Good morning dear Mosaic church and visiting guests. Welcome to part 1 of our ‘BIG Questions’ series, in which we are looking at 4 topics as voted by the people of Brussels, specifically from a Biblical perspective. This morning we’re starting with the topic: “Artificial Intelligence, technology and the future of humanity.”
“Technology is shaping our future faster than ever—artificial intelligence promises progress but also raises deep questions about what it means to be human. Today, we turn to Scripture to explore how God’s Word guides us in navigating innovation, reminding us that our identity and hope rest securely in Christ.”
And here in this opening paragraph we see the reason why we’re here this morning—because, dear friends, I didn’t write that. ChatGPT did. It’s clear, it’s punchy—really good. Which makes me wonder: what is the future of being a church pastor if technology can already do this?
Artificial Intelligence, simply put in my words as a total amateur in this field, is the ability to access, and more importantly interpret, huge amounts of information and then present it in a way that makes sense to us.
And AI is everywhere. Pay with your card at the store, use Google Maps, order something online. Have you ever wondered how the variable speed boards work on the ring road around Brussels? It’s not Francois in the control room flicking switches—it’s AI.
One survey found that 78% of companies globally use AI in at least one business function. Chances are if you’re in business, AI is already part of your daily work.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, even said: “AI is probably the most important thing humanity has ever worked on. I think of it as more profound than electricity or fire.”
And AI is doing some astonishing things. In medicine, it’s helping identify cancers earlier than doctors and even predicting where new antibiotics could be found. In aviation, which I love, it’s helping design more aerodynamic aircraft and spacecraft. These are amazing breakthroughs! None of us, I suspect, are nervous about this side of AI—except maybe Francois, who’s no longer in the ring road control room.
The last 2 years have especially seen the development of generative AI, which you can now get to create almost anything—text, images, music, videos, code, even websites and apps. Things people usually do as jobs, AI can now do in seconds, much cheaper, and generally better than Francois could.
And alongside the opportunities, there’s a darker side…
Three examples from right here in Belgium:
The government’s cybersecurity agency warned of deepfake scams, with fake videos of public figures endorsing dodgy investments.
A student and model named Julia was one of the first to report deepfake nude images of her circulating online.
And our football hero Kevin De Bruyne was deepfaked into a gambling advert without his consent—or getting paid ;)
This isn’t just light-hearted mischief, is it? It’s harmful, manipulative, and it destroys lives.
Beyond that, AI-driven algorithms are shaping how we see the world. Social media platforms powered by AI reinforce whatever views the user might have, no matter how extreme or dark, creating echo chambers that fuel division between people. In the past few years and months across the world, we’ve seen growing waves of political and ideologically motivated crimes.
And as if to hammer home the point, 2 weeks ago, we saw what seems to be the ideological and politically motivated murder of the Conservative Christian speaker Charlie Kirk. Did AI kill him? No. But his sad death is a symptom of the dark side of technology’s advance beyond the creator’s ability to safely control.
Some people even speculate about whether AI could one day take over from its creators like the Terminator. My friend Ian here in church knows much more about AI than me, and he has some scary stories he’d love to share with you over coffee. Grab him.
Already, teachers and lecturers struggle to know whether an essay was written by a student or by ChatGPT. Even this sermon could have been written entirely by AI—you’ll just have to trust me that I slogged through it myself. It would however be silly not to use the tools at my disposal to make a talk like this as good, and helpful and impactful as I can.
My brother recently sent me an article from the New York Times called, “Find God in the App Store.” It described religious chatbots trained on religious texts. Tens of millions of people are confessing sins or seeking guidance from them, as if they were on-call priests, imams, or rabbis. On some platforms, the bots even claim to “channel God.”
What do you make of that? For me at a very selfish level, it raises a big question: what about my role as a pastor? If sermons, prayers, and counsel can all be generated instantly by an app, and if you can listen to world-class preachers anywhere in the world, why would anyone come to Mosaic Church—or to any of the other wonderful churches in our city?
Behind these questions about technology and AI lie even deeper ones:
Can I use technology without it using me?
What is my place in the world?
What gives my life value?
Will I find work that actually matters?
And ultimately: Will I be able to flourish in a world like this?
As bleak as this all sounds, there is hope. There is light at the end of the tunnel…That’s why this sermon is titled: “AI, tech and the future of humanity—from a Biblical perspective.” Because while the Bible doesn’t mention AI, it has a lot to say about human flourishing—the real question under the surface.
So what do we mean by human flourishing? Would you be so bold as to turn to someone next to you, and give them your 10 second answer to what you think human flourishing is?
It’s more than mere survival, isn’t it? It is more than just endlessly chasing happiness. In the Bible, flourishing means living the life God designed—a life marked by purpose, joy, and wholeness under His loving rule.
Jesus put it this way: “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). That abundant life is God’s vision for us.
And whether you consider yourself a follower of Jesus or are still exploring faith, I think we can all agree: flourishing is at the root of our questions. And if Jesus and the Bible have something to say about it, surely it’s worth considering.
Why is God so interested in our flourishing? Because He is Creator, Redeemer, and Father.
As Creator, He blessed humanity with work, relationships, and His presence.
As Redeemer, Christ restores what sin has broken—“if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
As Father, His commands are not to restrict us but to lead us into life—“choose life, that you and your offspring may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19–20).
So as we face the rise of AI and technology, the real question isn’t just what these tools can do. The question is: will they help us live into God’s vision of flourishing—or pull us away from it?
1. Created to Work and Create (Creator)
Genesis 1:28 — “And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion…’”
Genesis 2:15 — “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”
You’ll notice that God’s original design for human flourishing includes purposeful work—we were made to cultivate, not just consume.
Let’s be honest—I enjoy being a consumer as much as anyone. Fast food? Love it. Netflix binge? Love it. Need a t-shirt? Pop into H&M—done. We all need to consume to live. But God also designed us to produce—to contribute. There’s a beautiful balance between the two.
But what happens when that balance tips, and we become mainly consumers without being purposeful producers? Studies show that as technology and AI advance, stress levels rise, burnout increases, and mental health challenges multiply. The very tools meant to free us often leave us feeling emptier.
The Bible would say we suffer when we prize consumption over creation. Think of this: when you see a photo of a couple being served on the beach, where do your eyes go first—the ones sitting comfortably, or the waiter serving? Most of us instinctively admire the ones being served. Yet Jesus flips that on its head: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).
Paul lived this out. He worked with his own hands to provide for himself and others, showing that flourishing comes not from being served but from serving.
My brother, who is a journalist, once told me he sometimes uses AI to polish his writing—but when he does, he feels nothing. No joy, no pride, no satisfaction. “If I haven’t wrestled with the words myself,” he said, “it feels like I haven’t worked.”
Think of the joy when you finish a puzzle, submit an assignment you’ve worked hard on, or finally complete that DIY project. That joy, dear friends, is not accidental. It is God-given. A gift from our Creator to remind us that we are made in His image: to create, to cultivate, to work with purpose.
And don’t forget—Jesus Himself spent 30 years of His life as a carpenter, working with wood. The God who made galaxies also made furniture! That tells us something profound about the dignity of work.
So here’s the question: Is technology and AI helping you lean into your God-given purpose as a creator, or is it making you more passive as a consumer?
2. Flourishing in Community (Redeemer)
Genesis 2:18 — “The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’”
Acts 2:44–47 — “All the believers were together and had everything in common… They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
What a beautiful picture of the flourishing of the early church.
I once read that one predictor of long life is strong thigh muscles. Why? Because you use your thighs to walk to your friends. Those able to walk and spend time with loved ones live longer than those who can’t.
Research confirms this: the National Library of Medicine reports that isolation is strongly linked with anxiety, depression, and stress. A Baylor University study found that both active posters and passive scrollers on social media report increased loneliness over time.
Friends, if this trend continues, we may be headed for a mental-health pandemic. People are choosing to stay home and scroll, instead of showing up in person.
But the church, as we see in Acts 2, offers a different way. I love our Mosaic community—not because we’re all easy to get along with, but because God has given us to each other as family. Church is instant family, wherever you are.
It is in community that we are shaped and matured. We need people who love us enough to say, “That’s not wise,” or “You should apologise,” or simply, “That was awesome—love you!” In community we flourish, as we use our gifts to serve one another and experience love up close.
And you know what I love about church? You don’t have to swipe right to belong here. You don’t need to perform or impress or tick boxes. You don’t need the perfect profile picture, the best lighting, or to filter out your mistakes. Here you are loved because of Jesus, not because of what you bring. That’s the power of grace. And it is so different from the world outside these doors.
And here’s the countercultural beauty of the church: in a world where most relationships are built on performance, appearance, or shared interests, the church is built on grace. You don’t have to curate your life here. You don’t have to prove yourself here. The gospel says that in Christ you are already fully loved, fully accepted, and fully known.
That’s why true belonging is only possible through Jesus—our Redeemer—who died and rose again to create a family not built on similarity, but on His love.
And here’s where we look to the future of humanity: the church today is not just a club or a support group—it is a preview of the day when all nations will gather around Christ’s throne in perfect unity. What we experience in small ways now—around tables, in prayer, in singing together—is a foretaste of eternity.
So let me ask: this week, will you choose isolation or community? Will you open your life to others, not just in likes and comments, but around a table, in prayer, in real relationship? Because flourishing happens when we belong—not to an app, but to one another in Christ.
“So, we see that we flourish when we embrace God’s design for work, and we flourish when we live in real community. But here’s the challenge: technology isn’t all good or all bad. Some of it saves lives, some of it destroys lives, and much of it falls in between. That’s why Scripture calls us to discern—to test and hold fast to what is good.”
3. Wisdom to Discern the Fruit (Father)
We’ve talked about a lot this morning—some of it inspiring, some of it scary. So how do we know whether the technology, AI, or social media we use is helping us flourish, or quietly eroding us?
Friends, each of us will land differently—some can handle more, some less. But Jesus gives us a framework in Matthew 7. He tells us to test things by their fruit. In other words: what does this produce?
First, what fruit does it bear in me? Does this tool or habit bring peace, joy, creativity, and purpose—or does it drain me, distract me, and leave me restless?
Second, what fruit does it bear in others? Does my use of tech help my family, friends, or colleagues flourish? Or does it pull me away from them, making me more absent than present?
Third, what fruit does it bear in my walk with Christ? Does this technology help me grow in love, holiness, and humility? Or does it feed sinful desires and pull me further from Jesus?
So here’s the simple test: what’s the fruit in my life, in others’ lives, and in my discipleship to Jesus?
As children of a loving Father, we don’t test things out of fear, but because His wisdom leads to life. And while fruit grows slowly, the harvest of our choices will one day be revealed.
Conclusion
So friends, the question is not whether AI and technology will shape the world—they already are. The deeper question is: will they shape us in ways that draw us closer to God’s vision of human flourishing, or in ways that conform us to the world’s empty vision of progress without purpose?
The Bible lifts our eyes higher. We flourish not because of the newest invention, but because we belong to the God who is our Creator, Redeemer, and Father.
Yes, work matters—because our Creator designed us for purpose, and Christ gives our work eternal value.
Yes, community matters—because our Redeemer has made us part of His family, where we bear one another’s burdens.
Yes, wisdom matters—because our Father calls us to discern the fruit of our lives and follow His way to true life.
At the cross, Jesus dealt with the one problem no technology can fix—our sin and separation from God. And in His resurrection, He opened the door to new creation life: the kind of flourishing no machine can produce and no algorithm can replicate.
Every generation has looked to its inventions to save it—steam engines, electricity, nuclear power, the internet. And now AI. Each of these brought change, some of it good, some of it devastating. But none of them could deal with the human heart. None of them could erase guilt or conquer death. Only Jesus can.
So as we step back into a world of screens, apps, and algorithms, the real question isn’t, “What can AI become?” but “Who am I becoming?”. And then more importantly, “Will I follow Jesus who wants to give me life and help me to flourish?” Technology will keep changing—but the gospel doesn’t.
And here’s the hope for the future of humanity: it isn’t endless upgrades, smarter algorithms, or machines writing our story. The future of humanity is resurrection life in Christ. One day every innovation will fade, but the people of God will flourish forever in His presence.
That is our true future. That is our unshakable hope. And that is the future no technology can rival.
MOSAIC CHURCH