Baccalaureate: Build on Jesus, Get Married, Dont Trust Robots

Class of 2026, I was reflecting on how old you guys are compared to how old I am. Reflecting on the year you were born. See the year you were born, about 2009 I'm guessing, was actually the year I graduated from high school. So I was born about 17, 18 years before that in 1990. And I was surprised by how many similarities there were, actually in my lifetime from 90 to 2009. Then from your lifetime, 2009 to now 2026. So follow me here. In the birth here of 19, oh, every one of these, there was a big global event of instability, fun, and then a rapid technological change. So follow me here. 1990, when I was born, was the fall of the Soviet Union. So for 50 years, there was a cold war. Every thought we were going to die from a nuclear bomb. And then all of that stopped. And all of the free trade opened up. And the world that we've all been living in or living in the response to was born. I knew nothing about that. But that was the year I was born. I was born into that reality. Also, 1991, the internet came into being, right, when I was born. For you guys in 2009, there was a global economic crisis. It's the housing crisis. I don't know if you guys know anything about this. Because you were born. How would you know you're a baby, right? But a bunch of people, bought houses, they shouldn't have bought houses, and everything just like collapsed. And there was total instability there for a while. And also, 2007 was the iPhone. The world changed. And the iPhone, not long after that, was YouTube and social media and Instagram, the front-facing camera. All of that happened right about when you were born, right about when I was graduating from high school. In the middle school, right about 11 years old, I lived through 9/11. So September 11, 2001, the planes go into the World Trade Center and the global war on terror results changes the world forever. For you guys, I'm trying to think, what happened when you guys were about 11 years old? The global pandemic, right? You guys were forced into online laptop schools there for a while, right? Everybody was in lockdowns and wearing masks and vaccines and everything was crazy and chaotic there for a while. But then, now here we are at graduation. When I was 2009, well, now we get catch up to the cycle of when you guys were born, the economic crisis, YouTube, algorithms, iPhone. Now, 2026, hard to say. I mean, maybe it's a good thing that there's not some immediate, giant, global instability. I think a ran war maybe is up there. Gas prices are obviously going crazy. I think about the assassination of Charlie Kirk. That changed a lot of people's lives across the country. But then the technology won. That's easy, right? Rapid technological change. What's the big thing that's happening right now? AI, of course, right? Artificial intelligence, large language models. They're racing towards the singularity where man and machine can merge and intelligence has its own capacity to think for itself or whatever. So, I relate to you guys a little bit, right? I have some sympathy for you guys and all that you've been through. And so, as I've been thinking back on my life since I was in your shoes, since I was 17 and 18, now here at AMF 35, I want to give you guys a little bit of advice. All right? I've got three pieces of advice for you guys. Let me say a prayer for that before you jump in. Let's pray. Jesus, thank you for this opportunity to be together, to hear your word, to look up in the midst of this celebration and thankfulness, would you give us a heart to hear from you as well? So, come, we spirit bless it in Jesus name, amen. All right, so, three pieces of advice from my 17 years since I graduated. First of all, build your life on Jesus. Jesus told the story once. He said, "The wise man is the man who hears my words and put them into practice is like a man who built his house on a rock. He had a good foundation. And when the wind came and the storms came and the instability came, the house stood firm because it was on a good foundation. The foolish man is the man who builds his house on the sand, something that's not stable, something that's not going to last. And so, the winds come and the storms come and the rains and the floods and the house falls with a great crash. I actually lived this when I was your age, my senior year, I have built my life on football. Some of you guys have heard me tell this story and played football. I built my life on football and guess what? Football ended. I lost in the conversation with you. It let me down. And my house crashed actually. I fell into months of depression, anxiety and all kinds of things. But it was in the bottom of that that I cried out to the board. And I've been building on that rock ever since then. Friends, no matter what you try to build your life on, marriage, family, career, and career, a house, anything that you want to build your life on, it's going to let you down, except for God. If you try to build your life on those things, this doesn't mean those things aren't good. This doesn't mean those things aren't part of the house. But you need a foundation that's stable. God is eternal. It's He lasts forever. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be world without end as we are on a break. So here's a controversial statement for you in 2026. There is one true God. He is the one who made heaven and earth. All the other religions, all the other things, again, money and marriage, family, career, safety, happiness, they will let you down. You've been told a lie that says, "Do what makes you happy?" You've been told a lie that says, "You do you." But what if you don't know who you are? God knows. God made you. God knit you together in your mother's womb. Some of the mothers out there remember this. God was part of that equation. So God has a purpose and a plan and a destiny for your life. He has good plans in mind, but you have to follow Him. You have to do things His way. If you have cracks in your foundation, they will get exposed when the storms come. Because I can tell you, after 17 years since I graduated, there will be more global instability. I can just guarantee you, there will be more rapid technological change. I guarantee you. They say that the men in Silicon Valley making AI, they all say that there's probably about a 30% chance that AI rises up and destroys the world. 30%. It's not 50%. It's not a coin flip. It's like that's crazy. In the same way that 100 years ago, they invented the nuclear bomb. And for the first time, human beings had the capacity to destroy the entire planet. AI is doing something like that. Because literally they call it the Manhattan Project. They're racing against China to figure out who can do what with AI. You need a life and a heart and a mind that is built on the rock of God that He is stable even when everything surrounds you. Maybe in the big picture, maybe in your personal life, you're going to go through tragedy. You're going to go through difficulties. Broken relationships, disappointments, things that don't go the way that you think they're going to do. You're going to go through difficulties from friends or family members. So here's some practical support. Build your life on Jesus. If you're going to college, find a Christian student group. Find other Christians coming in your freshman year who are also trying to put Jesus first. Because there's going to be lots of people that aren't. There's going to be lots of people, lots of temptations. There's going to be lots of people that maybe say, "Oh yeah, I'm a Christian." But then they are actually going in a different direction. You need to find some people who are fully going in that direction with you, putting Jesus first. Find a church, get in a Bible study, prioritize your faith, read your Bible every day, avoid the temptations, and make sure your best friends are all in for Jesus. This is what happened for myself. This is what happened for my wife. I've made still many of the mistakes. Still did a lot of things that a Christian shouldn't be doing because it's in college. I have a temptation. By wife and I both, in our own different ways, at different colleges, we put Jesus first. It was after that we were able to find each other. If you're not going to college, in some ways it's going to be harder because you're not in that bubble that college can be. But in other ways it's easier because you get to skip to the real world. In the real world, you don't just get friends living down the hall and adorm all the time. It could be harder to facilitate relationships once you're out in the real world. Adults, it hates more intentionality. You get a head start on that. You need to find a church. You need to find that group of friends. You need to find that Bible study, people who are taking their faith seriously. In my life, like I said, I went all in with Jesus at 18 and I have no regrets. I don't feel like I missed out on anything. I fought that way when I was 17 and I said, "No, Jesus, give me college." Give me college to have some fun. No. He said, "No, I have better plans for you." It has been better. So many fewer broken hearts. So many fewer mistakes than ever. So many fewer bad memories. And so God has a better path for you. In a world of global instability and rapid technological change, build your life on Jesus' face. Get baptized. Go to church every week. Read the Bible every day. You will have a bigger picture and a bigger story and greater purpose and meaning to your life. Okay. Second piece of advice. So build your life on Jesus. Here's something real practical. How about this? Get married. Get your child babies sooner rather than later in that order. This feels maybe cliche or out of date in 2026. But we're rediscovering. Like, "Oh, turns out." careers don't make you have turns out you can buy happiness turns out human beings are made for deep intimate relationship with the person of the opposite sex that's called marriage in the beginning God created the heavens of the earth and he made male and female and he said he blessed it he said I like that I like male female it's a good idea he said be fruitful and multiply just like the fish are just out there in the ocean just lay in eggs just making more fish all day every day the trees this time of year right they're just seeds just multiply multiply right that's what God wants for us as human beings he wants us to get married so here's some controversial statements here okay men and women are different right husbands wives I don't know if you've ever discovered this run into that men and women are different marriage is good babies are good and marriage and family life although it will not be for everybody right and we need to make room for that exception it will be for most people and marriage and family life are the most sure way to have a meaningful life it's those deeply embedded relationships that give the greatest meaning for your life and I'll take here to tell you friends if you come from more of a broken family life if that has not been perfect in your experience God can fix that God can redeem that God can restore that he can help you to be a better father than your father was a better mother than your mother was right he can help to give you a greater hope and purpose for the most meaningful relationships in our life the world will tell you that man evolved from apes that man is a cancer on the planet that man is a parasite that babies are a choice and fertility is a curse to be avoided this sex is just for fun that your career should come first lies lies lies from the pit of hell the path toward relational fulfillment the world says is to well you know have some fun in college maybe date for four years live together for four years get engaged for four years get married for four years and then have kids at 40 right that math doesn't add up there's a lot of women who went that path and they have very successful careers in New York City and they've got their penthouse and their sad their sad because they missed out on the most meaningful relationships in life so practically friends God would have you find someone else who also puts God first okay so I'm not saying just get married to the first person who gives you doe eyes okay that infatuation can lead you astray all right but if you can find someone else who's building their life on the rock then you can build that life together um so here's the order okay meet go on dates get engaged get married and then live together have sex have babies all right we all heard this nursery rhyme first comes love then comes marriage then comes the baby in the baby carriage all right and again God can redeem brokenness and mistakes but but that's the that's the goal that's the order that God has made us for in my son in my life I'm so thankful I got married right after college I met my wife and right away I saw this is the girl I want to get married to we dated for three months before we got engaged we were engaged for nine months before we got married so we were married a year and a day after our first date it's been awesome we've been married for 10 years I wish we could have gotten married sooner right right about 30 we started having our babies we've got three right now five four and two and a half and we've got twins on the way all right so we're being fruitful and multiplying I wish we'd started earlier right so in a world of global instability and rapid technological change get married before 25 have lots of babies that stability that relational meaning will be the things that of the home and the hearth will give you a practical meaning and purpose to your life day in and day out all right last thing so put Jesus first get married have babies don't trust robots all right don't do it don't trust robots when my son was two years old we were walking through minars and we walked through the Christmas section and there's a big sand clause in the Christmas section that comes alive when you walk by and he started singing in my two year old son freaked out started crying I said don't worry said don't worry it's just a robot just a robot and from that time and I even said like it's the robot gonna get me I said no and if it did come and get you I would shoot his head off with a shotgun don't worry I'll protect you and then from that day on for the rest of that Christmas season he thought that every Santa was a robot and told people that data was gonna shoot his head off with a shotgun so I kind of regret that just a little bit maybe that was a bit rash to the two year old brain but don't trust robots this is fundamental right so you've grown up with maybe comic books and cartoons or whatever like wally and stuff we're like the robots are the good guys the robots are gonna save the world a robot right think about AI chatbots don't trust them AI chatbots are not your friend they're not your counselor they can't be your boyfriend they can't be married guys I guarantee you in your lifetime it's already happening right now there's people who are gonna invite you to an AI marriage guarantee you in your lifetime right somebody's got a robot and they've fallen in love and you're gonna have to wrestle with that question who am I to judge well I'm a human being and that's not another human being doesn't have a soul right don't trust robots god is the creator of heaven and earth the god god made the stuff of creation everybody like hit your pew everybody like hit your pew see the book my everybody do it everybody do it everybody just watch what was this good problem with this guy all right that's stuff okay the stuff of creation is good your body is good okay the sun and the moon and the stars the world that god that created is good the digital world of man's creation is not so good it has the capacity to deceive you to make you think that it's the real world it's not right the insecurity that you feel after scrolling on instagram and that you stuck in the death scroll and you look up after an hour right it's sucking you down into this black hole it's not real it's not real put it down go for a walk call your friend talk to them in person have a fight in person right instead of like gossiping and DMing or stuff like that we got to get into the real world the social media the algorithms youtube smartphones the conspiracy theory algorithms it's all trying to suck you in and lead you away from god's good real world the smartest minds in the world and Silicon Valley are trying everything they can to make money off of your attention to look at screens as much as possible are you gonna how much of your 20s you're gonna give to them right how many hours a day on your smartphone right you're gonna give it five years out of your 20s three years out your 20s how about not how about you just Jesus once said if your eye is gouging you to sin cause if your eye is causing you to sin gouge it out and throw it away it's better to go into heaven with one eye than to go down into hell with two eyes it's a metaphor it's an exaggeration right it took me a while but I actually got to the point friends I got rid of my smartphone I deleted social media we don't even have wifi in our house somehow we're not omnis somehow I still check my email how do I do that I'm a hotspot it's not that hard but I'm not sucked into the doom scroll all the time we're just beginning to realize how toxic social media and smartphones are that in 2011 anxiety 2011 so when you were two anxiety and depression in the west spite right 60% of people under 18 deal with chronic anxiety right now and it's because of the phones it's sucking you in there's lots of other reasons that that's a major one and it's especially true for girls we tend to be more relational in the relational viewing of an Instagram is very very hard to overcome we have no idea how AI and transhumanism is going to play out but they will tell you that it is inevitable and good but it's not no technologically no technology is inevitable so practically what is this mean learn to love the real world learn to love creation and church and family and community and shake in someone hand and look at them in the eye and share in snacks and coffee with the friends right living a marriage again will help you to learn to love the real world of who this person that God has given you learn to love being small you're just one little person in Garwin, Iowa right you can't save the world I mean maybe sometime everybody says go be a world changer you know little change the world is starting you small cleaning your room making your bed that's how you start to change the world learns of love being small and limited and embodied resist the temptation to the godlike power like jafar at the end of Aladdin I know that precedes you guys you were born but the godlike power that AI wants to offer you resist it you're just a human recognize how technology is not a normal tool because it is trying to manipulate you it is the hammer trying to pick you up you must resist it so you have to set boundaries time limits give your friend the code you know say no phone in the bedroom try again beginning rid of your smart phone deleting social media I want to really emphasize friends don't have don't have robot friends no chat bots no robot counselors no robot girlfriends so the rule of thumb is that the digital technology can help you spend less time on a screen so if you can get on AI and then like I just did something and now I'm done I close my laptop great but if it's causing you to spend more time and stare at the screen until two in the morning it's not good for you it's not good for your soul try to resist it Like I said, when I was in high school, the iPhone came out and social media was growing and so I actually Am old enough to remember a time before The internet is that crazy for you guys to think about I remember when my only connection to the outside world was a landline and the mailbox That was it And so it's been a little bit easier for me to imagine what it would be like to not have an iPhone or a wife It's gonna take a little more work for you guys So in a world of global instability and rapid technological change Don't trust robots be skeptical about screens intentionally resist and live in the real world of God's creation So friends and conclusion the wise man builds his life on the rock your life is the house Jesus is the foundation marriage and babies fills the room and Global instability and technological change. That's the rain and the wind and the storms that are going to come So build your life on Jesus get married and have babies and don't trust robots The wise man builds his house on the rock and the name of the father and the son and of the Holy Spirit