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gathering question:
How did Andy Crouch help you understand power and privilege better?
TRUTH
IN SCRIPTURE
The two great threats to God’s people are idolatry and injustice. These are two sides of the same coin. Because worship is formative, whatever we give our ultimate allegiance, trust, and hope to will change us. We resemble what we revere. The sin of idolatry deforms our identity leading to injustice. We see in 2 Kings 17 that God exiled his people not because of geopolitical changes or social causes but because of idolatry and the injustice that ensued.
Take 5 minutes to read 2 Kings 17:7–18 twice; once to yourself and once aloud together.
Take 10 minutes to answer these questions:
1. According to v.7, how does God identify Himself? According to v.15, how does God describe other gods? What becomes of those who worship those other gods (v.15)?
2. Read vv.13-14. What is the role of God’s word—through the Law and prophets—in keeping God’s people from idolatry and injustice? According to v.14, what is an improper response to God’s word? What is a proper response? What is the link between believing and hearing?
3. Given that humans are made to image the true and living God, what is the relationship between idolatry and injustice? Consider how worshipping Asherah leads to ritual prostitution (v. 10; 1 Kgs 14:24) and Baal requires child sacrifice (vv.16–17). What is the link between the vertical (worship) and horizontal (justice)?
In Summary
Because of their stubborn hearts, the people of God were unwilling to heed the warnings of the prophets. This led them to worship false gods and then to becoming false themselves. We become like what we behold. False worship makes false people who act falsely. To be ‘prophetic’ means to call out both idolatry and injustice, first and foremost in our own hearts and among our own people. All worship requires sacrifice. However, false gods require unjust sacrifices.
EQUIPPING
These equipping questions are meant to help you work the truth out of the text and into your lives. Take 25 minutes to discuss these questions.
1. Whether it was the gods of the ancient Near East (e.g. Asherah, Baal, Molech) or the gods of the Greco-Roman world (e.g. Aphrodite, Ares, Mammon), they all promised their worshippers better lives. How does the pursuit of the gods of money, sex, and power cause injustice in our world, in our lives?
2. Read Psalm 115:4-8. We become like what we worship. Imagine: What kind of person would you become if you trusted in money for your security? In sex for your satisfaction? In power/influence for your significance?
3. An ongoing temptation for the people of God is mixing their religion with the beliefs of the surrounding culture (i.e. syncretism). Where is this a temptation for Christians in our surrounding culture? Consider each of the age-old idols of money, sex, and power.
ACCOUNTABILITY
These questions can be helpful for you to examine your life and ministry in light of the truths you explored this week. Take 15 minutes to discuss these questions:
1. Where do you find refuge, safety, comfort, escape, pleasure, security? When you are pressured, where do you turn? What are your escapes? What do you escape from?
2. Who or what defines success or failure, right or wrong, desirable or undesirable, in any particular situation? Who must you please? Whose opinion of you counts? From whom do you desire approval and fear rejection? Whose value system do you measure yourself against?
3. What do you think about most often? What preoccupies or obsesses you? In the morning, where does your mind drift instinctively? What do you talk about? What is important to you? What attitudes do you communicate?
You may feel convicted by some of these questions. Rather than turning away in shame, turn to Jesus in repentance and believe the truth of who He is for you. Rather than simply trying harder, ask the Holy Spirit to enable you to taste and see that Jesus is better than money, sex, and power.
MISSION
The goal of the Mission section is so that Truth, Equipping, Accountability, and Supplication are transformed into a missional life, that is, following Jesus moment-by-moment in all of life. Take 5 minutes to plan for this:
Arguably the most important starting point for all justice is right worship of the true and living God. Given what we’ve seen:
Re-prioritize the public worship of God with the gathered congregation this Sunday.
Write down the what, when, and where for personal worship this upcoming week. (Practices from our springtime Reset for Renewal period may be helpful here.)
SUPPLICATION
Remember the Spirit helps us in our weakness (Romans 8:26). Close by spending 10 minutes praying God’s words back to Him from the Psalms.
Psalm 111:7–8
The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all his precepts are trustworthy.
They are established forever and ever,
to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
Psalm 37:28
For the LORD loves justice;
he will not forsake his faithful ones.
Psalm 101:1
I will sing of steadfast love and justice;
to you, O LORD, I will make music.