Some of the people who love creation the most have no idea they're worshipping it.

One morning on a beach in Florida, I found dozens of dead fish with every eye missing. Something built into those seabirds had done the work, and it sent my eyes looking up. We walk the same line when we stand on a summit or watch the northern lights dance. The wonder is real. The question is where it lands.

In Romans 1:25, Paul says people "exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen." (Romans 1:25 ESV) https://www.bible.com/bible/59/ROM.1.25.ESV

In this message from our IDOLS series, we look at the idol of creation. We walk through 8 ways people offer praise and thanks to created things today, from manifesting to the universe to calling the planet Mother Earth. Then we ask the harder question. How does a Christian slip into it? It tends to show up in the same three places every idol does: identity, security, and belonging. A trophy hunt that tells us who we are. A week at the cabin that becomes our spiritual reset. A trail we call our church. A love for the planet that outweighs our love for people. None of those things are bad on their own. They become a problem when a good gift starts doing a job that only God can do.

And at the centre of it all stands Jesus. Colossians 1:15 to 20 tells us the One who made every mountain, forest, and river stepped into creation and gave His life to bring us back. If you've never trusted Him, this message closes with a simple invitation and a prayer you can pray right where you are.

Marvel at the mountains, and worship the Maker.

If this message spoke to you, watch it all the way through and share it with someone who loves the outdoors. Subscribe so you don't miss the rest of the series. I'd love to hear from you in the comments. Where do you feel closest to God, and who do you thank when you're there?

You can find more teaching and resources for everyday Christians and church leaders at LeadBiblically.com.

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 The red tide beach in Florida
2:27 Idols, Uncovering Misplaced Worship (Week 5)
3:12 What creation tells us about God
4:50 The great exchange in Romans 1
5:47 8 ways we worship creation today
8:12 Can Christians slip into this?
8:44 Identity
9:39 Security
11:12 Belonging
13:06 How to respond to creation
15:05 The Creator who stepped into creation
17:17 Invitation and prayer
18:30 Discussion and prayer focus

#IDOLS #Creation #Idolatry #Faith #Jesus #ChristianLiving #BibleStudy #ChristianGrowth

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How many people need to notice you before you feel like you matter? What title or credential would finally feel like enough? Most of us would never say out loud that we're chasing status, but we check the numbers, we notice who noticed, and we feel it when nobody does. Underneath all of it sits one question we'd rather not ask ourselves.

This is part 4 of our Idols series at Mountainview Church, and today we're looking at the idol of platform, the pull to let our identity, our security, and our sense of belonging ride on how many people are watching, following, or approving of us. Galatians 1:10 puts the question straight to us. "For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ." Paul wrote that as a man who used to have real status himself, a Pharisee on the rise, and he traded it for something the crowd could never take back.

We'll walk through how this idol quietly creeps in, in our mood when the numbers are up or down, in the convictions we soften to protect our reputation, in the loneliness that can hide behind a full following. And we'll see why believers like Moses, David, and Paul, along with men and women across church history like George Whitefield, Charles Spurgeon, Billy Graham, William Wilberforce, and Florence Nightingale, carried real influence without losing themselves to it. God gave them a platform for his purposes, and they stayed faithful to the work right in front of them. Even Jesus was offered every kingdom on earth in the wilderness and turned it down, because he already had what a platform only pretends to offer, and he gave up the greatest platform there ever was so ours could be made new.

The crowd will never give you what Christ can guarantee. Watch the full message and let it work on your own heart this week. Subscribe for the rest of the Idols series, drop a comment and tell us which idol you needed to hear about most, and find more for your walk and your leadership at LeadBiblically.com.

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 The question behind every platform
1:15 Week 4 of the Idols series
2:20 Scripture reading, Galatians 1:6 to 10
3:43 Paul's warning to the Galatians
6:32 The crowd will never offer what Christ can guarantee
7:18 Platforms aren't the problem
8:20 Whitefield, Spurgeon, and Billy Graham
9:24 Wilberforce, Nightingale, and everyday influence
10:24 When leaders fall from a God-given platform
11:10 How the idol of platform creeps in
13:08 You are the light of the world
15:03 Three questions to ask about your platform
16:39 Even Jesus was tempted with a platform
17:47 A prayer to trade approval for Christ
18:43 This week's discussion question

#IdolOfPlatform #ChasingApproval #Faith #Jesus #ChristianLiving #BibleStudy #ChristianGrowth

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Nine times out of ten, when I ask someone how they're doing, I get the same word back. Busy. Sometimes it comes out with a sigh, like they're worn down and can't catch a break. Other times it comes out almost like a badge of honour, like being busy proves they matter. Either way, work and busyness have quietly become the way most of us measure our own lives. How much we've accomplished. How needed we are. Whether we're keeping up. If you've ever felt like stopping for even one day would let everyone down, or like your whole identity is wrapped up in your job, this message is for you. We're going to name what's really going on underneath all that busyness, and it might surprise you.

This is part three of our IDOLS series, where we're naming the things that quietly compete with God for the center of our lives. In Psalm 127:1, Solomon uses the word vain three times to describe work that's built apart from God, and it points to something deeper than just being tired. Work can turn into an idol, showing up in how we chase identity, security, and belonging instead of finding those things in Him. I walk through what that looks like in real life, from feeling empty when you're not producing to refusing a day off because rest feels risky. Then we look at Sabbath as God's gift, not a rule. Jesus said the Sabbath was made for us, not the other way around, in Mark 2:27, and He invites every tired, overworked heart to come find true rest in Him in Matthew 11:28. Work is vanity unless God is the builder, but when He is, work becomes worship instead of a burden you're carrying alone.

Watch the full message and let it settle in this week. If you've been chasing rest through your job instead of through Jesus, drop a comment and tell us what that's looked like for you. Subscribe so you don't miss the rest of the IDOLS series, and find more resources for faith and leadership at LeadBiblically.com.

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Why We Wear "Busy" Like a Badge
1:07 Week 3: The Idol of Work
2:01 Psalm 127 and Working in Vain
3:27 Work Is Vanity Unless God Is the Builder
4:52 What "Vanity" Really Means
6:04 How Idols Hide Behind Diligence
7:18 Three Signs You've Made Work an Idol
9:57 The Gift of Sabbath
11:42 Jesus and the Purpose of Sabbath
13:17 Sabbath as a Weekly Act of Trust
15:20 When Rest Feels Terrifying
17:19 Trading Work for Devotion to Jesus
18:35 Work Can Be Worship
19:10 Closing Prayer
19:51 Discussion Question and Prayer Focus
20:39 Next Week: The Idol of Platform

#IdolOfWork #Sabbath #Rest #Faith #Jesus #ChristianLiving #BibleStudy #ChristianGrowth

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LeadBiblically.com | Navigating the Life and Leadership God Has Called You To