Idol-ization

I know my high school/middle school friend was the runnerup on "American Idol" (whose title actually kinda proves the point....) but anyway, this blog is not in deference to my pop singing friend, but to God, so here it goes...

My church sermon today focused on idolatry. I thought it was very good, so figured I'd share some of the basic points with you gals. The pastor was focusing on 1st Corinthians 10: 1-14 in which we are told to "flee from idolatry."
Idolatry is the silent, subtle, almost invisible sin that causes the other sins.
Through idolatry, we are depending on something other than God for happiness. John Calvin once said "the human heart is an idol factory" because we never run out of things we want.
I can't do the service justice, but here was a breakdown of how idolatry "works."
1)You decide what "hell on earth" would be.
2)You turn to a "savior" to save you from that hell.
3)You'll compromise anything to stay in right relationship to your "savior."
4)You discover that your "savior" hasn't really saved you, it has only taken you to a new hell:
-pride or despair
-dissatisfaction
-enslavement
-the spirit of works-righteousness

A lot of the ideas from the sermon came from "When people are big and God is Small" and John Piper's "Desiring God."

It was very interesting. Anyway...

On more positive notes, it was good seeing you last weekend, K and MJ. :)

-GG