God in the Movies?

Where have you last felt God’s presence in your life?

I confess that I am a simple, down to earth person much of the time. I grew up in the country and worked on a farm for most of my young life before going off to college. There is just something special about the simple things in life. I do get distracted with all the technology that is now available at our fingertips today, but I do see some positive connections with some of these advancements.

For example, television and movies can be places for us to see and consider important things–even spiritual things!

I like “The Waltons” television series and still watch the reruns today. This family show depicts a simple lifestyle loaded with life-lessons and spiritual connections. I believe this show connects to people of today quite well because of the tough economic times we are currently experiencing.

Movies can also connect us to spiritual ideas and ponderings. This is why I decided to use movies as a theme for our current sermon series: God in the Movies. Some of the movies are Christian and faith-based, while others are secular movies that talk about or depict God in some way. All of the movies I picked say something about our relationship to God and present questions many people have about God and faith.

I hope you are enjoying this sermon series on God in the movies. It does take some added effort to develop these sermons each week, but the journey has been educational and enlightening for me. I hope the next three weeks will speak to your soul. Here are the next three sermons:

1. Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail
2. Letters to God
3. Glee – Grilled Cheesus

You can hear the previous sermons on this series on our church website.

This approach of using movies as the basis for our sermons is new and different for many of us. I do hope it is worth the effort and that this series is speaking to you spiritually.

What do you think? Is a sermon series based on movies a good idea? Do movies ask some questions that have been on your mind about God or your faith? What movies or tv shows speak to you?