Duration 5 Weeks
Idols are more than wooden or stone objects placed on an altar to worship. They are usually much more subtle than that. They often begin as good things in our lives that over time, become an obsession or a distraction or a fixation that replaces God as our ultimate desire.
1 Timothy 6:6-12 (NIV); Luke 12:13-21 (NIV)
Money is a necessity. Objectively, money itself is not the problem. Paul warns that it is the love of money. But for many people, money has become that idol that they will sacrifice anything to obtain and please. What is a healthy look at money that doesn’t turn it into an idol?
Genesis 2:18-25 (NIV); 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 (NIV); Matthew 6:22-23 (NIV)
God made us sexual beings as a gift. But when that turns into an objectification of another person for one’s own pleasure, this gift becomes an idol that movies, songs and advertisements have exploited. What precautions can we establish to prevent this good gift from becoming a degrading idol?
Romans 13:1-7 (NIV); Acts 5:27-33 (NIV); John 18:33-38a (NIV)
Love of country is a good thing. Throughout the Old Testament, God protected the nation of Israel from its enemies. But nationalism, taken to the extreme, can blind us to the ills of our country. As Paul wrote, “We must obey God rather than people.”
Genesis 2:4-9, 3:17-19 (NIV); Colossians 3:16-17 (NIV); John 6:22–40 (NIV)
Work is one of the good gifts that God gave to Adam. While many look forward to that day in which they can be done working, the concept of retirement cannot be found in the Bible. But this gift of work can quickly become an idol by the work-a-holic that finds meaning, purpose and identity only in their career.
Psalm 139:1-4, 13-14 (NIV); Luke 9:23-26 (NIV)
What? How can I become my own idol? I am created in the image of God. My life is a gift from God. I must create healthy boundaries in order to protect my own integrity and sanity. At what point, does this become self-worship?