“…it will hurt you! In the long term, it won’t be good for you! And I care too much about you! I won’t stop you from doing it, but I will warn you and ask you to stop. I can help you.” What will your answer be? See, you get to choose. There are maybe 4 possible answers you could give  I don’t care about what I watch or listen to.  I am happy that I am trying my best to watch and listen to what God wants me to.  I wish I didn’t listen to or watch what I do, but I aren’t going to change.  I want to be more careful about what I watch and listen to. If you choose option 4, God wants to help you. Tick any of these you think might work for you:  God can nudge you with your conscience and his Holy Spirit when you are off track  You can pray and ask God to help you  You can decide which TV programs you will watch and which you won’t  You can think about any songs that you won’t listen to cos they aren’t good lyrics  You can look at the ratings on a movie and decide not to go if they contain warnings  You can talk to a Max leader and ask them to pray for you  You can make a point to listen to song lyrics before you decide whether it is a “good” song or not If you don’t want to change, God gives you that option. But think about this: You cannot watch or listen to something and stay unaffected in the long term.  True False You might give up some junk that isn’t good for you, but the Bible says: I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ. Philippines 3:8

Name your favourite song at the moment: Name you favourite TV program at the moment: Name the last movie you saw: What sort of stuff does the song talk about?: What sort of stuff happens in the program?: What sort of stuff happened in the movie? You know what? We are going to do something that most people DON’T do! Most people don’t even think about what we are going to think! You are tonight one step ahead of most people your age and most people older than you. See, we are going to think about what it is that we choose to see and do! We are going to think about whether it is a good or bad thing. And then you are able to make a choice about what you are going to do. Most people don’t do that! You are going to be exceptional tonight, because most people don’t even think about what they listen to or watch! OK, let’s have a look at what you chose – how do you rate the words and content? SONG - Good Not so good Bad Why?: TV - Good Not so good Bad Why?: MOVIE - Good Not so good Bad Why?: That’s all good, but how do you think God would rate the words and content? SONG - Good Not so good Bad Why?: TV - Good Not so good Bad Why?: MOVIE - Good Not so good Bad Why?: But you are allowed to watch those things and listen to those things. So is God’s standard different to what the world says? Different to what the censors say? Maybe even different to what your household says? Is God’s standard different to the world’s standards? YES NO So what is God’s standard? In Philippians 4:8 in the Bible it says this: “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Look at your answers at the top of this column again – are those songs/TV/movie true? Noble? Right? Pure? Lovely? Etc So the world says it is OK. You might say it is OK. But God might say I don’t think so. The question is then why is God’s standards different to the world? What do you think? Who cares for you the most? God The World Whether you want to admit it or not, God cares for you more than anyone or anything ever before or ever will! He cares for you so much that he says “look, some stuff may be cool or fun to listen to or watch for a little while, but…”