day no. 17,512: right and wrong

"We have to start with the fact that we are always looking out at the world through our own eyes. And we think that we are seeing accurately, which may indeed be the case, but we are sometimes wrong. You don’t believe you are always right, but you always believe you’re right... Confronted with the question 'have you ever been wrong?' virtually everyone would acknowledge it in the abstract. But acknowledging it and budgeting for it are two different things." — Douglas Wilson, Athletics and the Christian Community #6

No one says, “I was wrong,” unless they think they’re right about that. So, even when we are confessing our failures, we are presuming to be succeeding in that assessment.

day no. 17,511: don't run in a hurry

“Don’t run in a hurry, run with a farmer’s patience.” — Brooks Potteiger

Runners should run, but not frantically. They should strive for the finish line, but not grow impatient in the meantime. Running includes a commitment to keep running. It isn't sprinting until you cannot continue, it is persevering in the running. Running is patient diligence.

2 Timothy 2:1-7

You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

Think it over. Be in it, but be in it for the long haul. Do not lift so little that you do not bring anything across the finish line, but don't lift so much that you cannot reach the finish line. Yoke yourself to Christ and carry what you can and more to the point, keep on going until the end.

Philippians 3:12-15

Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

Do not run like someone who doesn't have to run, but do not run like someone who has lost sight of the finish line.

day no. 17,510: national blessings and curses

Revelation 2:14

I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.

If you can't beat them, get them to beat themselves. Balaam could not curse the people of Israel, so he convinced them to curse themselves. God was not out of to get His people, but Balaam knew that there were things He would not tolerate, regardless of who was doing them. So, he enticed them to do that which would obligate God to act against them. 

The long and short of it is this. America was and is a Christian nation established by their covenant with Him. Covenants have blessings and curses that attend them. We are in the predicament we are in because we have obligated God to curse us by violating the terms and conditions of the covenant. Our enemies cannot curse us or conquer us, but we can and will be cursed and conquered if we abandon God and the blessings that come in obeying Him.

day no. 17,509: animal worship and human sacrifice

“Wherever there is animal worship there is human sacrifice.” ― G.K. Chesterton, The Uses of Diversity

We are told to save the whales, the polar bears, and the sea turtles while simultaneously being told to protect a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy at any point for any reason. Animal worship is here and human sacrifice is here along with it. We have dog moms and doggy day cares and we also have abortion on demand and puberty blockers.

Romans 1:22-23, 28

Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things... And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.

Worship and sacrifice are inescapable and we become like that which we worship and we identify with that which we sacrifice. If we worship the one true God by faith in the one and only Son of God, we become more like God by identifying more with Christ. If we worship idols we become more like them by identifying with the unnatural acts they require.

day no. 17,508: repent or die

'I will therefore tell you my best advise, and heartily pray God you may earnestly follow it. All these plagues that before you have heard rehearsed, famine, pestilence, sedition, wars, destruction of countries, captivity of people, and alterations of states, are the instruments of God sent and powered on the people for their sins, that they should be sorry and repent them of their former wicked life, call to God for mercy, and lead a new life in holiness and righteousness all the days of their life: which if you will earnestly do, no doubt but as God is merciful, so will He use mercy towards you. For God that never deceived any, but abhors all practices, all deceit, and all practicers (the workers of deceit) promised it by the mouth of His prophet Ezekiel. If (he says) the ungodly will turn away from all his sins that he has done, and will keep all my commandments, and of the thing that is just and right, doubtless he shall live and not die. For all the sins that he did before, shall not be thought upon anymore: but in his righteousness that he has done, he shall live. For I have no pleasure in the death of a sinner (says God) but that he should repent him of his wicked life and live &etc. It follows in the prophet thus: wherefore repent and return from your wickedness, and your wickedness shall not be your destruction. Cast from you all your ungodliness, make you a new heart and a new spirit: wherefore will you die, o you house of Israel (that is, all such as trust to be saved by Christ) seeing I have no pleasure in the death of him that dies, say the Lord God. Turn therefore, and you shall live...

You have innumerable examples of the great mercy of God toward all that repented truly, and called for mercy. As of the city of Nineveh, whom although God had threatened utterly to destroy them, yet when God saw they were penitent for their former wicked life, and called unto him for mercy, He withdrew his plague, and held out His merciful hand over them: even so you (good countrymen and true English hearts) if you will in time earnestly repent you of your sins, leave your idolatry, and honor and worship God truly, as you were taught in blessed King Edward's time, abhor the fantasies and foolish traditions of men, and cleave to the sincere word of God, and be desirous for the knowledge of it: leave your blasphemy and vain swearing and horrible forswearing and perjury, no longer hate your country, but be true and faithful to it, and by all godly means seek the wealth and safety of it: if you will obey God's commandments before your governors, and your governors in that is godly, honest, and just, and nothing else: If you will leave your bawdry, whoredom, and improper relations, and drive out of all places whores, whoremongers, and whorehouses, and all such as favor and maintain them: If you will abstain from cruel murdering of the saints of God and innocents, and rather yourselves to be content to suffer all martyrdom, then you will embrew your fingers in their blood, or consent to it: If you will leave oppressing of your neighbors, you subtlety, craft, and deceit, and yourselves leave to love greediness, and inordinate desire of the trash of this world: If you leave your inward hat reed, grudge and malice one to another, if the nobility will love and cherish the commonality, and the commoners honor and love the nobility: If one will show himself a brother and neighbor indeed to another: than no doubt if you do these things from the bottom of your heart, that the mouth and heart agree together, your sayings and doings be all one: than shall you perceive, that God will be easily entreated to turn. Then may you boldly ask of God in Christ's name, and your desires shall be heard and granted. But you may in no wise dissemble with Him, as the Israelites did, when they said they would commit no more idolatry, and yet kept their idols, as you pulled down you images, but yet kept them secretly in your chambers: not yet as Judas Iscariot did, who lamented his sins and repented, but returned not to God: nor yet as yourselves did dissemble in the last sweat, while God's whip was in your necks, but you must cleanly do away the old man and put on the new: you must refuse and cast away all evils, and do that which is good, and ever study to do that shall pleases God, and in no wise look (as Lot's wife did) backward: but still go forward. And then if you call to God for mercy, putting your full and only trust in Him, He will hear you, and take from you those plagues that lie on you, and the other which most certainly (if you repent not, hang over you, and will come upon you). Then will He send you His benediction for malediction, plenty for famine, health for pestilence, peace for was, quietness for trouble, for cruel tyranny, a godly and just government: for sedition, such force and power, that you being a few, shall be able to withstand all the tyrannies of the world, and enemies of God and our country, and utterly confound them and destroy them. You shall avoid the eternal pains of hell prepared for sinners: and at length you shall be sue also to make a change from your earthly country to the Heavenly Paradise: from variable England, to the constant Jerusalem: from the company of men, to the fellowship of angels: from mutable and frowning countenances of worldly powers, to the unchangeable and most comfortable sight of the King of all Kings, our most merciful Eternal Heavenly Father. To whom with the Son and the Holy Ghost, be all honor, praise, and glory, now and forever. Amen." — John Ponet, A Short Treatise on Political Power

Policies cannot take the place of repentance.

day no. 17,507: lambs with teeth

"When the fox preaches, beware you geese." — John Ponet, A Short Treatise on Political Power

All preachers have an end in mind… some more transparently than others. It is not wrong or selfish to have an end in mind. It is not even wrong or selfish to conceal that end. Sometimes the end requires it. As in a fisherman baiting his hook to deceive the fish. The same can be said when fishing for men.

That said, a hearer would be wise to consider what end the preacher may have and to contemplate whether it is possible that his end is motivating or marring the means he is willing to employ to achieve it.

Belly pinched wolves have a vested interest in securing their dinner and lambs make a captive, if not delicious, audience. 

"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote." — Benjamin Franklin

Lambs would do well to mitigate their risk by reminding the wolves that they also have teeth. This keeps preachers honest and it accounts for the possibility of mixed motives.

day no. 17,506: repetition's bad reputation (exhortation outline)

Christ Church Leavenworth

Call to Confession

September 27, 2026

"Repetition’s Bad Reputation"

THE TEXT

Our text this morning is Matthew 6:7, these are the words of God.

“When you pray, do not use vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their many words.”

INTRODUCTION

Last month, you may recall, I began a discussion about our liturgy and repetition in worship. Liturgy is by definition repetitious, but repetition is not by definition in vain. It certainly can be and Jesus clearly warns against it, but the mere act of repeating something doesn’t make it vain. Repetition can wear an elbow out, but it also can bulk a bicep up. It can lead to carpal tunnel, but it also can lead to looking jacked. How did you hurt your wrist? I did the same thing over and over. How did you get so buff? I did the same thing over and over. 

Liturgy is inescapable. It may be song, announcements, song, song, sermon, song, song like most big Eva services or it can be the 5 C’s of covenant renewal like we do here: call, confession, consecration, communion, and commission. But either way, you are going to have a way that you “do” worship. And regardless of what liturgy you use, there is always going to be a temptation to let it do the lifting for you. But the liturgy is more like a spotter at the gym. It is there to watch over you and help you, but it isn’t there to do all of the work for you. 

Some modern types, seeing the potential landmines associated with liturgy have tried to avoid them by instead opting for novelty. So, instead of doing the same things over and over, they try to do new things all of the time. In other words, novelty is their liturgy. And no, they do not see the irony. Chesterton said it this way, “The special mark of the modern world is not that it is sceptical, but that it is dogmatic without knowing it. It says, in mockery of the old devotees, that they believed without knowing why they believed. But the moderns believe without knowing what they believe – and without even knowing that they do believe it… In short, they always have an unconscious dogma; and an unconscious dogma is the definition of a prejudice. They are the dullest and deadest of ritualists.” In other words, novelty cannot protect you from the trappings of liturgy because it is itself one of the trappings of liturgy: new is not always improved anymore than old is always more reliable.

Consider Acts 17:21 “Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.” Why did they do that? They believed that new was always improved, but they failed to realize that all the old heresies were once brand new ideas. So, you can either repeat the proven things or you can reinvent the disproven ones, but you cannot avoid repeating something. While you can repeat the old creeds without knowing what you’re saying, you can just as easily “invent” a new one without knowing that it’s already been said under the sun. The Athenians didn’t want to fall into that first ditch, so they overcorrected by falling into the other one. Rather than using their minds to mull over time-tested words, they used them to create new ones. Contrast this with the Bereans with whom Paul had conversed previously in :11-12 

“Now the Bereans were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.” The Bereans did not take Paul at his word, they cross-checked his words with the Word of God. If the Bible said it, they wanted to do it, but they didn’t want to do it just because Paul said the Bible said that. They wanted to see it for themselves. This, we are told, was noble of them. Paul was not offended, he was encouraged. He preferred that to the response he got in Thessalonica, which is where he was before Berea, documented in :1-9 of Acts 17. There, some had heard and believed, but others were not having any of it. They were content to rock their souls to sleep repeating the same old doctrines without thinking much about them. And they didn’t want to wake up. The Bereans, however, listened intently to the familiar words of God, they thought about them, they studied them; and as a result, many of them believed them in a fresh way.

And what, on the other hand, was the result of the Athenians’ and their lust for novelty? :32-34 go on to tell us, “Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, ‘We will hear you again about this.’ So Paul went out from their midst.” Those who only go in for new ideas, fail to see how bad of an idea that is. They put no stock in history and so, they repeat it. Because they do not want to repeat the creeds of their faithful fathers, they end up repeating the sins of their rebellious fathers.

So, we see three responses to repetition in Acts 17: we see Thessalonians holding the form of religion without contemplating its power, we see Athenians abandoning the form of religion by denying its power, and we see Bereans reforming their minds by the power of God according to His Word. Follow the example of the Bereans. Their response to the Word of God was the same as our Protestant forefathers: reformata semper reformanda, or “reformed and always reforming.” Repetition is only as good as what it is repeating and reform is only as good as the form it is attempting to get back to. You cannot avoid vain repetition by refusing to repeat anything. That is merely repeating the sin of the Athenians. And you cannot avoid vain repetition by refusing to consider afresh what you think you already know. That is merely repeating the sin of the Thessalonians.

So, the charge this morning is to be a Berean. Pay attention to what you are saying and then go back to the Word and confirm it. Do not just nod along with your brain off because you’ve heard it all before. And do not just nod off because there’s nothing new under the Sunday service. Think about what you are doing. Consider what you are saying and reflect on what you are repeating. The old doctrines breathe fresh life into old hearts when they are embraced by faith. So, receive them anew today, not as novelties, but as familiar friends you’re happy to see again and spend some time with.

CALL TO CONFESSION

Well, since we are so often too lazy to think about what we are saying or too bored to pay attention to the same ol’ liturgies, we are reminded of our need to regularly confess our sins, whether they be related to these or others. So, if you are able, please kneel with me and confess your sins, first privately and then corporately using the prayer found in your bulletin.

CORPORATE CONFESSION

Most holy and merciful Father, we acknowledge before You our sinful nature and our many offenses. We are prone to do evil and slow to do good. You alone know how often we have sinned in wandering from Your way, in wasting Your gifts, in forgetting Your love. Lord, we are ashamed and sorry for all the ways that we have displeased You. Father, teach us to hate our rebellious acts, cleanse us from our secret faults, and forgive our sins for the sake of Your Son. Help us to love You with all our heart and mind and strength. And give us the power of Your Holy Spirit so that we may walk in Your ways and serve You all of our days.

DECLARATION OF PARDON

Arise and hear the Good News! The assurance of pardon today comes from Galatians 2:16, “We know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.”

We are not made right with God by repeating the right words. We are made right with God by believing in the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us. He was crucified, dead, and buried in our place and for our sins and He rose again on the third day for our justification. We are not saved by our works, we are saved by His. His mercies are fresh and new every morning because He died once for all time. We are therefore called to remember that and to renew our belief in it as often as we are gathered. So, receive the words of your pardon afresh this morning: by the authority of God the Father and the seal of God the Spirit, it is my privilege to declare to you that in the finished work of God the Son, your sins are forgiven… 

THANKS BE TO GOD!

Now let us ascend into the presence of God in all worship and praise.