Aim: To help develop a Christian view of the media

Questions for discussion
How many hours each week do you spend watching television or listening to the radio?
How do you decide what to watch?

Discussion starter
WHICH WOULD YOU WATCH?
Which of these television programmes would you encourage people to watch or discourage them from watching? If you don’t know anything about them, ask a friend. Put a TICK if you think a programme is OK for adults, double tick for children too. Put a CROSS if you feel that even adults should NOT watch it.
WHAT REASONS affect your responses?

EastEnders / Coronation Street / Emmerdale / Neighbours / Brookside_
Songs of Praise
Late night Sport / Sky subscription sports e.g. Football, Snooker, Olympics, Grand Prix.
Britain’s Got Talent / The X Factor / Strictly Come Dancing
Great British Bake Off / MasterChef / Hells Kitchen
The National Lottery programme
Dramas e.g. Casualty / Holby City / Mr Selfridge / Lewis / Foyle’s War
BBC or ITV or Sky Breakfast shows
“Chat shows” e.g. Jeremy Kyle, Jerry Springer,
“Supernatural” dramas e.g. The Librarians, X files
Big Brother_
Secret Diary of a Call Girl
The Vicar of Dibley
The Big Bang Theory (bear in mind this is 6 pm viewing)
NCIS / CSI / Silent Witness etc etc
Sabrina the teenage witch / Buffy the Vampire Slayer_
Your favourite programme – whatever that is 🙂

DISCUSS your opinions of these programmes as honestly as possible.
Television wasn’t around in Bible times. CAN the Bible help our thinking here?

Also to think about
Are there any films which Christians should not watch? _WHY NOT?
Which newspapers or magazines should Christians not read? WHY NOT?
What should be our Christian attitude to the Internet?_

Bible basis
“The Christian Mind”
“Don’t let the world around squeeze you into its own mould, but let God remould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.” (Romans 12:2 in J.B.Phillips translation)
God doesn’t just care about what we DO. He knows our deepest thoughts and he cares about our attitudes and the things we think. Two old quotes remind us of how important our thinking is.
“You aren’t what you think you are, but what you think, you are!”
“Sow a thought, you reap an action. Sow an action, you reap a habit. Sow a habit, you reap a character. Sow a character, you reap a destiny.”
The Bible reminds us that God wants to re-mould the way we think in the image of His Son Jesus Christ. This is why all adult Christian education such as this course and belonging to a Home Group is so important! We all _need to keep on learning even when we begin to reach “true maturity”_.
Romans 12:1-2;
Ephesians 4:17-24
Matt 5:27-30;
Exodus 20:17;
1 Corinthians 14:20;
Philippians 4:8.
To think about
What does it mean in practice for our minds to “be renewed”?
What can we do individually and together to develop in our Christian thinking?
In what areas does YOUR mind need renewing? Colossians 3 or Ephesians 4 and 5 are most challenging “check-lists” to reflect on prayerfully.