Church People with Lead Actor Thor Ramsey

In Matthew 4 (NIV) we read:

3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’[a]”

and,

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’[d]”

11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Jesus refused to follow the temptations of the devil even though he could rule and lead the whole world and do it apart from his Father’s will, he declined. The movie Church People gets us thinking about how close or far we are from Jesus’ path to fulfill his ministry. God doesn’t want any to perish, but he won’t subvert what he knows is best in his long-term wisdom and strategy just to get a “partial” win. It’s about souls, and the eternity of those souls. We can’t sell them short. We can’t make them not put their faith in what doesn’t represent God and his gospel. Watch this movie. Then honestly determine if you have gone too far towards what can look like winning souls but really isn’t. Do we reflect the pain and sacrifice, joy and redemption of Christ? Are we expressing the need to pick up our cross and carry it? Is our Christianity one that expresses love and grace through reducing ourselves and elevating him? Are teaching others to live mostly by bread or by the word of God? Are we worshipping the god of the latest trend or the God who sends us out to show a different way of living?

A much needed and timely movie!