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WHY JOHNNY CAN’T LISTEN

Introduction

1.     Detroit Free Press offered 120 families $500 to turn off TV for a month

2.     93 families turned down the offer

3.     Average family watches 44 hours of TV per week

4.     It has impact on our – language, moral values, attention span

Notice these facts

1.     Camera shots – change every 3 seconds; commercials 2.5 seconds

2.     Speech –

a.     We talk little while watching TV – Shush, I want to hear this

b.     We may be in the same house, same room – not communicate

c.     Language on TV affects how we talk

3.     Commercials

a.     A 20 year old will have seen about 1 million commercials

b.     30 second commercial on the Super Bowl – almost $3 million

c.     Why? Because commercials work.

d.     Subtle – subconscious – think of commercial – not brand

4.     Commercials solve problems in 28 seconds – they teach:

a.     All problems can be solved

b.     They can be solved in an instant (28 seconds)

c.     They are solved by technology, science, new product

d.     Preacher takes 25 minutes, Bible class 40 minutes

                                                    i.     No pills, no new device

                                                   ii.     No toll free number, no website

5.     All of this affects our attention span

a.     “Fatigue, hunger, noise, and emotional stress reduce time on task. Common estimates for sustained attention to a freely chosen task range from about five minutes for a two-year-old child, to a maximum of around 20 minutes in older children and adults.”
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention_span

b.     And these numbers are getting shorter – for children and adults

6.     How to Listen

a.     Personally – How does this apply to me?

b.     Biblically – Is this the will of God, from God’s Word?

c.     Searching – Ask questions, search for answers

d.     Receptive – Acts 17:11

e.     Actively –

                                                    i.     Bring Bible

                                                   ii.     Take notes

                                                 iii.     Look up passages

f.      Focused –

                                                    i.     We speak about 125 words per minute (110 – 150)

                                                   ii.     We can hear and understand (process) 400 words per minute

                                                 iii.     We can think about 1,000 words per minute

                                                 iv.     The challenge is to stay focused



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