This week At The Movies, we're learning together from the Hollywood hit, The Incredibles 2! This film is about a super hero family with INCREDIBLE abilities that they use to help others. You know, like the Incredible family, God has made YOU to live out an incredible purpose! We see a great example of this in the Old Testament book of the Bible, 1 Samuel 13-14. At this time in history, Israel endured battled with the massive Philistines army. In fear, Israel retreated and King Saul, their leader, abandoned his troops. At this point in 1 Samuel, we see Saul's son, Jonathan shows incredible COURAGE and steps up to lead in his father's place. This story shows us 3 keys that will help us get back to living out God's incredible purpose for us! First, you'll need to start by remembering:
YOU HAVE AN INCREDIBLE ROLE TO PLAY
In The Incredibles 2, we see Elastigirl, the wife and mother of the Incredible family, takes on a new role as the face of a movement to make it legal for super heroes to use their powers again. We also see Mr. Incredible's role change from SUPER HERO to SUPER DAD. The Incredible family knows they are a team and both of their family roles are critical for the family to succeed. Likewise, in 1 Samuel, Jonathan knew his role was crucial to defeat the Philistines and gave him the confidence he needed to succeed. Like Jonathan, you have an incredible role to play in God's story because God gave you:
INCREDIBLE GIFTS TO USE
In 1 Samuel, the outcome of the Israelite's' battle against the Philistines looked grim... but Jonathan confidently used the gifts God gave him to lead and win. Similarly, God has given each of us talents and gifts for an incredible purpose. While you may not be able to fly like an Incredible, your "ordinary" abilities of encouragement, leadership and friendship come from the HOLY SPIRIT and are GIFTS to those around you. Just look at our church family - from hospitality, to worship, to encouragement and beyond, our DREAM TEAM is an incredible group of people activating their gifts. If you aren't on a Dream Team already, we would love to have you use your gifts with our church family... just CLICK HERE to learn more and sign-up for a team!
When we all use our God-given gifts, there is no telling what God can do through us because we have:
AN INCREDIBLE FAMILY TO FIGHT WITH
See, Jonathan didn't go into battle alone in 1 Samuel... he had an assistant, called an armor bearer, who he went into battle with. While the battle was incredible, they knew it they would win because they fought like family and knew God was with them!
FIGHT LIKE FAMILY
So, who is fighting alongside you through life's battles? Who is by your side when your circumstances are challenging? Who in your life challenges you when you need it? Truthfully, we ALL need community in order to really grasp the INCREDIBLE ROLE we have to play... to help us identify and use our GOD-GIVEN GIFTS... and FIGHT ALONGSIDE US in our battles!
Today, you may be facing a BATTLE... but the spirit of God is with you, giving you the power to keep fighting! As Christians, our true hero is Jesus and by putting your faith in him, you get to join God's incredible family and enjoy His gift of NEW LIFE! If you haven't put your trust in Jesus yet, I encourage you to follow Jesus and receive his free gift of FORGIVENESS and REDEMPTION!