We started the month with a look at today's media and how we should seek to interact with it as Christians. Social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.) is pervasive in today's culture and we have a responsibility to know how we should use, and not use, this platform of interaction. Should we use social media to connect with people, news and events? Absolutely, but where do we draw the line? As discussed, we need to be aware of our responsibilites to interact with people on a personal level and not stayed glued to our computers and cell phones. As believers, we are committed to relationships which means that our use of social media and media in general should serve that purpose. There is also an aspect of santification involved with our media choices. Do the things we watch and do through media detract from our pursuit of righteousness as a Christ-follower? Is it building us up or creating in us stumbling points? This is often a person to person situation, but we are called to constantly evaluate our own position and see if we are conforming to God's will or our own (Romans 12.1-2).
Our second discussion centered on materialism. We live in a culture that generally believes that all we have is the "stuff" of this world. We might as well grab all we can and enjoy it as long as we live! This is the lie of materialism. How do we as Christians respond? Are there aspects of our own life which have given into this mentality? Do we see this in the church today? We must understand how much of our culture is geared towards this kind of thinking and seek to present a biblical picture of life and material goods. Christ said to seek first the kingdom of God (Matt. 6.33). This means to seek after the building up of our spiritual life and the life of Christ-likeness, showing others what his kingdom looks like. We are to put these things in front anything else. Any job promotion, new car, new household goods or anything else that is good is to be secondary to the pursuit of God and his kingdom. Do we show this in the daily workings of our life, or do we blend in with the culture in this fashion?
We wrapped up our discussion portion of the month with some thoughts on loving the culture. Certainly we are called to love the world, and how does the view of Christ-like love compare to the picture of love in culture? Culture and media portray love as a mystical force that in uncontrollable and romantic, free of reason or responsibility. We as Christians are called to love people unconditionally as Christ loved us and boldly proclaim the Gospel, that is, that Christ was crucified for our sins and has brought reconciliation to man and God. Our love does not have limits, unlike our cultural picture of love which says, "What have you done for me lately?" We love because God first loved us (1 John 4.19).
We finished our month with a potluck and pumpkin bowling. What a great time of sharing and fellowship! I do hope that all of those who were able to make it out to our Parent Month enjoyed their time with us. It was encouraging for me to see the interaction during our small group time between parents and students. I want to encourage all our families to continue the pursuit of faith in your homes. This week I will send out some discussion questions for your family to ask in the homes regarding our topic of "Christ and Culture." I hope this will be a good bridge into the holiday season as we seek to magnify Christ in a culture that does anything but that. Take care families and have a great week in the Lord!
- Coleman
No comments:
Post a Comment