April 12, 2026 | Genesis 1:26-28 Artificial Intelligence: Is it a useful tool? Or existential threat?

Artificial Intelligence is everywhere. Engineers are using it to translate scripture into new languages. Have a theological question? You can ask ChatGPT for an answer-even from a specific Christian tradition. You can download a Chatbot and "talk" with Moses, Mary, Paul, or even Jesus. 

At the same time, AI can generate videos of events that never even happened. People are forming relationships with AI companions. There are even support groups for those who have been deceived by artificial connections. 

In a world where it's easier to ask ChatGPT than listen to the Holy Spirit, how should Christians respond?

Is AI just a tool-or shaping us in ways we don't yet see?

Join us as we explore wisdom, discernment, truth, and what it means to follow Jesus in an age of artificial intelligence.

Transcript

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Hey friends, my name is Brian Asker. I'm one of the pastors here at Community Covenant Church.

And I'm so sad that I don't get to be with you today, but I so wanted to do this message. We are talking about artificial intelligence. And before I was a pastor, I got a degree in computer science so I've been thinking about and creating artificial intelligence, simple artificial intelligence for a long time.

And so we talked about doing this as a series I really wanted to do this sermon today.

In this culture, we are so fascinated and fearful of artificial intelligence. I think about the stories that we tell, some of the movies that I've watched. I think about The Jetsons and Rosie the Robot and how she came in and she did all of the boring work that nobody else wanted to do. And she did it with a smile. Was happy to do it. Most of the time she was happy to do it. Occasionally she got a little angry. But that was like the dream that someday robots could do everything for us, all the things that we didn't want to do. And then I think about data the Android character in the Star Trek Next Generation and how he became a trusted coworker. Somebody that was exploring human emotions, but he could be trusted to get the work done.

But then, on the other hand, I think about some of the Doom and Goomb stories of artificial intelligence in our culture, I think about the Matrix and how humans essentially get produced down to a battery that can power machines that are running the world. And then I think about E the simple Disney movie that showed us what could possibly happen if humans let artificial intelligence take over the world? We would be reduced to being able to do almost nothing we can do in that movie is sit in chairs and watch screens. What a life is that?

Well these stories are examples of what we might call strong AI or human like AI. And while people are arguing about whether or not we've actually achieved strong AI or human like AI, one thing is for certain.

Today's large language models things like ChatGPT, Gemini, Co Pilot, they are taking the world by storm. They're everywhere.

Was watching March Madness. I felt like every other commercial was an artificial intelligence commercial.

Microsoft was touting their co pilot helping a small business owner bring back the dollar slice pizza. And then they went out to a video showing people for blocks to get a dollar slice pizza amidst this huge city skyscraper landscape.

One thing I couldn't tell is whether or not that video was just an artificially intelligent design video. Or was it real?

Well, then there was chat GPT they were touting that they gave to two young guys getting a truck started. Then there was another one of a woman who was the next generation farmer and she was so worried about keeping the family farm running. She got a degree in English but ChatGPT was there to save the day. And Grandpa, or dad was sure that she was going to be able to keep the farm running.

Well, did you know that you can download a text Jesus app You can literally have a conversation with Jesus and you can choose what faith tradition you want Jesus to talk to you. So, there's no heresy going on. And if you don't, you know, kind of get kind of bored talking with Jesus, You can always choose another biblical character. You can choose the apostle, evangelists, And they're, I mean, if you can't find one that you want to talk to, you just ask, they say, because they're always adding new biblical characters for you to is fantastic, right?

I have asked ChatchipPD a few times. To interpret scripture for me. And I gotta tell you, it does a pretty good job.

Now, I'm not using chat GP to to write my sermons but I'm telling you, the interpretations that it gives are often better than the things that I hear in some of my small groups. Just saying.

So, the problem is with AI, that sometimes the answers that it gives, and there's even a warning, are false. And to the casual observer, the answer might look right. But to an expert, it's clear as day, and I've seen some really poor interpretations on AI as well of scripture. And it's really easy to get dude because it looks so close.

In a sense that's a little bit of what happened in St. Louis this last January. Four monkeys got out into the community and social media was bombarded with so many artificially intelligent designed images of monkeys all over St. Louis in neighborhoods everywhere, that the officials never found the monkeys. Because they had to spend so much time discerning this is and they never got the monkeys.

And then in February, ChatGPT promised woman that she would find her soulmate. But every time that she showed up in that place, where ChatGPT said she would find her soulmate, No one was there. And she was crushed.

So, what do you think? Is AI a useful tool Or is it an existential threat?

That's what going to wrestle with today. And believe it or not, scripture has something to say about this, even though the word artificial intelligence wasn't even coined until 1956. By a guy named John McCarthy.

So we're going to go back to the beginning. To the creation story to Genesis chapter one This is part of our two week series Wisdom in a Digital Age. We're going to talk about what it means to be human. We're going to talk about how do we discern what is good what is right, and what isn't.

So join me with your bibles Genesis chapter one starting in verse 26.

Then God said, 'Let us make humans in our image.' in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky over the livestock

So, god created humans in his own image. In the image of god, he created them. Male and female, he created them.

God bless them and said to them, be fruitful. Increase Fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every Creature that moves along the ground.

Now This is the first creation in store in scripture. There's actually two creation stories. The first one focuses on order the second one focuses on human. Humans.

In this particular one, God has created time weather, food, the sun, the moon, the birds, stars, the fish, the animals, and everything that god has created He has declared good.

And then here in verse 26, God creates humans which are different than all the rest of creation because they are created in God's or in God's likeness. And this is a really important concept.

In ancient Near East culture, you would have lived under the authority of a king. And that king probably would have called himself a god. And that king would tell you what to do. He would order things to be done, made. He had the privilege of being able to tell everyone what was good, and what was not.

That king would have made statues of himself particularly if he would have been in a very large kingdom because he could send that out and remind people who was in charge. And put it in temples so that they could worship him

But Israel, Israel was different. They didn't view their king as a god. They weren't supposed to have any other images or idols of god. Really unique for that time and that culture.

And the reason that they couldn't have any images or idols is because you cannot reduce God down to any one thing in creation.

They also weren't supposed to do it because god had already made an image of himself.

We are God's image. In the creation, story, God is the one who is declaring what is good and what is not. God is the one who's making all of these amazing things and humans are the pinnacle of that creation. And he calls them the image of God.

The Hebrew word there is Selim. It means idol or image, and it gives the idea of the essence of that thing that is representing.

And in doing so, god gave humans the ability to Because the image of God Is and can be explained in two different parts.

One idea of the image of God is to status. We have a status because we are created in the image of God. So no person has more or less the image of god based on any of their intellectual or physical

Additionally, because both male and female aren't created, and are equally the image of God, are intended to rule creation side by side as partners in a group project, rather than in all created in the image of God. And that gives us a certain amount of dignity.

Being made in the image of God is also a vocation because God has given us the ability to co rule with him.

That's what God is saying when he says later, subdue the earth, to that once belonged to only elite kings, Now it has been assigned to everyone. To do together.

It becomes this huge group project that we are all engaged in to on the work that we do. We reflect and when we're in alignment with what god wants in this world, when we do things that love and care for creation, for god, for others, and for ourselves The world is a beautiful place to live and we have made some pretty amazing things in the history of humanity.

Think about your favorite food, your favorite music, your favorite sport, medicine, hospitals, the Bill of Rights, libraries. And educational institutions. Just to name a few of the amazing things that we have created.

Unfortunately, we have also used our power to create some pretty horrible things. We can think about weapons, the Transatlantic slave movement, the holocaust, Agent Orange, and SPAM. I'm not talking about the food. I'm talking about the email.

So, where does AI fit into all of this creation? Well, one thing is for certain. I can tell you that AI, as smart as it gets, can never fully image God because it doesn't have a body. It doesn't have flesh and blood.

So in a Christian worldview, artificial intelligence is just another part of creation. That's it. It's a tool that we have created. And like a lot of tools, it can be used for good. But it can also be used for evil.

When it helps a small business owner figure out how to make his business run better, we can celebrate that.

When people use it, to translate Bibles, that's good because it helps more and more people hear about love for them. We even use AI to translate our sermons live during church on Sunday here at Community Covenant Church.

When AI wastes the time of authorities who are searching for monkeys, it's not a good use of AI.

And when AI feeds the idol of productivity, this idea that we constantly have to keep producing more and more, and that somehow our value is locked up and wound up in the idea that we need to create more, that is bad because we are not meant to be human doings.

We're human beings. We're created in the image of God. We're created for rhythms of work and rest.

God worked for six days and he rested for one day.

Solving problems helping people and humans flourish in the world, yes, we are created for that kind of work. But we're also created for downtime, relaxation, and recreation. Fun things that we love to do.

And here's the thing: we don't have to work all the time because our value is not dependent on what we do.

We are valued because we are created in the image of God and that makes you and me and everyone else beautiful.

The other thing that AI has the temptation to do it has the temptation to make us believe that somehow we can at least come close to knowing everything or at least remembering everything

That's what the commercial of the woman who was farming And there's some good things in that.

But the reality is that we're not meant to know everything. We're not meant to have and remember everything.

We're designed to be dependent on God. And dependent on one another and when we remember everything, it gives us the illusion that we can depend on ourselves

and so embedded in the creation story is this rhythm of work and rest Work for six days, rest. For a day. Work for six days, rest.

There are other rhythms in Sabbath rhythms. Sabbath is the word that scripture uses in chapter two of Genesis. It says,

array. By the seventh day, God had finished the work he had been doing so on the seventh day He rested from all His work.

Then in Exodus chapter 20, God tells the people of Israel to take a Sabbath, a day of rest.

God rested because and

When god finished creating the world, it was beautiful. It was amazing. And it could've stayed that way. But God wanted to invite us to co rule with him.

And the reality is sometimes we mess it up

But God in his mercy keeps inviting us to co rule with him.

If you're a parent, you get this. When your parents mess up, sorry, when your kids mess up because you give them take it away from them. No.

You talk to your children and you help them to learn from the to learn and become better humans, better people.

In the same way, God is forming us God gives us responsibility sends us out into the world, and then invites us to learn and to keep growing, to try and

Because God wants us to become more and more like him.

Sabbath is a rhythm that God instituted do just that.

To learn and to grow and become more like him, more like Jesus.

It helps us to stop Sabbath means stopping, ceasing.

So, we stop and we rest and we let god

It creates space for God to speak into our lives.

It challenges us and it challenges the cultural expectation that we have that we should always be producing.

We stop and we trust that God is going to do something.

God is going to work.

It's good to have daily, weekly, monthly or even yearly rhythms of Sabbath.

So What would it look like for you to have regular rhythms of Sabbath?

What would it look like for you to take time daily to reflect and spend time with God?

Maybe it's just stop and eat.

Not eat and listen to a podcast, not eat and watch a TV show, not eat and get a little bit of work done here and there.

Just eat. And enjoy the good taste that God has created for us in this world.

Weekly, what would it look like for you to stop take time, to worship God, to come to church, to listen, to worship music, to spend time with family and friends,

and what would it look like for you to create a yearly rhythm of taking vacations?

Spending time, maybe even putting your phone away, so that you can hear from God.

Studies show that when we have downtime our creativity increases.

But we're not very good at stopping.

All of our digital technologies are Phones, AI, computers, gives us the illusion that we can keep going.

And we no longer have space to think because the minute that we're bored, we pick up our phone.

So this is probably a good time to stop and say we have prayer ministers available here at Community Covenant and they would love to

If this is something that you're wrestling with, have a hard time, resting and creating that rhythm of rest.

They would love to pray with you and for you, ask you about it, help you out with that.

You see, research is showing that all of our digital technology is creating a cognitive decline.

A professor of psychology at Georgetown University did a study involving four sixty seven participants.

It's the largest study done to date.

And here's what he found.

Even a short time away from your technology, from your phone, from artificial intelligence.

Produces striking results.

One group used the Freedom app that blocks all internet access but allows you still to text. And to take phone calls.

Their time online and on their phones decreased from three fourteen minutes a day one hundred and sixty one minutes.

By the end of the period, participants had improvements in sustained attention, mental health, as well as self reported well-being.

What would it look like for you?

What would it look like for us to be a community that took time to to rest, to detox from our digital devices so that artificial intelligence, phones, and all of this digital technology isn't running us.

but we're using it for good.

What would it look like for you to have a rhythm of Sabbath from your phone from technology? And from artificial intelligence?

Because AI is a tool.

It can do some amazing things in our world, but left unchecked.

It can also create utter chaos. It can destroy relationships.

And it can destroy our relationship with God.

And so we want you to know and experience the one triune God.

We want you to experience the love of community,

So sometimes we got to set that technology aside and focus on God.

Focus on one another.

Let's pray.

God, thank you so much that you have given us your word with so much wisdom

We need your help today in our technological world.

Sometimes our phones and artificial intelligence can start to run our lives instead of us.

Running

And it can get in the way of our relationships and so god, I pray that you would help us to put AI in its right place to put our phones in their right place, and to create rhythms of rest and work.

So that we can hear from you, so that we can learn, so we can

patient and loving and kind and gentle.

And forbearing

Things that we so often lose in our world of go, go, go, more productivity.

Remind us that we are loved, no matter what.

We don't have to do anything to be loved by you.

Thank you, Jesus.

Amen.