Discipleship in the Digital Age: Navigating Smartphone Challenges

 

Summary

In today's world, the smartphone has become an integral part of our lives, offering unprecedented power and connectivity. However, with this power comes both opportunities and challenges, especially for those of us striving to live as disciples in the digital age. The smartphone, while a tool of immense potential, can also be a source of distraction and temptation. It is crucial to recognize the spiritual hazards it presents, such as wasting time, being seduced by worldly values, engaging in unproductive arguments, and becoming addicted to the approval of others. These challenges can lead us away from what truly matters: our relationship with God and our purpose in life.

To navigate these challenges, we must be intentional about how we use our smartphones. They can be powerful tools for good if used wisely. We can use them to express our worship, encourage fellowship, enhance our spiritual growth, expand our ministry, and extend our witness. By doing so, we align our digital habits with our spiritual goals, ensuring that our technology serves us rather than enslaves us.

The key is to be mindful and deliberate in our use of technology. We must prioritize our time with God, ensuring that our digital consumption does not overshadow our spiritual nourishment. By focusing on what is truly important, we can use our smartphones to glorify God and fulfill our purposes in life. Let us commit to being disciples in the digital age, using our technology to spread love, encouragement, and the good news of the Gospel.

Key Takeaways:

1. The Power and Potential of Smartphones: Smartphones hold immense power, more than the technology used to put a man on the moon. This power can be harnessed for good or can lead us into spiritual hazards if not used wisely. We must be intentional about how we use this technology to ensure it aligns with our spiritual goals. [01:01]

2. Spiritual Hazards of Digital Tools: Smartphones can waste our time, seduce us with worldly values, and draw us into unproductive arguments. These distractions can lead us away from our relationship with God and our true purpose in life. We must be vigilant and mindful of these hazards. [09:19]

3. Using Technology for Good: Our smartphones can be used to express worship, encourage fellowship, enhance spiritual growth, expand ministry, and extend our witness. By aligning our digital habits with our spiritual goals, we can use technology to glorify God and fulfill our purposes. [51:42]

4. The Importance of Intentionality: Life management is time management. We must be careful, not careless, with our time. By being intentional and purpose-driven with our time, we can ensure that our technology serves us rather than enslaves us. [12:40]

5. The Call to Be Disciples in the Digital Age: We have a unique opportunity to use technology to spread the Gospel and be witnesses to the world. Let us commit to using our smartphones to share the good news and fulfill our calling as disciples in the digital age. [01:02:11]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:08] - Understanding "Hallelujah"
- [00:21] - The Power of Smartphones
- [01:01] - Technological Advancements
- [02:03] - Behavior Changes with Smartphones
- [03:20] - Daily Life Alterations
- [04:13] - The Distraction of Phones
- [05:06] - Family and Phones
- [06:22] - Frequency of Phone Use
- [08:30] - Spiritual Implications
- [09:19] - Spiritual Hazards of Digital Tools
- [11:39] - Wasting Time
- [16:59] - Seduction by Worldly Values
- [23:18] - Unproductive Arguments
- [29:51] - Competing and Showing Off
- [39:19] - Addiction to Approval
- [46:44] - Distraction from the Important
- [51:13] - Using Phones for God's Glory
- [01:02:11] - Extending Our Witness
- [01:03:33] - Rick's Team Initiative
- [01:05:48] - Recommended Reading
- [01:06:28] - Closing Prayer

Study Guide

Bible Reading:

1. Ephesians 5:15-16 - "Be careful how you live. Don't live foolishly, instead live as wise people, making every minute count because these are evil times." [12:40]

2. Romans 12:2 - "Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think." [18:15]

3. 1 John 2:15-17 - "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." [19:57]

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Observation Questions:

1. What are some of the spiritual hazards associated with smartphone use mentioned in the sermon? [09:19]

2. How does the sermon describe the power and potential of smartphones in our daily lives? [01:01]

3. According to the sermon, what are some ways we can use our smartphones to glorify God? [51:42]

4. What does the sermon suggest about the importance of being intentional with our time? [12:40]

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Interpretation Questions:

1. How does Ephesians 5:15-16 relate to the sermon’s message about time management and the use of smartphones? [12:40]

2. In what ways does Romans 12:2 challenge us to think differently about our digital habits and the influence of worldly values? [18:15]

3. How can the warning in 1 John 2:15-17 about loving the world be applied to our use of technology and social media? [19:57]

4. What does the sermon imply about the relationship between digital consumption and spiritual nourishment? [50:24]

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Application Questions:

1. Reflect on your daily smartphone usage. Are there specific apps or activities that distract you from your relationship with God? How can you minimize these distractions this week? [50:24]

2. Consider the ways you use social media. Are there opportunities to use these platforms to encourage others and share your faith? What is one specific action you can take this week to do so? [54:20]

3. How can you be more intentional about aligning your digital habits with your spiritual goals? Identify one change you can make in your smartphone use to better reflect your values. [51:42]

4. Think about the last time you were drawn into an unproductive argument online. How can you avoid such situations in the future and focus on more constructive interactions? [23:18]

5. Evaluate your motivations for posting on social media. Are you seeking approval from others? How can you shift your focus to seeking approval from God instead? [39:19]

6. Identify a specific time each day to disconnect from your phone and spend time in prayer or Bible study. How can this practice help you prioritize your spiritual growth? [49:24]

7. Reflect on the sermon’s call to be disciples in the digital age. What is one way you can use your smartphone to extend your witness and share the Gospel this week? [01:02:11]

Devotional

Day 1: Harnessing the Power of Smartphones for Good
Smartphones possess immense power, more than the technology used to put a man on the moon. This power can be harnessed for good or can lead us into spiritual hazards if not used wisely. In today's digital age, smartphones offer unprecedented opportunities for connectivity and productivity. However, they also present challenges that can distract us from our spiritual goals. It is essential to be intentional about how we use this technology, ensuring it aligns with our spiritual objectives. By doing so, we can transform our digital habits into tools that glorify God and support our purpose in life. [01:01]

"For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power." (1 Corinthians 4:20, ESV)

Reflection: How can you intentionally use your smartphone today to support your spiritual goals and glorify God?


Day 2: Recognizing Spiritual Hazards in Digital Tools
Smartphones can waste our time, seduce us with worldly values, and draw us into unproductive arguments. These distractions can lead us away from our relationship with God and our true purpose in life. It is crucial to be vigilant and mindful of these hazards, recognizing when our digital consumption is overshadowing our spiritual nourishment. By identifying these pitfalls, we can take steps to mitigate their impact and refocus our attention on what truly matters. [09:19]

"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." (1 John 2:15, ESV)

Reflection: What digital habits are currently distracting you from your relationship with God, and how can you address them today?


Day 3: Using Technology to Enhance Spiritual Growth
Our smartphones can be used to express worship, encourage fellowship, enhance spiritual growth, expand ministry, and extend our witness. By aligning our digital habits with our spiritual goals, we can use technology to glorify God and fulfill our purposes. This intentional use of technology allows us to spread love, encouragement, and the good news of the Gospel, making a positive impact in the digital world. [51:42]

"Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16, ESV)

Reflection: How can you use your smartphone today to encourage someone in their faith journey or share the Gospel?


Day 4: The Importance of Intentionality in Digital Consumption
Life management is time management. We must be careful, not careless, with our time. By being intentional and purpose-driven with our time, we can ensure that our technology serves us rather than enslaves us. This requires a deliberate approach to how we engage with digital tools, prioritizing our time with God and ensuring that our spiritual nourishment is not overshadowed by digital distractions. [12:40]

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil." (Ephesians 5:15-16, ESV)

Reflection: What steps can you take today to be more intentional with your time and ensure your digital habits align with your spiritual priorities?


Day 5: Embracing the Call to Be Disciples in the Digital Age
We have a unique opportunity to use technology to spread the Gospel and be witnesses to the world. Let us commit to using our smartphones to share the good news and fulfill our calling as disciples in the digital age. By doing so, we can extend our witness and make a meaningful impact in the lives of others, using technology as a tool for God's glory. [01:02:11]

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8, ESV)

Reflection: How can you use your smartphone today to be a witness for Christ and share His love with someone in your digital community?

Quotes

If you have a smartphone, you hold in your hand more power than NASA had when they put a man on the moon. There's more power in one little cellphone than we had in existence when America put a man on the moon. You have more technology in your hand. [00:00:48]

Life management is really time management. If you learn to manage your time then you'll learn to manage your life. Now here's what the Bible says, Ephesians chapter five verse 15 to 16. Be careful how you live. Don't live foolishly, instead live as wise people, making every minute count because these are evil times. [00:12:34]

The world and all the advertisers in it are constantly telling you how to think, what to buy, how to feel, what's cool, what's not cool, what's hip, what's not hip, the world is constantly shouting at you through the internet and you're carrying it with you all day in your pocket. [00:17:11]

Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Okay he says don't copy the world's value system. What are the world's value system? Look up here on the screen. 1 John 2:15-17 says this. [00:18:17]

I can be drawn into unproductive arguments. Oh baby, this is very very easy. Particularly in social media. Have you ever heard somebody say something really outrageous and you got offended really quickly by it and you go well I need to tell them off. I need to set them straight. [00:23:21]

Never get involved in foolish controversies, useless arguments, disputes about your personal pedigree. That means you know, issues about your family history, your ethnic background, your genealogy, that kind of stuff. Don't get in an argument over that. Or fights over interpreting God's law. [00:24:23]

I can get addicted to the approval of others. Now what is it that makes social media so addicting? I have to go back and check, I have to go back and check, I have to go back and check. This 80 times a day thing of looking at your phone, 80 people aren't phoning you every day, so what are you doing looking at your phone 80 times a day? [00:39:24]

Cellphones bring you closer to a person far from you but it takes you away from the ones sitting next to you. That's a profound spiritual truth. Cellphones bring you closer to a person far from you. But it takes you away from the ones sitting next to you and you can be sitting at a table with everybody in your family and you're more interested in what a visitor or a stranger is thinking and saying than the people who are around you, that's a problem. [00:42:19]

I can be distracted from what's most important. If I spend 11 years of my life looking at a screen, a phone screen, a smart screen, I can be distracted, oh excuse me just a minute. (phone rings) Hello, no, no, no I'm sorry. I'm preaching right now. Yeah, yeah okay. Yes I will bring the milk and bread, bye bye. [00:45:39]

If this can interrupt you anytime, then this thing is running your life, it's running your life. I can allow things to distract me from what's most important. There's an interesting story in the Bible, Jesus had a friend named Lazarus and Lazarus had two sisters, Mary and Martha. Mary, Martha and Lazarus lived together in a home in Bethany. [00:46:57]

Mary sat quietly at Jesus' feet listening to everything he said. Friends, you need to do that every day of your life. You need to sit at Jesus' feet, listening to everything he says. That's called a quiet time. You sit quietly with this book and you pray and you read and you pray and you read and you do it every day and you say God, is there anything you wanna tell me today? [00:48:49]

I wanna publish the good news. And when I get to heaven I wanna hear you say well done good and faithful servant. You shared the good news with other people around the world. And so I commit to doing that today. In your name I pray. If you're not a believer, if you haven't opened your life to Christ, say Jesus Christ come into my life today. [01:08:57]

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Transcript
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