This Sunday, I begin my summer sermon series. Each year, I exercise my baptized imagination and find a theme, and each sermon in the series has an element of that theme utilized as an illustration. Example: One summer, we went to the zoo. Each sermon that summer featured a scripture that contained an animal. I even made a map to follow where we were in the zoo as we saw snakes, donkeys, bears, lions, goats, hippopotamuses., and more!
In past summers, I used Dr. Suess (2018), Star Trek (2019), Winnie the Pooh (2020), and Fairy Tales (2021). The last three series can be viewed on our YouTube Channel listed below. This summer, the sermon series title is…
“Going to the Movies!”
Here’s a taste of what the Spirit inspires my imagination to do, an example from my past when I used The Poseidon Adventure. This movie is a story about a journey or pilgrimage toward rescue (salvation). The fellowship of pilgrims is led by an “outside the box” minister, played by Gene Hackman. The group includes a retired cop, his former prostitute wife, an elderly Jewish couple, a lonely older man, a ship’s steward, a grief-stricken young lady, a teenager, and her precocious little brother. The idea is to go in the opposite direction from everyone, deeper into the upside-down ship. It should not be lost on you that the team climbs up a Christmas tree to escape the ballroom on a vessel named for a Greek god. Yes, a few lose their lives along the way, including a heroic older and very heavy woman who swims like a porpoise to save the minister, only to collapse from a heart attack when the deed is done. The final sacrifice is that of the minister who, just before he dies, screams at God (he’s praying) while opening the way for the five remaining people to be saved. That’ll preach!
This Summer, we will explore the eleven movies. The date in parenthesis is the Sunday that I will use that movie. I hope you will watch these movies and let your baptized imagination run wild!
- The Wizard of Oz – 1939 (June 12th)
- Gentleman’s Agreement – 1947 (June 19th)
- The Next Voice You Hear – 1950 (June 26th)
- Hawaii– 1966 (July 10th)
- Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory – 1971 (July 17th)
- Jaws – 1975 (July 24th)
- Parenthood – 1989 (July 31st)
- Field of Dreams – 1989 (August 7th)
- Unforgiven – 1992 (August 14th)
- Rudy – 1993 (August 21st)
- Signs – 2002 (August 28th)
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – 2005 (Sept 4th)
Here’s the link:
https://www.youtube.com/c/FPCSparta
If you would like to watch, click this link at 9:30am (est) and join God and me as we Go to the Movies! The services are also recorded so you can join us anytime after the live presentation!
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