Difference between revisions of "Sermon for February 2nd, 2025"

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John 3:19-21 (NT p.94)

19 And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. 20 For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. 21 But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”

Mark 7:20-23 (NT p.42)

20 And he said, “It is what comes out of a person that defiles. 21 For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, pride, folly. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

James 1:12-15 (NT p.229)

12 Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. 13 No one, when tempted, should say, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one. 14 But one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it; 15 then, when desire has conceived, it engenders sin, and sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death.

Faith & Film XIII: Nosferatu

• Film Clip #1 - Trailer

Three Minute Film Summary

The film opens as a young girl (Ellen, played by Lily Rose Depp) prays for companionship after the loss of her mother--first she calls out for an angel... or a celestial being... or anything. At these last words, she is visited by a terrifying spirit, causing her to collapse.

Years later, in 1838, Ellen lives in the town of Wisborg, Germany, and is now married to Thomas Hutter, a real estate agent. Thomas accepts an assignment to sell a castle to the mysterious Count Orlok, despite Ellen's dreams and warnings of dark premonitions. While visiting Orlok's castle in the Carpathian Mountains, Thomas discovers the count is a vampire obsessed with his wife, Ellen. Thomas barely escapes the castle with his life, is rescued and nursed back to health by nuns from a nearby monastery, and then rushes back to warn Ellen of Orlok's approach.

Meanwhile, Ellen continues to experience disturbing dreams, accompanied by seizures and sleepwalking episodes. Her physician, Dr. Sievers--a man of science and rational thought--is unable to diagnose her, and so consults Professor Von Franz, an expert in supernaturalism. Von Franz identifies Orlok as the vampire Nosferatu.

Orlok arrives in Wisborg by ship, bringing with him a host of plague-infected rats. The town falls into chaos as the plague spreads. Orlok threatens to destroy Wisborg unless Ellen reaffirms a supernatural pact from her youth. With help from Professor Von Franz, Ellen learns she must make the ultimate sacrifice to defeat Count Orlok. While Von Franz distracts Thomas and Sievers with a false lead, Ellen summons Orlok to her one final time, keeping him "occupied" until dawn. The sunrise destroys Orlok, and Thomas arrives just as Ellen dies from her wounds, her sacrifice saving the town from destruction.

Total Depravity

Alright. Let's address the elephant in the room--why did I choose a vile, scary, R-rated horror film--and encourage innocent congregation members to go see it? A couple of reasons. The first goes right to the heart of why I do this series every year: The movies that we pay for and flock to see in droves each year tell us a lot about who we are, what we're afraid of, and how our faith fits into the world we inhabit. The two highest grossing film genres--every year--are Superhero movies (I've preached on many of those) and Horror movies (which I have never preached on until today). I'll admit, I'm not a huge fan of horror movies. But this one appealed to the former English teacher in me--it's a remake of a classic film (probably the very first horror film ever produced, dating back to the era of silent film) and on a literary classic--Braum Stoker's "Dracula."

The second reason is that horror movies are one of the few places in our modern, science-obsessed culture, where the supernatural is accepted, unquestioned, by the masses. Our faith, too, is grounded in supernatural elements--miracles, curses, spiritual forces of good and evil that are absolute and beyond the comprehension of the sciences. It's trendy in a lot of modern films to "flip the script" and portray the good guys as bad guys, and the bad guys as good guys (that's the plot of Wicked, which we'll talk about next week). But in most horror movies (especially this one) good is good and evil is evil--and choosing one or the other has real, profound consequences. This also happens to be what our scriptures teach us.

Make no mistake, this film depicts all sorts of depraved acts--greed, lust, murder, fornication, among others. But in doing so, it is also an good representation of humanity at its worst. Romans 3 reminds us that "all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God. This is what Reformed theologians call "total depravity." Thankfully, it's not the final word, in our world or in the film.

Trial and Temptation

One of the core themes of the film is voiced by the main character, Ellen, when she asks Professor Von Franz, "Does evil come from within us...or from beyond? There's not an easy answer to that question. While the scriptures acknowledge the reality of evil as spiritual force that can impact us externally, Jesus also tells us in Mark that "it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come:

Darkness and Light

Christ and Anti-Christ

Communion