#1: At the Movies

After 10 years of Forefront we’ve now done over 120 message series. Thought it might be fun and interesting to share with you my top twenty.

This is the second series we ever did at Forefront, a series we do every Fall, and probably my favorite series every year. Why? Well, mostly because it’s what I think Jesus would do. Jesus used familiar stories and illustrations from the culture of His audience. They had the “nod factor.” You know when someone starts telling a story you’ve heard, or that you totally relate to, and you find yourself nodding without even meaning to? Jesus told stories that got that reaction. He would have everyone nodding, but then He would hit them with the “surprise factor.” He would show them something in the familiar story that they had never seen before. It turns out the story was pregnant with meaning people hadn’t yet realized.

I think if Jesus were around today He would say, “There was a movie you might have seen called The Matrix…” and everyone would have started nodding but a few minutes later – surprise! You just found out something you weren’t expecting…

I know people who argue that verse-by-verse exegetical preaching is the “right” method, but I think “At the Movies” preaching is actually closer to Jesus’ style.

This is also a series that’s really easy for people to invite their friends to attend. Saying to your neighbor, “You should come to church with me on Sunday, we’re talking about Deuteronomy 3!” doesn’t have quite the same power as, “You should come to church with me on Sunday, we’re talking about Batman Begins.”

We also get to have all kinds of fun showing clips from the movie, making our own parodies of the movie, making popcorn, giving out DVD’s and on and on.

– featured on newchurches.com