Sermon for January 19th, 2020
Contents
John 3:1-8 (NT p. 93-94)
1 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2 He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ 8 The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Faith & Film VIII: Frozen II
Three Minute Film Synopsis
There's a lot going on in this film, so it's a bit difficult to summarize (synopsize?) in three minutes. But here goes...
Frozen 2 is the sequel to the Disney animated film Frozen, which itself is *loosely* based on the classic fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson, "The Snow Queen." This film begins by reintroducing us to Elsa, the magical Snow Queen of Arendale (which is located somewhere in a fictionalized Scandinavia), Elsa's younger sister, Anna; Anna's boyfriend, Kristoff (a reindeer farmer); and Olaf, a magical talking snowman. The action begins when Elsa begins to hear a voice calling out to her. The voice leads Elsa and her friends on a journey to the far North, where they enter an enchanted forest shrouded in mist. In the forest, they encounter a group of indigenous people, called the Northuldra (loosely based on the Sami people in Norway and Sweden), and a group of their own people from long-ago Arendale, who have been locked in a struggle over a dam that was built by Elsa and Anna's grandfather, the King of Arendale.
They also encounter several elemental spirits, representing Fire, Earth, Wind, and Water. The heroes learn to harness the elemental spirits, learn painful truths about their past, and ultimately learn the truth about themselves and what they are each capable of.
