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.
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