Idolatry program



Idolatry bible study series based on Timothy Keller ‘Counterfeit Gods’WeekTeaching point/program Week 1Introduction to idols/a case study into idolatry: who, what, how and where of idols and idolatry in humans. Week 2Love is not all you needWeek 3Money changes everything Week 4 The seduction of success Week 5The end our own idols: Self-reflection on our own idols and understanding the futility and fatality of idols in comparison to our God. Week one: Case study into idolatry Opening activity;Spot the idols: How many idols can you spot in this picture?Spot the idols and share with the group why you think it is an idol?0444500Points to consider-Why that image is considered an idol? What makes it an idol? - The differences in the idols in terms of obvious idols like the Buddha statue to less obvious (implicit) idols such as body image, perfectionism and popularity-The variety of idols and getting a feel of the plethora and abundance of idols available? -Get them started on thinking about what is an idol, how does it become an idol and why does it become an idol with questions like “Why do people idolise…5 seconds of summer” and maybe think about what do people do to reflect this like e.g. constantly listening to songs, obsess over each guy, following their blog, posters all over their wall, following their twitter/facebook every minute etc.-Also get them thinking about the difficulty of identifying idols in that there is a fine like between desiring relationships to worshipping relationships? What makes them different, can’t a Christian who loves God also love playing games? READ: Spotting the idol is difficult isn’t it? It’s not easy or obvious. It’s really complex. In this study you will be doing a case study on idols in addressing the key questions??What is an idol?How is an idol made?Why is an idol so bad?What are the idols in our lives?We will be looking hard into the bible for these answers, while it may seem a bit technical, the problem of idolatry is BIG, everyone struggles with that and it prevents us from enjoying our relationship with God to the fullest.Case study of idols Read Exodus 20:1-6And God spoke all these words:2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.3 “You shall have no other gods before[a] me.4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandmentsThe passage comes from the context where God gives the Ten Commandments to Moses at Mount Sinai. This is the first commandment that God gives to his people, what is it? -He commands his people to not have any other gods before God in terms of worshiping, bowing down, making yourself an idol from created things. -He calls for exclusive worship of himself alone From the passage what is the definition of an idol?-It is an image in the form of a created thing which we bow down and worship and put before God in our lives. (v4)-Link back to the original opening activity in terms of how things can be images of created things e.g. money and stuff Why this commandment is so important that it’s put before other commandments like do not murder or commit adultery? -Because of who God is in that he is their God who brought them out of Egypt (v2) and out of the land of slavery and he is a jealous God (v5) who executes consequences for those who go against his commandments/hate him and those who love him and keep his commandments. -Loving God only is linked with keeping his commandments (v6): If you want an extension read Romans 1:1-18 to see the link between acknowledging/worshipping God to our depravity and sinfulness -This commandment is key as it links or sort of provides the overarching commandment which covers all the others e.g. linking loving God only with things like not misusing God’s name or keeping the Sabbath. What is an idol? It is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give… If anything becomes more fundamental than God to your happiness, meaning in life and identity than it is an idol. (Keller, 2009, pp. xvii-xix) Case study into idols pt 2Read Isaiah 44:14-2014?He cut down cedars, or perhaps took a cypress or oak. He let it grow among the trees of the forest, or planted a pine,?and the rain made it grow.?15?It is man's fuel?for burning; some of it he takes and warms himself, he kindles a fire and bakes bread. But he also fashions a god and worships?it; he makes an idol and bows?down to it.?16?Half of the wood he burns in the fire; over it he prepares his meal, he roasts his meat and eats his fill. He also warms himself and says, "Ah! I am warm; I see the fire."?17?From the rest he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships.?He prays?to it and says, "Save?me; you are my god."?18?They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes?are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand.?19?No one stops to think, no one has the knowledge or understanding?to say, "Half of it I used for fuel;?I even baked bread over its coals, I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make a detestable?thing from what is left? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?"?20?He feeds on ashes,?a deluded?heart misleads him; he cannot save himself, or say, "Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?"According to Isaiah, how are idols made? They are made from cut down cedars/cypress or oak in which half is used to cook the bread and the other is fashioned into a god. -Its fashioned by the person and he makes the idol and bows down to it, prays to it for salvation. The idol is made/moulded by the person who worships it by a deluded heart that misleads him into thinking this will save him (v19) b) Based on both passages (in Isaiah and Exodus), why are idols so bad? -Exodus: It is against God’s commandments, they incur God’s wrath and punishment, linked with sin/hatred for God, and they dishonour God in what he has done and who he is in being their Lord and God, - Isaiah: It is stupid to put your trust look as half of the material made your dinner and half is expected to save you, stupid to put your trust in a block of wood, idols are nothing: they know nothing, they understand nothing, eyes cannot see, minds cannot understand (v18) Red lights: So we see that idols are things we put above God and they are really bad for us and our relationship with God, but you don’t see us making our own idols/statues and bowing down to them. Or do we? Idols in the 21st century “To contemporary people the word idolatry conjures up pictures of primitive people bowing down before statues…. Our contemporary society is not fundamentally different from these ancient ones. Each set of idols has its own shrines where sacrifices must be made in order to procure the blessings of the good life and ward off disaster. We may not physically kneel before the stature of Aphrodite but many young women today are driven into depression and eating disorders by an obsessive concern over their body image. We may not burn incense to Artemis but when money and career are raised to cosmic proportions we perform a kind of child sacrifice, neglecting family and community to achieve a higher place in business and gain more wealth and prestige” (Keller, 2008, pp. xi-xii) What does Keller have to say about what and how idols are worshipped and expressed in the modern day society? He talks about modern idols being similar to ancient idols of statues in that we worship them, put our trust in them to have blessings of a good life and ward disaster. While we may not physically kneel or burn incense, we similarly express our worship of these idols by putting them as our priority and doing all we can (even if it kills us) to maintain these idols e.g. a good body image we may be driven to depression and disorders. Or we can sacrifice other important things for it like family or community so we can maintain or keep the idol happy/in its place. Referring back to the opening activity, what are some idols that you or your friends struggle with mainly and what type of sacrifices make for these idols? -maybe like marks and schools where we neglect God or things that help us know about God like going to church or reading our bible or going to our school Christian group so we can get a better mark in our assessments or reports-we spend all our time and money on better clothes and make up or games to maintain our popularity and neglecting to use our money God has given us to give to those who need it etc. Why are these contemporary idols so bad? (refer to the passages and reflections from Tim Keller’s quotes) - Summary of all that we learnt plus the fact that that there is so many idols and these idols require their own exclusive worship and sacrifices. 4. Idols in our lives So we understand that our society is filled with many idols, however just because something is a created thing and not God doesn’t mean everything is an idol. But rather as we have seen it is our perception of the created thing in that we trust in it above God to give us identity, happiness, blessings and purpose. So what idols do you struggle with? Here is a helpful indicator. What idols do you currently struggle with?“a. Idols capture our imagination, and we can locate them by looking at our daydreams. What do you daydream about? What do you enjoy imagining? b. Idols give us a sense of being in control, and we can locate them by looking at our nightmares. What do you fear the most? c. We can also locate idols by looking at our most unyielding emotions. What makes you uncontrollably angry, anxious, or downhearted? (Keller, 2008)” Based on these questions what are your idols? Spend some time praying to God and repenting of these idols and asking that God will change your heart and mind to worship him alone and find happiness, identity, purpose and hope in God alone. Pray also about the coming few weeks as we look at different types/sorts of idols that God will convict us to take following God seriously and be open/honest and repentant about the idols in our life. ................
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