We reflect what we revere…either for our ruin or restoration.

Big Idea

Psalm 115:3-8

3 Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. 4 But their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. 5 They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see; 6 they have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but they cannot smell; 7 they have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but they cannot walk; nor can they utter a sound with their throats. 8 Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.

Tony Classen

Personal Testimony

The controlling power of idolatry“When an idol gets a grip on your heart, it spins out

a whole set of false definitions of success and failure and happiness and sadness. It redefines reality in terms of itself. . . . When idolatry is mapped onto the future – when our idols are threatened – it leads to paralyzing fear and anxiety. When it is mapped onto the past – when we fail our idols – it leads to irremediable guilt. When idolatry is mapped onto the present life – when our idols are blocked or removed by circumstances – it roils us with anger and despair.”

-Tim Keller in Counterfeit Gods 

Romans 1:21-28

21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.  26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 

Romans 1:21-28

27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. 28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.

Cycle of Idolatry (“depraved minds”)

Cycle of Idolatry (“depraved minds”)

Turn to

God in

Repentance!

Are you fed up and exhausted yet?

Ruthlessly assault idols with the Gospel

Romans 6:6,11,13 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin . . . 11consider yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. . . . 13 Do not present the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather present yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and present the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. 

Process of Repentance

Knowing our idols

The Scheming Self (Jacob)

Deep Unbelief Since we believe that God is not good and can’t be trusted, we believe that whatever happens that is good is up to us. Thus, we live like desperate orphans!!!

Knowing our idols

Love (Jacob & Leah)

Deep Unbelief We don’t really believe or experience the love of God for us, & so we scramble around trying to find someone to love us the way we want to be loved. Nobody can fulfill this desire…

Knowing our idols

Greed (Zacchaeus, Rich Ruler, Corinthians & Macedonians)

Deep Unbelief God really can’t be trusted to provide for us, & so we accumulate & hold on desperately to our stuff because we are on our own. We also look to stuff to form an identity for ourselves, because we do not truly have our identity rooted in being God’s adopted child.

Knowing our idols

Success (Naaman & the suffering slave girl)

Deep Unbelief Success-addicts really think they can and must control the opinions of others through their performance and achievements…and they think this is all that really matters. They don’t deeply believe that God accepts them solely through the death & resurrection of Christ.

Knowing our idols

Control (Nebuchadnezzar & Daniel)

Deep Unbelief Because we deeply distrust God and despise our limitations & overall powerlessness, we obsessively try to control our world.

Knowing our idols

Cynicism (Jesus’ Resurrection)

Deep Unbelief Cynics rightly see that the world and people are messed up, but they have lost hope for change. Therefore, they terrorize others with negativity and well-cloaked despair. They live in a resurrection-less reality.

Process of Repentance

Process of Repentance

Personal Reflection & Commitment Identify your core idol(s) Develop a Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) for

the coming year. Good BHAGs are…SpecificAttainableMeasurableGod-sized – only He can transform your heart

Turn your card in to the box on the Welcome Table We will read over them, pray with other leaders, &

mail them back to you a year from today

Eustace the Dragon- from -“The Voyage of theDawn Treader”by C.S. Lewis

Camala Nutter

Personal Testimony

Personal Reflection & Commitment Identify your core idol(s) Develop a Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) for

the coming year. Good BHAGs are…SpecificAttainableMeasurableGod-sized – only He can transform your heart

Turn your card in to the box on the Welcome Table We will read over them, pray with other leaders, &

mail them back to you a year from today