When Social Media Steals Your Joy | The Connected Life: Part 1

Summary

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Podcast Summary:

Life.Church with Craig Groeschel
Episode: When Social Media Steals Your Joy | The Connected Life: Part 1
Date: October 26, 2025

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Overview

In this episode, Pastor Craig Groeschel launches a new series titled The Connected Life, addressing the impact of social media and digital technology on personal joy, relationships, and spiritual well-being. Using biblical teaching and real-life examples, he challenges listeners to move from shallow online connections toward deep, Christ-centered community and offers practical steps to reclaim meaningful presence in a distracted age.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power and Loss of Face-to-Face Connection

• Scriptural Foundation: Second John 12

  • John values face-to-face connection, writing: “I have much more to say... but I don’t want to do it with paper and ink. I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face. Then our joy will be complete.” (01:24)
  • Pastor Craig relates this to how some things are “too intimate for a text or too sacred for a screen.” (02:14)

• Personal Story:

  • Craig recounts the loss of his father and how, though he received many texts and emojis, only one friend (Scott Streller) actually showed up in person. This highlighted what he calls “the power of presence”—something becoming rare in today’s culture. (03:10 – 04:19)

• Cultural Shift:

  • Contrast between previous generations (bringing a casserole in person) vs. today ("We order DoorDash...the power isn’t Applebee’s delivered. We’ve forgotten the power is giving them you."). (05:14 – 05:26)

2. Technology: Blessing and Temptation

• Balanced Perspective:

  • Craig affirms the positives: Life.Church pioneered online church, features global online groups, and built the YouVersion Bible App.
  • “We are very, very much for the power of technology to connect people...but tech should always be a supplement and never a replacement for human interaction.” (06:17 – 06:33)

• The Incarnation Example:

  • “God didn’t just send His written word, His word became flesh...Some things are just too intimate to be done in the written word. Some things have to be face to face.” (06:35 – 07:24)

3. Social Media’s Impact: A Full Feed and Empty Soul

• The Doomscroll Trap:

  • Many turn to their phones when bored, anxious, or lonely: “We just start scrolling. And scrolling. And scrolling.” (07:26 – 07:52)

• Comparison Culture:

  • Observing others’ “highlight reels” leads to dissatisfaction. “Your feed is full, but your soul feels empty.” (08:23 – 08:57)

• Startling Statistics:

  • Adults average 7+ hours/day on screens; teens 7–9 hours. (09:37 – 09:41)
  • 68% experience anxiety when separated from their phone (nomophobia). (10:20)
  • 40% of adults say phones make them lonelier; 1 in 3 have no confidant. (10:35 – 10:45)

4. Overprotection in Physical vs. Digital Worlds

• Jonathan Haidt's Insight (from "The Anxious Generation"):

  • Parents overprotect kids physically but “vastly under protect them in the digital world.” (10:45 – 11:47)

• Parental Contradiction:

  • Physical world: “We bubble wrap them…”
  • Digital world: Give 10-year-olds “a device with unlimited access to pornography…a digital stream of dopamine that drives comparison and anxiety and depression.” (12:45 – 13:35)

• Adults Model the Habit:

  • “We didn't just hand them the problem—we modeled it for them.” (13:56)

5. Series Goals & The Path Forward

• 3 Series Goals (14:51):

  1. “Confront the habits that drain your peace and quietly destroy relationships.”
  2. “Find practical tools to guard your family from digital distraction and destruction.”
  3. “Come out of shallow screen-based connection and back into deep, life-giving, Christ-centered community.” (15:52)

• Warning:

  • “If you feel like something’s missing in your life, it’s because it is...it’s not what’s on the screen—it’s what’s in front of you.” (16:00 – 16:07)

6. Biblical Vision for Community

• Acts 2 Church:

  • Early Christians “studied the Bible together, shared meals, prayed together, served others—together.” (18:34 – 18:47)
  • The ancient world was divided; the early church “shattered that division.” (19:16 – 20:01)
  • Community was “not just unusual, it was revolutionary.” (20:47 – 20:55)

• Application Today:

  • Modern believers often “value our privacy more than we crave community.”
  • We hide our real stories, forgetting our shared neediness and the call to true fellowship. (21:28 – 22:05)

7. Pastor Craig’s Transparency

• Personal Confession:
  • He missed real-life moments (his son's soccer goals) because distracted by his phone. (23:18 – 23:41)
  • Even fulfilling ministry responsibilities, he sometimes neglects time with his wife, leading to missed opportunities for real presence. (25:03 – 25:34)
  • “Now when we get into an argument about that, she can argue back in Spanish…” (25:34 – 25:38)

8. Practical Assignment for Listeners

Awareness Challenge

• Take notice of:
  • How often you're with loved ones but focused on screens.
  • Whether notifications disrupt face-to-face conversation.
  • Nighttime habits: journaling & reflection vs. endless scrolling. (26:40 – 27:45)
  • “Remind yourself you’re reaching for something that fills the moment but can’t fill your soul.” (27:45 – 27:51)

Three Action Steps

1. Don’t just text—call.
   “Let them hear your voice and listen to theirs. It genuinely is another level of intimacy.” (28:02 – 28:12)
2. Don’t just pray for someone—pray with them.
   “Push yourself out of your comfort zone…do you mind if I pray for you right now?” (28:30 – 28:36)
3. Don’t just say you care—show up and be present.
   “Let the Holy Spirit prompt you when you can go and make a difference.” (28:36 – 29:09)

“How will the world know?”

• “By this, everyone will know that you’re my disciples: if you love one another. It won’t be by what we post...but how we love.” (29:09 – 29:17)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Presence vs. Screens:

  • "We’ve forgotten the power is giving them you." (05:26, Pastor Craig)

• On Social Media’s Impact:

  • "Your feed is full, but your soul feels empty." (08:47, Pastor Craig)

• On Parenting in the Digital Age:

  • "We overprotect them in the physical world and vastly underprotect them in the digital world." (11:47, Pastor Craig quoting Jonathan Haidt)

• On Modeling Behavior:

  • "We didn’t just hand them the problem. We modeled it for them." (13:56)

• On Christian Community:

  • "They didn’t look at a screen and observe someone else’s life, they were together." (18:47)

• On Modern Isolation:

  • "Too many of us value our privacy more than we crave community." (21:28)

• Practical Reminder:

  • “…you're reaching for something that fills the moment but can't fill your soul.” (27:51)

• On Love in Action:

  • “By this, everyone will know that you’re my disciples: if you love one another. It won’t be by what we post, but how we love.” (29:09 – 29:17)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Scriptural Foundation: Second John and face-to-face connection (01:24–02:26)
• Personal Story: Power of presence and grief (03:10–04:27)
• Tech as a supplement, not a replacement: (05:47–06:33)
• Incarnation and importance of presence: (06:35–07:24)
• Social media scrolling and loneliness: (07:26–08:57)
• Screen time statistics and effects: (09:37–10:45)
• Parental digital oversight vs. modeling habits: (11:47–13:59)
• Series’ three goals: (14:51–15:53)
• Acts 2 community: (16:19–20:55)
• Pastor Craig’s personal struggle with distraction: (23:18–25:38)
• Awareness and three practical action steps: (26:40–29:09)
• Assignment and encouragement: (30:00–30:59)
• How love is shown to the world: (29:09–29:17)
• Closing prayer and spiritual invitation: (32:27–34:51)

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Closing Encouragement

Pastor Craig urges listeners to recognize the deep longing for authentic connection that screens cannot satisfy. The assignment: be present, be intentional, and restore the lost art of loving, Christlike, face-to-face community. “God has something so much better for you, and you’re not going to get there accidentally.” (29:18–30:00)

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Practical Next Steps:

• This week: Notice your habits, pick up the phone, pray with someone, and show up in person.
• “Choose presence. Look someone in the eye and communicate: you matter more than anything on a screen.” (30:13–30:29)

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Series Continues:
Next episode will dive deeper into practical tools for protecting families from digital distraction and building authentic connection.

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Transcript

[Life Church Host]

Welcome to Life Church. We're so glad you're here. Life Church isn't just something you listen to. It's a place where you can grow and connect, and we want to help you do just that. Visit Life Church PodcastConnect for a quick survey that will let us know more about you and the resources that would help you on your faith journey. Now, here's the message.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Today I wanna show you a very.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Powerful portion of scripture that's very relevant for today, even though it was written 2,000 years ago. We're gonna look at Second John, which is a very short personal letter from John, who was one of Jesus disciples.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

The point at which he was writing.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

This.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

He was older.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

He was probably in his mid-80s, maybe even pushing 90.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

And he was writing from Ephesus to.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Some people that he loved. It was a very intimate letter, and.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

He was telling them how to love one another.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

And then he was saying, watch out for spiritual deception. If I could tell you something, today in this day, we need to love one another and we need to watch out for the spiritual deception of our enemy who comes to steal, kill and destroy. And this is what he said in 2 John, verse 12. He said this.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

He said, I have much more to say to you.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

In other words, this message is not complete.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

He says, but I don't want to.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Do it with paper and ink.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

He said, for I hope to visit you soon and talk with you face to face. And I like it. He says, then our joy will be complete. I've got more that I want to say to you, but I can't just do it in the form of a letter. There are some things that are more intimate than that. I want to be face to face. And then when we're face to face, sharing what's on my heart with you.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Then our joy will be made complete. He's saying, there's something more that I.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Want to share with you. It's on my heart. God put it on my heart.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

But it's just too special for a.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Letter in today's culture.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

We might say it's too intimate for.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

A text or too sacred for a screen. Because there are some moments that you.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Just have to be face to face.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

When you're face to face, then your.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Joy will be made complete. But sadly, let's be honest, that is just so much less common today than it once was. I'll give you an example. My dad died a couple of years ago, and when he did, so many people reached out, it was a little bit overwhelming. I got texts I got prayer emojis.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

I got heart emojis.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

And more text, and more text, and more text and more text and more text. And then a couple of evenings after.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

He died, Amy and I were sitting.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Down in our living room, and the weirdest thing happened. I mean, it was shocking.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Someone knocked on our door, and I looked at her like, were you expecting anybody?

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Maybe it's a Jehovah's Witness.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Well, I don't who would be knocking on our door. And I'm gonna show you a picture of Scott Streller.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Scott and I met each other.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

I was 15, he was 16.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

The first time we played, I beat him in tennis. We agree. He actually thinks there was a time before which he beat me, but I don't remember that time, strangely at all. And we've been friends for years and years. And that was back when you used to have hair that would cover your ears. That's how old that picture was. It was Scott at the door.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

And I'm like, what are you doing here?

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

What's going on? And he said, man, I'm so sorry about your dad. I just wanted to come over and just sit with you. Now I'm not complaining at all. I felt very loved.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

And I don't think I would have.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Even noticed that no one came to visit if it hadn't been for the fact that one person came to visit. One person. Only one.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

And again, I don't think I would have said, like, nobody came to visit.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

I wouldn't even notice that nobody came to visit. Except for all. Only one person came to visit.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

And I think what happened is, I.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Think we've really forgotten the power of presence. We forgot the sacredness of showing up.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

And those of you who've been around for longer, you'll remember back in the day when your friend would have a baby, what would you do? You would make a casserole with peas. Why a casserole of peas? I do not know. But you would make a casserole with peas. And then what would you do? You would drive across town, knock on the door, and give them the casserole of peas, Walk in, love them, maybe pray for them, see their baby, cute baby, even if the baby was ugly. You would lie for the glory of God, cute baby. And you would drop off the casserole and peas. What do we do today? Because it's convenient.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

We order doordash.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

And the power isn't giving them Applebee's delivered. We've forgotten the power is giving them you.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

We've forgotten the power of presence. And you're probably thinking, okay, old pastor Craig, you're against digital communication. And I'm gonna say right now, I am not at all. There's a picture of Amy, my bride, on my phone right there. Just for the record, we are the.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Church that was honored to create the.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Very first church online. Not just streaming, but a community of believers online. And we have 800 life groups online with people all over the world, and we're thankful for that. We created the YouVersion Bible app. And I think there's something coming up very soon, but we're gonna celebrate maybe.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

A pretty big and special milestone that along with our partners, our church has.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Been blessed to give away the YouVersion Bible app to people on over 1 billion devices coming next month.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

And so what I want you to know is we are very, very much for the power of technology to connect.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

People with each other and to connect each other spiritually.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

But tech should always be a supplement and never a replacement for human interaction.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

And loving face to face.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Because when you think about it, God didn't just send his written word, he didn't just send his written word, but his word became flesh. John 1:1 says this, that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. The biblical term would be the incarnation. Who is Jesus? He is the incarnation. He is the physical embodiment of a holy and a righteous God. God didn't just shout his love from heaven. He sent his son to show who he is on earth. Because some things are just too intimate to be done in the written word.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Some things have to be face to face.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

And so here we are, years later, we're Christians and we love Jesus and we believe in the Bible. And yet when we feel maybe, what, a little bit bored, maybe anxious, maybe lonely, what do we do? We pick up our phones and we just start scrolling.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

And scrolling and scrolling and scrolling.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

And if you look on social media.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

What do you see?

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

It seems like everybody else has something going on, like their life is all together, right? You see the cool shoes and the vacation and you say, I don't wanna judge, but it seems like this is the third one this year they've been on and the date nights where they look so happy and the engagements and the babies and what appears to be the perfect family.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

And there you're sitting there in your.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Pajamas, eating your second bag of chips, doom scrolling rotting on the couch, still.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Feeling anxious and all alone.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

And internally you're thinking, there's gotta be something better than this. But you just go back to it.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Over and over and over again, and.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Somewhere between the likes and the comments.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

And the games and the emails and.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

The updates and the reels, it hits you. Your feet is full, but your soul feels empty.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Your feed is full, and yet your soul longs for something more. And what's crazy is when you look at it today, I mean, there are so many good things about technology. I mean, we are the most connected society in the history of the world.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

And yet at the very same time.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

We'Re the most lonely and the most isolated and the most anxious ever.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

And we intuitively kind of feel like something's wrong, but we feel trapped and.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Don'T know how to fix it. In fact, studies show some facts that are very, very alarming. I'll give you three Studies show this, that the average adult spends over seven.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Hours a day on screens, while teenagers.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Average between seven and nine hours daily. I want you to pause and think about that. At the end of your life, do you want to look back and say, what did I do with what Jesus gave me to do? I spent a third of my entire life looking at a screen, seven or more, nine hours a day. A second stat is this. 68% of people feel stress or anxiety when separated from their phones. There is a term for it. You wanna know what it is? It's a real term. It's called nomophobia.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

If someone takes your phone and just hand it to them for a second.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

What do many of you feel?

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

And if you can't find it.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Next step. Nearly 40% of adults admit their phones make them feel lonelier.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

And one in three admit that they.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Don'T have a single person to confide in. Jesus didn't come and give his life and overcome darkness, death, hell and the grave for us to spend a third of our life looking at a screen. And yet here we are. What are we going to do about it? There's a book I read called the Anxious Generation by Jonathan Hite, and here's what he said. It really hit me because I see it and I feel it. He said that one of the biggest problems we have as parents, those of you, if you have kids, he says that in today's culture we tend to overprotect our kids in the physical world and we vastly under protect them in the digital world, but we overprotect them in the physical world. And I think you might agree, and I'm not saying this is right, but those of you around my Age. When we were kids, you would literally put an entire baseball team in the back of a pickup truck and drive down the highway at 70 miles an hour.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Not saying it was smart, but we did it.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Seatbelts weren't a thing. I think it's dumb. Seatbelts should be a thing. But some of you would remember, you sit in the front seat with your.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Mom, no seatbelt on, and the seatbelt would be. If she had to stop fast, what would she do? Boom.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

That was.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Boom. That was a seatbelt. Her arm would go out. And it's probably safer than the safest airbag seatbelt. In fact, there's a rumor that that's how someone invented the airbag. That it was a little kid and his mom. You know how sometimes when you get.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Older, you have the.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

And the arm with the end is airbag?

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

I just made that up. That's not true. But, you know, if that offends you, just go ahead and email me.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Use technology.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Email me at Craigdon't give a rip dot com. It's actually an email that. I think it still works. It was there years ago.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

But what happens is we do we nowadays, instead of like just letting them ride in the back, we overprotect them.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

And everything to keep them safe.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

We got baby monitors. We got bike helmets and sanitized backpacks. We bubble wrap them. Our kid looks like this if he's gonna go check the mail. Here, bubba, you gotta put this on so you don't get sunburn and trip in the driveway and skin your knee. We're gonna keep them safe in the physical world. And then when they turn 10 years of age, what do we do? We give them a device with unlimited access to pornography and put into their hands a digital stream of dopamine that drives comparison and anxiety and depression and makes them vulnerable to the algorithms designed to distract them and feed them the lies that shape. Shape their very identities.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

And here's the kicker.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Most of us have fallen for the same trap, the same distraction, the same addiction. The same lies that are robbing them.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Are also robbing us. Here's the way I would say it.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

We didn't just hand them the problem.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

We modeled it for them. I'm telling you right now, you worry about your kids. Some of your kids worry about you. Cause all you can do is send fake AI things to each other because you still think that's real. Now, I'm just meddling, but forgive me for that. But some of you are doing that. Just saying. Let me tell you why I am passionate about this. I'm passionate about it because I feel like it's one of the greatest tools of distraction to keep us from intimacy with God and intimacy with other people. And it is a problem we must acknowledge and we must solve. We have to. I wanna solve it. I need to solve it in my own life. And so for three weeks we're gonna talk about it. I wanna just kind of show you my cards and I'm gonna give you the three goals that I wanna try to accomplish in the series. Here's what I want us to do together. I want us to confront the habits.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

That, that drain your peace and quietly.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Destroy the relationships that matter most.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Because sometimes you can be sitting right.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

By the person you love and looking at strangers that you're never ever gonna meet and feeling left out when you could be connecting with the person who's right in front of you. And so we're gonna do that next week. This is what we're gonna do is we're gonna find practical tools. And I cannot tell you how important next week is. We're gonna dive deep into it and.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

We'Re gonna find the practical tools to guard your families from the pull of.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Digital distraction and destruction. In fact, our team has put together a little book that your campus pastor can tell you how to get. It is free, you can get it online and we're gonna meet as parents.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Because a lot of you do not.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Know what's going on on your kids devices and it is making them depressed, desperate, suicidal, left out, anxious. And you need to understand and you need to have a game plan for them and you need a game plan for you. And if you don't, culture's gonna pull you straight into darkness. And, and this is not God's plan for us. And the third thing we're gonna do, and I've been talking about this nonstop.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Is we're gonna come out of the.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Shallow screen based connection and back into deep life, giving Christ centered community.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

If you feel like something's missing in.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Your life, it's because it is. And it's not what's on the screen, it's what's in front of you. It's intimacy with the people around you.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Because God genuinely wants you to live a connected life. Not connected digitally, but connected spiritually to him and intimately with the people that.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

He put into your life.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

And the problem is we live in a culture that celebrates and glorifies independence. You gotta be independent, don't depend on anybody else. You gotta be your own boss, you gotta live your own truth. Let me tell you the truth. The truth is God created you to be dependent upon him, to need him and to need his people in community. We were not created to be alone. We were created to be dependent on a God who wants to meet our needs. And one of the ways he meets our deepest needs is with his love through his people. And we see one of the most powerful, beautiful, vivid pictures of this in the first century church. And I wanna show you this. When the new believers had experienced the resurrection power of Christ and some of them has seen the risen and they would gather together and I want you to see the beauty of the community they had. Acts chapter two says this. These first century Christians, they were devoted. They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship and the breaking of bread and to prayer. And everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. And all the believers were together and had everything in common. And they sold their property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet in the temple courts, they broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Community, connection, commitment, power, all the presence of God, awe of the power of God, all the miracles that God was doing, giving of themselves so that no one would even have need. And I want to show you in these few short verses how these first century Christians depended on God and depended on each other. Let me show you just briefly a.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Quick summary of what the early church did.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

They studied the Bible together, they shared meals together, they prayed together.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Help me out if you want to.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

They fellowshiped together, they worshiped God together, they served others together together. And they celebrated together. They didn't look at a screen and observe someone else's life, they were together. And what you need to know is that in the ancient world this was unheard of, completely unheard of. Because the Roman Empire was built on.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Division, that the rich avoided the poor.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

The Jews stayed away from the Gentiles. Those who were free, they stayed away from the slaves. And the first century church filled with the power of Jesus and the love of Jesus, they shattered that division. The rich ate with the poor and the Jews fellowshipped with the Gentiles. And those who were free broke bread with those who were slaves and, and those who had more didn't think it was all for them, but they gladly and willingly shared with those who had less because they didn't just believe In.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Jesus.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

They belonged to him. And because they belonged to him, they.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Belong to each other.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

And yet we're settling for an imitation of looking at someone through a shield.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Instead of loving someone face to face. And Acts 2:44 sums it up when.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

The Bible says this.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

All the believers were together. They were together. They were unified. They were one. They loved each other, they cared for each other, they shared their burdens together, they served one another, they rejoiced with.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

One another, they mourned with one another. And this wasn't just unusual. Again, it was revolutionary.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

I'm gonna tell you right now, it would be equally shocking today if Christians were together. I mean, if we could just agree on something like, Jesus is Lord, let's start there. And that we need each other. Let's start there.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

And that we're gonna love one another.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Let's try that.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

It would be incredibly shocking if the.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Body of Christ was unified and actually.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Loving rather than mean, like loving one.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Another rather than criticizing one another and.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Serving one another instead of taking shots at each other. But the problem is, in our culture today, too many of us, we value our privacy more than we crave community. It's my life, my time, my agenda. Gotta meet my needs. When God called us to love one another, and we just. We literally, like, lie in the way that we sow our lives, we sow the filtered life and the filter stories, and we hide our own real stories, knowing that I'm not better than you, or we're all broken and we're all.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Needy, and we like.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Like, I need you and you need me, and you need the person sitting next to you.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

And you.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

You.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

You.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

You may not even say hello to them. We live in things that resemble neighborhoods.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

They're not quite neighborhoods. They used to actually be outside and talk to each other and stuff.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Now we gate them all off and.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

You know, pull into the garage.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

But every now and then, you'll wave at your neighbors. You probably don't know their names, but.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

You'Ll wave at them. And it's bizarre.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Someone.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Every now and then, your phone will ring and you think it's probably a solicitor. And it probably is, because it usually is.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

But if it's not, sometimes you go.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Oh, yeah, that's Mom. Oh, that's my college buddy. Oh, that's that person from Live View. I'm just gonna send it to voicemail. And then later on, you go and listen to the voicemail, and then what do you do? Just text him back. Text him back. Because we're so busy with Our own plans that we don't have real time for real community.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

And when our friend's mom or dad.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Dies, we send a text. We send a text. And again, the reason I'm passionate about this is because it's my problem. The first time it dawned on me was years ago when I got my first version of a smartphone and my son was playing in a soccer game and I was watching him, it was a big game for him. And I was looking at Twitter and people were arguing about something I said. Strangers were. I was in a little Twitter storm. I heard everybody cheer and Sam had scored a goal and I missed it, Said, I will never ever do that again. And I didn't until the second half. And I was looking again when he scored the game winning goal with maybe two minutes left. And I missed them both because I was looking at something strangers were saying. And that was the first time I realized, okay, this is a problem. Fast forward to today and I'm going to be just real transparent with you. And I'm not exaggerating when I tell you this. I'm not complaining. This is just my life. The days are so packed that I barely respond to texts or emails or calls. And then when I go home after dinner, I start responding. And between my staff, which are many pastoral needs that are a lot, other pastors that need a lot, all six of my kids and their spouses that most of them need something every single day, I will generally be on the phone doing what I consider to be something important until about 9, 9:15 at night, nonstop.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

And it's work, it's ministry, and it.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Feels important to me. And then about 9, 9:15, I'm done, I'm tired. I put my phone aside and I'm ready for some attention. So I come into Amy and say.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Hey, what you doing?

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

And she says, I've been waiting for you all night long. So now I'm doing duolingo. Am I going, you're doing duolingo when I'm ready for you. She goes, you've been on the phone all night long. So now I'm doing my Spanish. And so you know what happens is.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Now when we get into an argument about that, she can argue back in.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Spanish and it impacts us at 9:15 at night. The first century Christians, that they were different, they were a Jesus centered community, that they broke down the walls and face to face, they literally started changing the world. What if we did the same thing now? Like, what if you just pushed back and said, we're not gonna be a Slave to this. We're not gonna let it master us. We'll use it. We're not gonna be mastered by it. And what if instead of just like scrolling or texting or dming, what if every now and then you literally met face to face? What if we opened up our homes, opened up our lives, our schedules?

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

What if the church became the place.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Where empty hearts are filled and broken people belong, not you just like, sit by someone, but you actually ask them their name and look forward to seeing them next week.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

And if you like the idea, but.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Say, I don't know how to do it, let's talk about it, what do we do? What I want to just give you is a little assignment this week. Start with an awareness. Take notice. When you're sitting with people that you love. You got family, got friends, you're sitting out, you're all in the living room, whatever. You're in a restaurant. Just take notice of how often you're all together but nobody's paying attention. Just take notice of how often you're with somebody and you're looking at your screen. Or if you're out to lunch or coffee with someone, just take notice. If you get a notification, do you continue the conversation or do you break community and look down to see what the notification is? At bed at night, just ask yourself, are you journaling and reflecting on the day and planning your next day and thanking God and seeking God? Or are you texting and scrolling? If you're married, are you praying with your spouse? Are you having intimate conversations with your spouse? Are you connecting spiritually or emotionally? Or are you side by side in bed looking at reels? Just take notice. And every now and then, when you're about to reach for your phone, remind yourself you're reaching for something that fills the moment but can't fill your soul. Remind yourself. And so here's your assignment this week. Really simple. We're gonna pick up the pace as we go on, but we're gonna start really simple. Three things I'm gonna ask you if you would consider doing. The first thing is this.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Don't just text someone.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Call em. You may try to do that every day. Like, literally, when you'd normally send a text, just actually go ahead and dial and let them hear your voice and listen to theirs, because it genuinely is another level of intimacy. The second thing is, don't just pray for someone, pray with them. Take it up a notch. Cause somewhere along the way, you're gonna be tempted to just say, do a prayer emoji on a Post, or you're.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Gonna be with someone at work and.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

You think, I'll pray for you later.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

But just stop and push yourself out of your comfort zone.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Be bold and say, do you mind if I pray for you right now and just pray. And then thirdly, I say, don't just say that you care, but actually show up and be present. Let the Holy Spirit prompt you when you can go and make a difference. Because Jesus said, a new command I give to you. He said, love one another. As I've loved you, so you must love one another. By this, everyone will know that you're my disciples. If you love one another, how will they know? If we love and follow Jesus, it.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Won'T be by what we post, it won't be by how many followers we.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Have, but how we love, how we.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Love, how we love, how we love.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

So you don't have to destroy your.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Phone, but don't let it own you. And if you wake up and you realize, like, I have this, this frustration, I know there's more. If your feet is full and your life is empty, I promise you, I promise you, I promise you, God has something so much better for you and you're not going to get there accidentally. You've got to intentionally and prayerfully push back against the pull of culture and push into the heart of God and let his love come through you to make a difference of the people around you. Because God didn't just send his words from heaven. Jesus is the word made from flesh. And he came to reveal face to.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Face, the love of the Father. So this week, just be aware. Let's start there. Put the phone down. Look someone in the eye and choose presence. Choose presence. Look.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Look at them and with everything in it. You don't have to say it, but just communicate it with your being and say you matter more than anything on a screen. And what'll happen is you're gonna start finding at the end of the day, that was actually a little better day, that when I prayed for someone, I.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Felt the presence of God and I.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Felt joy when I called someone and I heard their voice and I actually knew what was going on. I wasn't wondering, why do they give me little responses and not respond? And why do they. Where are we? When you talk to them, you find that there's some things that are just too intimate for a screen.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

They have to be face to face and your love grows.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

And when you're serving others and ministering to others and involved with others and caring for others and giving to others, Your joy is made complete.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

And the world won't feel the love of Jesus just through a screen. Yes, they can at times, but they're gonna feel it when you're there. You care, you say it, you show it, and then they're gonna know it. Assignment. Will you push back with me? Will you say, I believe there's more than this? Because John was warning them, here's how you have to love and don't be distracted. The devil wants to steal, kill and destroy and get you to settle for something that is not real as a counterfeit when God has something so much more. So, Heavenly Father, we pray by the power and grace of Jesus that you would draw us into real connection with you and people church as you're praying today. And those of you that are online, we're glad you're online. There's an assignment. I'm gonna give you three things I'm gonna ask you. Will you commit to this? And don't just like raise your hand, like commit to it. Don't text call, don't pray for someone, pray with them. Don't just say that you care, but.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Actually get out of your comfort zone. Take em to coffee, take em to.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Breakfast, take em to lunch. Walk over to their desk, walk over to their house, show up and show them that you care. If you will join me in pushing back and pushing in to intimacy, would you lift up your hands right now and say, I'm in all over the place. Type in the comments section. Hey, I commit to the assignment. I commit to do this. Holy Spirit, prompt us this week over.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

And over and over again when we reach for our phone. Help us just remember it can fill the moment, but it's not gonna fill the void. And God give us a hunger for.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

You and for intimacy with others.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Because some things are just too special.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

To be shared on the screen. Some things have to be face to face. God, prompt us to be present, to show your love, to know your love, to show your love. As you keep praying today at our different churches, some of you, you are digitally connected, but like you're really spiritually disconnected. You're longing for something more. You know there is. You know there's a problem. You can't seem to figure out how to solve it. I want to tell you again, God didn't just send a message. He sent his son who is Jesus. He is the son of the living.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

God who came not for the righteous.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

But came for sinners who came for the broken. There are those of you today, you know there's something more. And there is. There's a longing that only he can fulfill. The problem is we're separated from God by our sin. And the good news is Jesus died for our sins. On the third day, God raised him from the dead so that anyone who calls on his name would be saved and forgiven. If you feel like you're missing something, you are. There's more to this world. There is a heavenly Father that loves you, that wants you to know him and wants to show his love for you. Today at all of our churches, those who say, I need that, I know I've sinned and I need his forgiveness. I want to know him intimately, not just know about him, but I want to know Him. What we're going to do today is we're stepping away from our sinfulness. We're stepping into a relationship with a loving God. Jesus said, and this is eternal life, that you would know him. Today at all of our churches, those who need his grace and need his forgiveness, we step away from our sin.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

And we say, jesus, I give you my life.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Be my Savior, the Lord of my life.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

I give my life to you.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

That's your prayer. Lift your hands high right now, all over the place.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Lift them up right here.

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

And God bless you.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

Both of you. Here. Others say, yes, Jesus. Right back there. God bless you. Others say, yes, Jesus, I make you the Lord of my life. Ah, there's a spiritual hunger. Those of you online, type in the comment section. I'm surrendering my life to Jesus today at all of our churches. Would you pray aloud?

[Co-Pastor or Guest Speaker]

Pray, Heavenly Father, I surrender my life completely to you. Forgive all of my sins and save me, Jesus. Be my Lord. Be my Savior. Fill me with your spirit so I could know you and show your love. My life is not my own. I give it all to you. In Jesus name I pray Church could.

[Pastor Craig Groeschel]

You celebrate Worship God? Welcome those today born into his family.

[Life Church Host]

We are celebrating with those of you who just made the decision to follow Jesus. Check out the show notes for helpful resources and next steps. Don't forget to take the short survey at Life Church PodcastConnect to tell us more about yourself. We'll see you next time for another encouraging message.