So Pixar’s Turning Red kind of just snuck in on Disney+ and I honestly probably would have missed out on watching it except for all of the dang controversy around the film. Given my love of pretty much all things Japanese or really Asain adjacent, I’m really glad that I did. This is an excellent movie that is so obviously inspired by the art style that I grew up enjoying that I could honestly leave this movie muted and enjoy just looking at it. You could just feel the Ghibli oozing out of this one.

But that’s not enough. This movie has an incredibly important story to tell and if you’re missing the forest for the trees because your cousin’s uncle’s step-brother twice removed told you it’s about a menstrual cycle, then you’re missing out on a story about growing up and understanding your family. Is this movie filled with metaphors, familial disrespect, kaiju monsters, and self-discovery related to the Christian life? Yes, not really, definitely, and OOO yeah. 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.

Timecodes:

0:00 - Introduction

1:04 - Welcome!

1:34 - Scripture

2:10 - What is 'Turning Red?'

4:19 - The Controversy of Turning Red

5:47 - Character Growth in Turning Red

7:36 - Scripture Analysis

8:22 - What does Jesus mean by greater love?

9:48 - The Two Histories Presented in Turning Red

10:57 - The Growth of Love in Turning Red

12:41 - Thanks for Watching!

12:59 - Quick Question

13:10 - Three Things

13:42 - Twitch Clip!

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

Respond to this blog here: https://www.checkpointchurch.com/post/now-what-am-i-supposed-to-do

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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.

Batman isn’t a superhero

Look - hear me out. Batman isn’t a superhero. At his best, he’s a hero. At his worst, he’s a villain. Most of the time, he’s a vigilante. With the latest iteration of The Batman portrayed in Matt Reeves interpretation of the character, this point gets explored in some really fascinating storytelling.

While the movie itself earns an 8/10 from me, it’s an excellent story and has some amazing moments throughout. Bruce Wayne is a fascinating character, but he doesn’t actually get much screen time, with most of the film being focused on the titular Batman. But what if that’s actually the point of this movie? What if Matt Reeves is exploring the difference between Bruce and the Bat? And what can we learn from what Bruce discovers about himself? 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.

Timecodes:

0:00 - Introduction

0:43 - Welcome!

1:10 - Scripture

1:29 - What is 'The Batman?'

2:10 - Who is Batman?

3:43 - What is Batman: Ego?

5:49 - Skip here for Trigger Warning - Matt Reeves Take on The Batman

7:00 - The Best Scene in The Batman (IMHO)

8:03 - Scripture Analysis

9:01 - Batman is the Light?

9:59 - Batman & Hope

10:45 - What does this mean for us today?

11:41 - Thanks for Watching!

12:05 - Quick Question

12:14 - Three Things

13:01 - Twitch Clip!

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

Respond to this blog here: https://www.checkpointchurch.com/post/a-selfish-request

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.

These past couple weeks of playing through the Old Testament - sorry, I meant Elden Ring - have been some interesting ones. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy the game as much as I did at the beginning, given my lack of interest in all of the other Soulsbourne games. 

Nevertheless, the hype of the game itself has kept me engaged with the entry whenever the game itself isn’t managing to hold my attention. I knew from the intro sequence that I wanted to write a sermon on this game - I mean I’m a Methodist and this game’s most consistent mechanic is GRACE come ON -, but, even after hours of research playing the game and more extensive hours on the lore behind the game - I’m not sure about this one. 

At first glance, this story feels a little par for the course with the fantasy genre in general, but maybe it’s telling a story that we can learn from as Christians? Let’s explore how this game presents the absolute toxicity of power and compare it with the actual power presented in the Kingdom of God. 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/marking-the-safepoint

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.

Do you like getting angry? Not a big fan of it myself, but every now and again I’ll give a rage-inducing game a chance. Sifu is one of those games - from the premise alone I was captivated by this story from the meta. A game where you get older every time you die in the game? Fascinating concept.

However, a concept like that means that you have to die. A lot. And those of us not prone to those masochistic tendencies are not gonna have a good time. That being said - I did spend a good chunk of time with Sifu and realized the story is telling a pretty important one that should sound familiar to a Christian audience. Revenge? Probably not worth it. 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/lent-2022

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.

And How My Dress-Up Darling Proves Christians Can (and Should) Like Anime

I'll take 'Things I Never Expected My Pastor To Talk About" for 500, Alex.

Look, okay, I know how this looks. I try to keep my embarrassing guilty pleasures to myself. I am a sucker for the anime romance genre. Between confessing to my love for dating sims two weeks ago to defaming King Solomon at the beginning of this season - I’m really just holding on for dear life at this point.

But it didn’t take long into the first episode My Dress-Up Darling to realize that this show is doing something different. Not everything - it certainly has its cringier moments and earns it’s rating, but the story being told in this new anime isn’t the same-old, same-old story. So far, it’s not even a love story. It’s a story about passion and drive and equality. In this way, the show is breaking down it’s own expected stereotypes from the anime community. 

Not only that - but by breaking down these expectations, this show answers the age-old question of whether or not Christians can play video games, watch anime, or do cosplay. 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/meet-the-guardians

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.