July 28, 2025 • 17 mins
Movies speak a universal language. They captivate us through stunning visuals, compelling characters, and transformative storytelling. But what if these blockbuster films contain profound spiritual truths hiding in plain sight? In this episode, Pastors Rick and James give us a peak into Hope Church's upcoming "At the Movies" sermon series—an innovative approach to exploring faith through the lens of popular cinema.
This series presents the perfect opportunity to invite friends so be sure to bring one with you or share with them online at meethope.online.church!
NOW PLAYING:
August 3: Top Gun: Maverick
August 10: Inside Out 2
August 17: Moana 2
August 24: Superman
August 31: Wicked
Thanks for being a part of the HOPE community as we continue conversations about faith and hope! You can learn more at meethope.org or find us on socials @meethopechurch. Join in for worship on Sundays at meethope.online.church! Have a question? Contact us at podcast@meethope.org.
Enjoy what you heard? Be sure to rate us on Apple Podcasts and click the subscribe button so you don't miss new episodes every Monday!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the Meet Hope podcast, where we have
conversations about faith andhope.
Hope is one church made ofpeople living out their faith
through two expressions inperson and online.
We believe a hybrid faithexperience can lead to a growing
influence in our community andour world for the sake of others
.
Welcome to Hope.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Hey everybody, welcome to another episode of
the Meet Hope Podcast.
My name is Rick and I amexcited to be here with my good
friend and Hope Church, james.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Lee.
Hey, James.
Now I want to know what was theadjective you were thinking
about to add there.
We will never know.
I was going to say movie buff.
Yeah, fellow movie buff.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Yes, there you go.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Because today we're talking about movies.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
We are talking about movies.
Yes, I love movies.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Rick, what is your favorite movie?
Speaker 2 (00:58):
My favorite movie.
It is the Godfather and theGodfather Part 1, and I know
that sometimes I could be alittle bit in the minority there
, because Godfather Part 2 isconsidered the better of the two
films.
It's one of those movies that,if I am flipping channels and
that movie is suggested in myHulu, in my Hulu stream, or if I
(01:26):
can't not watch it, absolutelylove it.
I can jump into it any placeand I love it because I love
watching the development ofMichael Corleone's character
from the hero of militaryservice to becoming the villain
(01:48):
I mean the ultimate villain andloved every other character,
loved watching the familydynamics.
It's just a great film.
You find yourself rooting forMichael Corleone.
How can you root for this manwho?
Speaker 3 (02:07):
becomes horrible.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
He's just beyond corrupt, but yet he's Michael
Corleone, yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
I got to say I love Godfather.
Masterpiece, cinematicmasterpiece, great filmmaking.
It stands the test of time.
You can even watch it now.
It's still great effects, greatstory.
I I'm gonna be on the otherside of that conversation where
I I do believe godfather parttwo is the better film, just
more complex.
I just remember, after watchingthat movie, having a more
(02:38):
visceral, visceral reaction.
Uh, with the themes it wasdarker.
But yeah, they're both greatmovies, all right.
How about you favorite movie?
Uh, for me it's got to beforrest gump.
Uh, that was just a such amovie that shaped me.
It was very formative for me.
I think tom hanks wasphenomenal.
(02:59):
Uh, robin wright, she wasamazing.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
It was such a great movie.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
I love how it does not have a clear antagonist and
yet still this character isforced, is going through many
different obstacles in life andovercoming them through kindness
, through being himself.
Uh, and I, I love I'm able, Iwas able to watch it, uh, right
before taking my ap us historyand I did really well on it.
(03:24):
So it hits all these keymoments in US history, does it
beautifully and has great CG forits time.
So, yeah, very innovative movieas well.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Wow, yeah, and another one we mentioned I
mentioned to you was anothermovie that I this is a movie
that, if I'm flipping channels,there's no way I'm not going to
watch it.
I can pick it up Any spot isJaws.
Yes, and Jaws is celebratinghis 50th anniversary and that's
a big deal.
And I said I was eight yearsold, but I think it.
But if it was 50th anniversary,that means I was 10 years old,
(04:02):
so I don't.
And that's where I saw Jaws forthe first time.
Wow, scared out of my mind.
Your parents took you, mygrandmother took me to see Jaws.
My grandmother is rolling in hergrave right now because she's
so embarrassed that I am outingher that she took me to see Jaws
when I was 10 years old.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
She probably thought it was a family friendly movie.
There's a good chance.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
She has no idea what it was about.
It was a summer blockbuster andhorror movies were not.
I don't know if they were.
You know Albert Hitchcockmovies, but you know I again
this is this is.
This is 50 years ago, but yeah,I love it and I can't not hear
(04:50):
dun-dun dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
And I loved how you don't see the shark until like
two-thirds of the way into themovie.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
And still you're terrified out of your mind.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
Yeah, absolutely yeah .
Fun fact, in the first scenethey say that there was a little
glitch in the technology.
Did you hear about this?
So in the very first scene,when the woman is eaten by the
shark, yeah, the first scream isreal, because her legs were
attached to a device.
I was supposed to go left tothe right yes, yes back and then
(05:13):
down.
Yes, but the there was atechnical malfunction, so the
first function had the twomachines holding her each foot
going in the opposite directionso it split her legs.
So the first screen is actuallyreal.
And then they got it to workand then it went back and forth
and pulled her into the water.
Fun fact.
Yeah, yeah, movie filmmakingwas very different back then.
(05:36):
Yeah, you think so.
Yeah, less cg movies reallyshape the way we see the world,
doesn't it?
Speaker 2 (05:41):
they really do yeah, yeah and and so yeah.
So're probably all wonderingwhy are we talking about movies
right now?
Because in August we arelaunching at the movies.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
As our next sermon series.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Next sermon series.
Excited about that, can't waitto begin the series.
But, james, why would we do aseries called at the movies I
love?
Speaker 3 (06:03):
that.
So I love movies.
I actually was a filmmaker fora while.
I love making movies too.
The thing about movies thatpeople don't realize is it's
actually a multimedia,multidimensional storytelling
tool.
So it's not just a visual tool.
It's the art form of acting, ofmusic, composition, framing,
(06:26):
set, design, production, designall of these art forms
intersecting and coming togetherto tell one story.
And I think about how Jesus didnot teach with just dry bullet
points like love people, be nice, or God loves you Right, or or
God loves you.
God is like a father who lovesyou.
Know he?
(06:47):
He taught in parables, he wouldtell stories, he would create,
draw out these visual images,right.
Speaker 4 (06:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
I think about the pair, the parable of the
prodigal son rather than sayingGod is like a father who loves
you.
He tells this par, very movingstory of a father and two sons
and their interactions to tellthe gospel truth.
And so my friend Ian Chee he isa filmmaker as well and he said
(07:14):
you know, if Jesus were alivetoday, he'd be a filmmaker
because he was a visualstoryteller.
So I think visual stories speak.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
These movies.
They help us to find God'struth in unexpected places, in
something like a Hollywood movie, right, and there's the movie
posters, the lights and popcornand all those kinds of things,
and we're going to do that andkind of replicate some of that
in our worship space.
So, yes, we're going to havepopcorn, we're going to have
popcorn machines and we're goingto have a good time as we also
(07:43):
look at the deeper spiritualthemes in these movies.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
Also with the At the Movies series.
We want this to be an inviteopportunity.
So at Hope we believe that thetable is open to everyone.
We would love to seenon-religious folks, nominally
religious folks, to get moreengaged, find a place where they
feel like they could belong.
So if you have that familymember or that friend who is on
(08:10):
the fence about church, thisAugust series at the movies
would be the best time to makethat invite.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Yeah, it's a great way to invite a friend?
Speaker 3 (08:17):
Yeah, absolutely, so tell me more about these popcorn
machines, yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Yeah, so you know it's been a little bit fun on
staff because we're samplingpopcorn.
Yeah, so it's been a little bitfun on staff because we're
sampling popcorn.
So that's going to be fun as wefigure out the best popcorn to
bring to our Sunday moviepremieres.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
And we've also been watching movies during work
hours, because it's work andbecause we're watching movies,
yeah, research, yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
So let's talk about some of those movies, right?
Yeah, yeah, so I'm going tolaunch the series in August.
I'm excited about showingscenes from Top Gun Maverick,
yeah, and so I'm preaching thatone and let me say this movie
has more to say aboutdiscipleship than others might
think.
Maverick is trying to provethat he's the or.
(09:01):
In the first movie, he wastrying to prove that he was the
best, but he doesn't have to dothat anymore.
His mission now is to train andequip others, and that's the
shift that every follower ofJesus has to make.
It's not about being the hero,it's about making heroes.
That discipleship andleadership in the kingdom of God
(09:22):
is about identifying andcultivating gifts in others.
It's about empowering others.
It's about amplifying ourimpact when we can work together
, when people are gifted andencouraged to find their gifts,
and so I'm really excited aboutthis.
We're going to see thatMaverick had to let go of the
cockpit and he had to move on toinvesting in other people, and
(09:42):
that's our calling too.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
Oh, I love that.
I'm really looking forward tothat message, Rick.
Yeah, that's gonna be awesome.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Yeah, I'm excited.
And again, just this week wewere showing Top Gun clips in
the worship space.
So we're getting ready.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
That's exciting, yeah , and the following week I'm
also looking forward to PastorHeather's coming back to give us
a message on Inside Out 2.
My kids and I love this movie.
It's all about growing up as achild, growing into a teenager,
growing into what it means to bean adult, which brings new
emotions, especially anxiety,and explores what happens when
(10:17):
we try to control or suppressour feelings.
I think talking about emotionalhealth is a healthy part of our
spiritual journey as well.
God gave us emotions.
They're like dashboardindicators, right and so I think
that's going to be really,really exciting to hear about
too.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Yeah, I know one of the key verses she's focused on
is in Philippians 4, 6, and 7,where it talks about that
there's this path to peace thatwe can acknowledge our emotions,
that we can thank God, we canrefocus.
There's this idea of thisemotional maturity that is found
in Christ.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
And.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
I think it's gonna be an exciting message that she's
even pulling some ideas fromneuroscience that how we can
rewire our brains with God'shelp.
So, yeah, it's going to be anexciting one.
And the next one is you, james,right, it's Moana 2.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
Yes, so Moana, the first movie, has got to be one
of my favorite Disney movies.
I remember watching Moana thefirst time and just seeing the
immediate parallels to one'sfaith journey, how the ocean,
the sea, is like the presence ofGod.
God is everywhere, the spiritof God is everywhere, sometimes
(11:34):
feels like he's not there,sometimes it's very active and
yet we always know he is thereand how we are also called as
Christians, not to be isolatedin our own island but to be out
in the ocean as voyagers.
And I'll be going into Moana 2.
The one thing I love about Moana2 is that in Moana 1, she's all
(11:59):
by herself.
She meets maybe one or twoother characters, but
essentially she's on the journeyby herself to save her island.
But in Moana 2, she putstogether a crew.
Wow, and right there I go.
Yep, that is definitely thenext step in our faith journey.
Right, we can't do it byourselves.
What does it mean for us tojourney and be voyagers together
(12:19):
?
What does it mean to build acrew?
And yeah, that's the spiritual.
I don't want to spoil it toomuch, but that's the some of the
spiritual truths I want tonavigate.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Well, that sounds good.
Now, the next week after thatis Jason Shin, our youth
director, jason's preaching, andeveryone loves when Jason
preaches because he's too cooland he has to preach on the
newest movie, that is out.
Yeah, he is.
He's using Superman, soeveryone get excited about that.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
Not one, two or three or four, but like 2025,
superman.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
Yes, and so that's going to be a great message.
Anything else to say about that?
Speaker 3 (13:00):
No, I think that one.
You just really need to come onSunday to learn more about it,
because actually we're in thedark too we don't know what he's
going to talk about.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Have you seen?
Speaker 3 (13:08):
Superman.
Yet I haven't.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
I haven't either.
We'll have to go watch it.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
Let's go after this.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
We'll definitely make sure.
I'll make sure I've seen itbefore Jason preaches.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
And Rick, you're going to wrap up the series with
wicked.
Speaker 4 (13:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
I was.
I was upset that the movieended in act one.
Right, so I was.
I was really into it.
I didn't even know.
Time was flying so fast and Igo wait, it's over, like I won't
spoil the movie.
Well, if you haven't seen themovie, go watch it, but the
story is very powerful.
Alphaba is labeled as wicked,but what we find is that she is
(13:51):
someone who is brave, principledand misunderstood, and so I
think in life we label people asvillains or based on the way
people look or the way they actor the way they're perceived, we
tend to judge folks.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
Yeah, yeah.
And you know what?
I had the same experienceseeing that movie.
I, um, I, I went.
My family wanted us all to gotogether, so we did, and I
didn't know it was a part one,and I walked out saying I don't
think it was marketed as partone.
Speaker 3 (14:20):
This is the ultimate cliffhanger.
Speaker 4 (14:23):
It wasn't marketed as part one and the entire pop
culture community was like in anuproar because everyone people
in the musical theater communityknow the story of Wicked all
the way through and they wereeven like in the dark about it
being a part, like no one.
It just wasn't marketed thatway.
Like you said, it was marketedas like I mean it was great
marketing because they're like,well, everybody's going to come
back, you know.
But yeah, and it was marketedas like I mean it was great
marketing because they're like,well, everybody's going to come
(14:43):
back, you know.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
But yeah, good point.
But so I was a little upsetabout that, but at the same time
, to your point, the story ispowerful.
I think it and again, themessage is great about grace,
how grace breaks in.
She's not trying to be avillain, she's just trying to do
what's right in her life.
I'm going gonna be looking atRomans, chapter 12, verse 2,
(15:07):
where it talks abouttransformation and that how the
word transformation is not aminor change, but it's about
this profound inner change thattakes place inside of us.
And this happens when we start.
We have the shift in our brainand our thinking and our pattern
changes and we allow God tocontinue to rewrite our story.
So this story, this message, isfor those who may feel
(15:29):
misunderstood, those who mayfeel like misfits, anyone who
feels they've been labeled bythe world that this is that.
Grace says you don't have to begood enough, you just have to
be willing to see God working inand through your life.
So I'm real excited about that.
Speaker 3 (15:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Yeah, so that's at the movies.
Man, I'm getting pumped already.
It's going to be one of thebest times all year to invite
someone to church.
You know movies right?
They're familiar.
Yep, they disarm people, andwe're going to do the best job
possible in pairing these movieswith God's truth and man.
(16:08):
The results are going to beexciting.
Yeah, it's going to be fun.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
Yeah, I'm really excited.
There's been a lot of energyamong the staff as well.
When we bring this up, we'rereally, really excited about the
ways in which we can create theworship space and the lobby to
be inviting.
You're going to smell popcornwhen you walk in.
Yeah, absolutely.
And there are also going to bemovie nights, is that right?
There's going to be some movienights throughout the month of
(16:32):
August, I hope so, yeah, I thinkwe may be working on that.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
I know that the meet and greet in August for you,
James, that the kids is doing amovie night that night.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
Moana 2 is showing August 13th, on Wednesday,
awesome.
So yeah, that would be a greattime to come and watch the
actual movie.
If you haven't seen Moana 2,come to August 13th and watch it
then, because it is aphenomenal movie.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
Yeah, well, you know what I think?
That's it for this episode ofthe Meet Hope podcast.
We'll see you soon at themovies, at the movies, yeah,
yeah.
So bring a friend, you don'twant to miss it.
Oh, and, the series beginsAugust 3rd and, yeah, it'll be
over the five weeks, exciting.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
B-Y-O-P.
Bring your own popcorn.
Speaker 4 (17:18):
No, no, you don't have to, because we'll offer you
popcorn.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
Yes, just bring a friend, we'll see you there.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
Thanks for being a part of the Hope Community as we
continue our conversationsabout faith and hope.
If you don't already, pleasejoin us for worship on Sundays
or on demand.
You can learn more atmeethopeorg or find us on
socials at meethopechurch.
Welcome to the Meet Hope podcast, where we have
conversations about faith andhope.
Hope is one church made ofpeople living out their faith
through two expressions inperson and online.
We believe a hybrid faithexperience can lead to a growing
influence in our community andour world for the sake of others
.
Welcome to Hope.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Hey everybody, welcome to another episode of
the Meet Hope Podcast.
My name is Rick and I amexcited to be here with my good
friend and Hope Church, james.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Lee.
Hey, James.
Now I want to know what was theadjective you were thinking
about to add there.
We will never know.
I was going to say movie buff.
Yeah, fellow movie buff.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Yes, there you go.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Because today we're talking about movies.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
We are talking about movies.
Yes, I love movies.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Rick, what is your favorite movie?
Speaker 2 (00:58):
My favorite movie.
It is the Godfather and theGodfather Part 1, and I know
that sometimes I could be alittle bit in the minority there
, because Godfather Part 2 isconsidered the better of the two
films.
It's one of those movies that,if I am flipping channels and
that movie is suggested in myHulu, in my Hulu stream, or if I
(01:26):
can't not watch it, absolutelylove it.
I can jump into it any placeand I love it because I love
watching the development ofMichael Corleone's character
from the hero of militaryservice to becoming the villain
(01:48):
I mean the ultimate villain andloved every other character,
loved watching the familydynamics.
It's just a great film.
You find yourself rooting forMichael Corleone.
How can you root for this manwho?
Speaker 3 (02:07):
becomes horrible.
Speaker 2 (02:10):
He's just beyond corrupt, but yet he's Michael
Corleone, yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
I got to say I love Godfather.
Masterpiece, cinematicmasterpiece, great filmmaking.
It stands the test of time.
You can even watch it now.
It's still great effects, greatstory.
I I'm gonna be on the otherside of that conversation where
I I do believe godfather parttwo is the better film, just
more complex.
I just remember, after watchingthat movie, having a more
(02:38):
visceral, visceral reaction.
Uh, with the themes it wasdarker.
But yeah, they're both greatmovies, all right.
How about you favorite movie?
Uh, for me it's got to beforrest gump.
Uh, that was just a such amovie that shaped me.
It was very formative for me.
I think tom hanks wasphenomenal.
(02:59):
Uh, robin wright, she wasamazing.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
It was such a great movie.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
I love how it does not have a clear antagonist and
yet still this character isforced, is going through many
different obstacles in life andovercoming them through kindness
, through being himself.
Uh, and I, I love I'm able, Iwas able to watch it, uh, right
before taking my ap us historyand I did really well on it.
(03:24):
So it hits all these keymoments in US history, does it
beautifully and has great CG forits time.
So, yeah, very innovative movieas well.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Wow, yeah, and another one we mentioned I
mentioned to you was anothermovie that I this is a movie
that, if I'm flipping channels,there's no way I'm not going to
watch it.
I can pick it up Any spot isJaws.
Yes, and Jaws is celebratinghis 50th anniversary and that's
a big deal.
And I said I was eight yearsold, but I think it.
But if it was 50th anniversary,that means I was 10 years old,
(04:02):
so I don't.
And that's where I saw Jaws forthe first time.
Wow, scared out of my mind.
Your parents took you, mygrandmother took me to see Jaws.
My grandmother is rolling in hergrave right now because she's
so embarrassed that I am outingher that she took me to see Jaws
when I was 10 years old.
Speaker 3 (04:23):
She probably thought it was a family friendly movie.
There's a good chance.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
She has no idea what it was about.
It was a summer blockbuster andhorror movies were not.
I don't know if they were.
You know Albert Hitchcockmovies, but you know I again
this is this is.
This is 50 years ago, but yeah,I love it and I can't not hear
(04:50):
dun-dun dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
And I loved how you don't see the shark until like
two-thirds of the way into themovie.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
And still you're terrified out of your mind.
Speaker 3 (04:53):
Yeah, absolutely yeah .
Fun fact, in the first scenethey say that there was a little
glitch in the technology.
Did you hear about this?
So in the very first scene,when the woman is eaten by the
shark, yeah, the first scream isreal, because her legs were
attached to a device.
I was supposed to go left tothe right yes, yes back and then
(05:13):
down.
Yes, but the there was atechnical malfunction, so the
first function had the twomachines holding her each foot
going in the opposite directionso it split her legs.
So the first screen is actuallyreal.
And then they got it to workand then it went back and forth
and pulled her into the water.
Fun fact.
Yeah, yeah, movie filmmakingwas very different back then.
(05:36):
Yeah, you think so.
Yeah, less cg movies reallyshape the way we see the world,
doesn't it?
Speaker 2 (05:41):
they really do yeah, yeah and and so yeah.
So're probably all wonderingwhy are we talking about movies
right now?
Because in August we arelaunching at the movies.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
As our next sermon series.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Next sermon series.
Excited about that, can't waitto begin the series.
But, james, why would we do aseries called at the movies I
love?
Speaker 3 (06:03):
that.
So I love movies.
I actually was a filmmaker fora while.
I love making movies too.
The thing about movies thatpeople don't realize is it's
actually a multimedia,multidimensional storytelling
tool.
So it's not just a visual tool.
It's the art form of acting, ofmusic, composition, framing,
(06:26):
set, design, production, designall of these art forms
intersecting and coming togetherto tell one story.
And I think about how Jesus didnot teach with just dry bullet
points like love people, be nice, or God loves you Right, or or
God loves you.
God is like a father who lovesyou.
Know he?
(06:47):
He taught in parables, he wouldtell stories, he would create,
draw out these visual images,right.
Speaker 4 (06:52):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
I think about the pair, the parable of the
prodigal son rather than sayingGod is like a father who loves
you.
He tells this par, very movingstory of a father and two sons
and their interactions to tellthe gospel truth.
And so my friend Ian Chee he isa filmmaker as well and he said
(07:14):
you know, if Jesus were alivetoday, he'd be a filmmaker
because he was a visualstoryteller.
So I think visual stories speak.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
These movies.
They help us to find God'struth in unexpected places, in
something like a Hollywood movie, right, and there's the movie
posters, the lights and popcornand all those kinds of things,
and we're going to do that andkind of replicate some of that
in our worship space.
So, yes, we're going to havepopcorn, we're going to have
popcorn machines and we're goingto have a good time as we also
(07:43):
look at the deeper spiritualthemes in these movies.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
Also with the At the Movies series.
We want this to be an inviteopportunity.
So at Hope we believe that thetable is open to everyone.
We would love to seenon-religious folks, nominally
religious folks, to get moreengaged, find a place where they
feel like they could belong.
So if you have that familymember or that friend who is on
(08:10):
the fence about church, thisAugust series at the movies
would be the best time to makethat invite.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Yeah, it's a great way to invite a friend?
Speaker 3 (08:17):
Yeah, absolutely, so tell me more about these popcorn
machines, yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Yeah, so you know it's been a little bit fun on
staff because we're samplingpopcorn.
Yeah, so it's been a little bitfun on staff because we're
sampling popcorn.
So that's going to be fun as wefigure out the best popcorn to
bring to our Sunday moviepremieres.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
And we've also been watching movies during work
hours, because it's work andbecause we're watching movies,
yeah, research, yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
So let's talk about some of those movies, right?
Yeah, yeah, so I'm going tolaunch the series in August.
I'm excited about showingscenes from Top Gun Maverick,
yeah, and so I'm preaching thatone and let me say this movie
has more to say aboutdiscipleship than others might
think.
Maverick is trying to provethat he's the or.
(09:01):
In the first movie, he wastrying to prove that he was the
best, but he doesn't have to dothat anymore.
His mission now is to train andequip others, and that's the
shift that every follower ofJesus has to make.
It's not about being the hero,it's about making heroes.
That discipleship andleadership in the kingdom of God
(09:22):
is about identifying andcultivating gifts in others.
It's about empowering others.
It's about amplifying ourimpact when we can work together
, when people are gifted andencouraged to find their gifts,
and so I'm really excited aboutthis.
We're going to see thatMaverick had to let go of the
cockpit and he had to move on toinvesting in other people, and
(09:42):
that's our calling too.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
Oh, I love that.
I'm really looking forward tothat message, Rick.
Yeah, that's gonna be awesome.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Yeah, I'm excited.
And again, just this week wewere showing Top Gun clips in
the worship space.
So we're getting ready.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
That's exciting, yeah , and the following week I'm
also looking forward to PastorHeather's coming back to give us
a message on Inside Out 2.
My kids and I love this movie.
It's all about growing up as achild, growing into a teenager,
growing into what it means to bean adult, which brings new
emotions, especially anxiety,and explores what happens when
(10:17):
we try to control or suppressour feelings.
I think talking about emotionalhealth is a healthy part of our
spiritual journey as well.
God gave us emotions.
They're like dashboardindicators, right and so I think
that's going to be really,really exciting to hear about
too.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Yeah, I know one of the key verses she's focused on
is in Philippians 4, 6, and 7,where it talks about that
there's this path to peace thatwe can acknowledge our emotions,
that we can thank God, we canrefocus.
There's this idea of thisemotional maturity that is found
in Christ.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
And.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
I think it's gonna be an exciting message that she's
even pulling some ideas fromneuroscience that how we can
rewire our brains with God'shelp.
So, yeah, it's going to be anexciting one.
And the next one is you, james,right, it's Moana 2.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
Yes, so Moana, the first movie, has got to be one
of my favorite Disney movies.
I remember watching Moana thefirst time and just seeing the
immediate parallels to one'sfaith journey, how the ocean,
the sea, is like the presence ofGod.
God is everywhere, the spiritof God is everywhere, sometimes
(11:34):
feels like he's not there,sometimes it's very active and
yet we always know he is thereand how we are also called as
Christians, not to be isolatedin our own island but to be out
in the ocean as voyagers.
And I'll be going into Moana 2.
The one thing I love about Moana2 is that in Moana 1, she's all
(11:59):
by herself.
She meets maybe one or twoother characters, but
essentially she's on the journeyby herself to save her island.
But in Moana 2, she putstogether a crew.
Wow, and right there I go.
Yep, that is definitely thenext step in our faith journey.
Right, we can't do it byourselves.
What does it mean for us tojourney and be voyagers together
(12:19):
?
What does it mean to build acrew?
And yeah, that's the spiritual.
I don't want to spoil it toomuch, but that's the some of the
spiritual truths I want tonavigate.
Speaker 2 (12:29):
Well, that sounds good.
Now, the next week after thatis Jason Shin, our youth
director, jason's preaching, andeveryone loves when Jason
preaches because he's too cooland he has to preach on the
newest movie, that is out.
Yeah, he is.
He's using Superman, soeveryone get excited about that.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
Not one, two or three or four, but like 2025,
superman.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
Yes, and so that's going to be a great message.
Anything else to say about that?
Speaker 3 (13:00):
No, I think that one.
You just really need to come onSunday to learn more about it,
because actually we're in thedark too we don't know what he's
going to talk about.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Have you seen?
Speaker 3 (13:08):
Superman.
Yet I haven't.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
I haven't either.
We'll have to go watch it.
Speaker 3 (13:13):
Let's go after this.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
We'll definitely make sure.
I'll make sure I've seen itbefore Jason preaches.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
And Rick, you're going to wrap up the series with
wicked.
Speaker 4 (13:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
I was.
I was upset that the movieended in act one.
Right, so I was.
I was really into it.
I didn't even know.
Time was flying so fast and Igo wait, it's over, like I won't
spoil the movie.
Well, if you haven't seen themovie, go watch it, but the
story is very powerful.
Alphaba is labeled as wicked,but what we find is that she is
(13:51):
someone who is brave, principledand misunderstood, and so I
think in life we label people asvillains or based on the way
people look or the way they actor the way they're perceived, we
tend to judge folks.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
Yeah, yeah.
And you know what?
I had the same experienceseeing that movie.
I, um, I, I went.
My family wanted us all to gotogether, so we did, and I
didn't know it was a part one,and I walked out saying I don't
think it was marketed as partone.
Speaker 3 (14:20):
This is the ultimate cliffhanger.
Speaker 4 (14:23):
It wasn't marketed as part one and the entire pop
culture community was like in anuproar because everyone people
in the musical theater communityknow the story of Wicked all
the way through and they wereeven like in the dark about it
being a part, like no one.
It just wasn't marketed thatway.
Like you said, it was marketedas like I mean it was great
marketing because they're like,well, everybody's going to come
back, you know.
But yeah, and it was marketedas like I mean it was great
marketing because they're like,well, everybody's going to come
(14:43):
back, you know.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
But yeah, good point.
But so I was a little upsetabout that, but at the same time
, to your point, the story ispowerful.
I think it and again, themessage is great about grace,
how grace breaks in.
She's not trying to be avillain, she's just trying to do
what's right in her life.
I'm going gonna be looking atRomans, chapter 12, verse 2,
(15:07):
where it talks abouttransformation and that how the
word transformation is not aminor change, but it's about
this profound inner change thattakes place inside of us.
And this happens when we start.
We have the shift in our brainand our thinking and our pattern
changes and we allow God tocontinue to rewrite our story.
So this story, this message, isfor those who may feel
(15:29):
misunderstood, those who mayfeel like misfits, anyone who
feels they've been labeled bythe world that this is that.
Grace says you don't have to begood enough, you just have to
be willing to see God working inand through your life.
So I'm real excited about that.
Speaker 3 (15:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Yeah, so that's at the movies.
Man, I'm getting pumped already.
It's going to be one of thebest times all year to invite
someone to church.
You know movies right?
They're familiar.
Yep, they disarm people, andwe're going to do the best job
possible in pairing these movieswith God's truth and man.
(16:08):
The results are going to beexciting.
Yeah, it's going to be fun.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
Yeah, I'm really excited.
There's been a lot of energyamong the staff as well.
When we bring this up, we'rereally, really excited about the
ways in which we can create theworship space and the lobby to
be inviting.
You're going to smell popcornwhen you walk in.
Yeah, absolutely.
And there are also going to bemovie nights, is that right?
There's going to be some movienights throughout the month of
(16:32):
August, I hope so, yeah, I thinkwe may be working on that.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
I know that the meet and greet in August for you,
James, that the kids is doing amovie night that night.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
Moana 2 is showing August 13th, on Wednesday,
awesome.
So yeah, that would be a greattime to come and watch the
actual movie.
If you haven't seen Moana 2,come to August 13th and watch it
then, because it is aphenomenal movie.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
Yeah, well, you know what I think?
That's it for this episode ofthe Meet Hope podcast.
We'll see you soon at themovies, at the movies, yeah,
yeah.
So bring a friend, you don'twant to miss it.
Oh, and, the series beginsAugust 3rd and, yeah, it'll be
over the five weeks, exciting.
Speaker 3 (17:16):
B-Y-O-P.
Bring your own popcorn.
Speaker 4 (17:18):
No, no, you don't have to, because we'll offer you
popcorn.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
Yes, just bring a friend, we'll see you there.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
Thanks for being a part of the Hope Community as we
continue our conversationsabout faith and hope.
If you don't already, pleasejoin us for worship on Sundays
or on demand.
You can learn more atmeethopeorg or find us on
socials at meethopechurch.
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