The Gods We Worship - South Valley Community Church

“Some trust in chariots and
some in horses, but we trust in
the name of the Lord our God.”
PSALM 20:7
T h e g o ds w e wo rsh i p
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he truth is we all have something simmering under the surface of our lives that we
fear bringing into the light. We create clever shelves and cupboards deep within the
kitchen of our soul, places that aren’t meant for light, closets
where we stash our secret and unspoken hope. But deep
within our own thoughts, we long to go to that place and sit
before that which we adore, and wait patiently for it to restore
us, calm us or simply take us away for a time. It is in these
secret and cleverly camouflaged recesses of life that loom
our deepest strongholds. If you ever wondered why you feel
a wall between you and Jesus or simply stifled in your walk
with Him, it is here you must dig. A lifetime of unsatisfied desires and suitcases full of frustrated hopes have built a garrison around that which bewitches us, so it is brow-sweating,
side-wrenching work to root it out. For some it is money, for
others it is pleasure, and for many it
is control. Or, as the Bible declares,
“some trust in chariots…”
Kevin Kurzenknabe
D I S C I P L E S H I P PA S T O R
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PA G E 1 0
SESSION 1
Some trust in chariots...
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
PA G E 2 0
SESSION 2
Mars: the god of power
PA G E 2 8
SESSION 3
Eros: the god of sex
Welcome........................................................ 5
Introduction.................................................. 8
How to Use This Study............................ 9
PA G E 3 6
SESSION 4
Mammon: The god of Money
The Final Poem........................................... 44
Suggested Reading................................... 46
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Idolatry /aiˈdɑlətri/
The excessive devotion or worship of someone or something.
for what should be loved less, or an equal
love for things that should be loved less or
more, or a lesser or greater love for things
that should be loved equally.
There is a question with which we all must contend—”what thing in our life, once removed, would
make life unlivable?” The heart of this question gets
to the heart of you. To many of us, this is an unconscious yet heavily guarded ground. To tamper with
it threatens a sacred space within us, whether we
know it or not. When someone treads too close,
emotions like fear, anger, and desperation will be
close at hand.
John Calvin in his Institutes of the Christian Religion
says that “the human mind is, so to speak, a perpetual forge of idols.” In a fuller view:
Using Augustine’s idea of “rightly ordered love” as
our backdrop, idolatry is for all intents and purposes simply a “disordered love.” It does not mean that
the objects of our love are bad or not to be loved
at all, but that we assign them an incorrect order.
To carry it further, the eft of idolatry is simply raising something good to the level of God, or in many
cases, above Him.
The human mind, stuffed as it is with
presumptuous rashness, dares to imagine
a god suited to its own capacity;...it substitutes vanity and an empty phantom in
the place of God. To these evils another is
added. The god whom man has thus conceived inwardly he attempts to embody
outwardly. The mind, in this way, conceives
the idol, and the hand gives it birth.
Ultimately, this is the story of a throne and who (or
what) is on it. Peering through a different lens, it
is an expression of Worship. We all worship something. Even those that profess atheism will express
ultimate reverence and adoration for something(s).
Maybe it is career or a relationship. Maybe it is family or a virtuous way of life. At some point a person’s
language, lifestyle, and actions give his identity a
name, and with it, the offer of a throne.
From a slightly different angle, Saint Augustine in
his City of God from the fifth century presents virtue as “rightly ordered love.” Explaining this idea,
he states:
What we hope to discover both individually and
corporately throughout this series is how to name
our idols, understand their weight in our lives and
ultimately let the gospel destroy them. The problem
is that when most hear the word “idol,” they think of
a time long gone. Yet, the truth is that the modern
world is just as proficient at casting images of foreign deities. Those of metal, wood, and stone have
been debunked as an ancient mind trick, yet exchanged with the forge and contortion of our own
flesh—our idolatry by no means new, is simply the
ancient adversary in contemporary dress.
But living a just and holy life requires one
to be capable of an objective and impartial
evaluation of things: to love things, that is
to say, in the right order, so that you do not
love what is not to be loved, or fail to love
what is to be loved, or have a greater love
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USI NG T HIS ST UDY GUI DE
▶▶ Each week contains the following sections:
▽▽ Introduction: A description of the ancient God and how it applies to our world today.
▽▽ A poem about the idol or challenges that are related.
▽▽ A series of five questions or exercises helping to develop an understanding of the false hope
of the idolatry.
▽▽ A series of five exercises related to how we can put an end to the idol through the gospel.
▶▶ Take notes in your book and bring them to group.
▶▶ Sometimes scripture verses are included in the study and sometimes they are merely referenced for the
sake of space. Take time to read them on your own AND in the group so every participant can grasp
the context.
▶▶ You do not have to complete every question in your meeting. Your group has a particular make up,
so take some time before your meeting to determine questions that you find most applicable and that
you believe will challenge your group.
▶▶ Pray together before you start. The Spirit of the Living God will provide the richest soil for your group
to learn and grow.
▶▶ IMPORTANT CAUTION: In this study our prayer is that you will face your idols. This requires being
bold and sharing stories and examples from your life. After all, giving our idols a name has a confessional quality. However, please use discretion. It is always best to talk about your own experiences
but sometimes this can lead to discussing other people who were/are involved. If speaking of anyone
other than yourself, please do not use names or context that would identify or vilify others. There is a
fine line between sharing for the sake of gospel transformation, and gossiping or creating opportunities
to backbite another image bearer of God.
The following verses are referenced in English Standard Version (ESV).
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SESSION 1
There’s Something Dark
by Dustin Kensrue
There’s something dark inside of me.
There is a ghost in this machine.
There’s a giant jagged hole
That twists and rips through my soul,
Like the roots of some old wretched tree.
There’s something dark inside of me.
other chariots of Egypt with officers over all
of them.” (Exodus 14:6–7). God answered with
a “mighty hand and an outstretched arm”
proving His care for His people so they would
not trust in military power but in His name.
But, what do we trust in . . . ultimately? Unlike
God’s faithfulness, chariots could fail. They
were not suited for many battles since they
required open, flat space and were less maneuverable than infantry and cavalry. Chariots, the symbol of power and hope, often
became nothing more than a flimsy facade.
What is your “chariot”? We all have something
that provides us with ultimate hope, ultimate
security. Like the Wizard of Oz, we stand behind a curtain pulling levers releasing fire and
smoke, an illusion of strength. But will it really
stand? Can it save? Will it forgive?
Think about chariots. Whether you realize it
or not, in the Ancient Near East they were
symbols of might and glory. They were fast
and could carry two or more soldiers; a military ancestor to the modern day tank. They
protected their riders up to the waist, and
in some cases, were armed with meter-long
scythes on each wheel, cutting down infantry or cavalry caught too close to its warpath.
Powered by one or more horses, these early
war machines brought fear to the eyes and
ears of those facing off in battle. In the Old
Testament, chariots are often used to describe the prowess of one’s military. When
chasing down the Israelites as they departed Egypt, it is said “... [Pharaoh] made ready
his chariot and took his army with him, and
took six hundred chosen chariots and all the
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There’s something haunting, all my love.
There’s nothing good I’m thinking of.
Still I’m gilded and groomed, gliding into the room.
Saying such bold and beautiful things.
There’s something dark inside of me.
There’s something rumbling in my mind.
Secrets that you weren’t meant to find.
Thought you knew me so well?
I will see you in hell.
Before I let you live to tell what you’ve seen.
There’s something dark inside of me.
I need someone to set me free.
So I call out your name.
But you seem so far away.
Anyway, who could save one like me?
Cause there’s something dark inside of me.
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Idols & False Hope
Power, acceptance, comfort, popularity, politics, religion. Choose your poison, or I should say, you have
already chosen your poison. Through upbringing and the culture that we have been raised in, our deepest
longings have become corrupted, planting in each of us something that we have “set our heart on” that is
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Likely the items that were discussed in the previous
question aren’t bad things, but discuss the outcome and
related emotions if they were suddenly lost.
not God. King Solomon was emblematic of such a lifestyle. From its modest and faithful beginning, we find
the story of an ascending young king that turns out to be a slow descent into self-sufficiency. His is a story
like ours that weaves its way through a host of idols.
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Read 1 Kings 4:20-23
While we don’t have daily provisions that
are quite as royal as Solomon, consider
your daily meals.
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1 Kings 9:10-22
discusses how
Solomon is drafting forced
labor to help build his palace and
the temple. How might this “use” of
others be an idol? How might his grip
of power over others have added to his
idolatry? Who are the people whom
we “lord over” and use for our own
purposes? At work? At home? Or
maybe you are the one who felt
used as a pawn in someone
else’s schemes.
What has become
normal for you dayto-day, week-to-week?
What would you consider
your “fattened foul” or other
daily comfort? If a person from
a developing country watched
you eat and drink each day,
what do you think they
would say?
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What if you were
demoted or laid off?
What if your retirement
account lost half of its value?
What if your home burned
down and the insurance
company wouldn’t cover
the loss?
read 1 Kings 4:24-28
King Solomon’s reign was vast and peaceful:
chariots and horses at the ready, well fed and speedy
stallions consigned throughout the kingdom.
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How about us?
What is our safety
net, the thing that secures
our peace at home and at
work? A good job? A vested
401K? As a group, discuss
the things that provide you
security and comfort of
life.
Read 1 Kings 11:1-8
Here it is, the last straw. Sex and political
marriages lead to the final stage for Solomon.
Hundreds of wives serving different gods and
Solomon following their lead.
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Why did he need God? He had
wealth, power, sex and all with
much variety. The same variety as the
gods that they now served. How does
this panoramic view of Solomon’s life
intersect our own lives? We clearly don’t
have the multitudes that he did, but
how have our passions, desires, and
longings built a web of false trusts
that we rely on?
Crushing Our Idols
For archaeologists, one of the greatest finds is a “tel,” a large mound that looks like a hill. The hill’s growth has
come from cycles of development and abandonment by different cultures over centuries or even millennia. The
reason they are so coveted is that they are like an earthen onion: with each layer peeled back comes the discovery of a former civilization, a people and the remnants of their heritage. Idolatry is like the tel of our soul. We must
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From what you
know about Jesus
and the gospel, what
would you say are the “hard
parts” that people don’t like?
How might the answers to
this question reveal a
false hope or idolatry?
Why do you
think things like
power, sex and money
can overpower the
promise of the gospel
in our lives?
proactively dig to deeper levels within the hill of our idolatry to find the idol under the idol, and once there, we
must pour the healing power of the gospel over it in order to ultimately remove the idol’s power from our lives.
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How do you
believe your
church community has
provided support for those
challenged with idolatry? How
can your church family better
support you? What are ways
that mutually broken people
can help each other?
Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-11:
“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by
which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered
to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that
he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas,
then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive,
though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely
born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted
the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary,
I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or
they, so we preach and so you believed.”
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A simplified definition of the gospel that can be summarized from this
passage is “the victory of Jesus over Satan, sin, and death through His
life, death, and resurrection.” This is a proclamation of the good news. Take
a moment and write a statement of how a particular idolatry (power, sex,
money, etc.) is good news and compare it to the gospel. For example, “A
well-paid career brings freedom by allowing me to do what I want when I
want and will give me a wonderful retirement.”
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How do they compare? Are
there limitations? Are there
conditions (e.g. if...then)
under the surface?
The permanent destruction of idols requires
a lot, but most of all it requires the gospel.
With accountability from Spirit-led church family
members and a deep desire for God to intervene,
we all can overcome our idolatry and addictions.
Read Luke 11:1-13
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The parable
following the
Lord’s Prayer insists
that consistent “shameless”
pursuit of God is a good thing.
Have you pursued God about your
false hope? Honesty is critical.
Within your group share what is
holding you back from asking
for God’s rescue from
your brokenness.
Naming Your Idolatry
Over the next few weeks, we will come together in small groups to discuss our false hopes and how the
gospel is the only power to transform us out of our worship of these idols. Each week as you go through
the sermons and the curriculum together, come back to this exercise and add insights to gain a deeper
understanding of your own false hopes.
Write
all of the benefits of your “one thing” from the previous
page in the first column and write all the benefits of
the gospel in the second column. Take a few minutes to share it with
someone in your group and ask them to pick which column seems
more valuable to you. Do you agree with their assessment? Why/why
not? Do you feel like you understand the gospel well enough?
My One Thing
The Gospel
Write
one thing (or person), on the following line, in your life that you feel would
crush you if you lost it. We are not talking about sadness, or depression,
but absolute dismay and desperation. Think of Augustine’s “rightly ordered love” from the
introduction. What is the primary thing you have put out of order in your life? For some it
may be work or financial freedom, for others it may be family or spouse, and still for others
it may be physical pleasure or needing companionship.
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notes &prayers
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SESSION 2
M o u n ta i n s A h e a d
Conquer and combat is the language of
this god, similar to Ares in the Greek pantheon of gods. Mars was seen as the father
of the Roman people. Though he symbolized war and destruction, through all of
his destabilizing work, it is he who promised peace because he was the patron of
the Roman military and all of its might.
One story from Homer’s Iliad tells of Zeus’
irritation with Ares stating “Do not sit beside me and whine, you double-faced liar.
To me you are the most hateful of all gods
who hold Olympus. Forever quarrelling
is dear to your heart, wars and battles.”
Considering Zeus was Ares’ father, one
can imagine Ares’ disposition. At the end
of the day, we may not think that we are
power-mongers like Mars or Ares, but under the surface of our hopes often lurks a
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desire to be strong because this strength
is believed to bring our soul’s peace.
“Peace through superior firepower” and
“mutual assured destruction” were mantras of the cold war and often remain the
crutch of our hearts. Of course, strength is
not a bad thing, but wielded as a weapon
it can bludgeon those too close to the battlefront. Let’s face it, power can sour relationships. It could be a desire for acclaim
or simply to be perceived better than a
coworker. This kind of comparative war
game always finds a way of building one’s
self up at the expense of another, and at
the first sign of defeat it will express itself
in rage, passive aggressive manipulation,
or collapse into self-loathing. We know
that our gospel is powerful, but does it
wield power like Mars?
Competition at the line, I welcome the insult,
The breeze slows, I sense the finger’s pull on the trigger,
Who can stop my game, bring me to no use?
No one, for this mountain is mine.
A scan of the frivolous rank and file.
The “best”, whatever, a sort of misguided lack-o-luster,
Soon to feel the ambush of defeat, my feet.
From base to peak, this mountain’s mine.
Is my nose high or they heads down?
Their greyish garments, pregnant geldings.
Who gathered this crew of flaccid buffoons?
Take ‘em to the hoop, the mountain is mine.
To the next mountain, my mind awander,
From peak to peak, flashing friendish foes,
Ribbon and trophy fulfilling my hopes,
Behind each peak, beyond this mountain, just one more range to go.
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The False Hope of Mars
Disagreements. Have you ever been in the thick of a disagreement when you felt like both sides had exhausted all logic and simply come to an impasse. But your very next thought was that any “tie” should
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default to your position because you are the one who is “right?” Power has a way of making you the oil in
someone else’s water, you always rise to the top.
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Recall a time when
you had a significant
argument or disagreement
with someone. How did you view
the other person while in the midst
of the disagreement? What did you
say that may have reduced them as a
person or made them feel “under”
you? How might the god of
power been involved in the
discussion?
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Read 2 Samuel 12:1-15,
then read 2 Samuel 13:122. How are these stories
about power? Do you think they
are about sex? Share a time when
you wanted something and you
may have taken advantage of
your power.
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Read Genesis 6:11-13:
“Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled
with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for
all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, 'I
have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with
violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.'”
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The Bible uses words
like “strife”, “hatred” and
“violence” when speaking
of misused power. Reveal a time
when you misused your power at
home or at work. What motivated
you to do it? How did it turn out
for each person involved?
Why do you think God so
closely connects the words
“violence” and “corruption”?
Proverbs 29:12 says, “A man of wrath stirs up
strife, and one given to anger causes much
transgression” and in 1 Corinthians 3:3 the
Apostle Paul says, “...you are still of the flesh.
For while there is jealousy and strife among
you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only
in a human way?”
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In context, Paul is seeing
individuals in the church at
Corinth aligning themselves with
different teachers as if they were
choosing the winning football team.
How can the aligning to power create
problems? Why is this kind of power
different from the power of the
gospel?
The End of the Idol
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But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones
Proverbs 3:34 (in the Greek Old Testament) says, “God
opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” and
this verse is quoted multiple times in the New Testament.
exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your
servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served
but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:25-28). The god of power stands strong, a force
Why is the currency of
humility and generosity
so embedded in our faith?
What motivates us to live
this way? What makes it
powerful?
to be reckoned with, but can the hope of “power” defeat the hope of the gospel? Let’s face it, power is comparative, it
demands that we set one over or under another. But, where Mars might say “take that land,” the gospel would say “give
up that right.” Where Ares might say “vanquish the weak,” the gospel would say “protect the vulnerable.” It seems so
counter-cultural, so how do we live it out?
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Read Luke 18:9-14:
Power deludes
“[Jesus] also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that
us. How did the tax
they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went
collector understand his
up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
place in the grand scheme
The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I
of things? Considering Jesus
am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this
death five chapters later,
tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax
how is “power” redefined
collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but
by the cross?
beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man
went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts
himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.'”
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The apostle Paul understood the “upside-downness” of God’s Kingdom. In 2 Corinthians 12:910 he complains about a weakness, a “thorn in his flesh” that he wanted God to remove
so he could have greater power in ministry. He writes, “But [Jesus] said to me, “My
grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I
How does
will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may
the gospel
rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults,
reveal
a different
hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
way of viewing
weakness?
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Read 1 Corinthians 1:18-31:
“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is
the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment
of the discerning I will thwart.” Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is
the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the
wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly
of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,
but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those
who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the
foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider
your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not
many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in
the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the
Why is the
strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are
power of the
not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in
cross attractive?
the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to
Why is it
us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that,
unattractive?
as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.””
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Think of the ultimate goal of anything. When the goal
arrives, what spurs us any further? Is the only goal of
gospel power our personal “salvation” or is it something much
greater? Read the implications of the gospel in the following
texts in your group: Philippians 3:20-21, 2 Corinthians 5:1-5,
17-21, Romans 8:18-30, Revelation 21:1-8, 22:1-5.
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Now, where do
you think the goal
of the gospel is
pointing?
notes &prayers
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SESSION 3
Artificial Indulgence
We know this deity all too well.
Perhaps we are more familiar
with his Latin (Roman) name,
Cupid, that brings to our minds
the pudgy little childish imp
scurrying around shooting people in their backsides with his arrows of bliss. But within the subplot of this caricature is one of
the most powerful forces in the
world. True Biblical love has the
most wonderful outworkings but
it can be distorted by self-directed motivations, recasting it into
something different. Lust, pornography, and marital infidelity,
like Eros, are dark shadows of a
very real thing. These impostors
subtly cast sexual intimacy and
the beauty of another into our
own mold, squeezing the face of
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love until it is no longer recognizable. They take the goodness
of love, which scripture says,
“binds everything together in
perfect harmony,” and bend it
sharply until it is pointing toward
one’s self rather than where it
should be pointing, toward the
other. Further hints of these
distortions of love come from
the myth of Eros. Fittingly, his
daughter was named Voluptas
in Latin and Hedone in Greek,
which is where we get our English words voluptuous and hedonism, both of which translate
to “pleasure.” There is no doubt
that sexual intimacy should and
does bring pleasure, but we
must ask ourselves whose pleasure are we ultimately seeking.
Low light, her sparkling allure
Showing before me hopeful
A seat of grandeur, beauty . . . all mine.
Butterflies, tickling my innards
Wanting something, something more
A flicker of liquid lumens, I see her fully . . . might this happen?
Solomon of old speaks of Fawns and Does
But I just like the way they make me feel, hopeful
A sight to see, a wanting to want . . . I hope she “does”
Curves I can’t bear, a valley of echoes
Ringing out, reminding me of great distance
A digital trick-or-treat for my dying soul . . . can’t they be mine?
Late, late, insatiable, alone
My time is short, unreal sweet, saccharin gut
The pixels now dark, a waterless mirage . . . my heart deserted.
Oh Life, please compete
Perpetual days mere shadows, hopeless
Render emptiness empty . . . my fractured cistern of soul.
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The False Hope of Eros
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Why do you think
pornography, which is said
to be a multi-billion dollar
industry, has such a huge cultural
influence? How about seduction
novels? Are both of these all
about sex and pleasure or is
there something deeper?
We all have experienced the empty promises of infidelity, sex outside of marriage or other sexual addictions.
If not personally, we have seen its lingering effects in relatives, friends or coworkers. The promise of sex and
intimacy is so powerful that it can easily navigate us outside of the safe harbor of love.
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Share stories preferably
from your own life where
you have experienced or seen the
fallout from inappropriate sexual
desires/relationships or other sexrelated challenges. What do you think
was the root cause(s)? How many
people were affected and how
were they affected?
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Read 1 John 2:15-17:
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone
loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that
is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the
eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the
world. And the world is passing away along with its desires,
but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”
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Read Mark 7:14–23:
“And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand:
There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that
come out of a person are what defile him.” And when he had entered the house
and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. And he said
to them, ‘Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that
whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since
Jesus speaks of things
it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he
coming out of our heart
declared all foods clean.) And he said, “What comes out of a person
defiling us. What does that
is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come
mean? How does it defile us?
evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting,
How did these things get into
wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All
the person’s heart in the
these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.’
first place?
This scripture could be
used throughout this study
as a warning, but how have the
desires of the flesh and desires
of the eyes ever caused you to
stumble sexually? How has a
simple sight or thought taken
you down a road?
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In Ezekiel 23, we read a story of two women representing
Israel and Judah, God’s chosen people. It becomes quickly
apparent that God is using sexual imagery, words like
“lust” and “whore,” to identify His people’s idolatry.
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Why sex? What
might this tell us
about how God sees
His relationship
with humanity?
The End of the Idol
3
Jesus says, "But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). So how do we conquer the god of sex? How do we
as Christians live in full control of not just our physical drives, but our thought life? As with any idol, we
must ask why the Cross of Christ is not clear enough, beautiful enough, or simply not effective enough
Chastity has always been a uniquely Christian
virtue. The word does not mean “no sex” but
appropriate sex. In 1 Corinthians 6:12 through chapter
7, the Apostle Paul writes about the gift of sex to the
married, but also about the blessings of singleness.
to overwhelm the god of sex in our lives.
What are ways
that we can honor
sexuality within the
context of marriage without
reducing it to a physical act?
What are ways we can support
and honor those that have
selected singleness, whether
divorced, widowed or
celibate?
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1
In “The Great Divorce”, C. S. Lewis writes of a man who is
captured by his lustful thoughts and his lust is depicted as a
red lizard that sits on his shoulder, whispering to him.
2
If your lust, sexual
appetite or desire for an
inappropriate relationship
was somehow personified,
what would it look like? What
do you think would be
necessary to kill it?
Describe a situation
when you recall someone
living in the skin of love like
this. What is different about
this love and the love of Eros?
From these verses, what kind
of future does this love
promise?
Read 1 Corinthians 13
Often read at weddings, this scripture’s
middle section speaks of love as if it were
literally a person. Now this could mean
that we are to step into the skin of love and
embody it ourselves, but more likely it refers
to One who embodied it perfectly.
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What promises can
physical pleasure
and love relationships
fulfill that Jesus cannot? How
does our culture of “instant
gratification” affect our
thinking related to this
question?
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Read 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5,7-8:
“For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain
from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to
control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the
passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God... For
God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore
whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who
gives his Holy Spirit to you.” Sanctification is a big word for
holiness or consecration. Disregarding God kills sanctification.
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When it comes to sex
and sexual appetites, what
can we do to control our bodies
in “holiness and honor”? Think
of strategies that might work in any
context and those that might help
you. As a group, list practical ideas to
manage appetites and encourage
people to avoid triggers to
inappropriate thinking and
actions.
notes &prayers
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SESSION 4
Drowning
Where do I run?
To you, my sweet and secure.
Desiring peace by feeding on more chaos.
Drowning my thoughts in the comfort of you.
wantingly at the pavement of gold in heaven. In
Hell’s great debate on whether to attack Heaven, his argument was that war risks being under
God’s rule again:
Money, money, money. Songs have been written
about it, movies have been made about it, and entire cultures have been swayed by its importance.
The entire Western world is being infused with
the thought “what’s in it for me?” In the Sermon
on the Mount, Jesus personifies Mammon when
saying, “No one can serve two masters, for either
he will hate the one and love the other, or he will
be devoted to the one and despise the other. You
cannot serve God and money" (Matthew 6:24).
The word “money” here is “mammon” meaning
“wealth” or “riches.” John Milton solidified Mammon in the pantheon of evil by personifying it in
Paradise Lost as one of Hell’s fallen angels. Mammon was said to be the “least erected” of the infernal because he was so used to looking down
Of new Subjection; with what eyes could we
Stand in his presence humble, and receive
Strict Laws impos’d, to celebrate his Throne
With warbl’d Hymns, and to his Godhead sing
Forc’t Halleluiah’s;
And his plan was that Hell should simply be built
up into something that rivaled Heaven. Like Mammon, when we get caught up in material possessions (house, car, salary, 401K), are we any different or are we simply erecting our own palaces?
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Laying painfully awake, I then turn to the warmth of my comfort.
More and more is needed to forget the aching.
Living for a moment, a time of numbness.
When will this end?
Logic and emotion, become endlessly separated.
I live to serve you, to serve my brokenness.
Knowing, is not enough to turn from you.
Life will be better once I clench your deceptive promise.
My hope has become you.
I have become a victim of enslavement, and I its abuser.
To feed myself, I feed the monster of false hope.
Look to the distance, and I see no end.
You are mine, or am I yours?
You have become the tyrant ruler of my life.
Every day I elected you there.
I now, again, lay awake, drowning my soul in the comfort of you.
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The False Hope of Mammon
3
After the United States stock market crash of 1929 and the global financial meltdown in 2008, is it surprising
Read Acts 5:1-11 & Acts 8:18-22
that there was a spike in suicides among the financial elite? For many, money and prosperity became a
Ananias and Sapphira sought to protect themselves
by secretly holding back, and Simon the Magician
observed the power of this new faith as another “magic”
he could peddle in order to make a living.
sandy foundation in the middle of an earthquake. When the money, prestige and careers were in question,
life was no longer livable.
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1
Define greed and describe
how you have seen it lived
out. What is the opposite of
greed and what are tangible
ways that you might see this
“opposite” lived out?
2
Compare and contrast the
stories. What was the problem
with their thinking?
Read 1 Timothy 6:9-10:
“But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into
many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and
destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It
is through this craving that some have wandered away from the
Describe a time that
faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” One love is
you were tempted or
bigger than another. Though we may feel the pull toward both,
actually drawn into a
the one with greater magnetism will draw our path.
temptation for money. How
did you rationalize your
decision?
We learn in the gospel according to John that Judas
Iscariot carried the “moneybag.” We also know from
Matthew’s account that Judas was paid for his betrayal of
Jesus. Judas chose to walk with Jesus every day.
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What do you think
changed along the way?
How did 30 pieces of silver
gain greater weight than the
Kingdom of which Jesus
spoke?
5
We make decisions with financial
implications at work and at home. Our
free market thinking has taught us to
make a “cost-benefit analysis” in nonfinancial decisions as well. We ask, “What’s
in it for me, and what will it cost me?”
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Recall a time when you were
considering ending or starting a
relationship. How did you “quantify”
the costs and benefits of the person?
What ultimately tipped the scales?
Looking back, do you think this
approach was appropriate? How were
idols possibly lurking behind your
decision-making?
The End of the Idol
We have become so accustomed to the idea that “money makes the world go around.” Every moment
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of every day we can conduct transactions for “necessities” even with our mobile phones. Our culture
Read Matthew 6:19-21:
“‘Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth
and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay
up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor
rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For
where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’”
is fluent in the language of Apple Pay and eBay. In a money-centric world, how does the transaction
of the Cross rank? Imagine you are handed a credit card and told “Consider the bill always paid, now
generously use this as I would.” One thing is for certain: you would have to know the giver of that gift if
you wanted to follow him. The gospel compels us to understand and know God in deeper ways, and as
The verse implies that
heavenly treasure is
unassailable, indestructible.
From what you know about
the gospel, what makes this
believable? What makes it
unbelievable?
we do, we recognize what truly holds everything in place and “makes the world go around.”
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1
2
Deuteronomy 7:6 speaking of Israel says, "For you are a
people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has
chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out
of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.”
For some, the following exercise
may seem elementary or too
basic, but real and ongoing
transformation is found when the
answers to these questions sink
into our bones. As a group, take
turns describing how Jesus’ life,
death, and resurrection is like a
transaction or an exchange.
As Christians,
partakers of the New
Covenant and grafted into
the people of God, do you
see yourself as a “treasured
possession”? Why/why not?
How would you relate to
something you considered a
“treasured possession”?
Read Acts 8:26-29
“Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from
Jerusalem to Gaza.’ This is a desert place. And he rose and went. And there was an
Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who
was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship
and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet
As a eunuch, sex was
Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go over and join this chariot.’”
not an option for him. What
This is a strange story. Consider that the Ethiopian was in charge of
did he seem most interested
vast wealth which probably afforded him great power.
in and why? Did he seem
overcome with power/wealth?
How are you like and unlike
the Ethiopian?
What did He
receive? What do you
receive? What did it cost
Him? What does it cost you?
What was His motivation? What
is your motivation? What value is
He paying for? What value are you
receiving? Does it seem fair
and equitable? Does it seem
real? Why/why not?
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5
Since this is
the last session,
compare all of the idols
that have been discussed
over the last four weeks. How are
they interrelated? Describe how
multiple idols can be hidden behind
each other, and share some ideas
of how you (individually and
collectively) are going to let
the gospel destroy your
idols.
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notes &prayers
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43
My Freedom Declared
My heart ached brokenness,
My soul screamed hopeless,
My mind heard useless,
My life reflected emptiness…
To escape from the hands
Of reality’s harsh grip,
Pursuing false gods,
With a swiftness of step.
Idols were plenty,
Idle things pursued,
Power, sex, and money,
Temporary satisfaction subdued.
The deep longing within,
Falsely quenched for some time,
Until the flame became a fire,
Out of control, can’t draw the line.
Overtaken by those things,
Power, passion, and pursuit,
Led to emptiness beyond,
This heart’s initial severed root.
Separated from the One,
Soul yearning for Thee,
Freedom for these aching bones,
And Christ, He heard my plea!
He answered in full,
No response lacking there of,
Truly for the first time,
Drenched in His liquid love!
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My heart made whole,My soul found hope,
My mind made sound,
My life now full!
Mere idols now crushed,
No need to return,
A heart fully spoken for,
With divine passion will burn!
On fire and inspired,
This Spirit-filled life,
Broken from the bondage,
Freed from identity strife!
Anxiety has no grip!
No longer lives here,
Courage now resides,
Where there once housed fear!
The beacon light of Christ,
Burns bright from within,
For the world to see truth,
Anchored love found in Him!
To know who I am,
Not defined by who I was,
A child of the Most High God,
Owe it all to You because…
The power is Yours!
The passion is You!
The mammon has no hold,
The Gospel has made all things new!
My heart healer!
My bondage breaker!
My miracle maker!
My load lifter!
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Suggested Reading
Counterfeit Gods, The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope That Matters by Tim Keller
The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis
Living in the Light: Money, Sex, and Power by John Piper
“The Expulsive Power of a New Affection” A sermon by Thomas Chalmers
THANK
YOU
for participating in this study.
The Gods We Worship Curriculum
Copyright © 2016 South Valley Community Church
Text Copyright © 2016 by Kevin Kurzenknabe
Illustration Copyright © 2016 by Andrea Kovach
All rights reserved throughout the world. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means–electronic, mechanical, photocopy, record, or any other–expect for brief
quotations on printed reviews without the prior permission of the publisher.
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