Checkpoint Church

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet hit the universe two weeks ago, and I’m not exaggerating when I say that it’s all I want to play all of the time. And yet - it seems impossible to go anywhere without hearing complaints about the game. It’s the frame rate, the bugs, the raid issues, the botched this, or the broken that. But in essence, Game Freak kind of gave Pokemon fans precisely what we’ve been asking for for generations now… but it came with some costs that made the game overall suffer. 

Given that this is a nerdy sermon, it shouldn’t shock you to hear that this is a pretty human conundrum to find ourselves in. We face this pressing reality as people, and we’ve done it since the beginning. I’d wager this won’t be the last time a video game fails to live up to expectations.

In this nerdy deep dive, we’ll highlight one particularly overused piece of scripture to reveal some of the secrets of expectations and look into ways to help ourselves out of the rut of disappointment in our favorite things. 

So what do the captive Israelites have to do with Pocket Mans? 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/calH97ghNqc

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

0:56 - Welcome!

1:39 - Scripture

2:14 - What is the deal with Pokemon Scarlet & Violet?

4:41 - So... it's a bad game then?

6:41 - Scripture Analysis

8:18 - Our Expectations of Jesus

9:05 - Advent & Preparation

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

12:40 - Thanks for Watching!

13:17 - Quick Question

13:31 - Three Things

14:25 - Twitch Clip!

Fill out the survey here: https://bit.ly/ttpfeedback22

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.

Two years after his tragic passing, we’ve finally seen Marvel’s honoring of Chadwick Boseman and his excellent portrayal as the Black Panther, aka T’Challa. And the pressure was real, I’m sure. The world has wondered for years now how the franchise would adapt and shift with the needed change. How would his legacy be captured? How would the fictional character be lifted to highlight the real one? 

Of equal importance to honoring the life lost, Black Panther Wakanda Forever sought out not only that but also to allow the coping and processing on behalf of Letitia Wright’s Shuri and Angela Bassett’s Queen Ramonda. That, in my opinion, was the real crux of this film, and - long runtime and busy script aside - I’m fascinated by the grief processing exhibited in the movie. 

What can we learn from Ryan Coogler’s presentation on grief when there is no one to blame? 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/calH97ghNqc

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

0:54 - Welcome!

1:33 - Scripture

2:53 - What is Black Panther Wakanda Forever?

5:44 - Shuri's Vision

6:38 - Scripture Analysis

7:59 - Reading Ourselves into the Story

9:00 - The Grief of Jesus' Arrest & T'Challa's Death

11:00 - What does this mean for us today?

12:50 - Thanks for Watching!

13:38 - Quick Question

14:05 - Three Things

14:47 - Twitch Clip!

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

Respond to this blog here: https://www.checkpointchurch.com/post/an-advent-reality

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.

Sonic Frontiers has officially been out for a few days, but as I wrote this, I still needed to get to play the dang thing because I got the VID. I’m better now, by the way, appreciate the prayers, good vibes, and check-ins. 

By the time this nerdy deep-dive hits the airwaves, I will hopefully have been proven incorrect or correct about my theories in this one on the blue blur’s story in this game, but, in the interest of hopping on the hype, it’s worth noting that the level of Sonic never really changes in any media. Ultimately, Sonic the Hedgehog’s narrative doesn’t revolve around being the fastest - Sonic already is. So it’s instead, ‘who can be the most powerful?’ 

But the result always reveals that the question isn’t what it seems. So this deep-dive will explore the pursuit of power present in one Ivo ‘Eggman’ Robotnik and how he may be treading down a familiar path to the disciples of Jesus. 

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/calH97ghNqc

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

0:56 - Welcome!

1:28 - Scripture

2:41 - Sonic Lore 101

4:47 - Sonic Frontiers Predictions

6:16 - Scripture Analysis

8:30 - The Truth of Power

9:17 - What does this mean for us today?

11:08 - Thanks for Watching!

11:47 - Quick Question

12:06 - Three Things

12:58 - Twitch Clip!

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

Respond to this blog here: https://www.checkpointchurch.com/post/billbaord-vs-bases

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.

Do you know those wholesome anime where it’s not about victory but the friendships made along the way? Yeah - this isn’t that. When I first got Blue Lock the manga in my Manga Spice Cafe sub box, I thought I was in for another encouraging and wholesome sports manga like Whistle! But - this is a far cry from that.

Blue Lock happens when you combine a battle royale with soccer and the results, while not deadly, are just as cutthroat.

To make matters that much worse, the themes of this manga and its new anime feel antithetical to anything possibly Christian. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to make this connection. But then I realized that if we shift the focus just a smidge, this illustrates something incredible about who Jesus is, was, and is to be. 

So what could a story about being the best striker around have to do with Jesus from Nazareth? Let’s talk about it.

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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/calH97ghNqc

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

1:05 - Welcome!

1:38 - Scripture

2:31 - What is Blue Lock?

5:20 - Why is this relevant?

6:03 - Scripture Analysis

8:36 - Ego May Be Right

9:33 - The Power of Self Definition

10:30 - What does this mean for us today?

12:22 - Thanks for Watching!

13:03 - Quick Question

13:23 - Three Things

14:07 - Twitch Clip!

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

Respond to this blog here: https://www.checkpointchurch.com/post/of-stakes-and-holders

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.

Look - I hear you. How on earth is there anything a church could say about Chainsaw Man? An anime literally about devils, chainsaws, gore, and one of the pervier MCs we’ve seen since Mushoku Tensei. 

But make no mistake, Chainsaw Man is here to make waves and has already broken the Internet - er, at least, Crunchyroll’s servers - several times. But we don’t even need to dive very deep at all into the plot to see that Chainsaw Man’s lore provides us with unique insight into one of the less discussed aspects of the Bible. We’re talking demons, devils, and what’s the true power of fear in this nerdy deep dive. 

What could a man fused with the chainsaw devil possibly do with Jesus? Let’s talk about it.

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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/tFjMdsODA4s

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

0:42 - Welcome!

1:17 - Scripture

2:40 - What is Chainsaw Man?

4:12 - Chainsaw Man Lore

5:12 - Scripture Analysis

7:15 - The Power of Names

8:40 - Names, Power & Fear

10:12 - What does this mean for us today?

11:27 - Thanks for Watching!

12:07 - Quick Question

12:17 - Three Things

13:15- Twitch Clip!

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

Respond to this blog here: https://www.checkpointchurch.com/post/happily-missing-out

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.