4 weeks helping students navigate the world of social media. Social media is like an echo chamber. What you say is easily magnified, distorted, and then repeated. And since social media has the power to shape our reputations and, if we let it, our identities, it would probably be helpful for us to understand how the gospel colors the way we respond to and navigate the online world. So over the next four weeks, we’re going to see how some different aspects of the gospel help us navigate what we post, what we’re after, what we comment, and how much we allow ourselves to be saturated by the world of social media.

Video Messages Included

Week 1 (1 Corinthians 3:4-5 NLT)

Intro: Social media is like an echo chamber. What you say is easily magnified, distorted, and repeated. Self-absorption is fun in an echo chamber, and it’s normal in our culture.

Truth: But Paul understood that his identity and purpose was found not in serving himself, but in serving the God who died to give him life. His goal was that his personality and actions on display would point people THROUGH him toward Someone greater.

The Point: Draw attention through you, not to you.

Week 2 (Philippians 4:11-13 NLT)

Intro: We’ve all experienced FOMO on a Friday night. What you’re really feeling in that moment is discontentment.

Truth: That’s why we should pay attention when Paul shares that his contentment wasn’t found in a full social calendar or a smooth life. Those things were good, but after entering a relationship with  the God of the universe, it became so clear that those things weren’t enough.

The Point: Just social stuff is never enough.

Week 3 (John 3:36 NLT)

Intro: If you’ve ever had someone slander you online, you know how much it can hurt. If you’ve ever slandered someone else, you probably felt like you were just carrying out justice toward a deserving jerk.

Truth: But, as John points out, God already has condemnation and wrath covered. So none of us ever needs to condemn others for their sin because whether God’s wrath is satisfied after death or on the cross, nobody’s sin ever really goes unpunished.

The Point: God’s wrath does not go unsatisfied.

Week 4 (1 Corinthians 6:12 NLT)

Intro: Most of us, since childhood, have had a difficult time successfully navigating grey areas where we have freedom of choice. Grey areas (like social media) can be tough to navigate, but seeing through the lens of the gospel helps!

Truth: Unlike the Old Covenant, we aren’t under obligation to rules in the New Covenant. But it’s not just that we’ve been freed FROM the Law. We’ve been freed TO pursue Jesus. When see through that gospel lens, we’ll ask hard questions about whether grey areas are beneficial for our pursuit of Jesus.

The Point: Pursuing Jesus may lead you to not pursue the echo.