This Summer, we're exploring the truth behind Hollywood's biggest hits as part of our annual At The Movies series. This week, we're diving into A Quiet Place Part I and Part II - two suspense thriller movies that follows the Abbott family as they try to survive alien monsters who hunt based on what they hear. While you may be skeptical thinking that thriller movies of this nature would be anything but scary... think again! These movies include unexpected spiritual themes that we can learn from.

From the family making sacrifices to save a tiny, defenseless baby, to elevating a young woman with a disability and even featuring an ultimate act of sacrificial love, there is so much to find when you watch these movies from a spiritual lense. Don’t be mistaken - this is a thriller, so it is an intense movie and not suitable for young kids - but the overarching themes of family and faith, hope and sacrifice, and the bravery of risking your life to save people from desperate situations, make these movies into redemption stories. Scripture shows us that Jesus taught in parables, which were short stories that contained spiritual truths. So, below we look at 3 spiritual truths behind A Quiet Place.

#1) SANCTITY OF LIFE

In order to survive the alien monsters who invaded their upstate New York town, the Abbott family rely on silence for survival. The aliens that lurk around are blind - but they have incredible hearing, so they hunt what they hear. Since silence is essential to their survival, the family communicates with sign language, which they all know because daughter Regan is deaf. However, the family find themselves in a race against time, as you find out that mom Evelyn is pregnant, and we all know that newborn babies are anything but quiet. While they never mention it, in the movie the Abbotts treat their unborn child like a gift from God. They make elaborate plans to protect the child against all odds. The Abbotts are surrounded by death, darkness and destruction in their world - yet they are determined to bring forth new life at great danger to themselves. This attitude is actually one of the most courageous pro-life messages you'll see in a mainstream movie.

2: WEAKNESS BECOMES STRENGTH

Another striking truth in the movie is that weakness can become your greatest strength (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). We see this through the character Regan, the Abbott's daughter who is deaf and has a Cochlear Hearing Implant. Since the whole family needs to know sign language to communicate with Regan, this ends up being a key survival skill for their family throughout A Quiet Place. Spoiler alert: In A Quiet Place II, Regan's weakness becomes her weapon! Her hearing aid gives off an excruciating electronic screeching noise that drives the alien monsters crazy with their acute hearing. So, her special need becomes her superpower in the end.

3: ULTIMATE SACRIFICE

In A Quiet Place Part I, we see an ultimate sacrifice is paid to save the family. Spoiler alert: When the Abbott's kids are in danger, dad Lee, played by Jon Krasinski, uses sign language to tell his kids, "I love you! I have always loved you!" before he screams to draw the monster away from them. His heroic scream was a self-emptying sacrifice of love to save his children's lives. This act reflects the Cross of Jesus, where God the Father paid the ultimate sacrifice for us. 1 John 3:16 says "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters."

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

When we look at stories in our culture through a spiritual lense, it's be amazing how much spiritual truth we sometimes find when we dive deeper. To keep learning from Hollywood's biggest hits, check out the below additional content from Liquid Church's annual At The Movies series:

• MESSAGE: Ted Lasso - American football coach Ted shows constant kindness and humility when criticized. Click here to watch the message from guest speaker Zach Taylor.
• MESSAGE: Hamilton - Discover the powerful spiritual themes of grace, failure, and redemption in the Broadway smash musical Hamilton! Click here to watch the message from Pastor Tim Lucas.