Checkpoint Church

I’m generally not one for First-Person Shooter style games, but when I heard that Ben Esposito of Edith Finch, Donut County, and the Sonic Dreams collection (we actually don’t talk about that one, shhh) anyway when I heard he was the driving force behind this game - I knew I had to pick it up. This is an indie dev legend dropping a new game. But I wasn’t expecting it to look like… well, like a PS2-era COD mod.

But I braved it anyway, dove headfirst, and I was NOT disappointed. There’s a reason this indie game is a certified hit already, and it’s not for the cringe-inducing narrative. No - this game does an incredible job of re-teaching gamers something that likely forgot about themselves: that performance-driven gaming doesn’t have to be a competition. Even if there is a leaderboard, this game redefines what it means to git gud.

For this video, I want to talk about how Ben does this and how it might help us understand our lives as human beings doing the best we can. Life isn’t about doing everything correctly. It’s about doing every correct thing. Let’s talk about it. 

Follow Us Everywhere: https://linktr.ee/CheckpointChurch

We stream Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays: https://www.twitch.tv/checkpointchurch

Writer, Filmographer: Nathan Webb

Editor: Niki Turner

Secret Link: https://youtu.be/MmmXw2n8nec

Checkpoint Church is the place where all people from all walks of life are always welcomed with loving arms. We strive to steer clear from the modern temptations of being too ‘churchy’ or judgmental. We are the safe space for those who haven’t felt welcomed by the church before.

Timecodes:

0:00 - Introduction

1:13 - Welcome!

1:40 - Scripture

2:15 - What is Neon White?

3:45 - The Ludology of Ben Esposito

5:15 - This Game Succeeds

5:49 - Neon White Game Design

7:30 - Scripture Analysis

9:16 - Life is NOT Competitive

10:50 - The Nuance of Life

11:18 - What does this mean for us today?

12:27 - Thanks for Watching!

12:53 - Quick Question

13:06 - Three Things

14:09 - Twitch Clip!

Join us at LTNCon: https://lovethynerd.com/ltncon/

Join the convo on our Discord: https://discord.gg/zUg5sj7

Respond to this blog here: https://www.checkpointchurch.com/post/playing-the-suppot-role 

Subscribe to the Newsletter: https://checkpointchurch.churchcenter.com/people/forms/154111

Follow the blog: https://www.checkpointchurch.com//blog

To The Point is a weekly newsletter distributed through our email chain, website, and podcast.

We stream Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays: https://www.twitch.tv/checkpointchurch

Checkpoint Church is the place where all people from all walks of life are always welcomed with loving arms. We strive to steer clear from the modern temptations of being too ‘churchy’ or judgmental. We are the safe space for those who haven’t felt welcomed by the church before.

So, Phase 4 of the MCU has been updated with the latest release Thor: Love and Thunder, and it was… cute. It was a fine movie, not quite as funny as Ragnarok, not quite as good writing as… well, very typical MCU writing. All in all, I gave it like a 6/10 and enjoyed my experience and nothing more. 

Nevertheless, even a good story has some key elements that stand out a cut above the rest, and there were plenty of moments worth talking about in Thor regarding the Christian experience. One line, in particular, was downright scripture in the movie. 

But we’ll get to that soon… this video is going to talk about one of the biggest problems of the Asgardian theology of heaven in Valhalla and how it’s a bad parody of what Jesus’ heaven actually is. Let’s talk about it.

Follow Us Everywhere: https://linktr.ee/CheckpointChurch

We stream Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays: https://www.twitch.tv/checkpointchurch

Writer, Filmographer: Nathan Webb

Editor: Niki Turner

Checkpoint Church is the place where all people from all walks of life are always welcomed with loving arms. We strive to steer clear from the modern temptations of being too ‘churchy’ or judgmental. We are the safe space for those who haven’t felt welcomed by the church before.

Join the convo on our Discord: https://discord.gg/zUg5sj7

Respond to this blog here: https://www.checkpointchurch.com/post/celebrating-the-mileage-maniacs

Subscribe to the Newsletter: https://checkpointchurch.churchcenter.com/people/forms/154111

Follow the blog: https://www.checkpointchurch.com//blog

To The Point is a weekly newsletter distributed through our email chain, website, and podcast.

We stream Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays: https://www.twitch.tv/checkpointchurch

Checkpoint Church is the place where all people from all walks of life are always welcomed with loving arms. We strive to steer clear from the modern temptations of being too ‘churchy’ or judgmental. We are the safe space for those who haven’t felt welcomed by the church before.

Stranger Things - the show so nice we have to write a sermon about this season twice. Well, the truth is it’ll be like twenty years before we get another season, so we have to milk it while it’s here. Just kidding - but really. 

Part 2 dropped, and it was pretty good. Some stereotypically weird choices from the Duffers, but the exploration of this world continues to be some of my favorite stuff. And one of my favorite characters that they have ever explored is the one and only Dr. Brenner. Dr. Brenner and Eleven have a fascinating relationship, and it was one of the cinching points of this season. And it ends up being a moment of natural character evolution for El and who she continues to become. And, uh, I’m not sure I like who she’s becoming. 

So… in this video, I want to break down the big moment for El and Brenner and what it means for the show's future, and for what we can get out of it as human beings. Let’s talk about it. 

Follow Us Everywhere: https://linktr.ee/CheckpointChurch

We stream Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays: https://www.twitch.tv/checkpointchurch

Writer, Filmographer: Nathan Webb

Editor: Niki Turner

Secret Link: hhttps://youtu.be/zaf58g_2CHY

Checkpoint Church is the place where all people from all walks of life are always welcomed with loving arms. We strive to steer clear from the modern temptations of being too ‘churchy’ or judgmental. We are the safe space for those who haven’t felt welcomed by the church before.

Timecodes:

0:00 - Introduction

0:52 - Welcome!

1:20 - Scripture

2:15 - What is Stranger Things?

2:53 - Quick Aside

3:12 - Who is Eleven and Dr. Brenner?

5:36 - The HUGE Scene in Season 4

7:06 - Scripture Breakdown

9:24 - Eleven and Forgiveness

10:15 - Asking the Right Question

11:05 - What does this mean for us today?

12:45 - Thanks for Watching!

13:04 - Quick Question

13:27 - Three Things

14:11 - Twitch Clip!

Join the convo on our Discord: https://discord.gg/zUg5sj7

Respond to this blog here: https://www.checkpointchurch.com/post/a-two-year-reflection

Subscribe to the Newsletter: https://checkpointchurch.churchcenter.com/people/forms/154111

Follow the blog: https://www.checkpointchurch.com//blog

To The Point is a weekly newsletter distributed through our email chain, website, and podcast.

We stream Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays: https://www.twitch.tv/checkpointchurch

Checkpoint Church is the place where all people from all walks of life are always welcomed with loving arms. We strive to steer clear from the modern temptations of being too ‘churchy’ or judgmental. We are the safe space for those who haven’t felt welcomed by the church before.

Listen - whenever I said I didn’t want to watch another Isekai so long as I live, I didn’t mean yall literally had to make a whole anime about assassinating the genre itself. But thanks? For this video, I want to look at the new anime The Executioner and Her Way of Life. This story takes another story and turns it upside down but simultaneously reveals that maybe the original story wasn’t that bad to begin with… I don’t know. It’s a bit nuanced, but the best stories always are.

The Executioner is an anime about strong-held beliefs and values, and it’s pretty evident that the church is the bad guy in this one - AGAIN. So let’s talk about how the IRL church has dealt with this before, is still dealing with it today, and how you and I can be better. That’s right - I’m here to spare my mortal foe, the Isekai. Let’s talk about it.

Follow Us Everywhere: https://linktr.ee/CheckpointChurch

We stream Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays: https://www.twitch.tv/checkpointchurch

Writer, Filmographer: Nathan Webb

Editor: Niki Turner

Secret Link: https://youtu.be/Wykhe7OgZeA

Checkpoint Church is the place where all people from all walks of life are always welcomed with loving arms. We strive to steer clear from the modern temptations of being too ‘churchy’ or judgmental. We are the safe space for those who haven’t felt welcomed by the church before.

Timecodes:

0:00 - Introduction

0:53 - Welcome!

1:20 - Scripture

2:43 - What is The Executioner and Her Way of Life?

5:22 - Themes in this anime

6:22 - The Evil Church

6:40 - Scripture Analysis

9:30 - Connecting Paul to The Executioner and Her Way of Life

10:20 - The Reactionary Church

11:24 - What does this mean for us today?

12:35 - Thanks for Watching!

12:57 - Quick Question

13:25 - Three Things

14:02 - Twitch Clip!

Join LVL2: https://bit.ly/joinlvl2

Join the convo on our Discord: https://discord.gg/zUg5sj7

Respond to this blog here: https://www.checkpointchurch.com/post/lvl2-according-to-lvl2

Subscribe to the Newsletter: https://checkpointchurch.churchcenter.com/people/forms/154111

Follow the blog: https://www.checkpointchurch.com//blog

To The Point is a weekly newsletter distributed through our email chain, website, and podcast.

We stream Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays: https://www.twitch.tv/checkpointchurch

Checkpoint Church is the place where all people from all walks of life are always welcomed with loving arms. We strive to steer clear from the modern temptations of being too ‘churchy’ or judgmental. We are the safe space for those who haven’t felt welcomed by the church before.

Have you ever felt like the odd one out? Like the one that no one was quite able to relate to? Maybe you’re a bit weird in a world of normies, or perhaps you have something about you that stands out in a crowd. As lonely as that can feel, you aren’t alone. Plenty of us out there feel like we don’t fit in or belong anywhere. 

For this video, I will look at the new Disney+ series, Ms. Marvel's main character Kamala Khan. She is a perfect example of how to and how not to embrace the uniqueness of who you are. Most importantly, as we are Checkpoint Church, we’ll look at a scripture story that immediately came to mind when I thought of Kamala in an account you may have never heard discussed before. 

How can the lifestyle of a Christian have anything to do with a Muslim character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Well, obvs, because Jesus is for everyone. But it’s more specific than that, so… Let’s talk about it. 

Follow Us Everywhere: https://linktr.ee/CheckpointChurch

We stream Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays: https://www.twitch.tv/checkpointchurch

Writer, Filmographer: Nathan Webb

Editor: Niki Turner

Secret Link: https://youtu.be/fvQJveq7ZSc

Checkpoint Church is the place where all people from all walks of life are always welcomed with loving arms. We strive to steer clear from the modern temptations of being too ‘churchy’ or judgmental. We are the safe space for those who haven’t felt welcomed by the church before.

Timecodes:

0:00 - Introduction

0:58 - Welcome!

1:23 - Scripture

2:43 - What is Ms. Marvel?

4:41 - Scripture Analysis

7:11 - The Myth of Perfection

8:47 - Baptism and the Pervasive Water

9:46 - What does this mean for us today?

11:15 - Thanks for Watching!

11:35 - Quick Question

12:07 - Three Things

13:11 - Twitch Clip!

Join the convo on our Discord: https://discord.gg/zUg5sj7

Respond to this blog here: https://www.checkpointchurch.com/post/moving-forward-together

Subscribe to the Newsletter: https://checkpointchurch.churchcenter.com/people/forms/154111

Follow the blog: https://www.checkpointchurch.com//blog

To The Point is a weekly newsletter distributed through our email chain, website, and podcast.

We stream Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays: https://www.twitch.tv/checkpointchurch

Checkpoint Church is the place where all people from all walks of life are always welcomed with loving arms. We strive to steer clear from the modern temptations of being too ‘churchy’ or judgmental. We are the safe space for those who haven’t felt welcomed by the church before.