JR. Forasteros - March 9, 2014
The God of Work
We all know that hard work is a virtue. But we easily fall into the trap of turning work into a god, believing that we always need just a little bit more before we'll be content. We sacrifice our time, our energy and ultimately our families and lives to this god whose demands on us never end. Let's return to the Creator God who tells us we should do all our work in six days and spend the seventh, the Sabbath day, enjoying the life we're building. Let's remember that our worth and security come not from what we produce but from the God who created, calls and loves us.
From Series: "American Gods"
When you think of idol, you think of a little statue. But idols can be anything that distracts or distances us from God. During Lent, we're going to look at some of the most popular idols in our culture. We'll see what they are, and how they pull us away from God. We'll also discover the better way God calls us to. Join us as we discover the identities of these American gods, and turn from them to follow the one and only true God.
More Messages From JR. Forasteros...
Powered by Series Engine
When I was in high school, a friend of mine invited me to play Dungeons and Dragons. This was exciting to me for a couple of reasons: first, I am and was a huge nerd, so D&D had always been something I wanted to check out. And second, I didn’t have a lot of friends in high school, so this invite was exciting to me!
There was only one problem: I was a child of the 80s, which means I grew up during the so-called “Satanic panic” when America was convinced there were covens of Satanists behind every rock and tree. D&D was alleged to be one of their primary recruiting tools. So my mom was not thrilled that I would be summoning demons with my friends so that we could sell our souls to the Dark Lord.
I’ll spoil the ending: she eventually relented, and my friends and I played D&D for several months straight and no one ever even saw Satan.
We certainly weren’t interested in selling our souls.
But even today, in many churches, bring up D&D and people who wouldn’t know a d20 from a d10 are convinced that D&D is a tool of Satan, along with rock n roll music, high school dances, and a host of other activities.
Which begs the question: really? And, in light of our last series about asking better questions, “Are those the right places to be looking for the devil?”
Today, we’re going to see the answer to that last question is, “No. Actually, if you want to find Satan, you might want to start by looking at religion. Because according to Jesus, one of Satan’s favorite tools is not D&D, but the kind of religion that shields us from looking closely at ourselves.
There’s a way to be religious that keeps us from being honest about our sin, so it actually keeps us from God.
The good news, though, is that Jesus offers to shine the light of truth on our satanic deception, freeing us to follow him into God’s life!
