15 My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness And Your salvation all the day, For I do not know their limits.
16 I will go in the strength of the Lord God; I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only.
17 O God, You have taught me from my youth; And to this day I declare Your wondrous works.
We can be challenged to reflect on how God has expressed Himself to us, and as we recognize His salvation brought to our hearts and His faithfulness to us, it can certainly overflow from our life to another. That is the radiance of the gospel, the reality of the presence of Christ that can be seen through us. God has written and continues to write an amazing story of faith through us, and He has done it so that He receives the glory and so that we might demonstrate hope to a desperate world.
In 2nd Timothy chapter 1, Paul talks about the power of a good story; the story of redemption that
Christ has brought to us:
8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God,
9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began...
It's going to be a rather active time on the big screen for faith-based or -related films, and coming up on today's edition of The Meeting House, a conversation with Michael Spurlock, a pastor who was sent to a struggling church outside Nashville that was on the verge of being shut down. But, then a group of Burmese refugees arrived, and the combination of these visitors and the land on which the church sits provides a compelling story line for All Saints, which is in theaters next Friday. John Corbett and Cara Buono star as Michael and Aimee Spurlock.
ChristianCinema.com has a listing of some of the fall theatrical releases, and it's quite an impressive lineup. Because of Gracia stars Moriah Peters, who is married to Joel Smallbone of For King & Country. The plotline is described here: "Grácia is a girl with charisma, intelligence and conviction, but she's not as put together as Chase and his best friend O.B. might think. A dark past gives her a unique connection with Bobbi, a misunderstood classmate who has a pushy boyfriend and disconnected father." Ben Davies, who was one of the four leads in Courageous, Macey McLain from I'm Not Ashamed, and John Schneider from The Dukes of Hazzard and October Baby, are part of the cast.
Then, two weeks later, it's A Question of Faith, the plot of which is described as this: "A devastating car accident affects three families, eventually bringing them together to rediscover their faith and God's mercy." T.C. Stallings, lead male actor of War Room, spoke with me at NRB this year about the film, which also includes: Kim Fields of The Facts of Life, Richard T. Jones of Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?, and Christian musical artist Jaci Velasquez.
October brings a film called Generational Sins, in which, as Christian Cinema puts it: "Two estranged brothers are brought back together by the death of their mother." But, the Hollywood Reporter website notes that the film has quite a few expletives. The article states:
The Christian Cinema piece also refers to Devon Franklin's latest project, The Star, an animated rendering based on the Christmas story as seen through animals' eyes. There's also Mary Magdalene, which stars Rooney Mara in the title role and Joaquin Phoenix as Jesus. Chiwetal Ejiofor plays Peter.
After the first of the year, MercyMe's lead singer Bart Millard's story is explored in the latest from the Erwin Brothers, I Can Only Imagine.
Also, this fall, the Fathom Events schedule is filling up: the Erwins worked with Pastor Greg Laurie for the documentary, Steve McQueeen: American Icon, which explores the faith journey of the so-called, "King of Cool," during the later years of his life. Also, Kirk Cameron is back with Revive Us 2. According to ChristianCinema.com, Ben Carson, Francis Chan, Ravi Zacharias, and Joni Eareckson Tada are part of the lineup, a "family gathering" to discuss matters of spiritual revival. Also, be watching for Liberty University's production, Extraordinary, a marriage reconciliation story, and Mully, which is a partnership with Focus on the Family, about a wealthy man devoted to helping Kenyan orphans.
Oh, and by the way, The Case for Christ, which is now out on DVD, made some impact on the movie box office, with over 14-and-a-half million dollars, according to Box Office Mojo.
We need hope - I believe there are many in America who feel that the culture has lost its way - I would project that is certainly a sentiment in the Church, but in light of recent tragedies in our world, you might say there is a pervasive sense of hopelessness.
Enter the neutral ground of the local cinema. Some who wouldn't walk through the doors of a local church might enter a theater. Some come to be entertained, others might be looking for something deeper. As the Church, we can be challenged to look for ways to bring hope to people.
We also recognize that God can speak through so many vehicles. Right now, He is using technological advances in order to share His truth, and that includes the burgeoning Christian film industry. The quality concerns have continued to be addressed; I think one of the significant challenges is how films that contain a strong faith message can gain a greater viewership among general audience.
I think that the proliferation of faith-based films also speaks to the power of a story. And, there is an application for us - our story can bring hope to another person. Our testimony is simply sharing what God has done in our lives. He has saved us and brought us into a relationship with Himself through Jesus; and out of that relationship He has expressed and continues to produce an incredible story of His faithfulness. His power working through us can touch the hearts of those who are seeking meaning and satisfaction in their lives.
+++++
In 2nd Timothy chapter 1, Paul talks about the power of a good story; the story of redemption that
Christ has brought to us:
8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God,
9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began...
It's going to be a rather active time on the big screen for faith-based or -related films, and coming up on today's edition of The Meeting House, a conversation with Michael Spurlock, a pastor who was sent to a struggling church outside Nashville that was on the verge of being shut down. But, then a group of Burmese refugees arrived, and the combination of these visitors and the land on which the church sits provides a compelling story line for All Saints, which is in theaters next Friday. John Corbett and Cara Buono star as Michael and Aimee Spurlock.
ChristianCinema.com has a listing of some of the fall theatrical releases, and it's quite an impressive lineup. Because of Gracia stars Moriah Peters, who is married to Joel Smallbone of For King & Country. The plotline is described here: "Grácia is a girl with charisma, intelligence and conviction, but she's not as put together as Chase and his best friend O.B. might think. A dark past gives her a unique connection with Bobbi, a misunderstood classmate who has a pushy boyfriend and disconnected father." Ben Davies, who was one of the four leads in Courageous, Macey McLain from I'm Not Ashamed, and John Schneider from The Dukes of Hazzard and October Baby, are part of the cast.
Then, two weeks later, it's A Question of Faith, the plot of which is described as this: "A devastating car accident affects three families, eventually bringing them together to rediscover their faith and God's mercy." T.C. Stallings, lead male actor of War Room, spoke with me at NRB this year about the film, which also includes: Kim Fields of The Facts of Life, Richard T. Jones of Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?, and Christian musical artist Jaci Velasquez.
October brings a film called Generational Sins, in which, as Christian Cinema puts it: "Two estranged brothers are brought back together by the death of their mother." But, the Hollywood Reporter website notes that the film has quite a few expletives. The article states:
'Generational Sins' features expletives and references to child abuse and alcoholism: "We live in an R-rated world, and covering up the darkness won’t bring it into the light," says executive producer Thurman Mason.Then, coming to the big screen is the film adaptation of the book, Same Kind of Different as Me, which stars the lead actor from one of the top 5 Christian films in history, Heaven is For Real, according to Box Office Mojo. The synopsis says, "International art dealer Ron Hall (Greg Kinnear) befriends a homeless man (Djimon Hounsou) to save his struggling marriage to Deborah (Renée Zellweger), a woman whose dreams will lead all three of them on the most remarkable journey of their lives."
The Christian Cinema piece also refers to Devon Franklin's latest project, The Star, an animated rendering based on the Christmas story as seen through animals' eyes. There's also Mary Magdalene, which stars Rooney Mara in the title role and Joaquin Phoenix as Jesus. Chiwetal Ejiofor plays Peter.
After the first of the year, MercyMe's lead singer Bart Millard's story is explored in the latest from the Erwin Brothers, I Can Only Imagine.
Also, this fall, the Fathom Events schedule is filling up: the Erwins worked with Pastor Greg Laurie for the documentary, Steve McQueeen: American Icon, which explores the faith journey of the so-called, "King of Cool," during the later years of his life. Also, Kirk Cameron is back with Revive Us 2. According to ChristianCinema.com, Ben Carson, Francis Chan, Ravi Zacharias, and Joni Eareckson Tada are part of the lineup, a "family gathering" to discuss matters of spiritual revival. Also, be watching for Liberty University's production, Extraordinary, a marriage reconciliation story, and Mully, which is a partnership with Focus on the Family, about a wealthy man devoted to helping Kenyan orphans.
Oh, and by the way, The Case for Christ, which is now out on DVD, made some impact on the movie box office, with over 14-and-a-half million dollars, according to Box Office Mojo.
We need hope - I believe there are many in America who feel that the culture has lost its way - I would project that is certainly a sentiment in the Church, but in light of recent tragedies in our world, you might say there is a pervasive sense of hopelessness.
Enter the neutral ground of the local cinema. Some who wouldn't walk through the doors of a local church might enter a theater. Some come to be entertained, others might be looking for something deeper. As the Church, we can be challenged to look for ways to bring hope to people.
We also recognize that God can speak through so many vehicles. Right now, He is using technological advances in order to share His truth, and that includes the burgeoning Christian film industry. The quality concerns have continued to be addressed; I think one of the significant challenges is how films that contain a strong faith message can gain a greater viewership among general audience.
I think that the proliferation of faith-based films also speaks to the power of a story. And, there is an application for us - our story can bring hope to another person. Our testimony is simply sharing what God has done in our lives. He has saved us and brought us into a relationship with Himself through Jesus; and out of that relationship He has expressed and continues to produce an incredible story of His faithfulness. His power working through us can touch the hearts of those who are seeking meaning and satisfaction in their lives.
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