Babel 3

Babel Session 3: social network

High School Small Group Dialog

Bottom Line: The way we treat technology can help or hurt our relationships with others. Scripture References: John 4:1-26

Social Media gives us great power. We can help a nation devastated by earthquakes. Or we can destroy a friendship. With technology we can accomplish incredible good or incredible evil. The Samaritan woman understood this. In her day, the well was the social media hot spot. Since many people would gossip about her, the woman often avoided the well in the morning by drawing water later in the day. Here she met Jesus, a man who knew her story, yet loved her anyway.

Today, encourage your students to get a glimpse of the power in their words and images. Guide them into finding good ways to use the resources at their fingertips. Help them see that doesn’t mean they have to create a Facebook page with a bunch of Bible verses or never text their friends. But it does mean being smart about how they use the technology available to them. 

Create meaningful conversation. Adjust questions as needed, and don’t feel like you need to answer all of them.

How has your view of technology changed since starting this series? Has it prompted you to live differently, or treat technology any differently?

Have you ever thought of technology as giving you power? What are some of the things it gives people the power to do? How does it give you power personally?

How has technology improved different areas of your life? Has technology complicated any area of your life? How?

What are some ways technology can create problems in a relationship? (Someone misinterprets an e-mail or text, they don’t get your sarcasm, etc.)

Have you ever used technology in way that affected someone else and you regretted it? (sent an e-mail, text, iChat, Facebook post you regretted)

Why do you think it is easier to communicate how you feel using technology and not face to face?

How would your life look different if the technology you rely on today never existed?

How have you seen people use the power of technology to do bad things? (Don’t use any names of people, please.)

How have you seen people use the power of technology to do good things?

What are some of the things you have seen technology accomplish when lots of people are working toward achieving a common goal?

What are some ways that you personally can use technology to accomplish good things?

How does knowing how much power you have with technology affect the way you will use it?

What will you take away from this series? What has impacted you the most?

Babel Part 2: My Profile

BOTTOM LINE: YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH TECHNOLOGY CAN DISTORT YOUR VIEW OF WHO YOU REALLY ARE.

SCRIPTURE REFERENCES: GENESIS 1:20-27

We judge books by their covers. We determine whether we want to see a movie by the trailers. And as much as we would hate to admit it, we critique people based on what they say, post or send via technology.

Maybe that’s why we are so conscious of the images we project. We believe that profile, that pic, that list of favorites is the complete picture of who we are. We believe that we have the power to change who we are, or be someone that we wish we were. But there’s more to the story, isn’t there? God, the Creator, says who we are. Not technology. And the illusion of a changing image can lead us to forget who we are, or settle for a lesser definition.

Create meaningful conversation. Adjust questions as needed, and don’t feel like you need to answer all of them.

1. What are some of the things you try to communicate about your image and your identity through technology? Think of the things you choose to highlight on your Facebook page, or the things you tweet about, or the wallpaper you have on your cell phone or screen saver on your computer. What are the messages you hope to send by communicating these things?

2. What are the things about a person—technology or not—that influence how you think about them?

3. How often do you think of the fact that you were made in God’s image? Does that affect the way you view yourself? Do you put more confidence in the identity you can create for yourself, or the one God says you already have?

4. Look up the following verses:

John 1:12

John 15:15

Romans 8:37

1 Corinthians 12:27

Galatians 3:26,28

Ephesians 1:3-8

Ephesians 2:10

Ephesians 2:19

1 Thessalonians 1:4

Based on these verses, who does God say we are?

5. How do you use technology to define who you are? Is it easy to lose sight of who you really are in the process? Do you ever get consumed more with what other people think about you—what you say, how you look, what you’re interested in—than what God says about you?

6. How can you start living with confidence in who God says you are? What would a life lived in confidence of who God says you are look like?

7. What changes do you need to make when going home today that reflect your confidence in who God says you are, rather than what technology says you are?

8. After having participated in the technology detox this week, was it harder than you expected it to be, or easier? Did anything happen this week that surprised you when you gave up one aspect of technology?

9. Did technology affect your relationship with family and friends at all? (Good or bad?)

10. Would you ever do a technology detox again? Why or why not? Would you give up another aspect of technology or do the same one again?

11. What did this week long detox from technology show you about yourself?

Babel Part 1: Our Relationship with Technology

BOTTOM LINE: EVERY ONE OF US HAS A RELATIONSHIP WITH TECHNOLOGY.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES: GENESIS 11:1-9; GENESIS 11:6 MSG

The “Babel” series is NOT about bashing technology. That would be hypocritical. After all, we ask you as
leaders to connect with your students during the week, and you use technology to do that. The content for
this series is available because of technology. And the reality is that technology is a part of all our lives, not
just teenagers’ lives. However, we do want students to realize that each one of us does have a relationship
with technology, and that relationship can be super intense or very simple. Today, the goal is simply to help
students begin to look at that relationship and start to define what that relationship is.

Create meaningful conversation. Adjust questions as needed, and don’t feel like you need to answer all of them.

1. Are there any pieces of technology that you used to think would never be out of date that nobody uses
anymore? (CD players, VHS, etc.)

2. What are some pieces of technology we use now that you can’t imagine ever being out of date?

3. What piece of technology do you think you rely on the most? What makes you so attached to this piece of
technology? (Does it keep you connected to your friends? Does it entertain you? Does it let you know what it is going on in the world?) What does it offer you that you value?

4. How many of you are familiar with the story of Babel? What about the story was interesting to you? Did you discover anything new from the story?

5. We often think of technology as the Internet or cell phones or computers, but the basic definition of technology is “the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes.” So what kind of technology did
the people of Babel use?

6. What was the motive of the people building the tower? Why did God respond the way He did to the building of the tower?

7. What do you think a healthy relationship with technology looks like?

8. What would using technology with the wrong motives look like for us today? Or, what would a wrong relationship with technology look like? Is it possible to have a “bad” relationship with technology, even if you aren’t using it do “bad” things? Why or why not?

9. What would a right relationship with technology look like? Read Psalm 73:25: Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you (NIV). King David, who is often referred to as a man after God’s own heart, wrote this psalm. David is making a pretty strong statement by saying earth has nothing he desires besides God. If you were writing this Psalm, what are some of the things earth has that you might desire a lot?

10. Have you ever thought of technology as being something that competes with God? How does technology
compete with your relationship with God?

11. This week I want you to try to ask yourself what kind of relationship you have with technology. What are
some ways you can measure this relationship? (By how much time is spent on it, thinking about it, depending
on it, evaluating your dependence on it etc.)

ANNOUNCEMENT:

FEED MY STARVING CHILDREN (Due to this event, we are NOT having SHIFT on February 3)

Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013 | 8 - 10 a.m. | Auditorium

Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013 | 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. | Auditorium

Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) is a non-profit Christian organization committed to feeding God’s children hungry in body and spirit. The approach is simple: children and adults hand-pack meals specifically formulated for malnourished children that get shipped to nearly 70 countries around the world. Visit the Feed My Starving Children website to learn more about this wonderful organization!

Feed My Starving Children MobilePack events allow people across the United States to pack life-giving meals. This is a powerful experience that gives adults and children (ages 6 and over) the understanding that there are over 8,000 children dying from hunger each day around the world, and FMSC gives us a way to make a difference. If you are interested in packing food boxes (or helping behind the scenes) we would LOVE to have your help at one of our three 2-hour shifts. Make sure you invite your family, your friends, co-workers, your Small Group (you get the picture!) to join us! (6 years or older, please.)

HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?

To get involved, you can sign up below or in the Lobby on the weekends for one of our three shifts to help pack boxes in Auditorium or to help with registration in the Lobby: Friday, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.; Saturday, 8 - 10 a.m., 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Or visit our Feed My Starving Children donate page and help us financially to meet our goal!

Few things to know.

· All volunteers must wear closed-toed shoes. Otherwise, please come in clean, comfortable

clothes.

· Do not wear or bring any jewelry.

· The minimum age for volunteering is 6 years old. Children under 6 are not allowed in packing

areas.

· Please note that all volunteers must go through orientation and training at the beginning of

each session. Please arrive 10-15 minutes before your scheduled start time and plan to stay

until the end of your session.

· Volunteers with extreme food allergies or allergies to any of the listed ingredients are advised not to pack.

** Students must sign-up online at http://mscwired.org/fmsc or in the lobby at church!