2 THE CANADA LUTHERAN. SERMONETTE. A POST EASTER PRAYER. Rev. John Keehley, B.A. "Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, . . . . make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ ; to Whom be glory for ever. Amen." Heb. 13 : 20, 21. Christ's sufferings, death and resurrection are not simply great facts to be accepted merely, but these facts are to produce in us great effects and lasting results. Such effects come to us when we realize in the first place what God has done for us. He "brought from the dead our Lord Jesus." Hence we worship not a dead Christ but a living Christ. What God has done for Christ He will do for all who live in Chirst. In doing this for Christ, He has made Himself the "God of peace" which has secured our peace with Him, and imparts peace to us. Man is therefore no longer an enemy of God, but being reconciled through the Blood of Christ, God may be approached and appealed unto with the assurance that He will hear and answer. The cheque is presented to the Paying Teller at the bank. The same is examined carefully. If a doubt arises in his mind as to the account of the one whose signature appears on the lower right hand corner, the bookkeeper is consulted. Finding sufficient funds on hand the endorsement on the back of the cheque is examined, which may require a voucher from some one known to the Teller before the amount is paid over. What care is thus exercised and what embarrassment is sometimes experienced. Not so with God, and our business dealings with Him. We present our claims through Christ. Our petitions bear His signature which is recognized by "the Paying Teller of heaven" and we receive their face value which is "peace with God through our Lord Jesus." We next consider what God will do in us, and find Him "working in us that which is well pleasing in His sight." The blessed Easter Fact must work in us and change us from evil doers to good, making us to be well pleasing to Himself. Old things must pass away and all things become new, by the renewing of our hearts and minds. This change is wrought in us by the work of the Holy Spirit Who comes to us through the Word and Sacraments, and makes us new creatures in Christ. Thus our post Easter prayer, based upon the resurrection of Christ, must work in us a change, "That like as He is risen from the dead, even so shall we also walk in newness of life," "That we may put off the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and that we put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." Let this conception become as strong to us as it did to Luther who used to say, "When any one comes and knocks at the door of my heart and asks, 'Who lives here?' I reply, Martin Luther used to, but he has moved out, and now it is Jesus Christ who lives here." One more thought is expressed in the above text, namely, What will God do by us? and the answer is He "will make you perfect in every good work to do His will." Thus renewed through the working of the Holy Spirit, we shall find ourselves impelled to do better things in God's service. A good work is that whereby God is served and honored, the Church advanced and the world made better by our living in it. Nor shall we be concerned about a few good works only, but we shall engage in "every good work" in all of which we are to aim at perfection : "Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father in heaven is perfect." God alone "can make us perfect" in life and in service. To this end we need His grace. Prayer being the means unto grace, we need to engage in prayer frequently. Says Guthrie : "Prayer is our refuge in trouble, our strength in weakness, our armour in battle, our comfort in sorrow, and the wings by which we rise to God." May we all appreciate our high calling; realize our great responsibilities and make the above text our prayer in life. Amen. THE LUTHERAN CHURCH IN GENERAL AND IN CANADA. Rev. Milton J. Bieber, M.A., Eastern District Superintendent of English Home Missions. The Lutheran Church is the mother of Protestantism. Luther's protests in 1517 against the abuses, then prevalent in the Roman Church awoke Europe. They also secured to the world an open Bible, civil and religious liberty, public education. The Lutheran Church became a distinct communion in 1530 by the adoption of the Augsbury Confession (the first Protestant confession of faith).