Receive
Before we can expect to hear from God in any way, we have to prepare our hearts and minds and come before the presence of the Lord.
In our Receive section, we want to introduce some of the major themes of the movie in question and take a moment to come before the Lord, asking Him to open our hearts to what He may have to show us in our time together
In our Receive section, we want to introduce some of the major themes of the movie in question and take a moment to come before the Lord, asking Him to open our hearts to what He may have to show us in our time together
Rejoice.Reject.Redeem
While watching the movie, be attentive to what the Holy Spirit may be prompting inside of you.
In the Rejoice.Reject.Redeem Section, we give space for you to write down your thoughts as you watch the movie, categorizing them into Rejoice, Reject, and Redeem.
Rejoice: Philippians 4:8 tells us to fix our thoughts on whatever is true and honorable, right, just, lovely, and admirable - to think about things of excellence and worthy of praise. In the Rejoice section, we encourage you to write down things that remind you of the themes in this Scripture and name why they fit with those terms. If we are going to take what we learn to be Christ's Ambassadors, we must be able to explain why it is good.
Reject: On the other hand, we recognize that most movies coming out of Hollywood are most likely not made by people who follow Jesus and, even though God can still bring his truth out of people and the things they create without them realizing it, they will undoubtedly use themes that do not lead to the truth and goodness of God. We must know what lies the Enemy might be trying to slip by us unnoticed and name what they are so that they lose their power over us in our mission to be Christ's Ambassadors to the world.
Redeem: Now for the meat and potatoes! Because all truth is God's truth, we believe that God can use works in Hollywood (and everywhere, really) to show His truth to the world! What in the movie do you see that points to Jesus, his Gospel, or his teachings. Is a specific character acting in a Christ-like way? Do you see elements that point to the importance of loving community (*cough* *cough* the Church)? And what conversations could you have with someone who doesn't follow Jesus that would point their attention to him?
In the Rejoice.Reject.Redeem Section, we give space for you to write down your thoughts as you watch the movie, categorizing them into Rejoice, Reject, and Redeem.
Rejoice: Philippians 4:8 tells us to fix our thoughts on whatever is true and honorable, right, just, lovely, and admirable - to think about things of excellence and worthy of praise. In the Rejoice section, we encourage you to write down things that remind you of the themes in this Scripture and name why they fit with those terms. If we are going to take what we learn to be Christ's Ambassadors, we must be able to explain why it is good.
Reject: On the other hand, we recognize that most movies coming out of Hollywood are most likely not made by people who follow Jesus and, even though God can still bring his truth out of people and the things they create without them realizing it, they will undoubtedly use themes that do not lead to the truth and goodness of God. We must know what lies the Enemy might be trying to slip by us unnoticed and name what they are so that they lose their power over us in our mission to be Christ's Ambassadors to the world.
Redeem: Now for the meat and potatoes! Because all truth is God's truth, we believe that God can use works in Hollywood (and everywhere, really) to show His truth to the world! What in the movie do you see that points to Jesus, his Gospel, or his teachings. Is a specific character acting in a Christ-like way? Do you see elements that point to the importance of loving community (*cough* *cough* the Church)? And what conversations could you have with someone who doesn't follow Jesus that would point their attention to him?
Reflect
In the Reflect section, we want to take time to engage with the parts of the movie that cause discomfort, conviction, encouragement, etc. to see what the Holy Spirit might be prompting within us.
Then we encourage you to take some time (really about 5 minutes) to look over all your notes and prepare to share what stuck out to you most to your group.
Then we encourage you to take some time (really about 5 minutes) to look over all your notes and prepare to share what stuck out to you most to your group.
Relate
We strongly encourage to use the bulk of this section to share your thoughts from the movie (what you rejoiced, rejected, & redeemed) with your group, & engage with what others in your group share.
When you are finished sharing, or need help to spark conversations in your group, we also provide 4 discussion questions based on the film to provide some grease to the conversation!
When you are finished sharing, or need help to spark conversations in your group, we also provide 4 discussion questions based on the film to provide some grease to the conversation!
Respond
Lastly, we believe that hearing from the Lord through the Holy Spirit inside of you, or through conversations with the members of His Body (the Church) requires us to take action.
In the Respond section, we want to challenge you to take action on what you have received from the Lord to overcome your fear and live into your role as Christ's Ambassadors to the world!
In the Respond section, we want to challenge you to take action on what you have received from the Lord to overcome your fear and live into your role as Christ's Ambassadors to the world!