Text:
“Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature. The old has passed away, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17) [NIV]
Open:
What one person has had the most influence on your life. How have they influenced your decision making?
Explore:
For the next six weeks I will be teaching a series entitled: “Forming A Biblical Worldview”.
I have been in prayer for some time now asking the Lord to give me direction on what to teach you.
I am concerned that not enough Christians know what they believe. It’s evident by the way that the average Christian lives his life that there is in-congruency in our belief and life style. Do we really believe what we say we believe?
Does what I believe really matter? Let me start off by answering the first and most important question, What is a worldview?
Definition: My worldview is the beliefs that I build my life on. The Truth Project (Focus on the Family) defines it: “a way of looking at the world.” It’s how we view everything in life. It’s how we view God. It’s how we view ourselves. It’s how we view other people. It’s how we view Satan. Your worldview includes your thoughts about life, about death, about the past, the present and the future. it also includes what you feel about pain and about suffering and about problems and about good and about evil. Your worldview includes what you think about relationships, about time, and about money.
The truth is everybody has a worldview. You operate off of some kind of worldview. When you say, “I’ve always thought of life as…” The way you view life, how you view God, how you view other people. That’s all a part of your worldview.
Your worldview is the basis on which you make your decisions and your choices. God wired your brain in such a way that every time you start to make a decision or make a choice your mind instantly accesses all of the information, in your mind and says, “Now what do I believe about this?” And you decide – unconsciously – on the basis of the things you believe to be true and believe to be real.
You see every time you make a choice, whether it be something simple or difficult you access your worldview. It’s all the ideas, all the experiences, all of the images, all of the beliefs, the convictions, the concepts, the principles, the standards and the hurts, all are a part of your worldview. You make your decisions based on your worldview.
For instance if you thought in your worldview that the world was going to end tomorrow it would certainly change your decisions in the next 24 hours. Would you act in a different way based on what you believed?
So, what we’re going to talk about for the next six weeks, is clarifying your worldview. And, for some of you it's forming your Biblical world view for the very first time because it's one of the most practical and important things in your life as believer. Your worldview determines all your relationships. It determines your success and failure. It determines your goals, your motivations, and what you attempt in life. All of these things are influenced by your worldview. If you want to change your life, you’ve got to change your mind first. You’ve got to change what you believe! So, let’s jump in with both feet and begin the process. Come join us beginning this Sunday for this empowering series.
Explore:
Go back and read 2 Corinthians 5:17. Now, restate it in your own words. What does it say about your new “world view?”
Get it:
What are some world views that you see lived out in America? What has formed this world view? How do you feel about it?
Apply:
Why is it important for us to align our thinking with God’s truth? What are some things that you can do to develop a stronger Christian world view?
“Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature. The old has passed away, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17) [NIV]
Open:
What one person has had the most influence on your life. How have they influenced your decision making?
Explore:
For the next six weeks I will be teaching a series entitled: “Forming A Biblical Worldview”.
I have been in prayer for some time now asking the Lord to give me direction on what to teach you.
I am concerned that not enough Christians know what they believe. It’s evident by the way that the average Christian lives his life that there is in-congruency in our belief and life style. Do we really believe what we say we believe?
Does what I believe really matter? Let me start off by answering the first and most important question, What is a worldview?
Definition: My worldview is the beliefs that I build my life on. The Truth Project (Focus on the Family) defines it: “a way of looking at the world.” It’s how we view everything in life. It’s how we view God. It’s how we view ourselves. It’s how we view other people. It’s how we view Satan. Your worldview includes your thoughts about life, about death, about the past, the present and the future. it also includes what you feel about pain and about suffering and about problems and about good and about evil. Your worldview includes what you think about relationships, about time, and about money.
The truth is everybody has a worldview. You operate off of some kind of worldview. When you say, “I’ve always thought of life as…” The way you view life, how you view God, how you view other people. That’s all a part of your worldview.
Your worldview is the basis on which you make your decisions and your choices. God wired your brain in such a way that every time you start to make a decision or make a choice your mind instantly accesses all of the information, in your mind and says, “Now what do I believe about this?” And you decide – unconsciously – on the basis of the things you believe to be true and believe to be real.
You see every time you make a choice, whether it be something simple or difficult you access your worldview. It’s all the ideas, all the experiences, all of the images, all of the beliefs, the convictions, the concepts, the principles, the standards and the hurts, all are a part of your worldview. You make your decisions based on your worldview.
For instance if you thought in your worldview that the world was going to end tomorrow it would certainly change your decisions in the next 24 hours. Would you act in a different way based on what you believed?
So, what we’re going to talk about for the next six weeks, is clarifying your worldview. And, for some of you it's forming your Biblical world view for the very first time because it's one of the most practical and important things in your life as believer. Your worldview determines all your relationships. It determines your success and failure. It determines your goals, your motivations, and what you attempt in life. All of these things are influenced by your worldview. If you want to change your life, you’ve got to change your mind first. You’ve got to change what you believe! So, let’s jump in with both feet and begin the process. Come join us beginning this Sunday for this empowering series.
Explore:
Go back and read 2 Corinthians 5:17. Now, restate it in your own words. What does it say about your new “world view?”
Get it:
What are some world views that you see lived out in America? What has formed this world view? How do you feel about it?
Apply:
Why is it important for us to align our thinking with God’s truth? What are some things that you can do to develop a stronger Christian world view?
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| Blessings, Pastor Ruben |
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