Thinking about this, I remembered the first sermon I ever preached. I was a very green fifteen when my church youth group in Willimantic, Connecticut was invited to join the youth in East Hartford for a combined service - I was to be the preacher. To be honest, not too many of my sermons are memorable, but I do remember that one. Taken from Daniel's story about his friends being asked to bow down to the "Babylonian Idol," I warned my peers about the dangers of idol worship, naming for them what I considered to be idols worshiped by many of our day. I don't recall the short list I provided that Friday night, but I suspect that if this sermon were to be repeated now, nearly 60 years later, the list may not have changed too much.

Today I'll let you create your own list of potential idols. You may be quick to agree with the radio commentator who said, "I won't bow down to America's Idol." You may not be bowing down to the idols of glamour, fame and fortune, but there are many other idols to choose from, such things as: financial success, career promotion, trinkets and treasures, entertainment, sexual pleasure, friendship, and even family. This last one may come as a surprise, but we remember that Jesus said, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters -- yes, even his own life -- he cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:26)

However, Christians, like the Hebrew believers before them, live their lives by a different rule. To be a believer in God one must be prepared to renounce all other gods, and refuse to bow down to any idol.

As Christians we are not allowed to skip over the Old Testament and ignore its clear instructions like those given through Moses:

"You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand [generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments." (Deuteronomy 5:7-10)

Shortly after this passage comes what for centuries, countless millions have repeated - "the Shema."

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." (Deuteronomy 6:4,5)

If we are to be true to this our devotion to God, we must be quick to declare, "I won't bow down to America's Idol."

Think about it, the American Idol is not very unlike the Babylonian Idol in the story of the Three Hebrew Men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who stood up and refused to obey the command of the most powerful man on earth. Even threatened with immediate death by fire, these men each declared, "I won't bow down to Babylonia's Idol."

Notice these similarities.

First, music was an important part of the worship of the Babylonian Idol. Daniel 3:4-6 gives this account:

"The herald loudly proclaimed, 'This is what you are commanded to do, O peoples, nations and men of every language: As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.'"

Several other shows have tried to copy the formula, but with far less success than "America's Idol" - shows like "American Inventor," and "America's Next Top Model." Why haven't they met with the same success? One big reason is, the copycat shows don't have the music. Even in the contemporary Christian Music scene, much caution must be taken so that we don't cross the line from worshipping the One to whom the music points to worshipping the artists who perform it.

I hope we will proclaim, "I won't bow down to America's Idol" even when he or she happens to be a Christian.

Second, then as now, there is tremendous pressure to join in and bow down. Can you just imagine a large crowd made up of the most important governmental officials of the ancient world's one super power? Every single one was complying with the expectation of this ruthless Sadam Hussein look-a-like. Hundreds of them - even the several other dozen Hebrew men - all rationalizing their behavior with the time-warn words, "everybody's doing it."

But then there are the three who by their actions say, "I won't bow down to America's - Babylonia's - Idol."

The third similarity is that the idol was in the image of a person, one who wanted to be recognized instantly by the masses. For Neducadnezzar, it was a statute ninety feet tall so that people who would never have the opportunity for a face to face meeting would be able to see the image and hopefully carry it in their minds so they could later describe the image of the king to everyone they met. In our contemporary version, the technology of the television accomplishes the same ends - millions of people will now recognize the face of the now famous singer.

But if there are similarities between stories of the Babylonian and American Idols, there are also differences - well, actually one major one.

Then, if anyone stubbornly persisted with their "I won't bow down to Babylonia's Idol" stance, they would be thrown into the fire.

For us, the opposite is true. The only way to avoid the fire is to refuse to bow down, to say, "I won't bow down to America's Idol, or for that matter any idol." I suspect we are not taking this seriously enough, and have forgotten that the fires of hell are real, and the way to get there is very easy - just bow down to another god. We are way past compromise, we are now complicit; that is, we are not merely watching the worship of idols, we are actually doing it.

Perhaps you've been in a home where there's a Hindu shrine in the corner, or a statue of the "Blessed Mother" on a shelf or in the garden, and you've said to yourself, "How sad it is that these pagans worship idols; I'm sure glad I don't do that."

But the idols I'm concerned about today are not so much the ones we can see. Remember that the One True God we serve and bow down to is a God that cannot be seen. I fear that we have substituted other gods we cannot see. Let me name just three: fun, fame, and freedom.

Fun.

The pursuit of pure happiness is an unseen idol. Why else would we be spending billions of dollars on entertainment, drugs, gambling, and pornography? We're bowing down to America's Idol.

Fame.

The sin of seeking celebrity status is that we end up usurping the glory that belongs to God; when we do this, we're bowing down to America's Idol.

Freedom.

When we seek total unbridled freedom we're bowing down to another of the main American Idols. Let me ask you, what is the principle selling point for the ever-popular "get rich quick" schemes? "You won't have to work for your hated boss. Now you can work at home in your robe and slippers and never again have someone else to tell you where to be, what to do, and how to do it - you can be totally free." Unfortunately, this results in our even becoming free from godly restraints - there is now no moral law laid down by a Holy God - we are free to do anything we please with little or no concern about how it may affect our own well-being or that of others.

While naming the American Idol, you might have expected me to name the idol "materialism." But when you think about it, materialism is merely the outward manifestation of an inner bowing down to one of the other unseen idols.

Why do we want to be rich? We want heaps of money as though we can buy happiness.

Why do we want the luxury car or home? To get attention and impress the neighbors.

Why do we want wealth? So as to be free - please note that Nicole got the wealth, but look what the wealth got her.

These are all false gods, they are idols, and we need to declare again today, "I won't bow down to America's Idol."

We read the story from the Book of Daniel when three governmental officials boldly declared, "I won't bow down to Babylonia’s Idol." Their decision was tested by fire.

That was then, and this is now. Are we ready to join them and boldly declare, "I won't bow down to America’s Idol"? Our decision may also be tested by the fires of persecution, but the fires of hell wait for those who do bow down.

The choice is clear, the fire of testing or the fire of hell. Which will it be?

1. What are some examples you can provide that concur with the idea that most media outlets present anti- Christian and liberal bias?

2. Have you ever watched a segment of the American Idol program, and what was your impression?

3. What are the good and not so good elements of a national music talent show contest? Who are the winners and losers?

4. The often times caustic remarks of one of the judges seem to add to the appeal of this show. Why?

5. What are the names of some of American's idols?

6. What did Jesus mean when He said, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters -- yes, even his own life -- he cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:26)

7. Why do we believe that the words Moses spoke in the second giving of the law (Deuteronomy) are applicable to us today?

8. What well-known Hebrew statement was Jesus quoting when He taught about the first and greatest commandment, and what is this statement called?

9. What are the names of the three Hebrew governmental officials who refused to bow down to Babylonia's Idol?

10. What is the relationship between music and worship, and what about this may cause concern?

11. What is the usual consequence of standing up against what everyone else is doing?

12. Why is it that throughout history many leaders have wanted to be worshipped by their subjects?

13. If we today refuse to bow down to the idols, we won't be thrown into the fire - what will happen if we do worship them?

14. Three unseen American Idols are fun, fame, and freedom. What are some of the ways these are worshipped?

15. What two fires are we called upon to choose between?