Directed by: George Lucas
Written by: George Lucas
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher
Rated: PG
About the film:
A young farm boy is swept into a galactic adventure as he teams with a renegade space smuggler and a pair of androids to rescue Princess Leia who has been taken captive by the evil Imperial Forces. Once the princess is safe, they must then defend the galaxy against the evil invaders.
Movie Quote:
“The Force will be with you… always.”
Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) in Star Wars (1977)
Bible Quote:
“The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
Deuteronomy 31:8 (NIV)
Commentary:
Obi-Wan offers words of encouragement to the young untested farm boy who will grow into becoming a great Jedi knight. How does the “Force” of which he speaks relate to our lives?
The word that leaps out to me in the quoted phrase from the movie is “always.” We hear that word so often being used by men who disappoint that perhaps it has lost some of its impact. The word literally means “at all times” or “in every instance.” When referring to the presence of God in our lives, it is a word that carries great import.
God is always with us. No matter where we go, He is with us. Every time we turn to Him, He is there. Every time we speak to Him, He hears us. He walks before us, showing us the way; He walks beside us, giving us strength; He walks behind us, supporting us and encouraging us to continue. Most importantly, He dwells within us, filling us with His love and His strength and His power.
His promise to us is that He will never leave us nor forsake us. It is a promise that He has always kept to those people who love Him.
Always.
Questions to consider while watching the film:
1. How does Luke’s struggles to trust and use “the force” compare to our learning how to trust and use the power of holy spirit?
2. Han Solo undergoes a radical change of character during the course of the film. Why? What does that say about how our lives might affect our unbelieving friends and family members?
Michael Elliott
www.screensermon.blogspot.com
Showing posts with label God's faithfulness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God's faithfulness. Show all posts
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Saturday, October 24, 2009
GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)
Directed by: Victor Fleming
Written by: Sidney Howard
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Starring: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Olivia de Havilland
Rated: G
About the film:
Scarlett O’Hara, a Southern belle of means, copes with the devastation brought on by the Civil War. But that devastation is nothing compared to the pain caused by losing the man she loves to her cousin Melanie. Based upon the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind remains an epic piece of filmmaking and storytelling.
Movie Quote:
“As God is my witness, I’ll never be hungry again!”
Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh) in Gone With the Wind (1939)
Bible Quote:
“I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.”
Psalms 37:25 (NIV)
Commentary:
Bless her heart; Scarlett is her own worst enemy as well as her biggest asset. Her strength of believing and conviction is indeed admirable. But her selfishness and stubbornness is not. Her vow before God is less a statement of faith as it is a challenge. If only she knew and followed the scriptures more.
God is not only our witness, He is the reason we need not go hungry. As we trust in Him and His faithfulness to perform all that He has promised, we can repeat Scarlett’s assertion with the same level of conviction she managed to muster, knowing that our heavenly Father would never have the needs of His children go unmet.
Our God is the same God who led the children of Israel out of bondage and sustained them for forty years by providing them with manna from the heavens. He is the one who allowed the multitudes to be fed with five loaves and two fishes, providing so much abundance twelve baskets of leftovers remained. His goodness, grace, and mercy have not diminished with time.
His promise to us is that He will never fail us nor forsake us. He is and continues to be a God who supplies; a God who provides; a God who will withhold no good thing from us. He is our sufficiency.
Questions to consider while watching the film:
1. What are the qualities to admire in Scarlett? What are the qualities that we would not want to emulate?
2. The Civil War contained men of faith on both sides who believed that God would fight for them. Who was wrong? How do you think God viewed that war?
Michael Elliott
http://screensermon.blogspot.com
Written by: Sidney Howard
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Starring: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Olivia de Havilland
Rated: G
About the film:
Scarlett O’Hara, a Southern belle of means, copes with the devastation brought on by the Civil War. But that devastation is nothing compared to the pain caused by losing the man she loves to her cousin Melanie. Based upon the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind remains an epic piece of filmmaking and storytelling.
Movie Quote:
“As God is my witness, I’ll never be hungry again!”
Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh) in Gone With the Wind (1939)
Bible Quote:
“I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.”
Psalms 37:25 (NIV)
Commentary:
Bless her heart; Scarlett is her own worst enemy as well as her biggest asset. Her strength of believing and conviction is indeed admirable. But her selfishness and stubbornness is not. Her vow before God is less a statement of faith as it is a challenge. If only she knew and followed the scriptures more.
God is not only our witness, He is the reason we need not go hungry. As we trust in Him and His faithfulness to perform all that He has promised, we can repeat Scarlett’s assertion with the same level of conviction she managed to muster, knowing that our heavenly Father would never have the needs of His children go unmet.
Our God is the same God who led the children of Israel out of bondage and sustained them for forty years by providing them with manna from the heavens. He is the one who allowed the multitudes to be fed with five loaves and two fishes, providing so much abundance twelve baskets of leftovers remained. His goodness, grace, and mercy have not diminished with time.
His promise to us is that He will never fail us nor forsake us. He is and continues to be a God who supplies; a God who provides; a God who will withhold no good thing from us. He is our sufficiency.
Questions to consider while watching the film:
1. What are the qualities to admire in Scarlett? What are the qualities that we would not want to emulate?
2. The Civil War contained men of faith on both sides who believed that God would fight for them. Who was wrong? How do you think God viewed that war?
Michael Elliott
http://screensermon.blogspot.com
Sunday, September 13, 2009
BEN-HUR (1959)
Directed by: William Wyler
Written by: Karl Tunberg
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Starring: Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Stephen Boyd
Rated: G
About the film:
Judah Ben-Hur is wrongly enslaved by a Roman officer who was once his friend. He struggles to survive, regain his rightful position in life and exact his revenge against those responsible. He also has a chance meeting with a certain carpenter from Nazareth which has a profound effect on him.
Movie Quote:
“In his eagerness to save you, your God has also saved the Roman fleet.”
Quintus Arrius (Jack Hawkins) in Ben-Hur (1959)
Bible Quote:
“Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.”
Acts 27:24 (NIV)
Commentary:
In Acts 27, Paul is a prisoner being transported to Italy by sea. In the quoted verse of scripture, he is comforting the Roman centurion accompanying him by repeating the message he had received from God. Earlier, Paul had received revelation that the ship would suffer damage and sink during the journey. He tried to convince his captors to turn back for their safety but the sailors did not believe him.
God then gave him further revelation that even though shipwrecked, they would be saved and no lives aboard the ship would be lost. Although the centurion and his men were not believers, they were the beneficiaries of God’s saving grace because of their close proximity and association with Paul.
The only thing that keeps the spiritual darkness at bay in this world is the light that shines from the hearts and lives of those who love God and practice his truths. Those in the world who do not believe will often receive the residual benefits and blessings God gives to those who do. In this case, 276 men were saved because one man among them lived for God.
Questions to consider while watching the film:
1. How as Judah Ben-Hur affected by meeting Jesus? How was he changed?
2. Esther, Judah’s romantic interest, accuses him of allowing hatred to turn him to stone. What did she mean by that? Earlier, Quintus Arrius tells Judah that “hate is a good thing.” What did he mean by that?
Michael Elliott
http://screensermon.blogspot.com
Written by: Karl Tunberg
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Starring: Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Stephen Boyd
Rated: G
About the film:
Judah Ben-Hur is wrongly enslaved by a Roman officer who was once his friend. He struggles to survive, regain his rightful position in life and exact his revenge against those responsible. He also has a chance meeting with a certain carpenter from Nazareth which has a profound effect on him.
Movie Quote:
“In his eagerness to save you, your God has also saved the Roman fleet.”
Quintus Arrius (Jack Hawkins) in Ben-Hur (1959)
Bible Quote:
“Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.”
Acts 27:24 (NIV)
Commentary:
In Acts 27, Paul is a prisoner being transported to Italy by sea. In the quoted verse of scripture, he is comforting the Roman centurion accompanying him by repeating the message he had received from God. Earlier, Paul had received revelation that the ship would suffer damage and sink during the journey. He tried to convince his captors to turn back for their safety but the sailors did not believe him.
God then gave him further revelation that even though shipwrecked, they would be saved and no lives aboard the ship would be lost. Although the centurion and his men were not believers, they were the beneficiaries of God’s saving grace because of their close proximity and association with Paul.
The only thing that keeps the spiritual darkness at bay in this world is the light that shines from the hearts and lives of those who love God and practice his truths. Those in the world who do not believe will often receive the residual benefits and blessings God gives to those who do. In this case, 276 men were saved because one man among them lived for God.
Questions to consider while watching the film:
1. How as Judah Ben-Hur affected by meeting Jesus? How was he changed?
2. Esther, Judah’s romantic interest, accuses him of allowing hatred to turn him to stone. What did she mean by that? Earlier, Quintus Arrius tells Judah that “hate is a good thing.” What did he mean by that?
Michael Elliott
http://screensermon.blogspot.com
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