Aaron Capito
Screen Time: Following Jesus in a Digital World is a series for our students about technology, the internet, and the phones in their pockets. Most of our students have a phone. Even the ones who don’t are surrounded by technology every day.
This series is not anti-phone. The internet does a lot of good. It gives us information, keeps us connected to people far away, and makes things possible that weren’t before. The big idea is simple: your phone isn’t the problem, but what you let it do matters. Technology is part of our lives whether we like it or not. The question is what we will do with it.
Memory verse: Romans 12:2a, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” The series is anchored here because it reminds us we have a choice about what transforms our minds: the world or God.
Passages: Romans 12:1-2
Students watched water from a container labeled “your mind” get poured into three differently shaped containers. Each time, a student called out the shape the water took. The answer was obvious, and that was the point. This is what “conform” means in Romans 12. Our minds take the shape of what we pour them into. Whatever we invest in most, or care about most, is what our minds begin to look like. The leader compared it to the movie Inside Out, where the inside of each person’s mind reflected what that person prioritized most.
Paul “appeals” to the church in Rome, meaning he makes a serious, urgent request. He was urgent because he had lived both ways. Before following Jesus, he persecuted the church. His mind was shaped by the world. After he was born again, his mind was shaped by Christ. He knew firsthand what a waste it is to be shaped by the world.
He asks believers, because of the mercies of God, to offer themselves as a “living sacrifice.” That means everything about who we are is all in for Christ and his Gospel: our work, our purpose, our words, and our actions. Being “holy and acceptable to God” means we don’t just say we are all in. We live it out. Part of that is making sure what we take in fits the purpose we have set out for.
Students imagined scrolling three strangers’ TikTok feeds. One was all sports highlights and parlays. One was movie edits, music drama, and makeup tutorials. One was a mix of everything. They guessed who each person was and what fills their mind.
Hobbies and interests are not wrong. But students were shown that the average middle schooler spends about 7 hours and 18 minutes a day on a phone. That is close to half of their waking hours, and most of the free time left over after school or work.
If being a living sacrifice means giving our all to God, then how much we invest in our interests matters, and those interests need to be filtered through Christ. Students were asked to imagine what the Lord could do with even one hour of scrolling given to reading the Bible, and then with all of their time.
How we spend our time shows what we value. What we value shapes who we become. The question is which we value more: our interests or our Savior.
Paul knew that every person in history except Jesus would struggle with what they allow to shape them. His message is: don’t keep letting the world shape your mind. The world is tempting and gives temporary satisfaction. What God provides is satisfaction that sustains and never ends.
When we are transformed by God’s grace, Paul says we begin to test and discern. The more our minds are renewed in Christ, the better we can filter what comes into our lives. Students were given these questions to use:
The world won’t ask permission to shape you. It keeps pressing you into its mold, one scroll, one habit, one compromise at a time. Whatever you don’t filter will form you. The phrase for the week: filter it before it forms you.
Students were asked directly: Are you a Christian in name while letting the world shape who you are and what you value? Or is Jesus your everything, the filter for what comes in? The only way to filter out the world is to make the Gospel your filter.
These are the questions students discussed in small groups. Tip from the leaders: go first with your own honest example. Junior highers open up much faster when an adult does.
This week’s challenge: Students were asked to check their screen time and write down their top three apps. Students without a phone can track time on YouTube, TV, or video games. They’ll share what surprised them next week if they’re comfortable. Consider doing it alongside them and comparing notes.
A few easier openers if you want to start smaller: