Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - Ep 851 ｜ 'Church at the Movies：' Helpful or Heretical？

00:00:00.000 Several churches across the country, including Saddleback Church in California, have done

00:00:06.560 an at-the-movie sermon series, where their series are based on popular movies.

00:00:14.320 Is this an acceptable way to attract people to church, or is this an unbiblical distraction

00:00:21.140 that we should be wary of?

00:00:23.360 That's what we're going to spend most of our time discussing today.

00:00:26.160 We'll also get to a couple more stories.

00:00:27.680 One about Jamie Foxx being accused of anti-Semitism, and the other about the chaos that ensued

00:00:34.880 in New York City last week.

00:00:37.600 What do all of these things tell us about the gospel, about the Word of God, about humans'

00:00:43.000 neediness for Christ?

00:00:44.860 We'll get into all of that today on this episode of Relatable, which is brought to you by our

00:00:48.780 friends at Good Ranchers.

00:00:50.160 Go to GoodRanchers.com.

00:00:51.480 Use code Allie at checkout. 1.00

00:00:52.580 That's GoodRanchers.com, code Allie.

00:00:57.680 Hey guys, welcome to Relatable.

00:01:05.820 Happy Monday.

00:01:06.880 Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, that the start of your week is great.

00:01:11.140 This is our last week before maternity leave.

00:01:15.040 Today, I am 37 weeks.

00:01:17.060 Praise God.

00:01:18.080 I am just very thankful.

00:01:19.720 When I get towards the end of pregnancy, obviously there are difficulties that come with that.

00:01:24.500 But there's also so much gratitude that, wow, I'm so thankful that thus far I've had a healthy

00:01:30.380 pregnancy by the grace of God.

00:01:33.720 And so next week we will be off for 12 weeks, but you will still be getting a new episode

00:01:40.720 Monday through Thursday.

00:01:42.300 We've already come up with the schedule and everything for that for the next few months.

00:01:46.100 And I'm super, super excited.

00:01:48.340 We have very thoughtfully scheduled every episode.

00:01:53.480 And I am so looking forward to hearing what you guys think about so many of these conversations

00:01:59.280 and so much of what my guests have to say.

00:02:01.880 A lot of the Q&As include some controversial topics that you guys have been asking me about

00:02:06.940 for a very long time.

00:02:08.380 So I'm really looking forward to you hearing all of those, watching all of those.

00:02:12.500 It'll help a lot if you not just, you know, listen and watch them, even though we'll be

00:02:17.600 kind of out of the news cycle, but also share them with friends and things like that.

00:02:22.320 And of course, if you love the podcast, leave us a five-star review on Apple, subscribe on

00:02:27.060 YouTube and all that good stuff.

00:02:28.800 I'll still be somewhat active on social media.

00:02:31.720 I'm sure I'm in full-on nesting mode right now.

00:02:34.520 So I have like six different organizational projects going on in my home at any given time.

00:02:39.220 And so I am a little unplugged right now, but I do have some videos coming out.

00:02:46.180 I've got some funny videos coming out this week, okay?

00:02:48.520 We don't always have time to do the funny videos because the podcast takes so much of

00:02:53.160 our time and energy in a great way, but it just does.

00:02:56.180 But we love to do the funny videos too.

00:02:58.300 So we've got a few funny videos coming out over the next few weeks that have already been

00:03:02.040 filmed that are being edited.

00:03:03.640 And then today we've got an announcement, a fun announcement that we are making with

00:03:09.120 a fun video, and it will be an item that you can purchase.

00:03:14.000 And that is what I will say.

00:03:15.520 So stay tuned for that tonight and tomorrow.

00:03:18.420 So lots of good stuff coming down the pipeline.

00:03:20.280 I will keep you guys updated on the baby and all that good stuff.

00:03:24.760 But thank you so much for your prayers, for your support.

00:03:27.500 I've gotten several messages from some of you over the past few days who have just delivered

00:03:33.020 your babies and you just wanted to send me encouragement and a positive birth story,

00:03:37.560 which every woman needs when they're about to give birth. 1.00

00:03:40.860 And so thank you so much.

00:03:43.200 Thank you so much for that.

00:03:44.340 A lot of people, when they see me, they just remark like, oh my gosh, you're very pregnant

00:03:48.460 and it's so hot outside.

00:03:50.080 And I'm like, yes, it is.

00:03:51.700 I'm hot all the time.

00:03:53.280 However, my overriding feeling is one of gratitude and excitement.

00:03:58.500 And I actually feel, considering how far along I am, I feel really good.

00:04:04.680 And truly, I am thankful.

00:04:06.160 Thankful for all of you, but thankful to the Lord also just for allowing me to be a mom.

00:04:11.180 It really is wonderful.

00:04:12.740 All right.

00:04:13.720 I think that's all.

00:04:14.660 I think that's all the housekeeping stuff I have to say.

00:04:16.880 It is Monday.

00:04:17.740 So do the next right thing with excellence for the glory of God.

00:04:22.700 That is always enough.

00:04:23.920 And a constant reminder for myself right now, as I am overwhelmed with all these different

00:04:28.480 things that I feel like I have to get done, the only thing that I can do, the only thing

00:04:32.440 that I really have any control over is doing the next right thing in faith with excellence

00:04:37.280 and for the glory of God.

00:04:38.320 I have to remind myself constantly that that is sufficient.

00:04:42.020 That's sufficient.

00:04:42.660 It's sufficient for you.

00:04:44.140 It's sufficient for me.

00:04:45.180 No matter what is ahead of you, that's the only thing we can ever do.

00:04:48.160 The next right thing in faith with excellence and for the glory of God.

00:04:51.860 And even that has to be powered by the Holy Spirit.

00:04:54.600 So in the background, or a lot of times in the foreground of everything that we're doing,

00:04:59.360 it's constant prayer and asking for that strength, which God promises to supply us in Christ Jesus,

00:05:05.120 which is great.

00:05:06.360 Okay.

00:05:06.900 Today, we're going to talk about a few things.

00:05:08.600 We're going to talk about a church series that maybe some of you have seen on social media

00:05:15.400 circulating called At The Movies.

00:05:18.020 And we are going to examine whether or not this is a biblical thing to do at church,

00:05:25.600 whether or not churches really become too much of a production, too much of a seeker-sensitive

00:05:31.320 movement rather than just exegeting the word of God, or if this is just a creative way to

00:05:36.800 serve your congregations and to attract people that may not go to church otherwise.

00:05:41.880 And so we're going to look at all of that today.

00:05:44.140 And then we're going to talk about a couple other things, as you heard in the introduction.

00:05:48.020 Okay, so there has been some discussion, some debate on Twitter about this At The Movies sermon

00:06:07.820 series that is being preached at churches like Saddleback Church in California, but also several

00:06:15.260 different churches across the country.

00:06:18.460 And it's basically where a church dresses up their staffers, dresses up their pastors,

00:06:27.540 preachers, and decorates their church to look like a particular movie.

00:06:34.160 And so let me show you the clip that's going around from two co-pastors, Andy and Stacey

00:06:41.460 Wood at Saddleback Church that has a lot of people talking on social media.

00:06:47.600 Well, hi, Bo Peep.

00:06:50.360 Hey, Woody.

00:06:51.640 Good to see you.

00:06:54.420 Good to see you, too.

00:06:55.800 Are you at church?

00:06:57.380 Yes, we are.

00:06:58.320 Welcome to Saddleback, everybody.

00:07:00.060 As you guys are being seated, tell your partner beside you, do you vote for Team Woody or Team

00:07:10.600 Buzz?

00:07:11.380 And I better hear a lot of Team Woody out there.

00:07:14.880 Okay, we got a Southern draw, little Bo Peep there in California.

00:07:20.020 So if you don't know about Saddleback Church, they've been in the center of controversy for

00:07:23.360 the SBC, the Southern Baptist Convention, because they are allowing female pastors.

00:07:29.360 And Rick Warren, who used to be the head of Saddleback Church, was in defense of allowing

00:07:36.720 women to be pastors, despite the biblical command that women not be pastors.

00:07:42.380 There are many roles of ministry that women can occupy. 0.99

00:07:46.220 And women, of course, can preach the gospel. 0.99

00:07:48.900 They can be skilled with communication.

00:07:50.360 There are lots of ways that women can and should be serving the church, but the office 1.00

00:07:57.300 of pastor and the role of exegeting scripture in front of a mixed crowd or a crowd of men

00:08:07.280 is to be reserved for a man that's actually rooted in the creation order.

00:08:12.620 I can link some past episodes where we've talked about that more thoroughly.

00:08:16.140 That's not what this is about.

00:08:17.500 So Saddleback Church has seen its fair share of criticism.

00:08:23.460 It's been in the center of conflict before.

00:08:25.980 Let me tell you a little bit about what this sermon series is.

00:08:29.100 And I welcome your thoughts on this.

00:08:30.660 It might be possible that you and I disagree on our conclusions here.

00:08:33.980 And I'm interested to hear what you guys have to say.

00:08:36.920 So this is from the Saddleback website.

00:08:39.620 So Andy and Stacey Wood are preaching a summer series entitled At the Movies, Finding Inspiration

00:08:44.620 in the Stories We Love.

00:08:46.220 Here's the description from their website.

00:08:48.660 And just so you know, I already have a problem.

00:08:51.800 I already have a problem with that line.

00:08:54.840 At the movies, finding inspiration in the stories we love.

00:08:58.360 And I'll tell you why.

00:08:59.360 But movies are a reflection of us.

00:09:01.640 Each story shows us.

00:09:03.100 I I'm I'm struggling to get through each word because I have a problem with every word so

00:09:08.180 far shows us a glimpse of the human experience, whether it's a team of superheroes defeating

00:09:12.800 evil or the true story of one person's courage and conviction.

00:09:15.640 There's always a moral of the story.

00:09:19.080 But what is it and what does God have to say about it?

00:09:22.500 Join us for At the Movies, a cinematic summer experience at Saddleback.

00:09:25.920 We'll be talking about blockbuster movies and how we can apply their messages to scripture.

00:09:31.080 Not only that, but every campus will be decked out in its own movie theme.

00:09:34.900 You won't want to miss it.

00:09:36.420 The pastors will be preaching on Toy Story 4, Lion King, Top Gun, Maverick and Jesus Revolution.

00:09:45.660 So let let me just go ahead and tell you, I was going to try to tease this out and explain

00:09:50.140 this a little bit more, but I just I can't leave that description alone without telling

00:09:56.100 you exactly why I have a problem with it, because we are the center of it.

00:10:02.080 We are the center of the human.

00:10:04.520 The audience, the congregant is the center of this description of the sermon series, that

00:10:11.400 each story that we see in the movies is a reflection of us.

00:10:16.000 Each story shows us a glimpse of the human experience, superheroes defeating evil or the

00:10:23.780 true story of one person's courage and conviction.

00:10:26.040 There's always a moral of the story.

00:10:29.500 All right.

00:10:30.240 That might be OK for a kid's devotional.

00:10:33.680 That might be OK for a lesson for a bunch of kindergartners or maybe even a bunch of sixth

00:10:39.060 graders.

00:10:39.380 That might be OK if you're going to the movies and you're going home with your kids and you're

00:10:43.980 trying to give them a real life, godly application.

00:10:49.020 Is that the role of the church?

00:10:51.420 Is that the most educational, empowering and edifying message for a pastor, for a preacher

00:10:59.040 to bring to its congregants?

00:11:01.740 Let us look away from Scripture, look at these cinematic experiences and see how they reflect

00:11:08.820 our own experiences, our own courage, our own convictions, our own stories, our own journeys.

00:11:15.460 Are sermons supposed to be about us?

00:11:18.760 Is church supposed to be about us?

00:11:22.200 Even the headline or the description at the movie is finding inspiration in the stories

00:11:28.980 we love.

00:11:29.560 There may be nothing wrong with that in general.

00:11:32.600 I love stories.

00:11:33.680 I love books.

00:11:34.920 I've always loved books since I could read, devoured books throughout school.

00:11:39.780 And I think it's so important for us to read stories, even stories that are not explicitly

00:11:45.080 Christian stories.

00:11:46.740 I think movies are amazing.

00:11:48.280 I love plays.

00:11:49.140 I love musical theater.

00:11:50.380 I love a good story.

00:11:51.940 I think we can absolutely gain lessons from stories, glean inspiration from stories.

00:11:57.100 But is that what we're supposed to be doing at church?

00:12:00.420 We can do that every day of the week.

00:12:02.680 We can do that on Sunday afternoon.

00:12:04.580 That's what we're constantly doing.

00:12:05.880 We're constantly seeing narratives, whether it's in the news or in the entertainment that

00:12:09.560 we're watching or in the narratives that we're building in our head.

00:12:12.260 Like we are constantly seeing stories play out.

00:12:15.100 We have the opportunity to gain inspiration from these things.

00:12:19.000 But on Sunday, we are gaining inspiration, education, and conviction from Scripture.

00:12:27.160 That is the story that we're looking at.

00:12:29.420 I don't see the need to draw from secular stories from the pulpit at church in order to gain

00:12:36.860 inspiration.

00:12:37.600 Do you know how biblically illiterate the church is today?

00:12:42.160 Do you know how little most professing Christians even understand the gospel?

00:12:47.860 Like if you look at a Barna survey, they conduct a survey every two years and they ask Christians

00:12:53.780 or professing Christians, different questions about the nature of Jesus, about who God is,

00:13:01.320 about sin, about salvation, about repentance, about heaven and hell.

00:13:05.740 There's a large percentage of professing Christians that do not know the basic tenets of Christianity.

00:13:11.660 And so I just fear wasting time with this kind of entertainment when, gosh, the church is so

00:13:21.120 desperate, so hungry for clarity that comes from the word of God, sans distractions.

00:13:28.020 And now I understand the argument.

00:13:30.660 I do.

00:13:31.220 And I'm sympathetic to this argument.

00:13:32.700 That, look, if this attracts someone who maybe wouldn't go to a stuffy church, a traditional

00:13:40.460 church with the pews and all of that stuff, and if this brings a family in who maybe didn't

00:13:51.260 want to go to church before, but their kid heard about it from their friend at school,

00:13:55.700 they love Toy Story, and they love Top Gun.

00:13:59.240 And so this family decided to go to church, and maybe they heard the gospel for the first

00:14:03.300 time, or they heard about Jesus for the first time.

00:14:06.120 And so wouldn't that be worth it?

00:14:08.460 Look, I think that that is, in a non-fallacious way, a slippery slope.

00:14:14.160 Is that what the church is for?

00:14:17.220 Is the church to accommodate constantly the non-believer with secular forms of entertainment so as to try 0.96

00:14:24.440 to attract them to the church with something other than the cross?

00:14:27.640 Like, is the aroma of Christ not sweet enough that we actually need Pixar to help us invite

00:14:35.180 people to church?

00:14:37.020 I just don't think so.

00:14:39.340 So I have a problem with this because it's seeker-sensitive, and not all seeker-sensitive

00:14:45.740 aspects of a church are wrong.

00:14:47.680 Like, there can be outreach, of course.

00:14:49.800 I think that there are creative things, creative strategies, ways that we can use, that we can

00:14:56.000 employ to try to get people to church, of course.

00:15:00.600 But the church's function, the church's primary function, is to build up the body of Christ.

00:15:09.140 And so for the person sitting in the audience who maybe knows the gospel, they know the

00:15:16.680 basics of Christianity already, but they need to understand theology.

00:15:20.600 Like, they need to really understand by grace through faith.

00:15:23.960 They need to really understand how to love their wife as Christ loved the church.

00:15:27.640 They need to really understand how Genesis 1-1 applies to all different aspects of society

00:15:35.080 in their own lives.

00:15:35.820 Whatever it is, whatever theological issue that you want to name, is that what they're

00:15:39.300 getting out of this?

00:15:40.400 Now, maybe they are.

00:15:41.780 I've seen the notes from the sermons.

00:15:43.340 I did not sit and saddle back and see all the sermons.

00:15:46.160 So I'm not even saying that every sermon was bad or every sermon was unbiblical.

00:15:51.740 I have my questions.

00:15:54.020 I have my skepticism about that.

00:15:58.460 But is this edifying and equipping the church?

00:16:02.680 I just don't know.

00:16:03.700 This seems like a distraction to me.

00:16:06.120 I went to a church several years ago when I lived in another state and I walked in actually

00:16:13.840 two churches, two different states, but in the same region.

00:16:18.080 And one was in college.

00:16:19.660 One was right after college.

00:16:21.400 And in both scenarios, these churches, which were very similar, not connected to each other,

00:16:26.120 but very similar, they were singing secular songs in order to try to, you know, fit themselves

00:16:32.740 into the, uh, into the sermon, which I don't necessarily think is always bad.

00:16:39.880 Like, I don't think I'm not like freaking out about that and saying, oh my gosh, how simple

00:16:44.880 that you would sing a so-called secular song.

00:16:48.080 Everything can be used, of course, to the glory of God.

00:16:51.880 But is it the most edifying?

00:16:54.020 Is it the most equipping to sing a song by Michael Jackson?

00:16:57.360 Like, there's no Christian song in our entire Rolodex that speaks explicitly, specifically

00:17:04.340 to the glory and the holiness of God.

00:17:08.140 There was none, like there was no song that you could have picked that reiterates scripture

00:17:13.920 or that repeats scripture so that we know that the words that you're singing are actually

00:17:19.220 inerrant and infallible because they're just repeating God's word.

00:17:22.040 Isn't that the better way to go?

00:17:24.460 Like, I think we need to kind of rethink how we approach what is acceptable in church or

00:17:30.660 really what's acceptable in our own lives away from, is this kind of permissible?

00:17:36.940 Can we finagle this to be acceptable biblically?

00:17:41.860 And rather think what glorifies God the most?

00:17:45.800 What is the best way to glorify God?

00:17:48.160 How can we make this as little about us, as little about human experience, as little about

00:17:55.660 the congregant, and the most about Christ?

00:18:00.000 Now, that doesn't mean—I'm not saying that we cannot have application in scripture or that

00:18:05.500 we can't have humor in scripture or that we can't have stories and allegories and anecdotes

00:18:10.500 and examples.

00:18:11.560 I think that preachers should be dynamic.

00:18:14.340 Not perfect in communication, but I think that they should be darn good at communication.

00:18:19.500 They should be able to capture someone's attention.

00:18:22.180 Not with a bunch of distractions, but with the compelling way in which they are able to

00:18:27.180 exposit God's word.

00:18:29.420 And that can include application.

00:18:32.600 Because the word of God is not about us.

00:18:36.460 The gospel is not about us, but it is for us.

00:18:40.140 And so, of course, I think real-life application can be good.

00:18:44.180 All these examples, and that's fine.

00:18:46.740 Real-life application can be good, but we are not the center of it.

00:18:49.880 We're not the main character in the biblical narrative.

00:18:51.860 We're not the star of the show.

00:18:53.400 We're not David in the story of David and Goliath.

00:18:57.180 Like, we're not Moses in the story of wandering through the wilderness.

00:19:01.780 Like, we are not stand-ins for these biblical characters.

00:19:06.340 All of these characters, all of these stories point to Christ.

00:19:11.840 Now, maybe that's their argument.

00:19:13.960 Maybe they're saying, look, every story out there points to Christ.

00:19:18.140 But it's just hard for me, knowing, like, the urgency of people understanding the gospel.

00:19:23.580 Knowing the dire hunger and thirst that the church has for real substantive theology and

00:19:32.140 clarity when it comes to issues that is only found in the word of God.

00:19:38.300 It's hard for me to justify wasting any time whatsoever on frivolity and silliness.

00:19:47.420 You know?

00:19:49.360 It's hard for me to justify that.

00:19:51.840 It's hard for me to find an excuse for that.

00:19:54.520 Again, I could see this for kids.

00:19:57.520 I could see this for your first grader, because maybe that is the only way that you can capture

00:20:02.780 their attention.

00:20:04.760 But for equipping the saints and the members of the household of God, for equipping the

00:20:09.460 evangelists, the shepherds, the teachers, is this cutting it?

00:20:14.140 I just don't know.

00:20:16.320 I just don't know.

00:20:17.220 Um, so as I said, there were several sermons, and I'll kind of just go over those for a

00:20:26.620 second, and then I'll look at some other examples, because it's not just Saddleback

00:20:29.700 Church.

00:20:30.000 Several other churches are doing the same thing, and I'll share some of my thoughts on that.

00:20:34.220 Okay, so if we look at the examples of some of these sermons, because we have all the

00:20:50.700 notes from the sermon, so I don't want it to seem like I am trying to misconstrue or wrongly

00:20:56.960 convey what was being talked about here.

00:20:58.880 I'm really not trying to be unfair, because look, I mean, if God uses any of these, any

00:21:04.760 of these things to bring someone to himself, I mean, praise God, that will be a credit

00:21:10.180 to God, not a credit to these strategies, but I will be thankful for that, okay?

00:21:14.420 And I don't want it to seem like I'm indicting every single motive or every single person

00:21:19.000 that's involved with this.

00:21:20.940 There are a lot of people who are very talented and using a lot of different creative strategies

00:21:24.780 for the church that feel that they are doing the right thing.

00:21:28.000 I'm looking at overall, is it correct?

00:21:32.100 Is it the most edifying, the most glorifying to offer what I think are distractions in the

00:21:37.880 name of being seeker-sensitive rather than functioning as what the church is supposed

00:21:42.140 to function as, which is building up the body of Christ, the equipping of the saints.

00:21:48.240 So a few sermons that we saw from Saddleback, which as I, you know, as I said, I have problems

00:21:52.820 with Saddleback anyway, because they have female pastors. 1.00

00:21:54.800 Um, the Toy Story Sermon, Finding Purpose in Unexpected Places, Toy Story 4, really depicts

00:22:02.320 God's heart for us, they say.

00:22:04.500 Uh, Woody symbolizes people who may feel past their prime.

00:22:09.260 And to those, oh, I'm struggling, I'm struggling, I'm struggling to read this, to encourage people

00:22:17.300 who feel past their prime, uh, Andy Wood shares Ephesians 2, 8 through 10.

00:22:23.860 Um, I don't know what version this is.

00:22:26.320 I know the ESV, it says, God saved you by his grace when you believed and you can't take credit

00:22:31.260 for this.

00:22:31.740 It is a gift from God.

00:22:32.840 It sounds like maybe the message, but, um, so he's basically saying, you know, Woody might

00:22:39.300 represent if you're past your prime, but look, God has a purpose for you.

00:22:43.280 Forky, the fork created by Bonnie at school, God lovingly created each one of us.

00:22:48.900 Gabby Gabby, the doll who is missing her voice box.

00:22:51.760 Like Gabby, we are all stuck between our dreams and our current reality.

00:22:55.860 I want to cry.

00:22:56.860 Um, and it goes on and on and things like this.

00:23:01.340 Again, my problem with this is that it's about you.

00:23:05.520 It's about you.

00:23:06.920 They're looking at stories and not even seeing like how this reflects the heart of God necessarily.

00:23:12.240 Not saying that they never mentioned that, but that these characters reflect you and

00:23:16.520 how you feel and how it's so hard for you.

00:23:18.980 It's how difficult for you.

00:23:20.400 And I understand life is difficult.

00:23:22.220 People want to be seen and heard and understood and reflected and represented.

00:23:27.320 And I understand that.

00:23:28.960 I get that.

00:23:29.620 And there is something to appealing to those desires that we have as human beings, but it

00:23:35.820 can't be about that.

00:23:37.440 We're not central.

00:23:39.380 Like I not, I'm not trying to promote my book, but I'm saying that this is why, this

00:23:44.460 is why I wrote this book because we are constantly being given this message.

00:23:49.140 You're enough.

00:23:50.260 Just love yourself.

00:23:51.560 You're the most important thing.

00:23:53.860 Your happiness is supreme.

00:23:56.360 You're the center of it all.

00:23:57.820 You're perfect the way that you are.

00:24:00.200 You can live your truth.

00:24:01.640 You deserve your dreams.

00:24:03.540 Whatever it is, we are constantly told these messages.

00:24:06.240 We don't need to be told those messages when we go to church.

00:24:09.520 The world is constantly telling us that.

00:24:11.760 They're constantly telling us you're enough.

00:24:13.500 They're constantly telling us you're sufficient.

00:24:15.600 They're constantly telling us to feel bad for ourselves, to turn every hard experience into

00:24:20.140 trauma, to justify every difficult or every bad characteristic that you've had is just

00:24:26.080 some sort of like quirk that other people need to tolerate.

00:24:30.900 We're constantly being told that we should worship ourselves, center ourselves, idolize

00:24:36.260 ourselves.

00:24:36.520 The last thing that we need to be thinking about when we are at church is ourselves.

00:24:41.480 Yes, of course, repentance from sin.

00:24:44.900 Yes, of course, our neediness from God.

00:24:46.940 But even all of that is focused on Christ.

00:24:50.700 We don't need to go to secular stories to see how our human experience is reflected in

00:24:55.200 them at church.

00:24:56.500 We need to go to the greatest story ever told, the truest, best story ever told, which is the

00:25:01.400 narrative of Christ and to understand who Christ is.

00:25:06.260 And yes, also how we graciously, wonderfully, redemptively fit into that grand biblical narrative,

00:25:13.580 which is not about us, but is about Christ.

00:25:16.640 There is liberation.

00:25:17.780 There is freedom and self-forgetfulness in the self-denial to which Jesus calls every single

00:25:23.740 one of his disciples.

00:25:25.240 There is so much beauty and so much satisfaction that comes from the self-emptying that is required

00:25:34.860 of Christ's followers.

00:25:37.060 And are we getting that from a sermon that is about toy story and how we are like Forky?

00:25:44.940 Just something to consider.

00:25:47.400 And then there was a Top Gun sermon.

00:25:49.340 Um, and Andy Wood, again, points to the different ways that Top Gun reflects biblical truth, reflects

00:26:00.260 our experiences.

00:26:02.200 Um, some things will change whether I want them to or not.

00:26:05.220 Some things won't change even if I want them to.

00:26:07.060 Some things can change, but it's up to me to change them.

00:26:12.360 Um, okay.

00:26:14.340 Uh, some things won't change.

00:26:16.560 He looks at Maverick's skill as a fighter pilot.

00:26:18.940 It doesn't change from the first movie to the second, but he's still haunted by the

00:26:22.260 guilt he feels for the death of his wingman.

00:26:24.460 Goose, spoiler, sorry, if you haven't seen the original Top Gun.

00:26:28.800 Um, and then he points to believers who may be struggling with guilt or regret.

00:26:32.980 And then he says, God never changes, which is true.

00:26:35.680 Hebrews 13, 8.

00:26:37.320 Uh, he also says it is important to see the world through the lens of God's word, not the

00:26:41.520 word through the lens of the world, which I agree with.

00:26:44.600 Although that is exactly kind of what this sermon is doing.

00:26:49.120 You are literally looking through the lens of Maverick, Top Gun, uh, to, uh, exegete scripture.

00:26:59.380 And this of course is not exegesis.

00:27:01.600 All of this is eisegesis. 0.55

00:27:03.840 I exegete taking out the meaning from scripture by going to scripture and saying, what does this

00:27:10.400 mean?

00:27:10.660 Not just what does this mean to me, or what does this mean for you, or what does this

00:27:14.760 mean at this time?

00:27:16.000 But what does this mean?

00:27:18.820 There are all sorts of expository message or methods to be able to glean the meaning.

00:27:25.600 We look at the original Greek and Hebrew.

00:27:27.360 We always look at the context.

00:27:28.800 That's the most important thing.

00:27:30.100 The context of the chapter, the context of the book, the context of the entirety of scripture.

00:27:35.260 And we ask, what does this mean within that?

00:27:39.660 There may be application, but you were not the center of any passage.

00:27:44.180 Eisegesis is bringing meaning into the text.

00:27:47.460 A lot of you know this, but some of you don't.

00:27:50.180 And so if that would be like me saying, I want to, um, look at a message or I want to create

00:27:56.860 a message about leadership.

00:27:58.140 And so I go into scripture and I find all of these different verses that fit into the topic

00:28:03.260 of leadership.

00:28:03.720 Eisegesis isn't always bad.

00:28:06.280 It's not always wrong, as long as the meaning is still the meaning.

00:28:12.380 Like you are using all of the context of each verse, and this verse really is about leadership.

00:28:18.360 It really is applicable.

00:28:20.180 It really does make a biblical sense in light of all of the context.

00:28:24.840 That can be okay.

00:28:26.100 As long as we are not inserting meaning into the text that is not really there.

00:28:32.440 And really the best form of consistent preaching is exegesis, going verse by verse and exegeting,

00:28:40.720 lifting out the meaning of the text in light of everything that we know about scripture,

00:28:45.340 the character of God that we see revealed in scripture.

00:28:47.620 So this is a bad case of eisegesis in which we are taking a movie and we're starting with

00:28:55.460 a movie.

00:28:55.900 We're not really starting with the word of God.

00:28:57.560 We're starting with the movie and saying, what does this movie say?

00:29:01.180 And can I find verses that fit in to this meaning that I have drawn out of the movie?

00:29:09.260 That's not giving anyone a proper understanding of scripture.

00:29:12.420 You're not giving anyone context.

00:29:14.660 You're not helping anyone understand these complex theological or even societal issues.

00:29:19.980 You are trying to fit meaning into the text, which may or may not be there.

00:29:25.440 Now, I'm not saying that there is no truth shared in any of these sermons or anything helpful.

00:29:30.740 There may be truth shared.

00:29:32.020 But again, is this how we handle the word of God from the pulpit?

00:29:37.260 Is this what the church is for?

00:29:39.440 Is this equipping the saints for the work of ministry?

00:29:43.320 I would say no.

00:29:45.120 I would say no.

00:29:46.220 Again, maybe for a kindergarten class, not for saints and members of the household of God,

00:29:51.660 not for adults.

00:29:53.340 And like I said, it's not just Saddleback.

00:29:55.460 There are several churches doing this.

00:29:57.440 Life Church in Colorado also did an At The Movies.

00:30:01.980 And there is this video that someone posted on Twitter showing this incredible, truly, incredibly

00:30:09.780 impressive Star Wars, these Star Wars decorations at Life Church.

00:30:31.980 So, again, incredibly impressive.

00:30:46.420 I do want to give kudos to the people who use their God-given skills and their creativity

00:30:51.320 to make things like this.

00:30:53.580 If you're watching, you can see the decorations, how intricate they are.

00:30:57.140 I'm sure they took so much time and effort.

00:30:59.520 And so, I mean, I applaud the people who use their gifts for this.

00:31:04.560 I think that that's amazing.

00:31:05.840 And I am not against people using their gifts in creative and artistic ways.

00:31:12.500 There's also Lake Point Church in Dallas, Faith Church, Lawrenceburg in Tennessee, Free

00:31:19.260 Chapel in Georgia.

00:31:20.540 There is a Barbie sermon series at several of these.

00:31:26.020 I also think like it's a little bit troubling because unless you as a church are endorsing

00:31:31.920 the entire message of all of these movies, it's a little weird to promote them and try

00:31:38.100 to use them to attract people to your church, right?

00:31:41.620 Like you are basically giving free advertising to all these movies.

00:31:45.940 So are you endorsing everything that happens in Barbie?

00:31:49.620 Like, you know, there was literally a joke in Barbie.

00:31:52.760 I didn't see it, but I saw this clip.

00:31:54.240 There's a joke in Barbie about gay masturbation. 1.00

00:31:56.460 Like there's a joke in Barbie about, you know, premarital sex.

00:32:01.080 Whether you think it was some kind of conservative satire or some feminist screed, I think as a

00:32:06.920 church, you should ask yourself, is this, are these all messages that we want to promote?

00:32:11.080 If we are putting the thought in people's mind that they should go see Barbie, is God going

00:32:17.080 to be glorified by that?

00:32:18.480 Are they going to be sanctified by that experience or not?

00:32:23.300 The same thing with Top Gun.

00:32:24.940 I'm not saying that no Christian should ever see these movies.

00:32:28.780 Should the church be promoting them?

00:32:30.780 Are they all biblical messages that again are edifying and equipping the body of Christ?

00:32:36.500 What's the church is supposed to do?

00:32:38.740 I don't know.

00:32:39.600 And you have like little girls dressed up in, you know, their Barbie outfits and you've

00:32:46.420 got the Barbie paraphernalia everywhere.

00:32:48.940 Like this is not a kid's movie.

00:32:50.900 Do you want these little girls to say, well, you know, my church said it was fine.

00:32:54.320 We're doing a whole Barbie theme at my church.

00:32:56.380 Should these nine-year-olds go and see Barbie and hear the gay masturbation? 1.00

00:33:01.960 I don't think that's something that the church should be endorsing.

00:33:07.300 And so this is the problem with seeker sensitive at all costs.

00:33:11.180 This is the problem with the whatever it takes mentality when it comes to trying to get people

00:33:17.240 to come to your church.

00:33:18.220 Look, the aroma of Christ is sweet enough.

00:33:20.600 Like the love of the church, the role of the church as a beacon, a refuge of clarity in

00:33:30.380 the midst of chaos, that is enough.

00:33:32.580 Like the gospel is enough.

00:33:34.820 Scripture is enough.

00:33:36.120 We are not so evolved that 2000 years later, suddenly the message that Christ preached isn't

00:33:42.400 good enough.

00:33:43.380 I think a lot of people do think that for the unbelieving world, we have to soften the word

00:33:47.800 of God, that we have to kind of like let God off the hook by saying, oh, yeah, I know you've

00:33:52.380 heard about this judgmental guy, but don't worry.

00:33:55.920 We have a lot of fun, too, and we have a lot of fluffy stuff, and then we'll get to the

00:34:00.680 difficult stuff later.

00:34:01.860 Look, we don't have time for that.

00:34:03.660 Life is tough.

00:34:05.060 We've got a lot of complicated, pressing issues.

00:34:07.040 We've got souls on the line.

00:34:08.360 We've got hearts at stake here.

00:34:10.360 It is not the time for Barbie-themed church events.

00:34:15.500 It's not the time for distractions.

00:34:17.400 It's not the time for watered-down sermons that don't really teach us anything.

00:34:22.300 It's not the time for self-centeredness.

00:34:24.320 It's simply not.

00:34:26.920 It is time for the church to get serious about understanding, teaching, and applying the word

00:34:34.400 of God.

00:34:35.220 And I know some of you might say, but not everyone is there yet.

00:34:39.140 Not everyone is there yet.

00:34:40.680 Some people need this.

00:34:42.000 Some people need the soft stuff first.

00:34:44.420 Okay, it's true that infants need spiritual milk.

00:34:47.460 I would say this is not even that.

00:34:49.180 In a lot of cases, this is sour milk.

00:34:51.760 No one benefits from that.

00:34:54.040 Like, when we talk about infants, new people in the faith, or people coming to the faith

00:34:58.440 needing milk, like, we're talking about the importance of John 3.16.

00:35:03.320 Not that all of us don't need that, no matter what stage of Christianity you're in.

00:35:08.040 Of course you do.

00:35:08.900 But, like, that's talking about the basics of the gospel, the basics of truth.

00:35:14.380 That's what we're saying.

00:35:15.460 We're not saying that you need to compare yourself to Woody in order to understand the gospel.

00:35:22.460 Like, remember that the Holy Spirit is so powerful.

00:35:25.460 The Holy Spirit works through the Word of God.

00:35:27.620 The Holy Spirit works through the gospel.

00:35:29.280 That person that you think could never understand the Bible, that person that you think would

00:35:34.660 never be attracted to the church, that person that you think would never like singing hymns,

00:35:39.440 that person who you think could never pay attention to a whole sermon, you are discounting the

00:35:43.900 power of the Holy Spirit.

00:35:45.500 That does not need these movies, does not need this hoopla, does not need all of this silliness

00:35:52.200 to attract people to the cross.

00:35:55.000 The cross has always been enough.

00:35:58.520 And it is our joy as believers, our service as believers, our love, our boldness, our strength,

00:36:07.340 our stability, our soundness of mind, our fruit of the Spirit that is supposed to attract people

00:36:14.600 to church through the power of the Holy Spirit, not even our own efforts in that.

00:36:20.060 So, again, I'm not against fun.

00:36:22.920 I'm not.

00:36:23.420 I'm not against creativity.

00:36:25.420 I'm not against utilizing the skills, the gifts that God has given people, artistic,

00:36:29.880 creative gifts to serve the church and to create a beautiful church service, to create

00:36:36.320 a beautiful church building, a really dynamic and compelling sermon, beautiful sounding music

00:36:43.960 that aligns with the Word of God.

00:36:46.300 I'm not saying that everything needs to be stoic and utilitarian and boring and that our

00:36:52.540 kids' ministries should just basically be like that episode of The Office when Dwight creates

00:36:57.640 a nursery and it's just a bunch of, like, leftover pencils.

00:37:00.520 I'm not saying that.

00:37:02.860 Of course, it can be beautiful and fun and entertaining, but the point is that Christ must 0.92

00:37:08.680 be central, not just a character, the glory of God, the cross, the gospel must be so all-encompassing

00:37:17.640 and so main in any production that we put on, in any program that we try to produce,

00:37:28.000 in any sermon, in any service, that there are no distractions like this.

00:37:37.340 There's no reason to try to fit in secular stories to the Bible in the hopes that people

00:37:43.580 will just be entertained.

00:37:45.000 It's not the point of the church.

00:37:46.980 It's not the point of the church.

00:37:48.120 Let me read you the verse that I have been, uh, that I've been referencing or paraphrasing

00:37:55.380 a few times here.

00:37:58.040 Okay.

00:37:59.940 Ephesians 4, 11.

00:38:01.280 And he, Christ, gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers

00:38:06.980 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ until we

00:38:13.060 all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to mature,

00:38:18.120 manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ so that we may no longer

00:38:23.020 be children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine,

00:38:28.900 by human cunning, by craftiness and deceitful schemes.

00:38:32.260 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up, grow up in every way into him who

00:38:39.400 is the head into Christ from whom the whole body joined and held together by every joint

00:38:43.960 with which it is equipped.

00:38:44.940 When each part is working properly, speaks or makes the body grow so that it builds itself

00:38:51.240 up in love.

00:38:53.560 That's the purpose of the church.

00:38:56.520 Let's leave behind childish ways and let us grow into the stature of the Son of God, to

00:39:08.300 mature manhood, to the fullness of Christ.

00:39:12.020 Are we there yet?

00:39:12.760 I don't think we are.

00:39:14.120 So it doesn't seem like there's a lot of time and a lot of leeway for these kind of juvenile

00:39:19.400 games that seem to be being played at a lot of churches these days.

00:39:23.520 Okay, so I don't know if you guys have seen some of the controversy surrounding Jamie Foxx.

00:39:43.800 Jamie Foxx, the famous actor, he posted this on Instagram.

00:39:47.680 They killed this dude named Jesus.

00:39:49.160 What do you think they'll do to you?

00:39:51.920 Hashtag fake friends.

00:39:53.380 Hashtag fake love.

00:39:56.660 Now, a lot of people are calling this anti-Semitic.

00:40:01.120 Actor Jamie Foxx's headline says, post horrifically anti-Semitic message to his 16.7 million followers.

00:40:10.780 He deleted the post.

00:40:12.160 He posted an apology.

00:40:13.280 He said, I want to apologize to the Jewish community, everyone who is offended by my post.

00:40:16.360 I now know my choice of words have caused offense, and I'm sorry, that was never my intent to

00:40:19.760 clarify.

00:40:20.120 I was betrayed by a fake friend, and that's what I meant by they, not anything more.

00:40:24.000 I only have love in my heart for everyone I love and support the Jewish community.

00:40:28.220 My deepest apologies to anyone who was offended.

00:40:32.540 Actress Jennifer Aniston got caught up in the scandal after an Instagram screenshot showed

00:40:37.580 her name on the likes list.

00:40:39.960 She denied that she had intentionally or unintentionally liked the post, which she described as anti-Semitic.

00:40:49.180 I guess she posted that to her IG story.

00:40:53.280 So I think that this whole thing is very strange.

00:40:55.680 This like blew up on Twitter.

00:40:57.180 People automatically assuming this is anti-Semitic.

00:41:00.100 I didn't see any other context that would make anyone think that Jamie Foxx is anti-Semitic.

00:41:06.300 Like, and here's, here's the thing.

00:41:08.500 I mean, here's how I would have taken this if I would have seen it.

00:41:11.460 I don't follow him, but if I would have seen it, I would have taken that as, I mean, a poor

00:41:16.980 understanding of scripture.

00:41:18.900 It's not about like fake friends and things like that, but I would have taken it as the

00:41:23.400 world hated Jesus and so, and betrayed Jesus.

00:41:27.080 And so the world is going to betray you too.

00:41:29.200 That to me is why he was communicating.

00:41:31.300 I'm not sure why people read Jewish people into that, except for you just see what you 0.89

00:41:37.260 are conditioned to see.

00:41:39.840 And so you're going to be offended by something by reading into something that's just not there.

00:41:45.900 Jennifer Aniston, like apologize or like saying that, oh, I'm so sad that people were, you

00:41:51.700 know, offended by this or this was wrong or whatever.

00:41:53.900 Again, people just say the things that they are supposed to say.

00:41:57.300 Jamie Foxx's apology.

00:41:59.160 I mean, it was nice, but I mean, clearly it wasn't anti-Semitic.

00:42:04.760 Anyone with eyes can see that.

00:42:06.040 Anyone with any knowledge of scripture can see that.

00:42:08.820 There are a couple of verses that came to mind and based on his apology, I think that

00:42:12.240 this is probably what he meant.

00:42:13.380 Again, not a good use of scripture, but I can see what he meant.

00:42:16.300 Matthew 24 and 9, then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death and

00:42:21.760 you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake.

00:42:27.300 So that is Jesus saying that, look, you're going to be hated like I was hated.

00:42:32.520 If they hated you, the world, if the world hates you, remember that they hated me first.

00:42:36.960 Jesus also said that.

00:42:38.540 And so, again, this is an example where we shouldn't try to insert ourselves into the

00:42:43.200 passage and try to apply this verse, which is about Christ and about those who follow

00:42:48.220 him to every difficult situation of our lives.

00:42:50.580 But it is applicable in the sense that if we are really believers in the same way that

00:42:55.400 the world hated Jesus and hated his message, those who didn't believe him hated him with

00:43:00.280 a vile hatred, then we have to expect that those of us who carry his gospel too will also

00:43:06.640 be hated and will also be rejected and will have to suffer many things because of the gospel.

00:43:11.900 However, I do want to deal with this controversial piece because I have seen people say, I guess

00:43:17.380 because I read this verse at some point, I have seen people say that if you say something

00:43:25.720 like the Jewish people delivered Jesus unto death, people will say that is anti-Semitic,

00:43:31.960 which maybe I've said before on this podcast.

00:43:34.380 And I've seen people say, oh, that's anti-Semitic.

00:43:36.540 That's a terrible thing.

00:43:37.280 You can't say that the Jewish people killed Jesus.

00:43:40.340 It was Rome.

00:43:41.720 It was the state.

00:43:43.620 Well, I guess it depends on how you want to define anti-Semitic.

00:43:47.340 I won't define that for you, but it is biblical.

00:43:49.880 I mean, all Christians who believe the Bible, and by definition, if you're a Christian, you

00:43:53.120 should believe the Bible, believe that the Jewish people who were with Jesus at the time

00:44:01.460 and who were with Jesus or who were there before Jesus' execution did have a hand in

00:44:07.120 delivering him up to death.

00:44:09.080 Now, that is not an excuse to be hateful or rude toward all Jewish people.

00:44:15.380 That's not saying that there is anything innate about Jewish people that we should oppose or

00:44:20.680 be hateful.

00:44:21.560 That's not it.

00:44:23.460 But to say that believing something that Scripture clearly says is true is anti-Semitic.

00:44:28.120 Okay, that's a take.

00:44:29.140 That's fine.

00:44:29.900 But this is part of Christian doctrine.

00:44:32.080 Acts 2, 22 through 24.

00:44:33.640 Peter says this.

00:44:34.400 This is his sermon at the Pentecost.

00:44:35.580 Men of Israel, hear these words.

00:44:37.800 Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs

00:44:43.200 that God did through him in your midst.

00:44:46.060 As you yourselves know, this Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge

00:44:51.040 of God you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 0.99

00:44:55.160 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death because it was not possible for him to be held

00:45:00.200 by it.

00:45:01.420 So that's Scripture.

00:45:02.620 Yes, Christians do believe that the Jewish people at the time, that the Jewish religious

00:45:06.820 leaders, that the Jewish people who said release Barabbas but execute Jesus, of course, had 0.94

00:45:12.940 a hand in it.

00:45:13.720 Again, that's not an excuse for hatefulness towards a group of people or for meanness,

00:45:18.820 unkindness, discrimination.

00:45:20.300 That's not what it's saying.

00:45:21.800 But to say that reading that verse or believing that tenet of Christianity is anti-Semitic, okay. 0.94

00:45:28.260 Okay, but that is what Scripture says.

00:45:32.620 And so that is what Christians believe. 0.83

00:45:34.200 Now, I don't think that's what Jamie Foxx was saying at all.

00:45:37.360 But I have seen people say that you can't say that Jewish people at the time had any

00:45:41.400 hand in crucifying Jesus without being an anti-Semite.

00:45:44.460 I just wanted to clear up.

00:45:45.460 Like, Scripture does teach that.

00:45:48.480 And this was the necessary message of the gospel that was being preached to the men of

00:45:53.960 Israel at the time in Acts 2.

00:45:57.180 So just an FYI.

00:45:59.720 Okay, I wanted to clear that up.

00:46:01.380 Let's see.

00:46:02.980 One more thing.

00:46:04.080 One more thing that I had to say.

00:46:05.260 I don't know if you guys saw the full-on riot that broke out in New York City and Union

00:46:12.100 Square and people just destroying property and reveling in this anarchy and the destruction

00:46:21.400 that was being brought.

00:46:22.140 But let me let me play you a clip of that in just a second.

00:46:27.340 And then I'll tell you kind of the biblical thing that I was thinking of.

00:46:42.960 All right, here is a clip of what was going on in New York City over the weekend and last

00:46:48.020 week.

00:46:52.140 All right.

00:47:02.340 So if you're listening to this, they're jumping out of car and destroying all kinds of property.

00:47:07.840 There are tons of young people yelling about this.

00:47:12.000 A lot of news outlets cover this.

00:47:13.940 There was a Twitch streamer.

00:47:16.080 It's a live stream gaming service.

00:47:17.900 Gamer Kai Sinat.

00:47:19.260 I think that's how you pronounce his last name.

00:47:20.880 Plan to give away PlayStation 5's computers, microphones, other gaming accessories at the

00:47:24.740 real life meetup scheduled for Friday afternoon.

00:47:27.240 He had been posting it to social media.

00:47:29.880 I can't even read you the message that he says that he put out for his followers because

00:47:37.600 it says the N word so many times when Sinat arrived at the park to do this giveaway, he

00:47:43.600 was immediately mobbed by thousands of cheering fans.

00:47:45.860 And within 30 minutes, the crowd turned violent.

00:47:48.760 Rioters began tossing cones, bottles, rocks and brawling with each other.

00:47:53.240 The chaos resulted in the arrest of 66 people, including Sinat and 30 miners.

00:47:58.340 And so there are so many videos like this of these mobs of teens just running around New

00:48:03.500 York City, destroying property, fighting with each other, just completely wild and anarchistic.

00:48:09.560 And in that video that you just saw, they're dancing on a car, they're kicking a car, they're

00:48:13.980 destroying a car.

00:48:14.920 I feel very badly for the innocent person whose car that was.

00:48:19.280 When I first saw the picture of this, I thought, how could someone find joy in creating chaos

00:48:25.380 and destruction?

00:48:26.000 We know chaos and destruction are things that the enemy loves.

00:48:30.120 He loves chaos.

00:48:31.220 He loves confusion.

00:48:32.220 He loves lawlessness.

00:48:33.340 He loves anarchy.

00:48:35.700 And I got a message from someone who said, you know, I used to be a liberal and I would

00:48:40.500 have loved to do something like this a few years ago.

00:48:42.880 I would have found this really fun.

00:48:44.780 There's part of you that just like hates the system, hates rules, hates authorities and

00:48:49.120 hates corruption.

00:48:50.160 And so you kind of justify acts like this, thinking that you're rebelling against

00:48:55.880 the man in some way.

00:48:57.720 But at the same time, it's just, it's also just like the power of evil.

00:49:01.100 It's the power of wickedness.

00:49:02.640 And I was reading Psalm 119 this morning.

00:49:04.860 And as you probably know, I couldn't read you all of Psalm 119 because it would take

00:49:09.260 a very long time.

00:49:10.360 But if you read this Psalm, which in my, in the ESV, the heading is, your word is a lamp

00:49:19.080 into my feet.

00:49:19.820 Basically, it is just a rejoicing over God's law, a love for God's law, a hatred for wickedness,

00:49:27.700 a hatred for lawlessness, a hatred for hypocrisy, a hatred for evildoers, and a love for God's

00:49:35.860 order, a love for God's ways, for his parameters, for his regulations, for his restrictions.

00:49:41.520 And I just think about like, that is the power of the Holy Spirit.

00:49:46.160 That is the power of God to change our hearts from these dead, decaying things that love

00:49:52.420 anarchy and chaos and disorder and destruction and are so selfish and so self-centered, never

00:49:58.220 thinking about the needs and the well-being and the safety of other people, to then loving

00:50:03.540 order, loving goodness, to loving God's law.

00:50:07.420 In this world today, where we're constantly told, just to bring it full circle, that everything

00:50:11.460 is about us and everything is about what we want and what feels good in the moment, God

00:50:18.720 offers us something totally different.

00:50:20.980 He offers us a righteousness, a goodness, an orderliness that can only be found in him.

00:50:29.500 Psalm 119 isn't about legalism.

00:50:31.360 It's not just about following rules for the sake of following rules.

00:50:34.880 It's about being like Christ because we love Christ, because he first loved us.

00:50:40.140 It is about self-forgetfulness and self-denial and the self-emptying that comes through being

00:50:47.800 a disciple of Jesus and making everything about him.

00:50:52.960 When we make everything about him, we don't tolerate evil and wickedness and anarchy and chaos

00:50:58.580 well. So really, when I look at all of this, that's not just happening in New York City,

00:51:02.940 but in other places too, I don't just think, wow, those people need police.

00:51:08.420 They need parents, which is absolutely true.

00:51:11.620 All of those things are grace of God.

00:51:14.300 There should be discipline in the home.

00:51:16.040 There should be proper biblical church discipline.

00:51:19.360 There should be discipline by authorities.

00:51:21.800 The lack of discipline, the lack of control that we see, the lack of self-control that

00:51:26.700 we see, it's a product of all kinds of massive things in our society.

00:51:31.240 But I also look at them and I just see sheep without a shepherd.

00:51:34.800 I just see people who have not been changed by God, people who don't love God's law, people

00:51:38.820 who don't love order because they follow the father of lies, who loves chaos and destruction,

00:51:44.420 doesn't have anything good for these people who are sowing the destruction either.

00:51:48.480 So there is a level of compassion there that I see.

00:51:53.000 And so, gosh, there's a lot of things that we can change policy-wise, but most of all,

00:51:56.720 we need to pray for the changing of hearts because this kind of Satan-wrought anarchy,

00:52:06.360 it hurts people.

00:52:07.640 It hurts real people and it hurts our country as a whole.

00:52:11.420 All right, that's all we have time for today.

00:52:13.520 Today, there's a lot more that I could have said, but we'll try to cover it all this week

00:52:18.700 before we're out for maternity leave.

00:52:22.020 Thanks so much for listening and for watching, and we will be back here tomorrow.

Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - August 07, 2023

Ep 851 ｜ 'Church at the Movies：' Helpful or Heretical？

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