Prologue
I usually start by showing the Theatrical Trailer for one of The Lord of the Rings movies. (You can find the trailers for most movies on their DVDs, under Special Features). I normally pick The Fellowship of the Ring, Final Trailer. It’s a powerful way to open, really gets folks’ attention. Then I talk about the ideas from the Prologue – why do we love stories so much, and have you noticed that story is the way we understand life, (pages 1-7 in Epic).
Then I show some bizarre scene they’ll never understand – usually scene 6 (on the DVD) from a weird movie called Brazil, which most folks have not seen. The guy has his head in a refrigerator, and some robber comes in and holds him at gunpoint – then I just cut it off after about two minutes and say, “Your experience right now is how most people experience their entire life – like a movie they arrived to forty minutes late” (Pages 7-8 from Epic). Its makes the point. What’s going on? I mean, we know we’re in some sort of story, but what kind? That leads into a search for the Larger Story. I talk about how – if you’ll notice – all the really great stories pretty much have the same themes, the same story line. That’s because they all borrow from the real Story (Pages 9-16).
Act I
Usually I’ll read from John 1:1-4, and talk about the ideas I mention on pages 17-21 of Epic. Then I’ll show the opening scene of The Last of the Mohicans (scene one on the DVD – yep, right through the credits – up until right before Daniel Day Lewis shoots the deer). That leads us into the life of the Trinity. I’ll tell a personal story (like the one about my grandfather’s ranch, pages 24-27 ) that illustrates how we all long to be invited into a story that began before us, and yet has a role for us.
Act II
Okay – then I ask (as I did in Epic, pp 28-29), “Why does every story have a villain?” I’ll explain the whole presence of evil discussed on pages 30-35 of Epic. Then I’ll show scene 7 from The Last of the Mohicans, how the villain Magua draws the army into an ambush – this is a picture of the war between the angels in Act II of God’s story. I typically end by explaining that Satan is not destroyed at the end of Act II – he is left as a character in the story (pp 39-40).
Act III
Talking about all that takes place in Act III is the heart of my presentation. (After all, this is the human moment in the story – our moment). I’ll begin with Genesis 1:1, and talk about the ideas on pages 41-49 of Epic. Here’s where I’ll use the bow scene from Titanic (chapter 13 on the DVD), or maybe the scene where Wallace and Muron ride together through the highland in Braveheart, or maybe the love scene in The Fellowship of the Ring, where Arwen and Aragorn are alone on the bridge in the moonlight in Rivendell. They all speak of Eden. Oh, and on Titanic – just because I use scenes from it doesn’t mean I “endorse” the whole movie. Paul quotes pagan poets in the Bible (Acts 17:28, Titus 1:12), but in doing so he’s just using them as illustrations – not endorsing everything they have to say!
Then I’ll talk about the Fall of Man, and all that came with it (pages 50-59). Following that I’ll talk about how every great story has a Hero and a rescue (pages 59-69).
To illustrate the coming of Jesus Christ for us, I’ll either use chapter 20 from Braveheart, starting with the torture and execution of Wallace (a brutal but very true scene to the death of Christ), or I’ll use scene 27 from Gladiator, where Maximus has just killed Commodus in the arena, and show it right through the end of the movie. He dies, so that they might be free. This is, of course, the climax of the story – God coming for us!
Act IV
Sometimes I’ll let the Gladiator scene 27 work for Act IV as well, showing how Maximus enters the fields of heaven to be reunited with his family, and how the life we all long for is coming to us when we enter act IV. A beautiful picture of eternity. Or, I’ll use the scene at the end of Titanic (scene 30), where we are taken down into the rotting ship and suddenly – all is transformed, and we get a glimpse of heaven. The “wedding feast of the Lamb.” Or, I’ll use the scene I describe in Epic at the end of Apollo 13. It all depends on how much time you have!
This is where I’ll talk about our longing for the happily ever after and dispel the goofy notions we’ve been given of what heaven is like (pages 71-98). To be honest, a couple of thoughts about what heaven really means together with one of the film clips usually has us all in tears.
Epilogue
These are your closing thoughts, pages 99-104. I don’t typically use any more film after Act IV. This is just your wrap-up.
However, a final thought: On The Return of the King DVD there is a “Mega Trailer” which runs about ten minutes, but covers all three movies. It's beautiful, and powerful, especially the way it captures the Larger Story. It shows the scope of an Epic like ours. I’ll sometimes use that at the very end to remind people how we also live in an Epic.
All in all, I usually take an hour to tell the Larger Story. Now, these are just suggestions. You’ve probably already thought of movies you’d use for certain points. Go for it.
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