Hopping off the boat onto a wobbling dock, my son shouts, “Hey mom, look!” He points to a bird in flight. We watch as it perches atop a nearby tree. We talk about what kind of bird we each think it could be, but in order to figure that out, we need to examine it for a while. So, while the others carry off the towels, we sit down together, gazing into the trees, studying this new-to-us bird.
Watching this bird closely gave us a good idea of its qualities, but only when we compare our findings with the reference book could we really know with certainty. The bird book shows us what to look for - the shape and colour of the beak, the colour and pattern of the feathers, the size and wingspan, the differences in the silhouette as it flies or hovers - and there are so many traits to consider. As novice bird watchers, we’re only beginning to discover them.
Our study of God and his ways also has a reference book. As we read his holy scriptures, we’re growing our knowledge of him, our theology.
Book Review | Fix Your Eyes: How Our Study of God Shapes our Worship of Him by Amy Gannett
Content
My Take
Content
Purpose of the Book
In this upcoming book, Fix Your Eyes: How Our Study of God Shapes Our Worship of Him by Amy Gannett, she writes to help us understand how our theology (our study and knowledge of God) leads us to doxology (our worship of him).
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION The Necessary Marriage of Theology and Worship
CHAPTER 1 Theology Proper: Worshiping the God Who Is
CHAPTER 2 The Trinity: Worshiping God Triune
CHAPTER 3 Christology: Worshiping God as Incarnate
CHAPTER 4 Pneumatology: Worshiping God the Spirit
CHAPTER 5 Soteriology: Worshiping the God Who Saves
CHAPTER 6 Bibliology: Worshiping the God of the Word
CHAPTER 7 Ecclesiology: Worshiping the God of His Body
CHAPTER 8 Eschatology: Worshiping the Coming King
Summary
In each of the 8 chapters she walks us through a doctrinal topic, such as Christology (the study of Christ), soteriology (the doctrine of salvation), and bibliology (the doctrine of scripture), to engage what we know about God and how this knowledge propels us toward worship as we daily fix our eyes on him.
My Take
Worship with Both Our Hearts and Minds
We worship with both our mind and our heart, but often we give more weight to our emotions: How the music makes us feel, the sensations a Scripture passage evokes in us, whether or not we experience the heart-thumping of conviction.
This is a temptation for all of us.
I’m reminded again that worship is an expression of our adoration. We don’t worship our feelings (or do we?), as Christians our worship centres on heartfelt thanks and gratitude to the One who gave Himself for us, that we can agree with the author when she says, “nothing causes me to worship God more than reflecting on the person of Christ, his death, and resurrection.”
For us to truly be thankful, we have to know what we’re thankful for. “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (Jn.17:3)
Has your child been given a gift and before they run off to play with it you gently remind them, “what do you say?” They reply with a quick “thank you for the present!”
We are thankful for something, and in the gospel we have so much to be thankful for! It’s simply a matter of continuing to learn and meditate on the truths of His Word.
Unearthing the treasures of God’s character and goodness will take us a lifetime. Isn’t that wonderful? We will never run out of reasons to praise.
She describes it like this, “as we survey the nature of God, we are reminded that he is far above and beyond us. His nature is unfathomable. His wisdom is incomprehensible and his ways are unsearchable (Rom. 11:33). He is limitless; we are limited. He is boundless; we have boundaries set by his divine hand. He is Creator; we are created creatures. He is all-powerful, all-knowing and all-present; we have the measure of power he portions to us, the amount of knowledge he assigns to us, and the singular place of presence he has given to us. Our nature and God’s nature are vastly different.”
Keep Our Gaze on Him as We Read the Word
I remember as a kid praying and asking God to tell me something, then I’d close my eyes and open my Bible. I’d read wherever I landed and figured this was going to be God’s answer.
When we open up the Word, often we’re looking for answers and we approach the Scriptures as an answer book rather than God’s revelation to us about Himself.
Amy writes, “if the Bible is God’s self-revelation—his communication to us of who he is and what he is like—then every time we open our Bibles, we have the opportunity to worship him. Our approach to Scripture reveals our heart’s posture toward the Author of God’s Word.”
Our time reading Scripture may not always lead us to feeling particularly worshipful, but knowing that these verses are showing us truth about the work and character of God, there’s always something we can thank Him for.
My Recommendation
This book is a basic introduction to theology. If that's an intimidating topic for you, just remember theology is simply what we know and believe about God. The handful of terms can be unnerving, but every word is explained in an accessible way. I really think she does a great job of making these concepts understandable for the average reader.
If you're struggling to worship or with your feelings about God, maybe it's time to grow your familiarity with his character. Maybe you're ready to go a little deeper and venture into greater knowledge of who He is. This book is a great place to start that journey.
Quick Stats
# of pages: 224
Level of Difficulty: Moderate (for theological words, but they are all explained!)
My Rating: 5 stars
Books Like This
Scriptures On Worship
Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! (Ps.. 95:6)
God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. (Jn. 4:24)
Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. (Heb. 13:15)
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Col.3:16)
The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. (Ps.28:7)
Follow Along
*A big thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.
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