Tag: Christ Reformed Church

The Sinner's Prayer

Published on by D. G. Hart84 Comments

I worshiped at Christ Reformed Church, Washington, DC on Sunday and this was our corporate confession of sin:

Our Father, we are sinful and you are holy. We recognize that we have heard in your Law difficult words, knowing how often we have offended you in thought, word and deed, not only by obvious violations, but by failing to conform to its perfect commands, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. There is nothing in us that gives us reason for hope, for where we thought we were well, we are sick in soul.

Where we thought we were holy, we are in truth unholy and ungrateful. Our hearts are filled with the love of the world; our minds are dark and are assailed by doubts; our wills are too often given to selfishness and our bodies to laziness and unrighteousness. By sinning against our neighbors, we have also sinned against you, in whose image they were created. In this time of silent confession we bring you our particular sins.

Depressing? Yes.

Accurate? Yes.

But if sanctification and obedience are as much a part of the Christian life as the Obedience Boys and the Anti-Antinomians say, then isn’t this more like the prayer of a convert than a believer?

On the other hand, if this is a legitimate ordinary prayer for a believer — and I think it is — what ever are the critics of a justification-centric understanding of salvation talking about? If sin persists in the believer’s life to such an extent that she needs to pray prayers like this routinely, maybe the calls for obedience come across as more oppressive than inspiring.

All Sermons Are Not Created Equal

Published on by D. G. Hart7 Comments

The one’s preached in the nation’s capitaol are more important than the ones in the provinces. Not really, though some transformationalists and faith-based urbanists might be tempted to think so. Instead, the point of a new fall lecture series at Christ Reformed Church in Washington, D.C., (yes, that nation’s capitaol) is to understand better what constitutes a faithful sermon. Here is how the hosts describe the series:

The Reformation taught that preaching is the very Word of God, a mark of the true church, and a key of the kingdom that opens the doors of heaven to those that believe. It is the divinely appointed means by which the Spirit produces faith in our hearts, and the primary source of Christian instruction.
Is this still true today?

Most contemporary sermons are a mix of anecdotes, tips, and inspirational stories—more junk food than bread of life. We often hear more about the person behind the pulpit than about the person and work of Christ. It seems that few in our pulpits—or our pews— understand what’s required by our Lord’s command to preach the Gospel.

Join us for Preaching in the Capitaol, a lecture series that will critically explore the state of preaching today and ask how the lost art of Reformation preaching can be recovered. Explore this site to learn more about our speakers, their books, and ways to win and iPad by helping us promote Preaching in the Capitaol.

The schedule is a follows:

Oct. 7 Gene Edward Veith

Oct. 14 T. David Gordon

Oct. 21 Robert Norris

Oct. 28 Marva Dawn

If I were a betting man, I’d put money on the proposition that the lecturers will not be telling audiences about the need to preach to the sort of people who work in the capitaols of nations.