This summer, make some popcorn, grab your favorite candy, and get together for movie night with your home church! Make the night purely fun or add on

Transcription

1 Home The Movies

2

3 This summer, make some popcorn, grab your favorite candy, and get together for movie night with your home church! Make the night purely fun or add on a time for group discussion after the movie. Choose your favorite film or select one or two of the titles in this booklet. Happy viewing!

4 Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Disney/Walden, 2008), PG Jealousy/Pride Grace/Mercy Faith 1. Jealousy was a mark of the relationship between Peter and Caspian. What were they jealous of? 2. Read Proverbs 27:4. How have you found Proverbs 27:4 to be true? Read Proverbs 27:17. What could Peter and Caspian learn from that verse? 3. Why did Miraz want to kill Caspian? Had Caspian done anything wrong? When Caspian fled the castle, do you think he intended to take revenge on Miraz some day? 4. Twice, Caspian has the opportunity to kill Miraz, but he doesn t. Why? 5. Who does Aslan show mercy to at the end of the movie? 6. Why do you think Lucy is the first to see Aslan? Why can t Peter, Susan, and Edmund see him when Lucy can? 7. What does it mean to have a childlike faith? What happens to our faith when we grow up? What are some things we can do to restore a childlike faith? Discussion Questions written by Mark Moring,

5 Star Wars Episode IV, A New Hope (LucasFilm, 1977), PG Belief & Faith Community 1. Obi Wan tells Luke that the Force controls your actions and obeys your commands. How do you think it s possible for the Force to do both at the same time? 2. Han Solo tells Luke that he s never seen anything to make him believe there s an allpowerful force controlling everything. How is this similar to arguments from some nonbelievers? 3. Read Hebrews 11:1 and 2 Corinthians 5:7. How do these verses differ from what faith looks like in Star Wars? 4. Could Han believe in the Force even if he wanted to? Is there any choice involved? 5. Where do you see evidence of true friendship and community in this movie? 6. How is the Jedi Council like the church? What strengths and weaknesses do you see that resemble those of the church? Discussion Questions written by Todd Hertz,

6 The Truman Show (Paramount, 1998), PG God Truth 1. Do you think the film is meant to be a metaphor for how God controls our world and lives? If so, what do you think this says about God? about humans? 2. How is your picture of God different than Christof? How is it similar? 3. What seem to be Christof s motivations and expectations for his world? How are these different from God s? 4. Does Christof truly love Truman? Why or why not? 5. In your words, what does The Truman Show say about the current media culture? 6. What level of truth do you expect from TV shows? Reality TV? The news? 7. Why do you think viewers of Truman s life watch? Is that necessarily bad? When is voyeurism dangerous? 8. What opens Truman s eyes to the reality around him? How does his worldview change? Discussion Questions written by Todd Hertz,

7 Evan Almighty (Universal Studios, 2007), PG God Obedience 1. At the beginning of the movie do you think Evan believed in God? What was the difference between Evan and Joan in their views of God and prayer? 2. How did Evan react when God spoke to him the first time? The second? The third? Why did it take so many times before Evan got it? 3. How did Evan s family react to his claims? Did their reactions seem reasonable? Was Evan s family showing a lack of faith in God by their disbelief in Evan s claims? A lack of faith in Evan? Could they have faith in one and not the other? 4. Obeying God is always right, but it can be costly. What did it cost Evan? What might it have cost him if he didn t obey? 5. Have you ever felt like God was asking you to do something bold, perhaps even outrageous? What was it? Did you obey? 6. Is God still in the business of asking us to do things that are uncomfortable, risky, or seemingly over the top? Give examples. Discussion Questions written by Mark Moring,

8 The Hunger Games (Lionsgate Films, 2012), PG-13 Hope Love 1. Where do you see moments of hope appear in this film? 2. How do those moments of hope affect the characters and change the way they see their circumstances? 3. How did the memory of Peeta providing Katniss with bread give them both hope? 4. Why do you think the mockingjay pin gives hope to Katniss? 5. President Snow says that hope is the only thing stronger than fear. What makes hope stronger than fear? 6. Why would the president want people to have a spark of hope? 7. What evidence of sacrificial love is evident in the film? 8. How does Rue s sacrifice save Katniss? What does it spark in her home district and why do people respond to her death as they do? Do you think her death is meaningless? Why or why not? Discussion Questions written by Amy Simpson,

9 Robin Hood (Universal Pictures, 2010), PG-13 Honor Authority 1. Do you think King John acted in the best interests of his subjects? Or was he acting in his own self interests? 2. Is it possible to honor and obey our leaders while disagreeing with them? In what ways do we dishonor our leaders today? What are some practical ways we can honor them while maintaining our disagreement? 3. If God instates leaders over us for our benefit, do we ever have the right to disobey leadership? Under what conditions? What about outright rebellion and overthrowing leadership? Again, under what conditions? 4. The movie starts by noting that in times of corruption, men who act in the name of what is good and right are often mislabeled as outlaws. Is this true of Robin Hood? Are there other contemporary examples of justice labeled as a crime? 5. How do you know what is the right thing to do? Discussion Questions written by Russ Breimeier,

10 Bonhoeffer (Journey Films, 2003) Not Rated Social Justice Ethics 1. What combination of factors do you think persuaded Bonhoeffer to refuse the request to speak at the funeral? 2. Later, Bonhoeffer issued a direct challenge for the church to stand with the Jews, even in the face of growing anti-jewish sentiment. Compare Bonhoeffer s actions here with his response to the funeral. What changes do you see in Bonhoeffer s attitude? 3. Think of a time when you or someone you know had to go against the status quo. What was the result? How did most people view you or that person? Was the decision worthwhile? 4. Dietrich was safe in America. Why was he willing to return and face the dangers of Nazi Germany? Do you agree with Bonhoeffer s reasoning could he only help the German church from the inside? Why or why not? Discussion Questions written by Caleb Sjogren,

11 A Beautiful Mind (Universal Studios, 2001) PG-13 Community Love Self-Control 1. While John makes his mark by proposing a theory based on communities working together, how do his own interactions and actions contradict it? How do they support it? 2. What do you think of the Nash Equilibrium? 3. Does this theory have any other special resonance to Christians? 4. How does John s view and practice of social interaction change throughout the film? 5. In the face of John s mental illness, Alicia seeks medical help, but in the end, they both choose to fight it themselves. Is this self-reliance wise? 6. Why do you think John and Alicia love each other? Why were they first attracted to each other? How did their love change over the course of the film? 7. Each imagined personality of John s seems to have specific characteristics or roles they played in John s subconscious. What are some that you noticed? Why were these so tempting to John? Discussion Questions written by Todd Hertz,

12 Seabiscuit (Universal Studios, 2003) PG-13 Community Comfort Endurance 1. When the vet explains that Seabiscuit will not race again, and the vet says he ll put her down, what do you think was going through Tom s mind? What about Charles mind? 2. How do loyal friends help us bear bad news? 3. Do you think it s possible to really understand what another person is going through without experiencing the same thing? Why or why not? 4. Tom says of Seabiscuit, You don t throw a whole life away just cause it s banged up a little. In what way do Christians need to have that attitude toward each other? 5. Share how each of the character at one time or another showed empathy. 6. Albert Schweitzer said, One who gains strength by overcoming obstacles possesses the only strength which can overcome adversity. Give reasons why you agree or disagree. Discussion Questions written by Anne Peterson,

13 Shawshank Redemption (Columbia Pictures, 1994) R Hope Endurance Freedom 1. What does a life without hope do to a person? Red survived 40 years of incarceration. How did Red change from the first time we see his parole rejection (at 20 years) to the last time (at 40 years)? 2. Even after Red is released, he still has little or no hope. Why? If freedom from physical bondage doesn t bring hope, how are freedom and hope related? 3. If fear is the opposite of hope, then what do you make of 1 John 4:18? How does perfect love drive out fear? How does perfect love invite hope? 4. Andy suffered greatly while being unfairly imprisoned. How did his suffering change him from the man he was before? How does our suffering change us? How should we view difficult times in our lives? 5. Andy used a tiny hammer to dig through stone prison walls. What issues in your life require that kind of long-term effort? Discussion Questions written by Rich Tatum,

14

15

16