Only God can save me from worshiping the wrong thing

You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. EXODUS 20:4-6 NLT

Everybody worships something

Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. ROMANS 1:21 NLT

I worship what…

● Dominates my thoughts
● Consumes my free time
● Requires my money

What I worship will either save me or destroy me

Why do we worship the wrong thing?

We don’t know any better

We shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone. God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead. ACTS 17:29-31 NLT

We have grown impatient with God

When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “Come on,” they said, “make us some gods who can lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.” So Aaron said, “Take the gold rings from the ears of your wives and sons and daughters, and bring them to me.”All the people took the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron. Then Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded it into the shape of a calf. When the people saw it, they exclaimed, “O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!”Aaron saw how excited the people were, so he built an altar in front of the calf. Then he announced, “Tomorrow will be a festival to the LORD!” The people got up early the next morning to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. After this, they celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry. EXODUS 32:1-6 NLT

We are angry with God

When they came near the camp, Moses saw the calf and the dancing, and he burned with anger. He threw the stone tablets to the ground, smashing them at the foot of the mountain. He took the calf they had made and burned it. Then he ground it into powder, threw it into the water, and forced the people to drink it. EXODUS 32:19-20 NLT

We follow people instead of God

“Don’t get so upset, my lord,” Aaron replied. “You yourself know how evil these people are. They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.’ So I told them, ‘Whoever has gold jewelry, take it off.’ When they brought it to me, I simply threw it into the fire—and out came this calf!” EXODUS 32:22-24 NLT
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.” MATTHEW 16:24 NLT

Community Group Discussion Guide

1. If a friend asked you “what is worship,” what would you say?
2. If worship is defined as something that dominates my thoughts, consumes my free time and requires my money, what are the top few things that you worship?
3. In what specific ways do those things subtly or overtly get in the way of your desire to worship God only?
4. Read Exodus 32:1-4. When have you been tired of waiting on God and taken matters into your own hands? What happened as a result?
5. Read Exodus 32:22-24. Who are the people in your life that pressure you to turn away from your faith in God? What can you do to protect yourself from their influence?
6. Read Acts 17:29-31. Now that you are aware of the idols in your life, what can you do to stop worshipping them and instead return to Jesus?

Personal Reflection Guide

Find a place to sit quiet with God. Open your time with him with these words that David wrote in the Psalms. “Search my heart God, see if there is any wicked thing in me.” Sometimes we are blind to seeing the sins that have just become so ordinary and acceptable in our daily lives. Ask God to give you sight. We have our own modern day gods…like cars, jobs, hobbies, entertainment, gadgets we hold in our hands, even people we may idolize in our own homes. Anything that consumes our thoughts and time in excess can be considered an idol. The amazing thing about God is, he never asks us to do anything that he won’t, in turn, help us do. With God you can lay down the idols that you have built in your life. With his help you can be healthy in your relationships with others. Be honest with God and share with him what has come up during this time. Then share with someone that you trust about what God has shown you or what you’ve already known to be a problem. Consider asking that same person if they see anything in your life that may be an idol. Lastly, ask God to help you have no other gods before him not only today, but make it a daily ask, because it can be a daily struggle.