Acts 9:19b-28
A few years back, social psychologist, Jean Twenge published a detailed study on the mental state of today’s teenagers and college students in a book called iGen. She found a rapid rise in depression and anxiety in young people. Twenge believes that the biggest reason for this problem is the rise of smart phones and social media.
People are connected by the internet, yet they feel alone. People are constantly comparing how they look and what they have. They see people doing fun activities without them and they feel left out.
Twenge writes, “By 2016, roughly one out of every five girls reported symptoms that met the criteria for having experienced a major depressive episode in the previous year. The rate for boys went up, too, but more slowly (from 4.5% in 2011 to 6.4% in 2016).” Very sad news!
However, one interesting part of her research is that she found five activities that are linked to lower rates of depression: sports and other forms of exercise, attending religious services, reading books, in-person social interactions, and doing homework.
Her research implies that churches like ours can make a significant difference in the lives of young people. So, my main question today is: how can we help people who feel alone? Our passage today is from Acts 9:26-28.
Our new sermon series is on Barnabas, who was a difference maker, and we can learn two things from him:
- We discern what God is doing
- We nurture what God is doing
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