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Night at the Museum (2006)

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The Big Idea:
The importance of following directions.

Scene Setup:
Larry has arrived at his new night watchman job and, just before he begins, the previous watchmen have some advice for him.

Scene:
As the three old watchmen prepare to leave, Cecil gives Larry a sheaf of paper, which he says are the "instructions." Gus warns Larry to do them in order and do them fast. Curiously, Larry is told that he is not to let "anyone in, or anything out." After the three leave, Larry starts his night shift.

Instead of looking at the instructions, Larry just sits around the information booth playing with the phone, pretending that his is a Monster Truck announcer and singing a terrible version of "Eye of the Tiger" from the <i>Rocky</i> movie. After dozing off for a bit, he finally awakens and decides to start his rounds.

After walking a short way, Larry notices that something is wrong. He turns back around and sees that the large skeletal exhibit of the T-Rex is missing. At first he thinks that this is a practical joke played on him by the three retiring watchmen. But he hears a noise and moves to investigate. Shining his flashlight, Larry is amazed to see the T-Rex "drinking" at the water fountain. He is petrified and drops his flashlight. The sound gets the T-Rex's attention and it comes after Larry with a vengeance.

Larry scrambles out of the way, running for the exits, but everything is locked. Larry pushes, in vain, against the door, begging it to "revolve, revolve!" Eventually he dives for cover in the information booth enclosure. He frantically dials Cecil's number to get help, but Cecil is at a party with Gus and Reginald and a host of young women. The music is so loud that Cecil can hardly hear Larry -- who is screaming. Finally Cecil asks Larry if he followed the directions.

Suddenly, Larry looks at the instruction sheet and sees that number one on the list is "Throw the bone." Larry is clueless until a rib bone falls in front of him. He picks it up cautiously and throws it. The T-Rex scurries after the bone, and just as Larry thinks he is in the clear, the T-Rex is back, with the bone in its massive jaws.

Larry is terrified, but the T-Rex drops the bone in front of him and waits. It dawns on Larry that the T-Rex just wants to play fetch. Something he would have known had he simply read the instructions.

Application:
Larry is terrified as he flees from what he takes to be a gigantic monster come to life. Everything about the T-Rex skeleton looks like impending doom. But all of the terror, and much of the running, could have been easily avoided had Larry done but one simple thing: read the directions.

Many of us are just as guilty as Larry, though, hopefully, on a much smaller scale. We get complicated machines -- such as bicycles for children at Christmas -- and we try to put them together without looking at the instructions. And while the results are often frustrating, they are rarely fatal.

How much more important are the instructions for life that have been given to us by God. [Right now might be a good time to ask your congregation or small group to try to write down the 10 Commandments -- something most of them will likely be unable to do.] All of us have a copy of God's instructions in our home. Most of us brought our instructions with us today. But if we don't refer to them regularly, it is easy to forget what God intends us to do, and, like Larry, we can get into a lot of trouble.

God has made provisions for our mistakes, what God calls sin, through the blood of Jesus Christ. But wouldn't it be better to minimize our sinful acts by being aware of God's instructions and following them? Save yourself a lot of trouble and heartache. Read God's instructions and follow them. Doing so will keep you out of a lot of trouble, and serve as a powerful witness to others, both in and outside the Church.

Sermon General's Warning:
The T-Rex can be a little scary until you realize that it is acting like a puppy.

Topics:  Bible   Instruction   God's Word   Knowledge   Obedience  

Scripture:  Psalms 119:97-106     Deuteronomy 7:9-11     Proverbs 7:1-3     Matthew 28:19-20     James 1:21-25    

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Keywords: Bible, instruction, instructions, God's Word, knowledge, obedience, law

Rating: PG     Genre: Comedy

DVD Chapter: 5     Start Time: 0:17:21     End Time: 0:24:25

Nativity Story, The (2006)

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The Big Idea:
Jesus is for everyone.

Scene Setup:
Mary and Joseph have struggled to find a place for Mary to have her baby. They have finally secured a place in a stable, because there was no room for them in any inn.

Scene:
Out in the fields at night, the shepherds are isolated from one another as they each guard the flocks entrusted to their care. Suddenly, the angel Gabriel appears to the shepherds out in the fields

"Rejoice! I bring you good tidings of great joy. For unto you is born this day, in the City of David, a savior, who is Christ the Lord. You will find the Child wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

All of the shepherds begin moving out of the hills toward Bethlehem.

The scene shifts to the stable where Mary and Joseph are caring for their newborn baby boy. Out of the darkness, the shepherds arrive. One of them approaches. He is old. His face is worn, and his clothes and skin are stained from working and sleeping in the fields. His eyes are filled with wonder at the sight. This is the child that the angel told him to seek. He is looking at the Savior of the world. Slowly he reaches out his hand to touch the baby's face, but then he becomes aware of himself and his condition. He realizes that he is unworthy and withdraws his hand.

But at that moment, Mary looks at the shepherd and encourages him to draw close and touch Jesus, saying, "He is for all of mankind. We are each given a gift."

Application:
The shepherds in The Nativity Story are not charming country lads with adorable lambs cast about their shoulders. Instead they are shown as they probably were: lonely, poor, unwashed men working at a difficult job who were despised by their own countrymen. When the angel appears to them, they are afraid. But we also learn that, like the wise men, they have been eagerly waiting for the coming Messiah. So when they are told where He may be found, they rush to see Him. But when one shepherd actually stands before Jesus, his excitement turns into dismay as he recognizes his unworthiness. And he is right.

It is easy to look at the dirty, disheveled shepherd and the smooth, unmarred skin of the infant Jesus and recognize the difference. If we were in Mary's place, most of us would have snatched our child away from the touch of a man like this. We should be grateful for the grace and mercy extended to men by God.

All of us, without exception, are like the shepherd. We are black with the stain of sin. We are utterly unworthy to reach out to the Savior. That is why God's gift is so great. God crossed the divide for us. Where we were unable, God was able. While we were in our sin, while we were His enemies, Christ came to die for the ungodly. He announced the "whosoever" believed in Him would not perish but instead would be granted "everlasting life." He has come to save us from our sins.

This gift is extended to all people willing to receive it as God intended. Jesus came for everyone, how sad that everyone will not come to Jesus. Some people think that they do not need this gift, that they are fine on their own and have no need to be redeemed. Others, like the shepherd, believe this gift to be too wonderful for them, and they are afraid to approach Him. Our role, as ambassadors for His kingdom, is to call the arrogant to repentance, and call the broken to come.

Sermon General's Warning:
None for this scene.

Topics:  Birth of Christ   Christmas   Salvation   Shame   Gift  

Scripture:  Luke 2:8-20     Romans 5:6-10     1 Timothy 1:12-17     Mark 2:13-17     John 3:16-17    

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Keywords: Birth of Christ, Christmas, salvation, shame, gift, unworthy, shepherd, shepherds

Rating: PG     Genre: Historical/Epic

DVD Chapter: 19     Start Time: 1:21:25     End Time: 1:25:27

Stranger than Fiction (2006)

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The Big Idea:
Is the faith you share "store-bought" or fresh from your own heart?

Scene Setup:
Harold Crick is an auditor for the Internal Revenue Service. Today he has been auditing Ana Pascal, bakery owner and, in a humorous way, tax anarchist. She has made the day very difficult for Harold and seems to feel bad about it, so when he comes down from her attic, she has a gift for him.

Scene:
At the end of a long day of auditing tax-resistant bakery owner Ana Pascal, Harold Crick, agent of the Internal Revenue Service, is about to leave for the night. When he wearily tells her goodnight, she surprises him by asking, "You want a cookie?

Harold initially says "No," but Ana entices him, "They're warm and gooey and fresh out of the oven."

Harold surprises her by saying that he doesn't like cookies, and Ana is incredulous, "You don't like cookies? What's wrong with you? Everybody likes cookies."

He insists that he doesn't so Ana asks, "After a really awful, no good day, didn't your mom ever make you milk and cookies?"

Harold explains, "No, my mother didn't bake. The only cookies I ever had were store-bought."

"Ok, sit down." Harold tries to protest but Ana insists, "Sit down. Now eat a cookie."

Harold says, "I can't."

Ana, who knows how bad a day Harold has had, because she purposefully made his audit difficult to do, says, "Mr. Crick, it was a really awful day. I know. I made sure of it. So pick up the cookie, dip it in the milk, and eat it."

Harold does as he is told and is surprised by how wonderful it is. He sighs and says, "Wow, that is a really good cookie. So when did you decide to become a baker?"

Ana replies, "When I was in college."

Harold asks, "You mean, like, a cooking college?"

Smiling, Ana says, "I went to Harvard Law, actually."

Harold is embarrassed, "I'm sorry, I just assumed..."

Ana tells him not to worry about it, "I was barely accepted, I mean barely. The only reason they let me come was because of my essay: How I Was Going to make the World a Better Place With My Degree. And anyway, we would have to participate in these study sessions, my classmates and I, sometimes all night long, and so I'd bake, so no one'd feel hungry why we worked. Sometimes I'd bake all afternoon in the kitchen in the dorm, and then I'd take my little treats to the study group and people loved them. Oatmeal cookies, peanut butter bars, dark chocolate macadamia nut wedges, and everyone would eat and stay happy and study harder, and do better on the tests, and then more and more people started coming to the study group, and I'd bring more snacks, and I was always looking for better and better recipes, with ricotta cheese, and apricot croissants, and mocha bars with an almond glaze and lemon chiffon cake with zesty peach icing. At the end of the semester I had twenty-seven study partners, eight journals filled with recipes, and a D average. So I dropped out. I just figured if I was goig to make he world a better place, I would do it with cookies. You like them?

Harold looks at her and says, "I do."

Ana smiles and says, "I'm glad."

Harold says, "Thank you for forcing me to eat them."

Ana replies, "You're welcome."

Application:
For all of Harold's life he had been missing out on the delicious and comforting experience of cookies, because all he had ever eaten were tasteless, impersonal store-bought types. Though they masqueraded as cookies, there was always something missing. But Ana's cookies are the real deal. Warm and fresh from the hands of a master baker who cares about what she makes, Harold finds his world altered a little as a result of eating them. His previous experiences made him think that he didn't even like cookies until he finally had a chance to taste how wonderful they could really be.

I wonder how many people have a bad taste in their mouths after a lifetime of encounters with "store-bought" Christianity? Stale, tasteless, mass-produced religious experiences shared by those who are merely dropping it off are unlikely to move those who receive them, and might even make the receiver think that if this is what Christianity is all about, why in the world would I want it?

The difference between store-bought cookies and Ana's cookies are stark. Store-bought cookies are cheap, poorly made, badly presented, and impersonal. Ana's cookies are made with the best ingredients, created from a desire to make the world a better place, presented to people in an attractive way, and made by a person who cares about the eater. It is pretty easy to see how we could learn a lot about sharing our faith through service from this brief encounter over cookies.

Sermon General's Warning:
None for this scene.

Topics:  Evangelism   Change   Caring   Calling   Servant  

Scripture:  Colossians 4:5-6     Romans 15:1-2     1 John 3:17-18     Philippians 2:3-7    

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Keywords: evangelism, change, caring, calling, servant, service

Rating: PG-13     Genre: Comedy

DVD Chapter: 12     Start Time: 0:41:48     End Time: 0:46:01

Incredibles, The (2004)

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The Big Idea:
No good deed goes unpunished.

Scene Setup:
Mr. Incredible has had a busy day. He saves a man from suicide and averts a catastrophic train accident. You would think he would be rewarded, but no.

Scene:
Shortly after his acts of heroism, Mr. Incredible appears in the newspapers -- but they have an interesting take on his deeds.

The man he saved from committing suicide is not only complaining, he is filing a lawsuit. Mr. Incredible protests, "I saved your life!" The man replies, "You didn't save my life, you ruined my death!" An argument ensues, until Mr. Incredible's attorney steps in and says, "No further comment at this time."

The problems keep coming. After a bomb blows away part of a bridge, Mr. Incredible used his tremendous strength to stop the train before it went over the edge -- saving all of the passengers from certain death. But now they all have attorneys and are suing for damages. A picture is shown with them all wearing neck braces. The announcer says, "Incredible's court losses have cost the government millions and opened the floodgates for dozens of superhero lawsuits the world over.

A politician raves, "It is time for their secret identity to become their only identity. Time for them to join us or go away."

Because of the pressure of the lawsuits and public dissatisfaction, the government institutes a "Superhero relocation program -- the supers would receive amnesty for past actions in exchange for the promise to never again resume hero work."

Application:
Jesus was the ultimate superhero. He did what no one else could. He bore the sins of the world upon His shoulders, dying to set the world free from judgment and death. He provided humanity with a gift and a proper pattern of behavior so that we could live at peace with each other and with God. You would think that such a selfless act would be received and rewarded, but we know it is not so.

The Apostles wanted to spread the good news of Christ's forgiveness, and to teach people the right way to live according to the law of Love. They were thrown in prison and commanded to cease speaking about Jesus.

It all comes down to pride. People do not want to believe they need saving, and they resent being told that they have problems they are incapable of solving on their own. Some would rather live in the grip of sin that have to deal with the claims of Christ. They would prefer a kind of "Christian relocation program" where Christians could be told to be quiet and get with the program; where they would promise never again to resume Christ's work.

These desires are not a movie, they are played out daily as God is legislated out of the public arena and denied even a voluntary place in our schools. Are Christians merely to fade into the background?

The Scriptures are clear. Despite the antagonism of the world, we are to press on in God's work. Jesus was crucified, many of the disciples were martyred. A pupil is never above the master. God will empower His people to endure the onslaught of the world as long as we remain faithful to His calling and not shrink back.

Sermon General's Warning:
None for this scene.

Topics:  God's Will   Good works   Persecution   Perseverance   Pride  

Scripture:  Matthew 10:22-28     1 Peter 3:16-17     Acts 4:15-21     2 Corinthians 4:7-18     Isaiah 5:20-23    

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Keywords: God's will, good works. persecution, perseverance, trials, pride,

Rating: PG     Genre: Animated

DVD Chapter: 2     Start Time: 0:10:11     End Time: 0:11:22