God at the Box Office

In this post I wanted to share the biblical basis for our new teaching series "God at the Box Office". No one has complained or anything, I just think it's good for you to understand the inspiration for doing a series like this. 

In Acts 17 Paul is speaking with the unchurched Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. This lands him a speaking engagement with the Council of Philosophers. Paul begins his sermon with a reference to something in their culture; an altar to a pagan idol, with the inscription “To an Unknown God” written on it. Then, during his message, he quotes one of their pagan poets, to illustrate his point. You see, Paul is a missionary and he uses culture to teach spiritual truths to unchurched people. They might not understand the Bible, but they understand culture, so he uses cultural references to help them understand something they're unfamiliar with. 

Similarly, at New Day we consider ourselves missionaries to the unchurched people of New England. So we love following the biblical example of using culture to communicate spiritual truths to the unchurched. They might not understand the Bible, but they understand culture, so we use it to help them understand something they are by and large unfamiliar with. That's why in this series we're uncovering the spiritual themes in some of Hollywood's biggest summer blockbusters (at least the ones we're comfortable covering in church), and then sharing what the Bible teaches on these subjects.