Hey friends,
I am considering writing down the Bible Lessons that I have taught our kids using kid movies. Last week we had a Bible Study based on the movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Earlier in the week we reflected on Toy Story. Below is one of the lessons from Toy Story. I am debating about whether or not to invest the time in continuing to blog our lessons. If you are blessed by this lesson or my earlier writing on How the Grinch Stole Christmas and would be able to benefit from further blogs on using kids movies to teach Bible Lessons I would love to know. Thanks for your feedback. Feel free to share this blog with any friends that you think may be blessed by it. Thanks again. – Charity G.
Toy Story Bible Study: “The Claw”
“He has been chosen!”
The other day our oldest son was listening to music while doing his homework. He was listening to the worship song, “I am free.” In one part of the song the worship leader tells the church, “You have been chosen to be here. ” I could not help but consider how crazy we Christians must sound to the world.
I was reminded of the scene in the original Toy Story movie with Woody, Buzz and all the aliens. Buzz and Woody were lost toys, trying to get back to their owner, young Andy. In the process they find themselves at Pizza Planet, trying to keep their cover and avoid Sid, Andy’s evil boy neighbor who “tortures toys just for fun.” In an attempt to hide from Sid, Buzz and Woody dive into a spaceship game machine filled with green alien toys. Perhaps you can remember these lines:
Buzz: This is an intergalactic emergency. I need to commandeer your vessel to Sector 12. Who’s in charge here?
Aliens: The claw! The claw is our master. The claw chooses who will go and who will stay.
Woody: This is ludicrous. Hey, bozo, you got a brain in there? Take that! Oh, no! Sid! Get down!
Buzz: What’s gotten into you, Sheriff? I wa-You are the one that decided to climb into this-
Aliens: Shh! The claw. It moves.
Alien 1: I have been chosen! Farewell, my friends. I go on to a better place.
Sid: Gotcha! (Sees Buzz Light Year attached to alien) A Buzz Lightyear? No way! Yes!
Woody: Buzz! No! (Tries to pull Buzz back down)
Sid: Hey!
Aliens: He has been chosen. He must go.
Sid: Hey!
Aliens: You might anger the claw (Trying to pull Woody off of Buzz)
Woody: What are you doing? Stop it!
Aliens: The claw! The claw!
Woody: Stop it, you zealots!
Aliens: Do not fight the claw.
An alien, Buzz, and Woody end up being “chosen” by the claw. They end up going straight into the very place they dreaded the most, Sid’s house. There they find themselves surrounded by Sid’s collection of dismantled and tortured toys. The alien gets mauled by Sid’s Dog. Woody takes a bit of heat, when Sid puts him under a magnifying glass in the sun. Buzz finds himself in a highly volatile situation, when Sid attaches an explosive rocket to his back. In the end, all of Sid’s toys end up being freed from Sid’s power after Woody and Buzz help them devise and put into an action a plan to escape Sid’s room. Buzz and Andy end up back in Andy’s house, the boy who loves them and wrote his name on them from the start.
I can imagine that to those who do not believe in God or in Jesus Christ, we Christians sounds like a bunch of zealots with ludicrous ideas. We speak of a God who loves us (Jer 31:3, John 13:34, John 15:9) and knows us (Psalm 139:1) and even writes his name on us (Rev. 3:12). We speak of an escape from the consequences of evil and sin through belief in Jesus Christ (John 3:16). We speak of being “chosen” by God’s Holy Spirit to go out into a hurting world and help lead others to freedom (Isaiah 42:1, 2 Thess. 2:13). What’s more? The Bible even calls believers sojourners in this world (Psalm 119:19, 1 Pet. 2:11). To put the icing on the cake, we believe that one day we will all be lifted up by God’s Spirit to meet our Lord in the sky and be with Him forever (Rom. 6:5, Philip 3:11, 1 Cor. 15:51, 1 Thess 4:15-17).
We sound like a bunch of “bozos”. It is important that us believers realize that. We don’t need to be ashamed of it or try to hide it. We do “have a brain in there,” but more importantly we have God’s Spirit in our heart (Ezekiel 11:19). We don’t need to hide from the world our beliefs because we are scared the world might rough us up a bit. Be willing to mauled at, to take some heat, to get into the volatile situations. Be willing to be chosen. Because just as Sid’s toys could have never escaped the darkness of Sid’s room, other people in this world cannot escape the darkness of this world unless believers are willing to be chosen.
Don’t fight the claw. Have a peace and excitement with going into whatever dark situation or conversation God choses us to enter. We cannot allow others who are filled with fear to hold us back. There are people out there that need saved and brought home, whether they believe it or not.
What’s the best way to reach those who don’t believe? We will talk about that in Part 2: “But they’re cannibals!”
Great observations…and in the 3rd movie those same “zealots” use the claw to rescue all of our beloved toy story friends from a fiery death….sounds about right. Keep them coming…
It’s hard to explain the “Invisible God” to someone that doesn’t have spiritual eyes. However, it’s hard for someone without spiritual eyes to dispute the change that God has made in our lives. As His witnesses we don’t have to explain all the details – just be a living example of His power.
I like it !! This is a great way to teach about Him.