The Necessity of Discernment

Acts 10:9-16

God and the Media - Week 6

If Today was Your Last Day – Nickelback

My best friend gave me the best advice,He said each day's a gift and not a given right
Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind
And try to take the path less traveled by, That first step you take is the longest stride

CHORUS: If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last, Leave old pictures in the past?
Donate every dime you had, if today was your last day?
What if, what if, if today was your last day?

Against the grain should be a way of life

What's worth the price is always worth the fight

Every second counts 'cause there's no second try
So live like you're never living twice, Don't take the free ride in your own life

CHORUS 2: And would you call those friends you never see?
Reminisce old memories?
Would you forgive your enemies? And would you find that one you're dreaming of?
Swear up and down to God above

That you'd finally fall in love if today was your last day?

If today was your last day Would you make your mark by mending a broken heart?
You know it's never too late to shoot for the stars, Regardless of who you are

So do whatever it takes  'Cause you can't rewind a moment in this life
Let nothing stand in your way 'Cause the hands of time are never on your side  CHORUS 1 AND 2               

They are a nation without sense, there is no discernment in them. If only they were wise and would understand this and discern what their end will be! Deuteronomy 32:28-29

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with

the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:9-11

Avoid silence, avoid solitude, avoid any train of thought that leads off the beaten track. Concentrate on money, sex, status, health and (above all) on your own grievances. Keep the radio on. Live in a crowd. Use plenty of sedation. If you must read books, select them very carefully. But you'd be safer to stick to the papers. You'll find the advertisements helpful; especially those with a sexy or a snobbish appeal.¹ C.S. Lewis Christian Reflections p. 168-69 

Every song is a sermon, every movie is a message, every TV a teacher, every word a weapon, and a picture’s worth a thousand words.  www.mediatalk101.org

5 Principles of Discernment

1. ________________

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children Ephesians 5:1

2. Distrust your ___________________

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? "I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve." Jeremiah 17:9-10

Believe in Yourself - NSync
Oh you can be what you wanna be, See what you wanna see
Believe in yourself, just believe in yourself
You can go where you wanna go, Do what you wanna do
Believe in yourself, just believe in yourself

Some folks try to tell you there are things you shouldn't do
But you're not strong enough, or smart enough at all
But what seems right to them ,quite often might be wrong for you
So be sure you try to climb before you get too scared you'll fall

You can be what you wanna be, Learn what you wanna learn
Believe in yourself, just believe in yourself
You can try what you need to try, No one should question why
Believe in yourself, just believe in yourself

Folks may say you're different, That you've gone and lost your senses
But the world is yours to walk, Go ahead and leave the fences
And you'll see( and you'll see), Believe in yourself
And the world belongs to you, You and me
And the world belongs to you and me

He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is kept safe. Proverbs 28:26

Common self deceptions:

a. I focus on issues and not ______________

b. I justify myself via my good intentions or perceived maturity

c. I ______________ God’s standards

d. I am more comfortable with ______________ than clarity

3. Think _________________

Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. Hebrews 13:4

But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Matthew 5:28

"You shall not commit adultery. Exodus 20:14

4. Involve __________________

The plans of the righteous are just, but the advice of the wicked is deceitful. Proverbs 12:15

"What happened to serious American movies? I ask because the best ones, such as The Hurt Locker, no longer get anything resembling a wide release, while Michael Bay's idiotic Transformers 2 movie opened on over 4,200 screens. … And consider this: Locker cost about $11 million to make. It's a work of genius. Revenge of the Fallen had a budget almost 20 times that, and it's a work of crap. The public decides, you say? Fine, I have no problem with that, but when did you last see a movie that engaged your mind a week or a month later?" —Stephen King, in his regular Entertainment Weekly column on the state of pop culture

5. Decide to _________________

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2

Whatever weakens your reason, whatever impairs the tenderness of your conscience, whatever obscures your sense of God, whatever increases the authority of your body over your mind, whatever takes away from your relish for spiritual things, that to you is sin, no matter how innocent it is in itself.  Susanna Wesley

Homework:

Don’t give up thinking biblically!  Constantly ask yourself, “Why am I watching/doing/listening to this?”

Suggested resources:

www.focusonthefamily.org – family

www.mediatalk101.org – media articles

www.pluggedin.com – movie/TV reviews

www.pureintimacy.org – relationships/dating articles

www.boundless.org – geared for 20-somethings

www.christiananswers.net – movie reviews

www.safesurf.org – tools for kids to surf internet safely

Amusing Ourselves to Death – Neil Postman