15 Jan, 2010

Hollywood Gets Religion!

In 'Book of Eli' and other films, Hollywood gets religion

Scene from The Book of EliLOS ANGELES — In the nascent marketing of The Book of Eli last year, Warner Bros. executives urged the press not to reveal the title of the book, hoping to save it as a twist.

Now, stars and filmmakers can't be more vocal in pointing out that the titular book is a Bible.

Such is the suddenly divine landscape of Hollywood, where God is selling like hotcakes. Emboldened by the success of mainstream films such as The Blind Side, studios are looking to tout elements of faith in their pictures.

This month offers a few pseudo-spiritual choices: Eli opens Friday, the same day Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones, which lushly portrays the afterlife, expands nationwide. Legion, about a war that breaks out after God loses his faith in mankind, opens Jan. 22.

Hollywood's conversion is simple to explain: There's money in faith.

Full Story and Photo at usatoday.com.

Psalm 119:10-12 (New International Version)

 10 I seek you with all my heart;
       do not let me stray from your commands.

 11 I have hidden your word in my heart
       that I might not sin against you.

 12 Praise be to you, O LORD;
       teach me your decrees.

What Does God's Story Teach Us About Protecting God's Story

In The Book of Eli, the main character has the task of protecting what is believed to be the last bible on the planet.  It is believed that it holds the key to redeeming humanity, and people are willing to kill for it.  That is a very interesting premise when you think about the value people place on God's Word today.

So what if there was only one Bible on this planet, and it didn't belong to you?  How would you continue to lve in His Word?  Check out what the Life Application Study Bible has to say about keeping His Word in our heart ...

Hiding (keeping) God's Word in our heart is a deterent jto sin.  This alone should inspire us to memorize Scritpure.  But memorization alone will not keep us from sin, we must also put God's Word to work in our life, making it a vital guide for everything we do.

Make a commitment that God's Story will be a "vital guide for everything" you do in 2010!

Connecting My Story to God's Story

  • Ask God to help you as you dive into His Word.
  • Read Psalm 119 this weekend.
  • Write down what God says about His Word in that Psalm.
  • If you haven't already, set a goal to read God's Story on a regular basis in 2010.
  • Choose a verse or a short passage from Psalm 119 to memorize this week.  Once you have it memorized, review it just once a week for nine weeks.  You'll be surprised how easy it makes it!!

Connecting My Friend's Story to God's Story

Do you have a friend with whom you've been sharing your story and God's Story?  Have they been struggling with the devastation in Haiti?  Do they have something else going on their life that they feel is a major catastrophe?  Ask them if you can read God's Story together.  Take them to some promises that God made throughout His Story.

Comments

Ornament

The Daily Bide is brought to you by a team of writers from Youth for Christ/USA. The writers all have various years of experience in youth ministry but share a common bond in serving Jesus and discovering what it means to abide deeply everyday and to connect God's Story with those around them. A number of the Daily Bide writers have also written portions of our 3Story® resources. You can check out our resources at the 3Story.org website or connect with our writers at 3story@yfc.net. If you have a question or a story you would like to share, please reference the Daily Bide date in your email.

YFC works with young people on campus and in the community in over one hundred countries around the world so that they might have an opportunity to become a follower of Christ and be a part of a local church.