Join Nerd Pastor Nate as he dives into the latest HBO Max series "The Last of Us", exploring its themes of love, tragedy, and its resonances with faith. With no spoilers for the main plot points, this review focuses on the relationship between the two main characters Joel and Ellie and the show's portrayal of love's potential to cause harm.

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

We stream Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and every other Friday: https://www.twitch.tv/checkpointchurch

Writer, Filmographer: Nathan Webb

Editor: Niki Turner

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

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

1:01 - Welcome!

1:39 - Scripture

2:32 - What is The Last of Us?

3:36 - Theme of Bad Love in TLOU

6:35 - Love, According to Jesus

8:10 - Scripture Analysis

9:45 - Love isn't Good in TLOU

10:27 - What does this mean for us today?

12:07 - Thanks for Watching!

13:38 - Quick Question

14:13 - Three Things

14:59 - Twitch Clip!

Join us on this episode of Nerdy Sermon Rewind as we dive into the critically acclaimed indie game Omori and its exploration of heavy themes such as suicide, depression, and mental illness. We discuss how this story can improve our relationship with Jesus and whether or not we should consider playing games like Omori. Watch the full video to find out more!

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

We stream Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and every other Friday: https://www.twitch.tv/checkpointchurch

Writer, Filmographer: Nathan Webb

Editor: Niki Turner

Secret Link: https://youtu.be/EghCfCePT5k

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!

1:29 - Scripture

2:10 - What/Who is Omori?

5:03 - Hope in Omori

6:19 - Scriptural Analysis

8:30 - Parallels between Omori and the Bible

9:34 - What does this mean for us today?

11:51 - Thanks for Watching!

13:21 - Quick Question

13:46 - Three Things

14:43 - Twitch Clip!

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

Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://bit.ly/tothepointnews

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

The LVL2 Podcast is a monthly, community-driven podcast distributed through our podcast hub.

We stream Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and every other Friday: 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.

Pentiment is a unique and thought-provoking narrative adventure game set in Bavaria in the 16th century. As the journeyman artist Andreas Maler, players investigate the murder of a prominent person for which his friend has been accused. But the story doesn't stop there - it spans three acts over 25 years and involves the entire town of Tassing. In this video, we delve into the themes of perception, judgment, and prejudice in Pentiment, and how it relates to our call to live a Christian life. 

The game's art style and use of fonts to represent characters' education levels adds depth and complexity to the story. And through its exploration of class hierarchy and power dynamics, Pentiment serves as a reminder to check our own biases and strive for fairness and equality in our relationships. Don't miss out on this unique and entertaining game that also encourages self-reflection and growth in our faith.

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

We stream Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and every other Friday: https://www.twitch.tv/checkpointchurch

Writer, Filmographer: Nathan Webb

Editor: Niki Turner

Secret Link: https://youtu.be/AjIfxeNhrj4

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

0:50 - Welcome!

1:54 - Scripture

3:06 - Introduction to Pentiment

4:15 - Hierarchy and Power Dynamics in Pentiment

5:59 - Themes of Perception, Judgment, and Prejudice in Pentiment

8:29 - Scripture Analysis

9:38 - Discernment vs Discrimination

12:05 - What does this mean for us today?

13:30 - Thanks for Watching!

14:28 - Quick Question

15:02 - Three Things

16:20 - Twitch Clip!

Find Full Transcript Here: https://www.checkpointchurch.com/post/nerds-of-pray-frost

Nerds of Pray is the podcast where Nerd Pastor Nathan Webb of Checkpoint Church sits down with some of the leading people in the realm of Nerd/Pop Culture Ministry. He asks them questions about their specific venture into the ministry, as well as what first led them to the intersection of faith and fandom.

In this episode, Nathan sits down with Luke Filipiak of LoveThyNerd, FrostByteIV and LukeAndAsia.

Support Luke Filipiak: 

Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lovethynerd | https://www.twitch.tv/frostbyteiv

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FrostByteIV

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FrostByteIV

Website: https://lukeandasia.com/

Nerds of Pray is made possible by the support of Checkpoint Church, the church for nerds, geeks, and gamers online. This episode was hosted, produced, recorded, edited, and mastered by Nathan Webb. It was captured via Cleanfeed and edited in DaVinci Resolve.

Intro/Outro Music is Royalty Free: "The Little Broth" by Rolemusic   

Key Art/Logo was created by: Nathan Webb   

Character Art/Avatar by: mondayvibes

To support Checkpoint Church and the ministry they produce, please like this video and subscribe to our channel or these other sources: 

Podcast: https://anchor.fm/checkpoint-church 

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/CheckpointChurch 

Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/checkpointchurch 

Discord: https://discord.gg/zUg5sj7 

Website: http://www.checkpointchurch.com/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/checkpointchurchnc 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CheckpointNerd 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/checkpointchurch/ 

Merch: https://checkpoint-church.creator-spring.com/

Our next episode will be dropping next month and will feature Matt Alexander of Checkpoint Church. Look forward to that and thanks again so much for giving us a listen!

If you have any recommendations or would like to be considered as a future guest on the podcast, submit your name and biography to [email protected].

The Checkpoint Church Podcast Hub is the hub for all of our podcasts, sermons, and special projects. To learn more, go to checkpointchurch.com or send any questions you have to [email protected].

0:00 - Clip

0:20 - Intro

0:35 - Introducing Luke

1:13 - Welcome Luke!

2:53 - What flavor of nerd are you?

3:55 - Where did your nerd journey begin?

6:30 - Where did you first find the intersection of faith and fandom?

10:10 - Connecting with Love Thy Nerd

20:15 - Luke's Ministry Calling

23:15 - Maintaining Different Ministry Accounts

27:35 - Digital Ministry Collaboration

31:00 - Milestones for Love Thy Nerd

48:19 - What do you think the future of faith and pop culture looks like?

55:28 - What are you watching/reading/playing?

1:05:00 - Shout outs

1:09:50 - Closing

1:10:46 - Credits

#nerdsofpray #podcast #newpodcast #frostbyte #lovethynerd #twitchstreamer #interview #church #christian #nerd #nerdpastor #checkpointchurch #nerdministry

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

Respond to this blog here: https://www.checkpointchurch.com/post/we-begin-from-the-end

Subscribe to the Newsletter: https://bit.ly/tothepointnews

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, Thursdays, and every other Friday: 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.

The holiday special is a lost art, but this year, Marvel brought the world a special treat with the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. It’s no masterpiece, but it does what it needs to do and doesn’t overstay its welcome. We can all agree that we need more Drax in our lives, and Mantis is undoubtedly one of our less-known background characters, so an adventure with the two of them feels like a great use of 45 minutes. 

My favorite part of these holiday specials is that they don’t need to go above and beyond with some ephemeral narrative; they can keep things grounded and remind us of the more straightforward message of being better people. Is it cheesy? Yeah, but I write nerdy sermons on pop culture. I’m cheesy. 

For this nerdy sermon, we’re going to talk about how Drax and Mantis, and the crew help illustrate one of the lasting truths of the Christmas season. Maybe they even prove you never needed to abduct a celebrity to find happiness. Let’s talk about it.

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

We stream Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and every other Friday: https://www.twitch.tv/checkpointchurch

Writer, Filmographer: Nathan Webb

Editor: Niki Turner

Secret Link: https://youtu.be/t3zUeLqa05s

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!

1:57 - Scripture

2:22 - What is the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special?

4:25 - Why This Movie Matters

4:58 - Scripture Analysis

6:11 - Parallels with GotG

7:21 - Holiday Traditions

8:33 - What does this mean for us today?

9:53 - Thanks for Watching!

10:36 - Quick Question

10:55 - Three Things

12:17 - Twitch Clip!

2022 was a pretty fantastic year for gaming - as most years have been for a while now - but perhaps the two hallmarks of the year capped the beginning and end quite nicely. We started 2022 with Elden Ring and wrapped it up with God of War Ragnarok. God of War has been hotly anticipated since the 2018 smash hit, and folks were waiting with bated breath to see just how many times Kratos would say, “Boy!”

But the best bit of the game for me was knowing what we were in for by the title alone: Ragnarok. And this game did not disappoint in exploring all of the complexities of the archaic term. If Kratos’ story since the refresh has been one of redemption, then Atreus’ story has been one of destiny… or rather, defying that destiny. 

For this nerdy sermon, we’re going to explore how the relationship between purpose and destiny relates and how Kratos & Atreus’ story can teach us how to focus on the right stuff as we move forward toward whatever is ahead. Let’s talk about it. 

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

We stream Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and every other Friday: https://www.twitch.tv/checkpointchurch

Writer, Filmographer: Nathan Webb

Editor: Niki Turner

Secret Link: https://youtu.be/Pobwy_es2uc

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

1:03 - Welcome!

1:37 - Scripture

3:21 - What is God of War Ragnarok?

4:58 - God of War Ragnarok & Destiny

6:03 - Scripture Breakdown

7:42 - Eschatology of Jesus

10:10 - Perspective Shift of Destiny vs Purpose

12:00 - What does this mean for us today?

14:02 - Thanks for Watching!

14:44 - Quick Question

15:14 - Three Things

15:58 - Twitch Clip!

Take the quiz for yourself: https://apps.quanticfoundry.com/surveys/start/gamerprofile/

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

Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://bit.ly/tothepointnews

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

The LVL2 Podcast is a monthly, community-driven podcast distributed through our podcast hub.

We stream Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and every other Friday: 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.

RSVP PLEASE! https://bit.ly/checksmas2022

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

Respond to this blog here: https://www.checkpointchurch.com/post/better-begins-with-you

Subscribe to the Newsletter: https://bit.ly/tothepointnews

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, Thursdays, and every other Friday: 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.