Repentance Is the Goal of Worship

Repentance is the ultimate goal of worship, which makes it the number one priority of our worship planning system (see Isaiah 6 for additional study on how repentance follows true worship). Everything we do is designed to call people to repentance.

That said, I rarely use the word repentance in a message. Metanoia is the Greek word commonly translated as “repentance,” but it literally means “changed thinking.” So I talk about truth that leads to change; I talk about selecting a different option; I talk about taking a divergent path—all with the goal of leading people to repentance, which is a change of thinking and/or a turning from sin.

Many church leaders have the impression that weepy people falling on their faces at the altar is the only real evidence of repentance. While repentance does often take the form of a strong emotional response, it can also be seen in much smaller moments of realization. Keep reading