DESPICABLE ME
Sunday @ The Movies Middle School Lesson In a happy suburban neighborhood surrounded by white picket fences with flowering rose bushes, sits a black house with a dead lawn. Unbeknownst to the neighbors, hidden beneath this home is a vast secret hideout. Surrounded by a small army of minions, we discover Gru, planning the biggest heist in the history of the world. He is going to steal the moon. (Yes, the moon!) Gru delights in all things wicked. Armed with his arsenal of shrink rays, freeze rays, and battle-­‐ready vehicles for land and air, he vanquishes all who stand in his way. Until the day he encounters the immense will of three little orphaned girls who look at him and see something that no one else has ever seen: a potential Dad. The world's greatest villain has just met his greatest challenge: three little girls named Margo, Edith and Agnes. Source: IMDB and Universal Pictures For a more complete story line of the film you can use the following link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1323594/ Bible Study Overview: “Gru” is a super villain, but more than anything else he is ambitious. He wants to be famous, known as the best, and capable of nearly superhuman accomplishments. He is driven to achieve his goals no matter the cost. However, there are other things in life worth more than all our accomplishments combined: 1. Life is More Than My Accomplishments. (Matthew 16:26a) 2. Our Greatest Accomplishment without the Right Priorities Isn’t Worth Much. (Matthew 16:26b) 3. To Really Experience Life, Jesus Must Be Our Priority. (Ecclesiastes 1:1-­‐2; 12:13-­‐24, Matthew 16:24-­‐25) Intro Show the Trailer for Despicable Me Give a brief overview of the movie for anyone who may not have seen it before. Explain to your students that today is about more than watching a movie. It is about digging in to the Word of God that is true and powerful in our lives today. The clips that you will see this morning will help illustrate the truth that we will study in scripture. Here’s the metaphor: We can spend our whole lives chasing after GREAT things. However, even when we obtain our greatest goal, it will be empty if we have the wrong priorities. Bible Study: 1. Life is More Than My Accomplishments. (Matthew 16:26a) Clip 1: GRU announces the plan to steal the Moon. Standing before his minions, Gru throws out the greatest goal he has ever attempted… to steal the moon. Elsewhere in the movie, we discover that this has been a life-­‐long ambition for Gru. Since he was a child, he wanted nothing more than to have it. In Gru’s quest to find meaning in his life, he thinks that this achievement will satisfy him. All of us have big dreams for our lives. Question: If you could attempt anything with your life and knew that you could not fail, what would you do? We all have dreams for our lives that are big. This is NOT a bad thing. Dreaming big is a part of the way that God designed humans for His glory. However, in our culture we can get this twisted sometimes. Sometimes, we allow our desire to achieve our dreams to dominate all of our decisions and mess up our priorities. When this happens, even if we get the goal we want, it can leave us feeling empty. Jesus spoke about what it is like to get everything you want and still feel empty inside. He was a master at telling stories, teaching truth, and conversing with people of all walks of life. Here He simply asks a question that helps us to understand what our priorities in life should be. Ask Your Students To Look Up the Following Verse: Matthew 16:26a -­‐ For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life?1 The answer to Jesus’ question is that it doesn’t profit us anything to gain the world and lose our life. We don’t come out ahead, but instead we lose everything. Jesus was showing us that even if we win the game, get the A, earn the cash, become famous… it doesn’t mean anything if we don’t have our priorities in order. Back to Gru-­‐-­‐ his plot hinged on a single scientific invention: a shrink ray. In order to get this, he needed to take back the ray that has been stolen by his archenemy, Vector. The problem is that Gru cannot break through Vector’s defenses. Clip 2: GRU tries to get the shrink ray. Enter the girls… 2. Our Greatest Accomplishment without the Right Priorities Isn’t Worth Much. (Matthew 16:26b) When Gru first meets the girls, they are a means to the end of getting the shrink ray. He could care less about their well-­‐being. Soon in the film, the girls help him infiltrate the fortress and steal back the shrink ray from Vector. After this occurs, Gru plots to leave his newly adopted children (the three girls) at theme park, never to see or hear from them again. 1
Some bible versions translate this “forfeits his soul” instead of “forfeits his life”. Life and Soul translate from the same Greek term (psuche). Clip 3: Gru has a heart change. Gru discovers a new found love for the girls. They begin to become a priority in his life. He begins spending time with them and caring for them like a Father. The girls become important in his world. Like Gru, we also have priorities in our lives. Most of us would put friends and family near the top of the list of priorities in our lives. W e would never want to do something to intentionally hurt those people or break their hearts. However, our drive to accomplish, achieve, and be successful can actually take our focus off of the people that matter most. For Gru, it was only a matter of time until he sent the girls packing so that he could get back to work on stealing the moon. He cast away the people that he had learned to love the most in order to achieve his goals. Sadly, in the real world this happens all the time. It is the dad that works long hours to get the promotion and misses every game in his son’s season. It is the student that plays for his self instead of the team, and though he is hailed as a phenomenon, no one celebrates with him. It is the student that misses church to study to get the A or practice to make the team. They may have a high GPA or start every game, but they become disconnected from the family of God. Jesus asks the second of His two questions: Ask Your Students To Look Up the Following Verse: Matthew 16:26b -­‐ Or what shall a man give in return for his life? We can spend our entire lives and the majority of our heartbeats on things that don’t really matter for eternity. The only things that will last long after our life on earth is over are God, His Word and people. So, as we make decisions and chase after our dreams we have to make sure that we are prioritizing the things that last. There is nothing wrong with chasing your dreams… Just don’t do it at the expense of your relationship with God and the people God has put in your life! Clip 4: Gru gains the moon, but loses what matters most. Gru learned this lesson the hard way. At a point late in the movie, he finally achieves his greatest ambition, capturing the moon… but the moment is hollow without the people he loves the most, his girls. The youngest daughter, Agnes has been begging her adopted dad to come to their recital “Swan Lake” to watch her dance. The rest of the movie is Gru’s pursuit to try and make his error right and get back his girls. He realized that his greatest dream was not worth exchanging the life he had with his girls. 3. Beyond ANYTHING Else, Jesus Must Be Our Priority. Hollywood leaves the story with Gru reuniting with his girls, making them a priority, and living happily ever after. Clip 5: Gru reunites with the girls and learns to love. Is this really how it works? There are plenty of people who have loving families and great relationships and still feel like there is something more for them. Even our best relationships, while important and a top priority cannot ultimately satisfy our hearts or fulfill our lives. This leaves us asking the question: what or who will satisfy my life and give it meaning? Ask Your Students To Look Up the Following Verse: Ecclesiastes 1:1-­‐2 -­‐ The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 2 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. Most believe that Solomon writes these words. He is the wisest man to have ever walked the face of the earth. He had unimaginable wealth. He has strong relationships. He had power. He was famous in the ancient world. Even with all that he had, he called all of life “vanity”. The Hebrew word translated “vanity” means “vapor”. Solomon is saying that all of his life feels like a vapor, only around for a split second and then gone without anyone knowing or caring. The whole book of Ecclesiastes strikes this somber tone and Solomon looks at everything he has and declares it all vanity. Ask Your Students To Look Up the Following Verse: Ecclesiastes 12:13-­‐14 -­‐ 13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with[b] every secret thing, whether good or evil. At the end of his book, Solomon says that there is only one thing that really matters is fearing God and keeping his commandments. Why? Because long after this life is over and we stand before God, it is our relationship with Him that will matter most. Jesus put the same priority on our relationship with Him in the two verses leading up to Matthew 16:23. Ask Your Students To Look Up the Following Verse: Matthew 16:24-­‐25 -­‐ 24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. As many of you already know, the cross was an instrument of death. When Jesus tells us to take up our cross, He is saying that we should be willing to give up our very lives for Him. When we do this, we actually find REAL life in Jesus Christ. His promise is that if we lose our life for His sake, we will find a new life in Him. This new life is full of purpose, joy, love, and freedom. This is the new life for all who will choose to follow Jesus! So will you choose in this life? Will you make Jesus your number one priority? When you do, you are gaining more than any other achievement in this life could ever give you. Choose Jesus! LEADER NOTE: Please take this opportunity to lead students to respond to Jesus. Lead them in praying to receive Christ as Lord and Savior. Encourage students to let a leader know if they have made a decision. If you need help developing a simple Gospel Presentation for your students, below you will find a link with videos and resources. http://lifeonmissionbook.com/conversation-­‐guide Conclusion: Through out his lesson we have come to understand that there is more to live for in our lives than our accomplishments. God has a great life planned that He desires to give us if we will choose to make Him our top priority in life! We have seen: 1. Life is More Than My Accomplishments. (Matthew 16:26a) 2. Our Greatest Accomplishment without the Right Priorities Isn’t Worth Much. (Matthew 16:26b) 3. To Really Experience Life, Jesus Must Be Our Priority. (Ecclesiastes 1:1-­‐2; 12:13-­‐24, Matthew 16:24-­‐25) We’ll dismiss to our small groups now to talk these point through and see how they apply to our lives. Small Group Discussion Guide: • In the movie, Gru had BIG dreams for his life. What are the dreams that you have for you life? • We talked about how there is more to life than our accomplishments. What are some practical ways that we can pursue your dreams without sacrificing your top priorities? • Who are the people that matter most in your life? How are you making time for those people and showing them that you care? Do they know that they are more important to you than your goals? • Do you know Jesus as Lord and Savior? If so, have you made Him the top priority in your life? Without Jesus in that number one place, our lives will never be satisfied. What steps do you need to take to put Jesus as the number one priority or to keep Him there? LEADER NOTE: Wrap up and close in prayer. Please encourage students to let you know if they have made a decision or need to talk with someone about some spiritual questions. Please let a Student Ministry Staff Member know if you have any students who have made decisions. Shades Student Ministry is grateful for 12Stone Church who made resources available to aid in the writing of this lesson.