TOMBSTONE (1993)

Directed by: George P. Cosmatos
Written by: Kevin Jarre
Studio: Buena Vista Pictures
Starring: Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton
Rated: R

About the film:
Wyatt Earp moves to Tombstone Arizona with his brothers and his old friend Doc Holliday. His plans for a peaceful retirement from law enforcement are interrupted by a group of outlaws who call themselves The Cowboys.

Movie Quote:
“Look at all the stars. You look up and you think, ‘God made all this and He remembered to make a little speck like me.’ It’s kind of flattering, really.”
Morgan Earp (Bill Paxton) in Tombstone (1993)

Bible Quote:
“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?”
Psalms 8:3-4 (NIV)

Commentary:
As we can see from the scriptures, Morgan Earp wasn’t the first one to look at the creation of God with awe and wonder. How much more “flattered” might he have been to know that we were not just one of God’s afterthoughts but the reason behind creation itself?

At the center of God’s heart has always been the desire to have a family. He wants to enjoy fellowship and to love and be loved in return. We are the recipients of that love. All that was made by him was made with us in mind.

The heavens were positioned precisely so that human life could be sustained on this planet. The earth was created so that it could nutritionally support life and aesthetically please and bless us. No other planet in the universe provides us with all our needs the way the earth does. God designed it for us.

The psalmist asks a question that, at the time he wrote it, wasn’t able to be answered fully. It is now, because of what the sacrifice of Jesus Christ made available. What is man, that God is mindful of him? For those who believe, the answer is obvious: We are His kids.

Questions to consider while watching the film:
1. Compare and contrast the motivations of the various characters – notably Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Curly Bill and Johnny Ringo.
2. Why did Virgil Earp decide to accept the sheriff’s badge? What is our obligation when we find ourselves confronted with injustice?

Michael Elliott
www.screensermon.blogspot.com