EQUIPPING THE TEENAGE BOYS OF THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH IN HALEYVILLE, ALABAMA TO RECOGNIZE HOLINESS IN THE FACE OF DIGITAL TEMPTATIONS. Then I am grateful for the spiritual influences that taught me how to love and follow God. Lastly, I am thankful for the only two churches I have been a member of in my life, Coosada Baptist and First Baptist Haleyville.
INTRODUCTION
Justification is defined as “the immediate and finished act in which God declares a believing sinner righteous.”3 The Holy Spirit will dwell in people and transform their hearts and desires. Grudem argues: “God's holiness is thus in both Testaments his basis. James Dunn writes: “The conviction demanded is taken out of the cultic context and cannot be reduced to written formulas.
Similarly, the body works for a specific purpose and that is "for the Lord". The body was created for the Lord just as food was created for the stomach. For as it is written: 'The two shall become one flesh.'" Paul emphasizes that believers are members of Christ. In verse 17 Paul writes, "But he who joins himself to the Lord becomes one spirit with him." Paul changes his formulation from "body" to "spirit". The point is the same.
Lambert argues, "The fundamental problem with men who watch porn is not neediness - it's arrogance."81 The root cause of sexual sin in the heart is selfish ambition. The first step in the project was to develop a survey that would assess the current understanding of the pursuit of holiness among the teenage boys at FBCH.1 The survey was a mixed methods survey designed to be administered before and after the training sessions . The first session was titled "God's Call to Holiness." The main idea of the session was to prove that Christians are called to pursue holiness.
The second session was titled "Screen Time." The main idea of the session was to show that the pursuit of holiness saves time by overcoming screen addiction. The third session was entitled "Approval and Fame." The main idea of the session was to show that the pursuit of holiness is not to seek approval and identity through social media, but to find it in Jesus. The fourth session was titled "Mental Awareness." The aim of the lesson was to teach participants the different mental health problems that social media causes and to encourage them to gain control over their thoughts.
The fifth session was titled 'Pornography'. The main idea of the session was to show that the pursuit of holiness is equivalent to running from the dangers of pornography. The sixth session was titled 'Adventure Seeking'. The main idea of the session was to show that the pursuit of holiness is equivalent to the pursuit of God's will.
CURRICULUM
Pursuing Holiness in the Face of Digital Temptation Session 1: God’s Call to Holiness
Introduction
- Holiness is being set apart Read Ephesians 4:22-24
- We pursue holiness by obeying God Read 1 Peter 1:13-16
- We pursue holiness by transforming our minds Read Romans 12:1-2
- We pursue holiness by fleeing immorality Read 1 Corinthians 6:12-20
We are saved by grace through faith, and we were created in Jesus for good works. We cannot receive half of God's grace by receiving eternal rewards without receiving personal transformation. We must live a pattern of holiness in our lives that transforms every moment, every action, and every thought.
Paul tells us that we pursue holiness by not conforming to the pattern of the world around us. Although we gain a new nature when we are saved, we are still in constant battle with our old flesh. Instead of living according to the flesh, we must live according to the Spirit.
One of the ways we live as victims and worship God is not to conform to the world around us. When we allow the beliefs of the culture around us to infiltrate the church and influence us, holiness is often out of reach. Paul says that when our thoughts are changed, we can approve God's will.
We must glorify God with our bodies, and we cannot glorify God with our bodies if we engage in sexual immorality.
Session Wrap-up
Even if an activity is not sinful in itself, it becomes sinful when it enslaves us because it has become an idol. For example, sport is a good gift from God, but if it is placed before God, it becomes sinful. Paul reminds them that they are one with Christ and that Christ cannot be united with immorality.
A practical way to think about sexual immorality is that it is something you would not want a person to do with their future wife. Striving for holiness in the face of digital temptation Lecture 1: God's call to holiness Lecture 1: God's call to holiness.
We pursue holiness by ______________ God 1 Peter 1:13-16
We pursue holiness by __________________ our minds Romans 12:1-2
We pursue holiness by fleeing ___________________
Pursuing Holiness in the Face of Digital Temptation Session 2: Screen Time
Main Idea: Pursuing holiness is redeeming the time by overcoming screen addiction
Biblical Text: Ephesians 5:15-17 Introduction
- Teenagers of Generation Z are addicted to their devices
- Technology was intentionally created to keep us engaged
- Screen addiction can lead to negative consequences
- Redeem the time Read Ephesians 5:15-17
It is defined as a lack of interest in other activities and having practical problems at school or at home due to the time spent on devices. That's why social media companies like YouTube and Instagram design their technology to demand our attention and keep us engaged. Whether we are playing a video game or sending a text message, dopamine is released in our brain.
When using technology, the amount of dopamine released in the brain is the same as when using cocaine. Have you ever reached the end of a YouTube video or the end of your Instagram feed and similar content was suggested to you? They engage us by using algorithms to gauge what interests us.
The more time we spend on our phones, the less time we have for exercise. Paul writes to the church in Ephesus and tells them to make the most of every opportunity. Making the most of every opportunity means making every moment an opportunity to glorify God.
Then set a time limit on how long you will spend on your devices each day.
Teenagers of Generation Z are ______________ to their devices
Technology was intentionally created to keep us ______________
Screen addiction can lead to ______________ consequences
Redeem the ____________
Pursuing Holiness in the Face of Digital Temptation Session 3: Approval and Fame
Main Idea: Pursuing holiness is not seeking approval and identity through social media but finding it in Jesus
Biblical Text: John 1:12 Introduction
We are tempted to use social media to find approval
We are tempted to use social media to find identity
Find security in Christ Read John 1:12
Seek to find your worth in Jesus and not the proud reactions of social media. What are ways you can deprogram yourself from seeking to be liked and recognized. How knowing that you are a child of God changes the way you behave on social networks.
Pursuing holiness in the face of digital temptation Session 3: Approval and Fame Session 3: Approval and Fame.
We are tempted to use social media to find ________________
Find ____________ in Christ John 1:12
Pursuing Holiness in the Face of Digital Temptation Session 4: Mental Awareness
Main Idea: Pursuing holiness is fighting the negative mental consequences of social media by taking every thought captive
Biblical Text: 2 Corinthians 10:5 Introduction
- Social media leads to anxiety and depression
- Social media leads to loneliness
- Social media leads to cyberbullying
- Social media leads to interrupted sleep
- Video games can lead to psychosis
- Take Captive Read 2 Corinthians 10:5
Another big problem is that social media makes people compare themselves to others, which can lead to anxiety and depression. Additionally, another stress of social media and digital communication is the delayed response to messages and posts. Studies show that teenagers who spend more time on social media feel more alone than those who don't.
Resist the temptation to join in the bickering, whining, and bashing that often occurs in online communication. However, most teens in the United States average less than seven hours each night. When we take our phones into our bedrooms, it leads to longer sleep latency, more sleep disturbances, poorer sleep quality, and more daytime dysfunction.
We can easily get lost in the virtual world and forget about the real world. Clinical research shows that video games contribute to psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and psychosis. Researchers found that the more video games teens played, the more it affected the development of microstructures in the brain.
With the mind-altering effects of social media and video games, it's easy to be passive and allow them to warp our minds.
Social media leads to ________________ and _________________
Social media leads to ________________
Social media leads to ____________
Social media leads to ____________ sleep
Video games can lead to ____________
Take ____________
Pursuing Holiness in the Face of Digital Temptation Session 5: Pornography
Main Idea: Pursuing holiness is running from the dangers of pornography
Biblical Text: 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5, Job 31:1 Introduction
- Pornography is anything that elicits lust
- Pornography is addictive
- Pornography has damaging effects
- Flee pornography
- Read 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 and Job 31:1
Almost all media appeals to sex, and this appeal is so common that we are hardly aware of it. They are growing up with sexually saturated minds exposed to a lot of sexual content, and it is increasingly difficult to teach them to accept a biblical theology of sex. Over time, our future spouses can become nothing more than an object to be used for selfish desires.
Seeking pleasure through pornography leads to hormonal and neurological consequences designed to bind a man to the object he focuses on. Therefore, it is possible to have relationships with our future wives while we have mental images in our minds of women we have seen in pornography. In this situation, we use our future wives to have an experience that relationally has nothing to do with her.
We will find that an image that was sexually arousing to begin with becomes unexciting after a while, and more explicit pornography is needed to achieve the same arousal. It destroys intimacy and communication because it is self-centered and often expresses a desire to manipulate, control, or hurt another person. As a result of viewing digitally enhanced women, it is difficult to see women as they really are.
We see, in the Old Testament, Job made a covenant with his eyes not to look lustfully at a woman.
Pornography is ________________
Pornography has damaging ____________
Pursuing Holiness in the Face of Digital Temptation Session 6: Adventure Seeking
Leave the virtual world Read Ephesians 2:10
In the digital age, where the separation between the real and the virtual is blurring.
Pursue human connection Read John 15:12-13
Pursue God’s will Read Acts 20:24
In a world of virtual school, virtual church and virtual reality, the solution to one of the main problems of teenagers is the opposite: put down the phone, turn off the screen and try to be part of the bigger story. What are the ways we can embrace living in the real world before the virtual world.
Pursue human ________________
Pursue God’s ____________
Exposing the Lies of Pornography and Counseling the Men Who Believe Them." The Journal of Biblical Counseling 27, no. Holiness." In NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible: Follow God's Plan of Redemption as It Unfolds Throughout Scripture edited by D.A. Effects of Video Games on Cognition and Behavior in Pediatrics at the Time of Lockdown: A Systematic Review.” Pediatric Reports 13, no.
IGen: Why today's super-connected kids are growing up less rebellious, more tolerant, less happy and completely unprepared for adulthood and what that means for the rest of us. EQUIPPING THE TEENAGE BOYS OF THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH IN HALEYVILLE, ALABAMA, TO STAND HOLINESS IN THE FACE OF DIGITAL TEMPTATION Jonathan Gregory LaMarque, DMin. This project seeks to equip the teenage boys of First Baptist Church Haleyville (FBCH) to pursue holiness in the digital age.
You should successfully navigate device addiction, the psychological problems created by social media and video games, and the immorality of pornography.
