Descendants

So tonight we watched "Descendants," as a reward for Madison's hard work lately with piano and elsewhere.  She was pretty happy to get that reward, as it is a movie she said she really wanted to watch.  We of course knew that, so we had it ordered some time ago.  The reward was waiting for her once she figured out a clue - Maleficent was standing there in the guest bathroom (or at least a Disney Infinity statue of Maleficent), and there was a clue that told Madison:  "You can find my family, just look beneath the family tree."

We have a family tree on the main level of our house, one of those Halmark trees where you can hang photos of family members on each branch.  And yep, that's where the DVD was.

Madison was delighted, and we did in fact watch the movie - she was pretty excited about it, along with the popcorn.  Mommy and Madison were sprawled out on the couch, enjoying the music, dancing, and various spells.

The rest of the day was piano class, which went well, and a bit of work, which did not do quite as well, but that's okay - we can catch up tomorrow.  Today, however, Daddy wrote up a message based on "Descendants," one where we'll show a few clips at service tomorrow night.  It's a little rough around the edges, but it should be fun with the kids!

Descendants

CUE SLIDE:  DESCENDANTS

HOST:  “They’re not bad.  They’re just born that way!  How many of you have seen the movie ‘Descendants’ on the Disney Channel?”

Let audience answer.

HOST:  “This is one of those movies that reintroduces you to some of the worst – or some say best – villains around.  There’s Jafar, Cruella DaVille, the Evil Queen – and yes, there’s Maleficent.”

CUE SLIDE:  MALEFICENT

HOST: “This story isn’t so much about them though.  It’s about their kids.  That’s right, each one of them had a child.  And I think it’s time for us to meet them now…”

CUE CLIP #1 “Rotten to the Core”

CUE SLIDE:  "DESCENDANTS”

HOST:  "Yeah, they’re rotten to the core.  Taking candy from babies?  Everything they learned, they learned it from their parents.  Let’s do a quick roll-call.  First there’s Jay.”

CUE SLIDE: “ JAY”

HOST: “ He’s the son of Jafar, who is one of the world’s greatest thieves.  That means he steals stuff.  A lot of stuff.  Like father, like son.”

CUE SLIDE:  “EVIE”

HOST: “ And we can’t forget Evie.  Change that last ‘e’ to an ‘l’ and she’s EVIL.  She’s manipulative and vain – that means it is all about her.”

CUE SLIDE:  “CARLOS”

HOST: “ Yes, and there’s Carlos.  He’s the son of Cruella Da Ville.  He’s off-the-charts nasty, and always a little overdressed.”

CUE SLIDE: “ MAL”

HOST:  “And yes, there’s Mal.  She’s the leader of the pack – trust me, you don’t want to get in her way.”

CUE SLIDE:  “DESCENDANTS”

HOST: “They’re rotten to the core.  And you know something?  You probably know kids like this at your school.  Sure, they don’t cast spells or do song-and-dance routines.  But some kids just seem to be from the wrong side of town, undesirables who everyone is supposed to stay away from.”

HOST: “And that’s what has happened here in this movie.  You see, they all live on this island, and they’re trapped there, and can’t escape to the larger world where the good guys live.  That’s what happens to bad people.  After all, they deserve it, right?”

Let audience answer.

HOST: “ Right.  But then one day, something happened.  Something pretty interesting.”

CUE SLIDE:  “BEAUTY AND THE BEAST”

HOST: “ You remember these two, right?  Well, they’re king and queen of the land where the good folks live.  And they have a son as well.  His name is Ben.”

CUE SLIDE:  “BEN”

HOST: “Ben will be king soon, and Ben has some ideas about what he’d like to do once he’s in charge.  Let’s see what he’s thinking…”

CUE CLIP #2 “Ben decides to welcome the villains, and first tells his parents”

CUE SLIDE:  "DESCENDANTS”

HOST: “Ben’s a good guy.  And he sees something that nobody else sees in these bad characters.  Not even they themselves can see it.  He sees good within each one.  He understands there’s a little rotten in them, sure.  But don’t forget:  there’s rotten in all of us.”

CUE SLIDE:  “ROMANS 3:23”

HOST:  “The Bible tells us that we’ve all sinned.  We're just like those descendants:  we were all born into sin!  No one measures up.  But the Bible also tells us the good news:  God gave us all a second chance.  We sit here in church and are on the good side of things, simply because of a thing called GRACE.”

CUE SLIDE:  GRACE

HOST: “The others don’t know about grace yet – nobody has shown them.  So in they come to the land where everything is good and happy, and as you can imagine, it’s quite a shock.  And even worse, in this next clip, it’s hard to tell who is the good character, and who is not.”

CUE CLIP #3 Mal meets Aurora’s Mom, ‘Good’ characters taunt bad ones at picnic table – cut just before Mal goes through her book.

CUE SLIDE:  "DESCENDANTS”

HOST:  “This is the world in action.  Those who are thrown aside are rarely thrown a lifeline.  Those who are made fun of, those not even given a chance… it’s those who need it most.  And yet, many times, we don’t want to have courage, and be kind.”

CUE SLIDE:  “CINDERELLA”

HOST: “ Isn’t that what Cinderella says?  Have courage, and be kind.  This goes with a story from the Bible that Jesus was talking about.  Jesus was talking about a guy who was robbed and thrown into a ditch, and left to die.  Not one, but two church workers literally walk right by him.  They were too busy.  They don’t want to be inconvenienced.”

HOST:  “It can be like this at school.  If they were school students, maybe they’d think that everyone was looking at them.  Why should I go help someone else – someone might think I’m not cool or something.  What’s the first thing that happens if there is a fight at school – instead of people stepping in to do what’s right, you hear the same old thing:  Fight!  Fight!  Fight!”

HOST:  “Have courage.  And be kind.  Jesus had nothing good to say about those two church-going guys who did nothing.  He did, however, love what the third man did.  The third man helped out the robbed and beaten man.  That man saw need, and went to work.  That man didn’t see anything worthless in the ditch.  He saw someone who needed help.”

HOST:  “Let me share with you something short and easy from the Bible, three words with a lot of power.”

CUE SLIDE:  “1 Corinthinans 13:4”

HOST: “Love is kind.  That’s a simple memory verse for us today.  But it’s so hard for some folks to understand.  We look at people who are different, and sometimes we can’t see anything worth talking about.  But Jesus saw something dying for.  And he is looking to us to show love, and show kindness to everyone.”

CUE SLIDE:  “BEN”

HOST:  “That’s what Ben did with these four.  Despite everyone else giving them a hard time, Ben kept showing love and kindness.  And here’s the part of the story where things get interesting.”

CUE SLIDE:  “MAL and COMPANY”

HOST:  “You see, all along, the plan was for these bad guys to steal a special wand in the palace.  But Ben’s actions throughout this movie were a seed that was planted and taken care of each day with kindness.  And it’s one that we’re about to see blossom.”

CUE CLIP #4:  Mal’s Decision at the Coronation

CUE SLIDE:  "DESCENDANTS”

HOST:  “They chose good.  The very ones who were rotten to the core turned out to be more noble than some of the other characters that called themselves good.  And none of this wouldn’t have happened if not for the kindness of one character, Ben.”

CUE SLIDE:  “BEN”

HOST:  “Here’s the deal.  God wants you to be a Ben.  He wants you to show kindness to others.  He wants you to show His love in schools and elsewhere, and to those who need it the most.  Some people are so ignored, so unloved by the world.  But Jesus died for them too.  And our job is to be a light of the world, and show that love.”

CUE SLIDE: “ DESCENDANTS”

HOST:  “Mal and the others made cookies – they were cooked with bad intentions.  But God can take those things that were bad, and transform them into something good.  That’s why I’m going to give you these cookies – they aren’t for you.  They are for you to share with someone who needs it most.  You might not find someone in a ditch, but perhaps you know someone who needs just a little bit of encouragement, and a little bit of love.  Maybe you know someone who needs a bit of kindness.”

CUE SLIDE:  “LOVE IS KIND”

HOST: “ But don’t stop at giving them a cookie.  You don’t have to be best friends with everyone, especially those who could be a bad influence on your life.  But God doesn’t want us to sneer at them, or treat them with contempt.  God wants us to treat them with love.  And love is kind.”

HOST:  “Let us pray.”