Collection › LCMS Convention Proceedings (St. Louis, Missouri) › 1935 · 36th Convention, Cleveland › Page 8
LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1935, Page 8

Scan: The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
Transcription machine transcription, uncorrected

8 Proceedings of Thirty-Sixth Regular Convention,

My brethren, let us during the days of this convention keep in
mind that we are all members of God’s glorious family. What
precious hours of fellowship we shall then enjoy! The Apostle Paul,
in his Letter to the Ephesians, overwhelmed by the contemplation
of the riches of grace enjoyed by God’s children, bursts forth into
a fervid intercession for his brethren, saying: “For this cause I bow
my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the
whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant
you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with
might by His Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your
hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be
able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length,
and depth, and height and to know the love of Christ, which passeth
knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”

Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians is the prayer we direct to God
also for ourselves. But there is still, another prayer which we must
diligently pray if we would retain this “fulness of God,” the prayer
of our convention hymn: —

From error, Lord, our souls defend
That they on Christ alone attend.

Error, false doctrine, obscures the image of the Savior in our
hearts and uproots the certainty of our divine sonship. With in-
sidious cunning therefore does Satan, that father of lies, seek to
instil error into our souls in order to rob them of their joy in Christ.
And not the least object of his assaults are ecclesiastical gatherings
such as ours. If he can here sow his tares, incalculable damage is
done. In.our days, alas! he finds the ground prepared for him in
most church conventions; he finds the house “swept and garnished”
and ready to receive him. Boldly it is proclaimed in them that doc-
trine should be a side-issue at such conventions; that prudence de-
mands the shelving of disputed doctrines in order to prevent strife
and establish unity. We pray the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth,
to preserve us in His grace from this deception practised by the
satanic spirit of error.

In conclusion let us examine the third stanza of our hymn.
It reads: — Thou holy Fire, Source of rest,

Grant that, with joy and hope possest,
We always in Thy service stay
And trouble drive us not away.

' . Lord, by Thy power prepare each heart,
To our weak nature strength impart
That firmly here we be contending,
Through life and death to Thee ascending.

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

This stanza reminds us of the one great business of the Church