God created us to be in community with each other. |
In Hiccup’s town, it was the norm to be afraid of dragons and to fight them. Afterall, people and dragons are natural-born enemies. Or are they? Hiccup pushes back on this idea by treating the dragons with kindness and even befriending one of the scariest dragons of all. When he decides to love his enemies, things change for the better.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemies.’ But I tell you, love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you. If you do this, then you will be true sons of your Father in heaven. Your Father causes the sun to rise on good people and on bad people. Your Father sends rain to those who do good and to those who do wrong. If you love only the people who love you, then you will get no reward. Even the tax collectors do that. And if you are nice only to your friends, then you are no better than other people. Even people without God are nice to their friends.”
Matthew 5:43-47 ICB
Who has it been hard to love recently?
What can we do to love people better?
Throughout this movie and in these two clips especially, Mulan wanted to bring honor to her Father. She knew that he was getting older and not doing super well, so she decided to take his place in the Chinese army. We can honor our parents and even God in a similar way. Do we need to dress up and get ready for battle? No! However, we can be kind and show love and be a light to the world and the people around us.
Revelation 4:11 – Our Lord and God! You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power. You made all things. Everything existed and was made because you wanted it. (ICB)
Exodus 20:12 – Honor your father and your mother. Then you will live a long time in the land. The Lord your God is going to give you this land. (ICB)
You are enough because Jesus is enough. Mirabel feels inadequate because she doesn’t have a gift like the rest of her family members. What she doesn’t understand is that she has been made exactly how she should be to save her family. Much in the same way, we may not always have the gifts or talents that we would like to have, but God has formed us in the perfect way, in order to care for others and point them towards Jesus.
You are special enough for God’s love.
In Kids Ministry, we believe God extends grace—even in places we least expect it. This semester, we are watching clips from popular movies and relating them to Jesus! We believe that God is all around us, so we are dedicated to looking for Him in movies with the hope of seeing Him elsewhere because of this practice.
God created us in his image, to be very good, and even when we aren’t our best, God still loves us.
