Life Animated
Life Animated
He (Jesus) did not say anything to them without using parables. Matthew 13:34)
Can you believe it? August marks the beginning of a new school year!! Back to school we go! What a great time to revisit this fun and exciting special focus using the animated children’s films Inside Out, Zootopia, and Moana. This is going to be a blast! It will be like “going to the movies” but even better! Come and check it out! And bring your friends! It just may make “going back to school” a little easier! Oh, and we just may have an “ah-ha” experience or two as we see how these stories reveal things about ourselves and how our stories intersect with the story of God for us in Jesus! Don’t miss out on this fun adventure!
Our lives are made up of stories. Perhaps this is why we are story tellers. Books. Plays. Musicals. Films. Aesop’s Fables. Ancient Greek tragedies. Shakespeare. It seems that humankind has always had a need to tell stories. Stories are meant to explain our existence. They point to a voice within each of us that whispers to us of a “backstory,” a greater story behind our stories which somehow intersects with our individual stories to make sense of our lives.
Through these stories we almost instinctively try to answer “the big questions” that are part of each of us. Stories are a window into our soul. They can touch our hearts or communicate a point to us in a way that mere words cannot hope to do. They can give us that “aha” moment of truth like no other medium. Jesus often told stories, called parables, even coming to the point where He only spoke using these stories. In this way, He intersected God’s story with our stories.
Embedded in the stories we tell are the longings of our souls…which all, finally, point to the only place these longings can be met; Jesus. On these three Sundays, we will use these three stories in film to examine our human condition, the longing of our souls, our need for a greater story, and how the greater story of God in the Savior meets us squarely in this place of need. Whatever your age, this series will connect with you in your story with the story of Jesus!
Sunday August 20 - Moana
Ok. Have you seen the movie? Music is great. Colors are wonderful. Set in the beautiful ocean. Characters are delightful! But what does this movie reveal about ourselves and our stories….and how God’s story connects with our stories? What does this movie say of the ancient questions we are asking that are embedded in the stories we tell over and over again? What are we trying to explain? What are we trying to understand?…and where does the God’s story in Jesus connect to it all? Come and see!…and maybe, for the fun of it, before this Sunday gather together your family and/or friends and watch the movie one more time!
Sunday, August 27 Inside Out
We all want to be happy – right? But given how we are put together, with all the conflicting emotions that make up who we are, what is the key to being happy? This is what the story is about in this wonderfully creative movie! And as we explore the wisdom in this movie, it cannot help but point us to the wisdom of God in Jesus! do you want to be happy! This is the day for you! Come and see!...and maybe, just for the fun of it, before this Sunday gather your family and/or friends to watch the movie one more time!
Sunday, September 3 Inside Out
What am I supposed to do with my life? Where do I fit in? What makes me unique? And how am I to use it? Humankind has asked these questions since the beginning of time. And our children – and us - continue to ask them. That’s what this movie is about…finding our way and our unique place. Did you know that God, in His love, has something to say about this as well? Again, His story intersects with ours! Come and see! …and maybe, just for the fun of it, before this Sunday gather your family and/or friends to watch the movie one more time!