Embracing Humanity in an AI-Driven World

Sep 28, 2025

Devotional

Day 1: Tools Are Gifts, But Never Neutral

Tools and technologies, when used appropriately, are gifts from God for His purposes, but they are never truly neutral because they are always shaped by human motives and can be twisted for harm or good. Whether it’s a hammer, a printing press, or artificial intelligence, these things can be used to build up or to tear down, to serve God’s mission or to serve selfish ambition. The story of the Tower of Babel reminds us that the problem is not the tool itself, but the motive behind its use—are we using God’s gifts to glorify Him, or to make a name for ourselves? As you engage with technology, ask not just what it can do, but what it is doing to your heart and your relationships. [46:24]

Genesis 11:4 (ESV)
Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”

Reflection: What is one technology or tool you use regularly—how might your motives in using it shift to better honor God and serve others today?

Day 2: The Battle for Your Mind

The fiercest battle you will ever face is in your mind, where the enemy seeks to plant doubts, distractions, and lies, often using the very tools and technologies meant for good. AI and digital media can fill your mind with noise, half-truths, and endless distractions, dulling your hunger for God and making it harder to hear His voice. Scripture warns that Satan is the father of lies and that we must be vigilant, taking every thought captive to Christ, lest we allow our minds to be shaped more by algorithms than by the Spirit. Guard your mind intentionally, and let Christ—not the world’s noise—be the authority over your thoughts. [49:31]

2 Corinthians 10:5 (ESV)
We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.

Reflection: What is one practical way you can limit digital distractions today so you can be more attentive to God’s voice?

Day 3: Real Relationships Over Convenient Shortcuts

True formation happens in real, embodied relationships, not in the convenience of digital shortcuts or simulated intimacy. While AI can offer quick answers and even companionship, it cannot replace the growth, vulnerability, and transformation that come from loving and being loved by real people. The friction and sacrifice of real relationships—caring for a child, walking with someone through suffering, or simply being present—are God’s design for our formation. Don’t let convenience rob you of the deep, messy, and beautiful work of love that only happens in community. [51:52]

Romans 5:3-4 (ESV)
Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.

Reflection: Who is one person you can be more present with today, choosing real connection over digital convenience?

Day 4: Embrace Your Humanity—Don’t Escape It

To be human is to embrace both the joys and the struggles of ordinary life, not to escape them through technology or endless efficiency. Jesus, the Word made flesh, entered fully into our human experience—He hungered, wept, laughed, and suffered—showing us that true life is found not in bypassing pain, but in living fully and faithfully in the midst of it. Your worth is not measured by your productivity or your ability to avoid discomfort, but by the fact that you are made in God’s image and loved by Him. The invitation is to discover holiness and meaning right in the middle of your actual, messy, beautiful life. [56:54]

John 1:14 (ESV)
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Reflection: What is one ordinary, perhaps difficult, part of your life you can invite God into today, trusting that He meets you there?

Day 5: Wrestle With God, Not Just With Answers

God invites you to bring your deepest questions and wrestlings to Him, not to settle for easy answers or outsource your soul to technology. When faced with hard choices or uncertainty, Jesus Himself went to the Father, choosing faithfulness over shortcuts, and invites us to do the same. Like Peter, who confessed that only Jesus has the words of eternal life, we are called to wrestle with God, trusting that He alone is the source of truth and hope. Let your questions drive you deeper into relationship with Christ, not just to quick solutions. [01:04:31]

John 6:67-68 (ESV)
So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

Reflection: What is one big question or area of uncertainty you can bring honestly to God in prayer today, trusting Him to meet you in the wrestling?

Sermon Summary

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming our world, touching nearly every aspect of our daily lives—often in ways we don’t even realize. From the apps we use to the ways we communicate, AI is no longer a distant concept but a present reality. This raises profound questions for us as followers of Jesus: How do we engage with these technologies? What does it mean to be human in a world where machines can think, create, and even simulate relationships?

Throughout history, tools and technologies have always been double-edged. They can be gifts from God, enabling us to do good work, but they can also be twisted by human motives. The Genesis story reminds us that the problem is rarely the tool itself, but the heart behind its use. Jesus, though surrounded by the tools and technologies of his day, chose to invest deeply in people rather than leverage technology for maximum impact. He modeled a life that prioritized transformation over efficiency, quality over quantity, and love over mere productivity.

AI, like any powerful tool, is never truly neutral. It can be used for creativity and good, but it can also become a weapon in the enemy’s hands, shaping our thoughts, distracting our prayers, and dulling our hunger for God. The battle for our minds is real, and we must be vigilant to take every thought captive, refusing to let technology form us more than the Holy Spirit does.

One of the most sobering trends is the rise of AI as a substitute for real relationships. As people turn to digital companions for intimacy and connection, we risk losing the very friction and vulnerability that form us into people of love. Real relationships are costly, inconvenient, and often messy—but they are the very context in which God shapes our souls. AI may offer shortcuts, but Jesus offers us a cross. The path of discipleship is not about escaping our humanity, but embracing it fully, with all its joys and sorrows.

Ultimately, only humans are made in the image of God. No algorithm or machine can bear that dignity or participate in the deep, relational work of love, forgiveness, and grace. Our worth is not found in what we produce, but in who we are—beloved children of the Father. The invitation is not to escape being human, but to discover holiness in the ordinary, to be fully alive in Christ, and to build lives of deep, authentic connection with one another.

Key Takeaways

1. Tools and Technology: Gifts or Idols? Tools and technologies are gifts from God when used appropriately, but they are never neutral. The real issue is not the tool itself, but the motives and desires of the human heart. We must continually ask whether we are using technology to serve God’s purposes or to build our own towers of self-sufficiency. [46:24]
2. The Battle for Your Mind AI and digital technologies are powerful shapers of thought and desire. The enemy’s strategy is often not outright deception, but distraction—filling our minds with noise and half-truths that keep us from intimacy with God. Taking every thought captive is not optional; it is essential spiritual warfare in a world of endless digital input. [49:31]
3. Relationships Over Shortcuts The allure of AI is its promise of convenience and efficiency, but real relationships are formed through presence, sacrifice, and vulnerability. When we outsource connection to machines, we risk becoming unfit for the costly love that Jesus calls us to. The friction and inconvenience of real life are not obstacles to be avoided, but the very means by which God forms our character and hope. [51:17]
4. Embracing Humanity, Not Escaping It The drive to use technology to escape pain, boredom, or limitation is ultimately a rejection of the gift of being human. Jesus embraced the full range of human experience—joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain—and invites us to do the same. Our calling is not to become superhuman, but to be fully alive to God and one another in the ordinary moments of life. [56:54]
5. Bearing God’s Image in a Technological World No matter how advanced AI becomes, it can never bear the image of God or participate in the deep work of love, forgiveness, and grace. Our worth is not in our output, but in our identity as God’s beloved children. The invitation is to resist the temptation to outsource our souls and instead build lives of deep, authentic connection—embracing both the beauty and the mess of being human. [58:42]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[39:43] - The Rise of AI: Stats and Impact
[41:34] - AI in Everyday Life
[42:59] - Generational Perspectives on Technology
[45:02] - Tools vs. Technologies: Biblical Foundations
[46:24] - Motives Matter: Babel and Beyond
[48:27] - The Battle for Your Mind
[49:31] - Distraction, Deception, and Spiritual Warfare
[50:29] - AI and the Crisis of Companionship
[51:17] - The Cost of Real Relationships
[52:50] - Boundaries and Discernment with AI
[54:22] - Shortcuts vs. Spiritual Formation
[55:50] - What It Means to Be Human
[56:54] - Jesus: The Model of True Humanity
[58:42] - Bearing God’s Image, Not AI’s
[59:25] - Embracing the Ordinary and the Extraordinary
[61:18] - The Human Experience: Joys and Sorrows
[62:50] - Building a Life of Deep Connection
[64:31] - Wrestling with God, Not Just Technology
[65:06] - Invitation to Baptism
[66:24] - Closing Prayer and Worship

Bible Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide: “AI, Humanity, and Following Jesus”

Bible Reading

Genesis 11:1-4 (ESV) – The Tower of Babel
> Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”

2 Corinthians 10:5 (ESV)
> We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.

John 1:14 (ESV)
> And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Observation Questions

In the story of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-4), what new technology did the people use, and what was their stated motive for using it?
According to 2 Corinthians 10:5, what are believers called to do with their thoughts?
In John 1:14, what does it say about how Jesus entered into humanity?
The sermon mentioned that Jesus chose to invest deeply in people rather than use the “technologies” of his day for maximum impact. What were some examples given of the tools and technologies in Jesus’ time? [46:24]

Interpretation Questions

Why do you think God was concerned about the motives behind building the Tower of Babel, rather than the technology itself? How does this relate to our use of technology today? [46:24]
The sermon said, “AI can be useful, but it is never neutral. It can be used for creativity and good, but it can also become a weapon in the enemy's hands, shaping your thoughts, distracting your prayers, and dulling your hunger for God.” What does it mean for technology to “shape our thoughts,” and why is it important to “take every thought captive”? [49:31]
Jesus embraced the full experience of being human, including pain and limitation. Why is it significant that “the Word became flesh” instead of just sending information or solutions from a distance? [56:54]
The sermon warned about the rise of AI as a substitute for real relationships. What are some dangers of replacing real human connection with digital companionship? [51:17]

Application Questions

The sermon challenged us to ask, “What is this tool doing to me?” when we use technology or AI. Think about a specific app or technology you use regularly. How do you think it is shaping your habits, thoughts, or desires? Is there anything you want to change about your use? [54:22]
When you have a question, a problem, or a need for comfort, where do you usually turn first—God, people, or technology? How might you intentionally turn to God or real community more often? [54:22]
The sermon said, “AI offers you shortcuts. Jesus offers you a cross.” Can you think of a recent situation where you chose convenience over real connection or sacrifice? What would it look like to choose the “long road” of love next time? [55:50]
Are there ways you have been tempted to escape the ordinary struggles of life through technology, rather than embracing them as part of being human? What is one ordinary or difficult part of your week where you could invite God’s presence instead of seeking escape? [56:54]
The sermon described how real relationships are “costly, inconvenient, and often messy.” Is there a relationship in your life that you have been avoiding or keeping at a surface level because it’s hard? What is one step you could take this week to be more present or vulnerable in that relationship? [51:17]
The message said, “Only a human being can sit with you in your fear, guilt, and shame and offer love and forgiveness in return.” Who is someone in your life who needs your presence or encouragement right now? How can you show up for them this week? [53:41]
The sermon ended with the question, “Is AI forming you into a person of love or letting you escape your humanity?” How would you honestly answer that for yourself? What is one practical way you want to let the Holy Spirit form you more than technology this month? [01:06:24]

Sermon Clips

“Tools, when appropriately used, are the gifts of God for the works of God. But tools can also be twisted. Boats carried the gospel to the ends of the earth. But they also carried slaves in chains. The printing press spread the Bible to millions, but pornography to billions. In theory, technology is neutral, but in practice, it's never neutral because it's always caught up in human motives.”

“Jesus didn't leverage technology for his impact. Instead of broadcasting his teachings far and wide, he invested in a few people deeply. He cared much more about transformation than impact. He cared much more about quality than quantity. In short, Jesus understood that tools and technologies may build towers, but they cannot build love.”

“Every tool is powerful. No tool is neutral. Take fire in the right hands, warms your home. In the wrong hands, it burns it down. Take a gun in the hands of a soldier, it protects the innocent. In the hands of a murderer, it destroys life. AI is no different. AI can be useful, but it is never neutral.”

“AI can be used for creativity and good, but it can also become a weapon in the enemy's hands, shaping your thoughts, distracting your prayers, and dulling your hunger for God. The fiercest battle you will ever face is only six inches wide, and that's the space between your ears. That's where the enemy plants doubts, shame, and distraction.”

“Satan doesn't need you to worship him. He just needs to distract you from worshiping Jesus. If AI can fill your mind with noise, flood you with half-truths, or keep you scrolling endlessly, he's already got a foothold. And if we don't follow the instruction in 2 Corinthians to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ, then the enemy will gladly take our thoughts captive for us.”

“The number one use of AI in 2025 isn't business or research. It's companionship. People are turning to AI for digital friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, and simulated intimacy. Japan shows us a window into this future. They call it hikikomori, which is a crisis of young people retreating from society, shutting themselves in the rooms for months or even years, and living almost entirely through screens.”

“It's a preview of where we're headed if we start believing that convenience can replace real connection. You know, first, convenience sounds like a gift. But when everything becomes convenient in your life, we actually miss out on growth. Romans 5 says this, suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character, and character hope. In other words, friction is not a glitch in the system. It's God's design for formation.”

“AI demands nothing of you, but real life does. Raising a baby demands sleepless nights. Caring for a child with disability requires patience and sacrifice. Walking with a parent through Alzheimer's means showing up even when it hurts. Real relationships are not efficient. They're not run on your timetables. They require vulnerability, time, presence.”

“These moments, the moments when we give and receive care, are the moments that form us most deeply. And if we train ourselves on tools that cost us nothing, then we will be unequipped to love when love costs us everything. Because we are formed in community and by community, then that means ChatGPT cannot be your therapist. It cannot be your pastor. It cannot be your confessor.”

“AI may be useful for information, but the deepest work, things like therapy, pastoral counseling, the care of the soul, can't be minimized to a list of tips and tricks. Only a human being can sit with you in your fear, guilt, and shame and offer love and forgiveness in return. Only a human being can offer an authentic response over an automated one. Only a human being can be vulnerable and honor your vulnerability.”

“Healing doesn't come through an algorithm. It comes when another human being looks you in the eye and says, me too. Technology can be an assistant, but it must never become our authority. AI is designed to please, not to disciple, to agree with you, not to sanctify you. And if we aren't careful, we will end up outsourcing our souls along with our spelling.”

“Responsible engagement means setting boundaries. It means not not only asking, what can I do with this tool, but what is this tool doing to me? How is it forming me? AI is always quick, always agreeable, always predictable, but God doesn't work like that. He doesn't always respond immediately in prayers with a nice paragraph. That would be awesome. That hasn't been my experience.”

“Sometimes he doesn't give me the answers that I want. Sometimes he's silent. But looking back, I'm so thankful for the silence and the waiting, because if I replaced that tension with instant answers, then I would be bypassing the process that actually forms my soul.”

“When you have a question, where do you run? Do you go to the Lord? Or chat GBT? Because where you go with your questions reveals who you think possesses truth. And Jesus says he is the way, the truth, and the life. Do your questions reflect that?”

“Jesus knows this all too well, because on the night before his execution, he pleaded with the Father for a shortcut. If you're familiar with the story in the Garden of Gethsemane, he begged, he said, there's got to be another way. Take this cup from me. There has got to be a shortcut. But in courage and faith, he said, not my will, yours be done.”

“He avoided using his miracles to escape the pain, because the pain of being separated from you far outweighed the pain he would endure on the cross. So he went to the cross, taking the long road, not the shortcut, so that you don't have to. Friends, AI offers you shortcuts. Jesus offers you a cross.”

“At the heart of all this is a convicting truth that our technologies, our advancements in society, they have become attempts to sort of become superhuman, to do the most amount of work in the least amount of time and energy. We use our technologies to escape the burdens of life. And today, we're tempted to think that if robots and AI just show up and they do all of our chores and cook and take care of our kids and organize our schedule and manage our finances, do all the stuff, that we have actually won back our freedom. But in reality, we will have lost part of what it means to be human.”

“To be human doesn't just mean to experience pleasure without pain. It's to carry both. The magical, the mundane, the highs, the lows, the pains, the pleasures. How do I know this? Well, I look to the one who showed us what it means to be human. John 1 says, the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. When Jesus came, he didn't hover above the grid like some super spiritual being. He came as a human, fully God, yes, but also fully human.”

“AI can make bricks. It can even build them into towers, but it cannot breathe life into dust. AI can help brainstorm baby names, but Jesus came in the form of a baby. AI can generate words, but only Jesus is the word made flesh. AI can serve your work, but it cannot save your soul. AI can tell you about the steps of grief, but only Jesus died in your place. In other words, AI makes a great tool, but it makes a terrible God.”

“Despite all the incredible things that ChatGPT can do, generate words, images, stimulate relationships, the one thing it can never do is bear God's image. Only you are made in the image of God. Not AI, not algorithms, not machines. You alone carry the dignity, the vocation, and the relational depth of bearing his likeness in the world.”

“From the beginning, God chose to partner with humans, not machines. From Adam in the garden to Israel in the wilderness, to the disciples in the early church, God has always been choosing the ordinary, messy people as his co-workers. That's not an accident. It is his design. And your worth is not a result of the output or the work that you do in the day. It's bestowed by your maker.”

“Your name is not something you build for yourself at Babel. It's something you receive from the Father. So the invitation for us is not to escape being human, but to embrace it with courage and faith. To discover holiness right in the middle of it. To see that your life, your actual ordinary, messy, beautiful life, your flaws and all, that is where the Father wants to meet you.”

“To be human looks a lot like sitting in traffic on a Tuesday, paying bills on a Friday, and wondering if there's more to life than just the grind. It looks like the nervous excitement of a first date and the loneliness of scrolling your phone late at night wishing someone would reach out. It looks like changing diapers at 2 a.m. And it looks like watching your child walk across the graduation stage after years of effort.”

“It looks like the surprise of getting the job you prayed for and the crushing weight of being told that you're no longer needed. It looks like the thrill of falling in love. And it looks like the ache of a marriage that feels colder than you ever imagined. It looks like holding a child's sticky hand as they tug you to wonder. It looks like gripping a cane when your knees won't hold you anymore. Looks like holding your newborn for the first time. And it looks like sitting beside a hospital bed when someone you love takes their last breath. This is the human experience.”

“The things that we try to escape from are the very things that make life worth living. And this is the story Jesus entered into. Jesus shows us the way. The way of being fully human yet fully alive to the Father. Because he lived it, you've been given the Holy Spirit to live it too. The goal of your life is not to escape being human, but to be fully alive.”

“We are meant not just for thin virtual connections, but for visceral, real connections to one another in this fleeting, temporary, and infinitely beautiful and worthwhile life. We are meant to die in one another's arms, surrounded by prayer and song, knowing beyond knowing that we are loved.”

“So let me ask you this question. Is AI forming you into a person of love or letting you escape your humanity?”

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