Arguably, there were more ‘gods’ and ‘goddesses’ in biblical times on ‘offer’ for people looking for a deity to worship. Many stories in the Old Testament surround some variant of a battle of ‘whose god is mightier’ (see the war between Elijah and the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18). The New Testament also refers to Greek gods of the day, which you might find familiar (see Zeus mentioned in Acts 14:12-14 and Artemis in Acts 19:26-28).

1. What does the Bible say about worshipping other ‘gods’?
   
   a. Read Exodus 20:3-6. What are the First and Second Commandments that God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai?
   
   b. Moses described God as a ‘jealous God’ in a warning to the Israelites (see Deuteronomy 6:14-15). What did Moses warn the Israelites against?
   
   c. What do you think it means for God to be jealous? How is it different from human jealousy?
   
   d. Why do you think God cared so much that we worship Him alone?
   
   
2. It might be easy to transpose ‘other gods’ into our modern-day context as ‘other religions’. We can then neatly tick the ‘Christian’ box when declaring our religion. To put the ‘Christ’ in ‘Christianity’, what did Jesus say about worshipping other ‘gods’?
   
   a. During Jesus’s ministry on earth, what was one of His boldest claims about Himself? (see John 14:6-7 and Acts 4:11-12)
   
   b. Does God’s jealousy stop his followers from worshipping other religions? (see Matthew 6:22-24) Why or why not?
   
   c. How do you reconcile Jesus’s claims with Old Testament scripture? (see Matthew 22:34-40)
   
   d. Discuss whether you agree with the following observation of the First Commandment by the late Ps Timothy Keller, citing Martin Luther.
   
   “What I always thought was fascinating about Martin Luther’s exposition of the Ten Commandments, Luther says you never break Commandments two through ten without first breaking commandment one. …
   
   And the reason you break commandment one all the time is because the fact is the love of God is not as real to my heart. … the love of God is not as real to my heart as the love of popularity or the love of being considered a successful person.”
   
   (https://erlc.com/resource-library/articles/a-conversation-with-tim-keller-about-hope-in-times-of-fear/)
   
   e. What might be more real to you than the love of God at this moment? What are you tempted to put in place of God in your life?
   
   
3. If we could keep the First Commandment perfectly, we would be perfect. Yet we know from our lived experience that nobody is perfect. Is this an impossible situation? Yes, but that is why God sent Jesus to us.
   
   a. Consider what we would have to do without Jesus. Would we ever be able to keep all of God’s commandments? Or could we ever work hard enough, earn enough money, and save enough lives to atone for our sins? (see Romans 3:9-20)
   
   b. Statistically, the average Christian in Singapore will likely have attained tertiary or higher qualifications and reside in a 5-room/executive HDB flat or private property (Singapore Census of Population 2020, https://www.singstat.gov.sg/).
   
   This may have given rise to certain stereotypes about what a ‘Christian’ looks like in Singapore. What other stereotypes have you come across? How might the stereotype of Christians in Singapore become a stumbling block for someone interested in knowing more about Jesus?
   
   c. Jesus makes an exclusive claim to salvation, but His offer is not limited to any one race, nationality or societal status. (see Luke 5:27-32, Romans 3:29, Revelations 7:9-10) If you are a believer, how can you live out the truth that everyone is invited to believe in Jesus?