At The Movies - Onward
We are so excited to bring you a series that we absolutely love being able to be apart of each year - the ‘At the Movies’ series seeks to bring out biblical truths through looking at Hollywood movies and seeing what great principles we can find! The movies always have a wide range of appeals - some are classic and some are very new to the big screen! Unfortunately, due to copyright concerns, we are not able to stream the service for this series; we encourage those who are comfortable to join us in-person for the Gathering - otherwise, we hope these blog posts will give you the life and truth that you desire!
This is our third week of At The Movies, where we explore some of God’s truths as they are demonstrated and illustrated in some popular films. See, movies are really like an art form that gives us a glimpse into the world around us today. It’s kinda like a stained glass view of what’s happening in our culture. And so what we’re doing, much like Jesus did with his parables, is using these relevant stories from the big screen to then understand some of God’s truths and how they apply to you and me in our lives. We’ve gotten some great insights from Lord of the Rings in week 1 about avoiding temptation traps and the value of community, we jumped into the Live-Action Aladdin last week to learn that our self-worth and our significance is found in Christ, it’s really found in the understanding that we are a child of God, which carries with more significance than we could ever need in this life. Today, we are going to look at a fun, newer movie, our one and only animated feature of the series, the new Disney-Pixar film called Onward.
Onward is set in a suburban fantasy world with two teenage elf brothers, Ian and Barley Lightfoot. It’s kinda like Lord of the Rings meets Lion King, with elements of Indiana Jones tossed in there. These two brothers go out on a quest to find a mythical stone that will allow them to spend one day with their father who passed from sickness almost 16 years before. Like any good quest, theirs is filled with magical spells, cryptic maps, seemingly impossible obstacles, and unimaginable discoveries.
As the narrator says, the residents of this once magical realm found it easier and safer to rely on technology. So over time, magic disappeared from the world and was replaced by cutting-edge technology and modern amenities like lightbulbs, smartphones, and satellite TV. I mean why spend the time and effort to cast an illumination spell when you can just flip a light switch right? Now, the elves, ogres, and cyclopses who populate this imaginary planet only learn about magic in their high school history classes. But it isn't just magic that's missing. Many of the mythical creatures throughout the movie have lost their sense of identity.
During their quest, Ian and Barley come across a fire-breathing woman with the head of a lion, wings of a dragon, and a scorpion's tail - she’s called The Manticore. But Ian and Barley quickly realize that the manticore is no longer the fierce and fearless adventurer she once was, instead, she goes by the name Corey and she runs a Chuckie-Cheese knock-off restaurant. The inhabitants of this once magical realm have forgotten where they come from, and by extension who they are. And although we don't live in a world of magic and monsters, I think people are just as prone to forgetting who we are and where we come from.
When we forget what God has done in the past, we stop relying on him in the present. Jesus gave Christians a similar command when he introduced the Lord's Supper. He said very simply in Luke 22:19, And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” Jesus gave us communion as a memorial so that we would never forget what he did for us on the cross! And by remembering what Jesus did for us, we're reminded of the lives that we are called to live for him. Like magic in the movie, a life of faith isn't easy to master, but it helps to have a good memory. I felt compelled to step outside of the outline I had put together to share this. Church, we need to stop forgetting.
Pastor Robbie continues digging into the plot of the movie saying, “Ok, back to the story and the real thread of where I aim to go today. Now, our two main characters, Ian and Barley, voiced by Andrew Garfield and Chris Pratt, could not be more different. Barley is the older brother, and he is loud and boisterous, just a big personality. He is who he is and he doesn’t care what others think. He’s an extrovert to the extreme and he loves magic or at least the idea of magic. Ian, on the other hand, is a quiet lonely dude, who seems very introverted and very afraid of the world. He never met his dad, remember I said the plot is a quest to spend one day with his father; his dad actually died before Ian was born, and we see that taking a toll on him throughout the movie. He doesn’t really have any friends, and in fact, he spends much of the movie in the conflict surrounding who he’s in community with. He tends to push his mom and brother away, while also not really making an effort for friends. He lives in isolation. Listen to me church—community is always intentional, isolation is easily accidental. We have to be intentional about community, or we’ll default to caring about nothing and nobody but ourselves.”
We see this in passages here in Acts 16, we bump into Paul getting ready to go on a second missionary journey around the Mediterranean Rim, even larger and further than the first - the quest was going to be epic! So Paul is on his journey and he meets a believer by the name of Timothy. Timothy happens to be born from a Jew and a Greek, but he is well spoken of in the community, his reputation is good and Paul sees him and decides he needs to be a part of the epic quest. you see, Paul knew something, he knew he needed people around him. He needed a community of people to accomplish what God had put in front of him. Paul had the same need that you and I have today, and that’s that we need to surround ourselves with positive people. We see in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 that Paul knew something, and Timothy learned something. Community will cost you; Community is built on sacrifice—If you’re going to be in community, it’s going to cost you something.
The community that Ian and Barley were in wasn’t perfect, but it was built on love and both benefitted and were built up. If you couldn’t tell, Ian had a list of things he wanted to do with his dad during the 24 hours, but since his dad was only legs the entire time, he couldn’t do them. But he discovered in that moment the importance of his community around him. He discovered that he had had somebody all along. I have found this to be absolutely true in my life, The most meaningful times in life are when you are meaningfully connected to God and others. Ian was lonely, he is an isolated kid, but he found meaning and a purpose in an adventure. Over the course of the adventure, he learned to value the community around him and take stock of just how good he had it and how great his people were.
Have you taken stock lately? Have you neglected your community? We’re not even talking about Missional Communities here, although you really should be in one, We’re talking about your circle. Your people. Are you connected?
SOME KEY TAKE-AWAYS
At The Movies - Onward: This movie is an exciting and enchanting film that really gives us the motivation to understand the value of community, especially when we have lost our way.
Main Scripture Passages: Luke 22:19; Acts 16; 1 Cor. 9:19-23
Stop Forgetting: When we forget what God has done in the past, we stop relying on him in the present - We have to stop forgetting church!
Community is Everything: The most meaningful times in life are when you are meaningfully connected to God and others - being connected with other people isn’t an optional thing; the Kingdom is wide and diverse, seek out those who bring you into a closer relationship with God!
If this topic piques your interest or if you would enjoy listening to this sermon in more depth, check out Legacy City’s Podcast, available here, or on Spotify and Itunes. (Sermons will not be posted from 10/4-11/1)
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Join us next Sunday as we continue to meet at the Premiere Cinema 10 at 10 am!
We hope that you and your family are well—know that You Are Loved!