Introduction — The Altars We Don’t Notice
There was a time when altars were unmistakable.
Stone. Fire. Blood. Devotion. Awe.
Everyone knew the moment of worship.
Everyone knew to whom they were offering themselves.
Today, the altars have changed.
They glow. They scroll. They entertain.
They fit in a pocket.
No priest stands beside them.
No fire burns upon them.
Yet worship continues.
Every click, every stream, every swipe
is shaping souls to bend toward a particular god.
And the striking thing is
the whole world calls that normal.
We used to ask children, “Who do you want to be like when you grow up?”
Now children are discipled to ask, “Who do I want to be seen as today?”
The altar call has moved.
It no longer waits at the front of the sanctuary.
It waits inside TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Netflix, Snapchat.
The choices we make there
shape what we surrender here.
Today the Spirit of God asks a question not just to teenagers
but to every generation still breathing:
Which altar are you bowing before?
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Scripture Foundation
Let’s root ourselves in the Word.
Hear the apostle Paul:
> “Do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…”
Romans 12:2
And Jesus said:
> “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:21
Translation:
Your habits reveal your worship.
And Moses warned God’s people about the very spirit that still prowls today:
> “You shall not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech.”
Leviticus 18:21
The altar of Molech was a place where the innocent were offered
to gain the approval of culture.
If you think Molech retired…think again.
He simply updated the platform.
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1 — Darkness Is Being Made Cute
We are entering Halloween season.
Let’s be honest: most people love the candy, the community, and the costumes.
But I want you to notice something subtle.
We have learned to dress death in glitter.
We have taken fear and made it fun.
We have taken the demonic and made it decorative.
We call it harmless.
God calls it unwise.
Paul wrote:
> “Have NOTHING to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness,
but rather EXPOSE them.”
Ephesians 5:11
We don’t hate evil anymore.
We find it ironic and entertaining.
The serpent doesn’t hiss.
He jokes.
He memes.
He trends.
If Satan can get us to laugh at him,
he can get us to listen to him.
If he can get us to listen,
he can shape what we love.
We are raising generations who flinch at holiness
but laugh at hell.
Church, that is not funny.
That is spiritual anesthesia.
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2 — Entertainment Is Discipleship
Make no mistake:
Every screen is a pulpit.
Every app is a teacher.
Every feed is a catechism.
The question is not whether our children are being discipled.
The question is by whom.
There was a children’s cartoon years ago called Cow and Chicken.
The “devil” character wasn’t frightening — he was funny.
He tempted. He lied. He schemed…
and the audience giggled.
The enemy doesn’t need horns and a pitchfork.
He only needs to stop looking dangerous.
The less serious we are about sin,
the more serious sin becomes about us.
We have forgotten:
Sin didn’t just break rules.
Sin murdered Jesus.
We don’t reject entertainment.
But we reject entertainment that disciples us toward death.
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3 — The New Molech: When Screens Raise Our Kids
Ancient Israel’s greatest shame was the altar of Molech —
children laid on burning arms of an idol
while drums drowned out the screams.
Let’s bring this home gently but truthfully.
Now the sacrifice is attention.
The fire is addiction.
The screams are silent.
Parents give phones to toddlers
just to get a moment of peace.
And we don’t realize
that the god on the other side of that device
has real plans for that mind,
that imagination,
that identity.
We do not allow strangers to raise our children physically,
but we allow strangers to raise them digitally.
We let the algorithm become the shepherd
and then wonder why our kids
no longer recognize the Shepherd’s voice.
This is not about condemnation.
This is about awareness.
About taking back our priesthood in the home.
You are the appointed guardian
of your children’s altar.
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4 — AI and the False Promise of Immortality
Our world now speaks in a new language:
Upload your consciousness.
Preserve your voice forever.
Your digital self will never die.
One day tech will defeat death.
That is not innovation.
That is imitation.
A counterfeit resurrection without a cross.
Eternal life without repentance.
Hope without holiness.
A savior who never bled.
And the church must ask plainly:
If machines can save me,
why did Jesus have to die?
There is only one empty tomb.
There is only one resurrection hope.
There is only one eternal life.
And it is not programmed.
It is purchased.
Jesus said:
> “Because I live, you also will live.”
John 14:19
We are not data.
We are image-bearers.
We are not files to upload.
We are souls to redeem.
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5 — The Cross Shows the True Weight of Sin
If sin were small,
Calvary would be unnecessary.
Look at the cross long enough
and you will never giggle at evil again.
At the cross
we see what sin really costs.
We see what love really pays.
Sin is the killer.
Jesus is the Savior.
No ambiguity.
No compromise.
Our King did not manage sin.
He crushed it.
He didn’t negotiate with darkness.
He overwhelmed it.
He didn’t tolerate deception.
He tore the veil down so truth could shine.
In the cross we see:
Our value
Sin’s violence
Satan’s defeat
Grace’s power
So why do we live like the battle is pretend?
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6 — Choose Your Altar (The Call of the Spirit Today)
There are only two altars.
One demands your innocence to feed darkness.
The other gave His innocence to rescue you from it.
One says:
“Give me your child. I will give them attention.”
The other says:
“Bring Me your child, and I will give them life.”
One altar promises power
but leads to slavery.
The other promises surrender
but leads to freedom.
One leads to scrolling and shame.
The other leads to sacrifice and salvation.
One altar offers dopamine.
The other offers resurrection.
Which altar will you choose?
Which altar will raise your children?
Your grandchildren?
Your home?
The world says:
“Everyone bows somewhere. Why not here?”
Christ says:
“Everyone bows somewhere. Let it be here.”
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7 — Practical Steps for Families
We don’t respond by:
Breaking phones
Banning candy
Burning costumes
We respond by:
? Becoming the main disciplers again
Family worship
Family conversation
Family boundaries
? Teaching children to test spirits
Help them recognize lies as lies
? Modeling holiness with joy
Not fear
Not shame
But freedom and peace
? Reclaiming Sabbath delight
What culture counterfeits with fear
God offers through rest and presence
? Contending for their hearts in prayer
Daily
Vigilantly
Confidently
We are not trying to remove fun.
We are trying to protect futures.
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Conclusion — The Altar of Life
There are parents here who feel overwhelmed.
Grandparents who feel late to the battle.
Young adults who feel privately compromised.
Hear the gospel clearly:
You are not too late.
Your story is not too dark.
Your children are not too far gone.
You serve a God
who rescues children
from fire.
And He is ready to do it again.
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ALTAR CALL (from previous message)
> There is a better altar.
There is a better Love.
There is One who “swiped right” on you
before the foundation of the world.
He stretched out His arms…not His thumb.
Not for a match.
For a miracle.
Lay the phone down if you need to.
Lay the shame down.
Lay the fear down.
Lay the compromise down.
Step to the altar of Christ.
Step into the Light.
Step where innocence is restored
and the future is secure.
Choose the altar that gives life back.
I invite you now:
Come. Come for your children.
Come for your home.
Come for your own heart.
Come, and choose the altar of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
