing.’ It’s a kind of swearing
that many people besides children are given to
when they are angry. Instead of giving vent
to their feelings in oaths, they slam. the doors,
kick the chairs, stamp on the floor, throw the
furniture about, and make all the noise they
possibly can.
will not do any of this kind of swearing.”

<> 0 -

An Endless Book.

The Rev. James Caughey relates that a couple
of infidels were once standing together on the

deck of a vessel as she glided past a desolate’

island of the sea. One said to the other:
«Suppose you were condemned to live on this
island, and had the choice of but one book for
your companion, what book of books would
you choose?”’ ‘

The other replied: ‘‘I would select Shake-
speare because of the variety of his themes.”

‘‘Well,”’ said the other infidel, ‘‘although I
do not believe the Bible, yet I would choose it
for my companion, for the Bible is an endless

book.’? Endless! Yes, and the joy it reveals
is endless! O God, ‘‘Thy testimonies are won-
derful!”’

——s-o<4 o> oo -

The Trial of Faith.

“The trial of faith,’ says Luther, ‘‘is the
greatest and heaviest of all trials. Jor faith
it is which must conquer in all-trials. ‘There-
fore, if faith gives way, then the smallest and
most trifling temptations can overcome a man.
But when faith is sound and true; then all
other temptations must yield, and he over-
come.” :

I hope, dear children, that you