Transformative Power of True Worship

Knowing about God helps us know God, and knowing God is the goal of life.

Good theology leads to true worship Theology theos = God logos = word

Good theology leads to true worship Matthew 22:37-38 And [Jesus] said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.

Good theology leads to true worship J.I. Packer Theologies that cannot be sung (or prayed for that matter) are certainly wrong at a deep level, and such theologies leave me, in both senses, cold: cold-hearted and uninterested.

Good theology leads to true worship Psalm 42:1 2 As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?

Good theology leads to true worship Teresa of Avila He who understands Him best loves and praises Him best.

True worship transforms character 2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

True worship transforms character Philippians 1:9 10 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ....

Character overflows in Godly behavior Good theology True worship Transformed character Godly behavior

Character overflows in Godly behavior Good theology protects us from sin Psalm 119:11, 165 Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You. Those who love Your law have great peace, And nothing causes them to stumble.

Character overflows in Godly behavior Good theology protects us from sin Kelly Kapic In theological terms, we must come to confess that we are addicted to sin, addicted to self, whatever form that may take, pious or impious.

Character overflows in Godly behavior Good theology motivates evangelism Romans 9:2 3 ...I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh....

Character overflows in Godly behavior Good theology encourages discipleship

Character overflows in Godly behavior Good theology contributes to strong society Deuteronomy 6:7 You shall teach [these words] diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.

Character overflows in Godly behavior Good theology contributes to strong society John Wesley I learned more about Christianity from my mother than from all the theologians of England.

Character overflows in Godly behavior Good theology contributes to strong society

Character overflows in Godly behavior Bad theology is idolatry C.S. Lewis Theology is practical...If you do not listen to Theology, that will not mean that you have no ideas about God. It will mean that you have a lot of wrong ones - bad, muddled, out-of-date ideas.

Character overflows in Godly behavior Bad theology is powerless

Character overflows in Godly behavior J.I. Packer We are cruel to ourselves if we try to live in this world without knowing about the God whose world it is and who runs it. The world becomes a strange, mad, painful place, and life in it a disappointing and unpleasant business, for those who do not know about God.

Character overflows in Godly behavior Disregard the study of God, and you sentence yourself to stumble and blunder through life, blindfolded, as it were, with no sense of direction and no understanding of what surrounds you.

Knowing about God helps us know God, and knowing God is the goal of life.

Resources Brian G. Fisher @briangfisher Grace Bible Texas App