Unobvious Idols: Wk 5
Proverbs 23:20-21
20 Do not carouse with drunkards
or feast with gluttons,
21 for they are on their way to poverty,
and too much sleep clothes them in rags.
Proverbs 25:16
16 Do you like honey?
Don’t eat too much, or it will make you sick!
Proverbs 27:20
20 Just as Death and Destruction are never satisfied,
so human desire is never satisfied.
1 Cor 6:12-20
12 You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. 13 You say, “Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can’t say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies. 14 And God will raise us from the dead by his power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead.
15 Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never!16 And don’t you realize that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the Scriptures say, “The two are united into one.” 17 But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.
18 Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. 19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.
Romans 12:1
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.
John 6:26-36
26 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs. 27 But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.”
28 They replied, “We want to perform God’s works, too. What should we do?”
29 Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”
30 They answered, “Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do? 31 After all, our ancestors ate manna while they journeyed through the wilderness! The Scriptures say, ‘Moses gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
32 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven. My Father did. And now he offers you the true bread from heaven. 33 The true bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 “Sir,” they said, “give us that bread every day.”
35 Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36 But you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me.
John 6:53-56
53 So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you.54 But anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.
John 6:60-69
60 Many of his disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?”
61 Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining, so he said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what will you think if you see the Son of Man ascend to heaven again? 63 The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But some of you do not believe me.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and he knew who would betray him.)65 Then he said, “That is why I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father gives them to me.”
66 At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. 67 Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?”
68 Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. 69 We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.”
1.| Food is a gift from God.
2.| Beware the trap of overindulgence.
3.| Jesus is the bread that satisfies.
SMALL GROUP MEETING OUTLINE:
Where your faith intersects with real life!
Reconnect:
Each person shares a recent high and low from their life.
Explore:
Review the message notes.
Big Idea: Food becomes an idol when we look to it to satisfy something that only Jesus can fulfill.
Consider:
Choose one or two questions for your Group to discuss as time allows.
▶ Read Ecclesiastes 2:24 and 1 Corinthians 6:12-13a. How can you know if you have crossed the line from enjoying something as a gift from God to becoming enslaved by it, “needing” it for fulfillment? What are some signs?
▶ Read Proverbs 27:20.
What are some earthly cravings that people look to for fulfillment?
What is at the core of the desire – boredom, comfort, reward, or something else?
▶ Read John 6:27. God can give us peace, affirmation, joy, purpose, and more. Which of these seem valuable for our culture today?
Activate:
Spend a moment in silence to consider your response, then share your decision with the Group.
Read John 6:32-33. Ask God what He wants to give you more of in this season. How can you allow Jesus to bring life to you?
Prayer:
Thank God for the highs and lift up the lows.
Read Romans 12:1. Pray that as a church of growing followers of Jesus we would honor God with our bodies and our lives.