Our name | Mission | Vision | Leaders Ministries | Schedule | Directions | Contact Home   Gateway Church gathers for worship Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Location: 6425 Jefferson Rd. (Hwy. 129) in Athens, Georgia. For directions, click here. Ministry of the Word: Recent sermons Our quarterly e-magazine Gateway Today For the Gateway family Pastor Jerry's Weekly E-Mail A GATEWAY SERMON SUMMARY AUDIO The power of perspective (First in the series, 'A Christian worldview') Jerry Varnado, pastor Gateway Church, Athens GA August 8, 2004 Main Scripture text: Romans 12:1-2. A Christian Worldview Sermon Series Aug. 8, 2004 • The Power of Perspective Aug. 15, 2004 • The Holy Bible: Our Guide for Faith and Practice Aug. 22, 2004 • Origins Aug. 29, 2004 • Will the Real God Please Stand Up? Sept. 5, 2004 • The Spirit World Sept. 12, 2004 • A Warfare Worldview Sept. 19, 2004 • War Stories: Invasion and Liberation Oct. 10, 2004 • War Stories: At the Front Oct. 17, 2004 • The Enemy's Battle Plan Oct. 24, 2004 • Personal Defense Oct. 31, 2004 • Our Weapons: The Sword of the Spirit Nov. 7, 2004 • Our Weapons: The Name of Jesus Nov. 14, 2004 • Our Weapons: The Blood of Jesus Nov. 28, 2004 • Warfare Worldview: The Real Star Wars A "perspective" is "broad mental view." A worldview is "the overall perspective from which one sees and interprets the world." All of us see the world and interpret events through the lens of certain opinions, understandings, and presuppositions. We live in a time in which a thing has happened that sociologists call "the secularization of society." Secularism focuses on the immediate physical reality, and discounts a greater, spiritual reality. Listen to some statistics: 64 percent of Americans say truth is always relative to the person and their situation; 42 percent approve extramarital sex; more than 30 percent approve of pornography. Many Christians and church leaders look at the decay of our culture and say, "So what? Why be concerned about it? Our citizenship is in heaven!" But Jesus didn't tell us to live by God's standards and let the world go to hell! He gave us marching orders: 1) Unite heaven and earth -- pray "thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven!" 2) Be salt and light in the world -- a preservative that inhibits decay and a light that illumines the truth. 3) Disciple the world -- go and make disciples of all nations. We need to understand this topic of worldview, so 1) we can make sure our own views are biblical, and 2) so we can be effective in communicating the Good News about Jesus to those who don't yet share our worldview. I asked some of you to take a worldview test on the Internet to give me some indication of where we are as a church. One of our recent converts took it just after coming to Christ. He scored a 51. Two months later, he took the test again scored in the 90s! During those two months, he began studying the Word of God -- and it radically altered his worldview. When people submit to God, He will transform them by the renewing of their minds, so they can begin to see the world as God sees it -- and become effective in the work of the Kingdom. Supporting texts: Matthew 6:10 | Matthew 5:13-16 | Matthew 28:19-20 | 2 Timothy 2:15 A mp3 audio file of this sermon is here (30:00). (Download to a PC by right clicking on the link and choosing "Save Target As." Mac users: click, hold, and choose "Download Link to Disk." Depending on your connection speed, the file may take several minutes to download.) An audio tape of this sermon is available free of charge (U.S requests only). Request a tape by calling or writing the Gateway Church office. Please specify tape number 040808a: The Power of Perspective. © 2004 Gerald R. Varnado To the Gateway Church home page How to contact us