Distracted. Deceived. Dead.

We are a distracted bunch, aren’t we? Neil Postman wrote a book called Amusing Ourselves to Death. In it, Postman argues that the difficulty of life causes many to turn to amusing medication like social media and cat videos. The more entertained we are, the less we are able to understand and respond to the complex challenges of our day like abortion, “the wall”, and opioid drugs. Did you know the average American watches five hours of TV a day with a total of 11 hours a day of media watching? That, my friends, is distracted.

Distracted can often lead to deceived. Some 110 million people watched the Sleeper Bowl last Sunday–mostly for the commercials and NOT Maroon 5. In the end, Tom Brady hoisted the Super Bowl trophy, Adam Levine lost his shirt, and none of our lives were any the more enriched. We thought maybe an investment of time in such a grand occasion would alter the trajectory of our existence. Nope. Deceived again.

Distracted deception can lead to the death of morals, ethics, and even our walk with Jesus. Dead.

Distracted deception goes hand in hand with what the Bible labels as anti-Christ. (“Wow Alan, this sounds like a bad party with no people or good music to dance to.”)

Okay. A little preachy, I’ll give you that. But what if knowing how distracted deception could lead to anti-Jesus ideas, could ultimately lead to death? Any interest now? What if I told you we are living in the very last days before Jesus comes back, and we’d better pay attention to this stuff? Are you tracking with me yet?

Okay… here’s the thing. Many people want to know WHO the Antichrist is. I want to know if you’re the Antichrist. If you always point to someone else as the Antichrist, you may miss the anti-Jesus things growing in you. Ohhh, so that caught your attention, right? Good, ‘cause we are going there on Sunday, bro (and broettes).

Our text is I John 2:18-27. It may sound a little preachy, but you won’t believe how practical and relevant it really is. God also gives us workable solutions to our distractions, deceptions, and problem with death.

You should bring a friend. What’s that you say? “What if your friend is the Antichrist?” You should definitely bring your friend!

Excited to teach. See you soon.

Blessings,