O Lord God, the light of the minds that know You, the life of souls that love You, and the strength of the hearts that serve You, give us strength to follow the example of Your servant Augustine of Hippo, so that knowing You we may truly love You and loving You we may fully serve You–for to serve is perfect freedom; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.
About Augustine of Hippo, Pastor and Theologian:
Augustine was one of the greatest of the Latin Church Fathers and a significant influence in the formation of Western Christianity, including Lutheranism. Born in AD 354 in North Africa, Augustine’s early life was distinguished by exceptional advancement as a teacher of rhetoric. In his book Confessions he describes his life before his conversion to Christianity, when he was drawn into the moral laxity of the day and fathered an illegitimate son. Through the devotion of his sainted mother, Monica, and the preaching of Ambrose, bishop of Milan (AD 339-97), Augustine was converted to the Christian faith. During the great Pelagian controversies of the fifth century, Augustine emphasized the unilateral grace of God in the salvation of mankind. Bishop and theologian at Hippo in North Africa from AD 395 until his death in AD 430, Augustine was a man of great intelligence, a fierce defender of the orthodox faith, and a prolific writer. In addition to Confessions, Augustine’s book City of God had a great impact upon the Church throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance. (From The Treasury of Daily Prayer,Concordia Publishing House)
Concordia Lutheran Mission, who sponsors this blog, and your scribe here, Pastor Schroeder, want to let you know that today is the 10th Anniversary of Concordia Lutheran Mission. We became a mission in The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod after 20 or so of us left a heretical Evangelical Lutheran Church congregation here in Lexington, VA. This congregation was my last pastorate in the ELCA. You can read about our history: see the tab above: Concordia Lutheran Mission’s History.
In conjunction with Pr. Keith Beasley, of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (Roanoke), we began the Mission with the first Divine Service on this date, August 28th. I was not aware at the time it was the Commemoration of St. Augustine. I do not think Pr. Beasley was likewise aware of today’s commemoration when he came up to preside at that first Divine Service. The Commemoration of St. Augustine is a good one to begin a Lutheran mission and congregation. Martin Luther was an Augustinian monk. He taught and confessed the Biblical doctrine of the “unilateral grace of God” against the Pelagians who said you have to cooperate to be saved. As St. Augustine preached to the a group of the newly Baptized, about Christ coming to us, His “divine condenscension”:
“For this divine condescension cannot be truly understood, and human thought and language fails us, that without previous merit on your part this free gift has come to you. And for this do we call it a grace: because it is given gratis. And what grace is this? That you are now members of Christ, Children of God; that you are brothers of the Only-Begotten!”(emphasis my own)
This is apt as it is based on Scripture as are the Lutheran Confessions:
20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. (Galatians 4)
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2)
In the bio above, St. Augustine is described as a, “fierce defender of the orthodox faith”. I had to leave the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, as did other brothers and sisters, because I too defend the orthodox and evangelical faith, but I know I am no Augustine. It’s hard to so defend when so many don’t want to hear the truth…but this is a sign that we were on track. In a recent part time job, I was of accused as being rigid as a Christian and a Pastor, and this from a former secret service agent! Did that agent have to follow unbending protocols and procedures to protect the President of the United States even if the agent hates the President’s political views? I think rigidity is important in protecting the first family, or our nation, or marriage and preaching the truth of the Scriptures.
Concordia Lutheran Mission, this little ship, founded on this date, has floundered and yet by His grace, Concordia Lutheran is celebrating her Tenth Anniversary and is afloat. We have received a warm Christian welcome from the Congregation of Ben Salem Presbyterian Church to use their Sanctuary: The Divine Service at 9:15am and Bible School at 10:45am. The congregation has gone out of their way to accommodate us and help us in their hospitality which is a great Christian virtue.
St. Augustine’s great work is the City of God. I sadly admit that I have not read it. His metaphor of the City of God (actually, more than a metaphor!) and the city of man are in stark contrast. St. Augustine and God’s people, and the Roman Empire, were facing the collapse of the empire. The wild pagans of the north were to come and lay waste the City of Rome itself. I pray I am exaggerating, but as I write the wild paganism, even worse, the nihilism of atheistic political ideologies and their fanatical supporters are burning and looting several great American cities. The immorality of abortion goes on and now infanticide is promoted as is every sexual perversion that can be described. Greed is rampant. Unbelief stalks churches. Denial of sound Christian doctrine is accepted. Maybe the Wuhan virus is God’s just judgment. We are learning again the Scripture that here we have no enduring city: For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come (Hebrews 13:14).. We have been baptized into a different city, the eternal Zion and so we have hope:
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. (Philippians 3: 20-21).
The cities of our land need the City of God and the Word of the Great King, slain for hate-filled citizens, us all, risen for our justification, that citizens of the City of God to go forth with His Word. Please pray for Concordia Lutheran Mission, myself as Pastor in the Church, my wife (the organist here!) and the Church in these dark days that with you, around the world, we may proclaim our great King:
“… you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Peter 2: 9-10)
Please the appointed verses selected from Psalm 48 for this day in rejoicing in the Lord:
Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised
in the city of our God!
His holy mountain, 2 beautiful in elevation,
is the joy of all the earth,
Mount Zion, in the far north,
the city of the great King.
3 Within her citadels God
has made himself known as a fortress.
4 For behold, the kings assembled;
they came on together.
5 As soon as they saw it, they were astounded;
they were in panic; they took to flight.
6 Trembling took hold of them there,
anguish as of a woman in labor.
7 By the east wind you shattered
the ships of Tarshish.
8 As we have heard, so have we seen
in the city of the Lord of hosts,
in the city of our God,
which God will establish forever.
Let us pray…
We turn to You, the Lord our God and as best as we can give we give You thanks. We beseech You that in Your goodness You will hear our prayers and by Your power: drive evil from our thoughts and actions, increase our faith, guide our minds, grant us Your holy inspirations, and bring us to joy without end through Your Son our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
(A prayer adapted from a benediction by which St. Augustine ended at least two of his sermons)
Concordia and Koinonia 
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