Idolatry

Unfortunately, I didn't get to attend the Advance09 Conference in Raleigh, NC because of work obligations. However, I've been able to listen to the conference messages on Piper's website, http://www.desiringgod.org/. All of the messages I've heard thus far exalt the name of Christ. So I highly recommend listening to them.

In particular, I think everyone should hear Mark Driscoll's talk from the conference on idolatry. I've never really heard the sin of idolatry so candidly addressed by anyone. In his message, he thoroughly covers issues such as the idea of worship, the lies of idols, and the problem with idolatry. Below, I've posted some of the notes I wrote down as I listened to Driscoll.

Worship
-Worship is reflecting, in a limited form, the character and nature of God to the earth for His glory, others' good, and our joy.
-Sin is reflecting people and things other than God.
-We are unceasingly worshipping. It's not a matter of whether we worship, but it's a matter of what we worship.
-The opposite of biblical worship is idolatry or worshipping something other than Jesus.
-Most of the time, we worship good things and make idols out of them.

Often, we make good things become God things and thus they become bad things.

Different Lies of Idols
1) Some idols present themselves as a "savior" in the functional manner
2) Some idols say that they can mediate between man and God
3) Some idols give you identity and define who you are
4) Some idols tell you they will make you righteous

Problem with Idolatry
1) Dishonors God
2) Destroys loved ones
3) Demonizes others

Common Idolatries
1) Money
2) Family
3) Sexuality
4) Substances
5) Morality
6) People

Again, this is just a brief outline of my own notes. I suggest listening to the message yourself. Here is the direct link to the message entitled Ministry Idolatry.

In Him,

Mark