Wreck It Ralph | Sermon Notes
ANIMATED | Wreck It Ralph
Click here to listen to the podcast of the message.
“Wreck It Ralph” was released 8 months ago and has made $471million! Two major story lines that collide and twist. It is hilarious and completely appeals to the generation that grew up on 80s and 90s video games.
Ralph is very similar to our character last week, GRU. He is a bad guy but this time he’s a character in a video game. His job is to destroy buildings so that ‘Felix’ can fix them. However, after the game gets turned off at night all the characters hang out and party except Ralph. He isn’t accepted because of this ‘bad guy’ status. He DREAMS of the day where he is accepted and has all the benefits of the good guys.
Check out this scene where he is meeting with a support group for bad guys…
VIDEO: supportgroup
He finds out that the only way he will have any credibility or acceptance by his peers is to earn a MEDAL. This leads him on an extensive chase, risking his life to earn a medal.
This is where things get complicated. In his quest he meets another character with the same type of identity problem. Vanellope is an ostracized young girl that is desperately trying to become a legitimate race car driver. Like Ralph, she just wants to be accepted. Like Ralph she wants to shed the ‘bad guy’ stigma. Like Ralph she struggles with her identity. In fact, she is called a glitch. She is flawed, defective, a malfunction, a mishap.
She was told, “You will never win a race because you’re am a glitch and that’s all you will ever be.”
Check out Vanellope’s struggle – VIDEO: Vanellope
LETS TURN TO SCRIPTURE and See how Wreck It Ralph compares to the Bible
Why Do We Watch Movies?
My thoughts on Movies
We are currently in a sermon series where we are using animated movies as parables. We are taking the storyline and seeing how it can be used to preach the gospel and illustrating where the storyline deviates from the authentic message of scripture. Why? Why not just stick to other storylines? Well, millions of people are shaped by movies. Movies seems to be the mainstream voice of the culture today. Instead of just ‘preaching against’ movies, I think it is very eye-opening to see ‘innocent’ movies picked apart and illustrate how the message makes a difference. The biggest risk is that we take the message of redemption (almost all box office hits are stories of redemption) from movies and apply them to scriptures. We often get a tainted or skewed picture of Jesus’ gospel if we use modern cultures version of redemption.
Here are some bulleted thoughts I have on watching movies:
- Movies can cause us to sin immediately. Porn and even mainstream movies could lead to you to actual/literal sin.
- Movies show us what we are entertained by. You can step back from a movie and say, “that disgusted me. I don’t want to watch that type of movie.” You can step back and say I liked to be entertained by that. Wholesome movies are encouraging. However, it should be convicting to you if the entertainment came from activities that nailed Jesus to the cross. In other words, if you are entertained (amused or thrilled) by sinful activities, then that reveals where your heart might be or might be headed…a bad place.
- Movies can show us the gospel AND what is not the gospel if we go into the viewing with a firm grip on what the gospel really is. We can be entertained and at the same time learn and distinguish what is correct and not correct about the storyline of the movie.
How do I determine what movie I will watch?
Erica and I have set up boundaries to help our movie watching decisions. It is laborious to review movies one by one and find out if the movie will violate our conscious or cause us to sin. It is a waste of time/money to begin watching a movie that disgusts us and we eventually turn it off or leave the theater (we go to theaters some). A very easy way to get a quick, easy review is www.kidsinmind.com. This website reviews movies on 3 criteria: sexual content, violence/gore, and language. It gives a number rating for each of these categories. Depending on your background and culture, you should determine what movies are appropriate for you and your family. As for our house hold, our general max rating in these categories are: sexual content 3, violence/gore 7, and Language 4. There are exceptions to these boundaries on rare occations. For example, sometimes we watch movies for educational purposes in order to learn a sub-culture. We have to sit through things mostly language and violence that we wouldn’t normally sit through. An example of this would be: The Passion of the Christ.
What are your thoughts? How do you determine what you watch?
Sermon Notes | Declare Your Independence
Here is a sermon I preached in 2005. Basic premise: we celebrate July 4th as ‘Independence Day’, however it is important to realize that this day was NOT the day we won the battle. It was simply the day we DECLARED our independence. There was a lot of blood shed and battles that continued after July 4th.
What is July 4th – Independence Day.
A battle was not won. A Document was voted on. It wasn’t even signed.
We celebrate our Independence Day as the day our make-shift congress voted on a document.
It was more than a document. It was a declaration!
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
- They made it known formally or officially. They revealed or made it manifest. They stated emphatically or authoritatively.
- Not longer will we be dictated, ruled, controlled, by the King of England.
The king didn’t have their interest in mind.
When you declare something it begins to manifest.
Digestion begins when food is placed in your mouth.
What do we need to be independent from?
Declaration – a statement asserting or protecting a legal right.
WE DECLARE TO OURSELVES, OUR PEERS, OUR ENEMY
I. Declare independence from SIN.
The Lord Forgives and then asks us to stop sinning.
take the mind into captivity.
2 Corinthians 101By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am “timid” when face to face with you, but “bold” when away! 2I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world3For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 6And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.
John Piper says that sin (lust for example) “gets its power by persuading me to believe that I will be more happy if I follow it. The power of all temptation is the prospect that it will make me happier.”
Charles Spurgeon says What settings are you in when you fall? Avoid them. What props do you have that support your sin? Eliminate them. What people are you usually with? Avoid them. There are two equally damning lies Satan wants us to believe: 1) Just once won’t hurt. 2) Now that you have ruined your life, you are beyond God’s use, and might as well enjoy sinning. “Learn to say no.”
Benjamin Franklin said It is easier to suppress the first desire than to satisfy all that follow it.
Romans 13:14, “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.”
Physical Consequences of Sin
- Broken Homes – divorce, abuse
- Broken Bodies – Addiction- Satan has used alcohol, drugs, sex, to addict God’s people.
Health- As a result of our sin, our health is often affected. - Broken Relationships-Sin messes up our relationship with him and others.
II. Declare independence from your minds
Satan knows the battle for our souls begins in the mind.
The book of James clearly tells us that we sin when we are enticed and dragged away by
our sinful desires which start in the mind.
THE DARKEST PLACES OF THE WORLD ARE NOT BACK ALLEYS OF HARLEM, PARIS OR MEXICO CITY, BUT THE MINDS OF PEOPLE. A dark alley is just a dark alley until a dirty mind enters it.
California trip – gas 3.26/gallon – A dirty mind can pollute the streets of Beverly Hills.
Satan would love nothing more than to enslave us to our thoughts and desires, so that we
cannot love the Lord with our mind.
God wants us to be free mentally. Phillipians 4:8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things
God instructs us to think on whatever is lovely, whatever is noble, whatever is admirable.
We can only experience freedom in Christ mentally when we fully give our minds to God.
John 8:35 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
III. Declare independence from your Emotions
not just talking to the women! Men and their trucks
Satan also tries to enslave us to our emotions.
Anger– he loves for us to be filled with anger and hatred toward others.
Jealousy– he loves for us to envy and lust after other things.
Guilt- he loves for us to dwell on our sins even after God forgives us.
IV. Declare independence from Spiritual Apathy
another area of attack by satan is apathy. He doesn’t care if we are church-goers so long as we aren’t effective Christians. He doesn’t want us reading our Bible, praying, witnessing, worshipping.
He wants us to be Christian in label only.
God’s goal is to make us free in heaven with Him for eternity. God tells us how we can
become free:
**Believe in Jesus. **Confess Jesus. **Repent of our sins. **Be baptized into him.
TRUE FREEDOM COMES WHEN YOU ARE INHABITED BY GOD’S SPIRIT
God can free us, His Holy Spirit can help us live a controlled life. When we love him with all our heart (the seat of the emotions.)
He gives us the Holy Spirit to guide us, to encourage us, to rebuke us, to help us grow spiritually.
Do you know John Dickinson or Robert Livingston? They both did not sign because they clung to the idea of reconciliation with Brittan.
Animated Sermon Series plus other Summer ideas
ANIMATED | July 7th, we launch a new sermon series based on modern day parables: Animated Movies. Every year these movies make billions of dollars all over the world because of their amazing ability to communicate humor, love, evil, good, conflict, resolution, etc. Kids and adults love these movies.
We will spend 4 weeks looking at 4 movies and find out how their message compares to the Bible. It will be educational for families to see how they can use this medium not only for a fun/family night, but also for gospel-centered conversations. We will see how they get the gospel message wrong and sometimes right. We will look at Despicable Me, Monsters University, Up, and The Incredibles. (these are subject to change as the Holy Ghost moves. HA)
July 7th is also a tradition we like to call: SHORT SUNDAY. The entire service is only one hour long and everyone is encouraged to dress down a bit. (even wear shorts).
July 7th is also the beginning of our Summer Guest Giveaway where we will give one of our guests away to another church. JUST KIDDING. Just seeing if you are paying attention. Throughout the summer we are INTENTIONAL about inviting guests to church, and we like to make it a little more interesting! With every guest that someone brings, they will be entered into a drawing for a FREE CRUISE FOR TWO. Our church is taking a cruise in 2014 and someone will go for free. We normally see 300-500 guests attend our church in the Summer and that is a HUGE win!
In other words, July 7th is a big day.
Robin Steele 