The Media Monster Series

“THE MEDIA MONSTER” Phil. 4:8

FBCF – 5/29/22

Jon Daniels

INTRO – Not an expert in social media. Most 57 yr.-old adults aren’t! But you don’t have to be an expert to know that social media & other forms of media & technology impact our lives & our kids’ lives every day – even right now. This service is being live-streamed on Facebook & YouTube. Since coming into this room, some of y’all have probably checked your social media pages or posted something on social media. Some of you have checked the weather on your phones, a sports score, or read a news report.

Not going to bore you w/ a ton of stats but do want to share a few to lay a foundation. The crazy thing is that these stats will most likely be obsolete in no time as the influence of social media widens & deepens exponentially.

- 58.4% of the world population uses social media – About 4.7 billion users worldwide

- Facebook: Over 2.9 billion users. Largest age group – 25-34 yr-olds. Some of y’all may have thought the age group would have been older since your grandmother is constantly posting on her Facebook page!

- Instagram: 2 billion users. 25-34 yr-olds with 18-23 yr-olds running a close 2nd.

- TikTok: 1 billion users. 10-19 yr-olds w/ about 2/3 being females

- Twitter: 211 million users. 18-29 yr-olds.

- Pinterest: 431 million users. 50-64 yr-olds w/ nearly 80% being females.

- Snapchat: 319 million. 15-25 yr-olds.

- YouTube: Over 2 billion users. 15-35 yr-olds.

Then just this stark reminder: It is astounding how quickly a child w/ an iPhone or an iPad in their hand can access pornographic content. With just 2 clicks, they can be exposed to some of the most vile, graphic images & videos imaginable. Average age of child’s first exposure is 11 yrs. old. Children under the age of 10 now account for 22% of consumption of this kind of material under 18 yrs. old. Parents, if your child is upper elementary or early middle school & you’re not talking w/ them about this, you’re already behind.

EXPLANATION – Philippians 4:8

A lot of verses in Philippians are familiar to many Christ-followers:

- Philippians 1:3 – “I thank my God every time I remember you.”

- Philippians 1:6 – “…He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it…”

- Philippians 2:10-11 – “…at the name of Jesus…”

- Philippians 3:13-14 – “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

- Philippians 4:4 – “Rejoice in the Lord always…”

- Philippians 4:6-7 – “Be anxious for nothing…”

- Philippians 4:13 – “I can do all things…”

- Philippians 4:19 – “…my God shall supply all your needs…”

Philippians 4:8 is also one of those verses that is familiar to many of us. Follows on the heels of the “don’t worry about anything – pray about everything” verses. Right praying is definitely important to securing a peaceful mind & having victory over worry. And making sure that your mind is focused on the right stuff is also an important part of keeping worry at bay. Look back at v. 7. God’s peace will guard our heart AND our mind. The heart has to do w/ our feelings & the mind has to do w/ our thinking.

One of our memory verses from a few months ago was Isaiah 26:3 – “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you b/c he trusts in you.” “Stayed” means that your mind is leaning on the Lord; being sustained by the Lord; being supported & upheld by the Lord.

What does this all have to do w/ media & technology? The ONLY way we can stay strong in our walk w/ the Lord & stand against the constant influence of all sorts of media sources is to “stay” our mind on the Lord. And that’s what Philippians 4:8 reminds us to do.

APPLICATION – We must be prepared to deal with the impact that media has on our families or we’re going to be in big trouble!

GET SERIOUS ABOUT THIS! – We need to realize that, if left unchecked, the impact of media – especially social media has on our lives & on our kids’ lives can be extremely detrimental & dangerous.

Why get serious? Lot of reasons. Here are 3:

Protection – Uvalde school shooting – One of most difficult things to hear in the aftermath was the heartbroken, devastated parents trying to process what has happened to them. All of us as parents know that one of our primary responsibilities in life is to protect our kids.