Movie Scenes with Spiritual Depth

Movies have a tremendous impact on our culture. Stories can touch us in deeper ways than we realize, and the messages of those stories are often implanted into our hearts and minds. While many Hollywood Films do not contain messages that will add to the full life, there are many others that do.

One incredible way to engage with culture is identify the movies that we all love and identify strong spiritual messages in the film. If you keep your eyes open, you might be surprised at what you start to notice. The themes of God’s Word have tremendous appeal, and so they are frequently found in stories.

Here are 3 great examples from some timeless classics:

1) “Remember Who You Are” – The Lion King

Many of our insecurities in life would be taken care of if we remembered who we are. We are sons and daughters of the one true King! He lives in us, and therefore, we have tremendous value. We should never feel insignificant, incapable, or restricted because of our guilt. No matter what has happened in our past, God loves us for who we are and still desires to call us His children. We can go to Him no matter what.

2) “There’s Some Good in This World” – The Two Towers

This is my favorite speech in movie history. All of us know the feeling Frodo has in the beginning of this clip. “I can’t do this! It has gotten to hard!” The world can be a dark and difficult place sometimes, but Sam reminds us that there is always hope. We can persevere through anything, because we have something to hold on to and in the end, a new day will dawn. I love that he is willing to fight for the good in the world, but as believers in Christ we have something even greater. Jesus is the author of all good things, and he offers full life to those who persevere.

3) “You Already Have” – Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

Star Wars is full of spiritual themes from different religions. The ones that resonate the most with us, however, are the ones we find in Scripture. Hope, redemption, victory of the unlikely hero, and more. In this scene, we see the final moment of the series’ main character. In the 6 films, we see the rise, fall, and ultimate redemption of Anakin Skywalker. This scene is an important reminder that no matter how much you have sinned, you can still be saved. Christ’s death covers all of our sins, and therefore we never have to say, “I’ve done too many bad things to be accepted by him.” King David, Jacob, Nebuchadnezzer, Saul/Paul, and many other Biblical figures demonstrate this truth.

What’s missing? There are countless other movie scenes that illustrate key ideas from the Word. What are they?