(The clips from these are all online. You can find them on the official movie site: disney.com/pooh or on youtube or on the yahoo movie site.)
Our next movie is from a story has been around since the 1920’s.
First book is from 1926 to be exact, by a guy named A. A. Milne, son’s name was Christopher Robin Milne. Anyone want to guess what movie we will talk about this morning?
A little about the Pooh empire. In the 1930s Pooh was bringing in $50 million a year. Currently, it is estimated that Winnie the Pooh videos, teddy bears, and other merchandise generate $1 billion in annual income for Disney that’s as much revenue as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto merchandise combined. And this movie will help boost that ever higher this year. It’s a great clean safe movie. As we sat and watched it I felt a warm glow in my heart. Let’s watch the trailer so you can better understand what I mean.
Trailer Clip-doesn’t that look wonderful?
As I reflected on the movie this week one of my favorite scriptures came to mind. A scripture we see often at weddings and anniversaries. Of course I’m talking about 1 Corinthians 13.
Just before this Paul talks about spiritual gifts and one body many parts.
Paul now proceeds to elaborate on the fact that love surpasses the most important spiritual gifts. Some of the Corinthian Christians may not have possessed any of the gifts mentioned in the previous three lists in chapter 12, but all of them and all of us can practice love.
Let’s take a look…
1 Corinthians 13
1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Do you see what Paul does here?
Notice what he is listing: tongues, prophecy, faith, giving-several of the gifts he just mentioned in chapter 12. Basically telling us it’s all useless without love.
The characters in the hundred acre wood are not perfect. They each have their downfalls. Yet the things they do are based out of love. That, for me, is a big part of what makes Pooh so endearing. For the most part every character truly has the good of the community at heart when they speak or act. They don’t lord it over the other when they have something special that the other doesn’t. Which is what can happen to us-can’t it? If we use our gifts and talents apart from any other motivation other than love we’re just spinning our wheels. God’s Kingdom is about love.
As I read this next section think about the Pooh characters and how they embody these traits…
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails.
As you saw in the preview Eeyore loses his tail and the rest of the gang tries to help Eeyore find a new one. It takes love to help someone...If I don't love you-ie care about you...I'm not really going to help you.
but there's something else...I have to love you to allow you to help me-why is that? Love is not proud...and also if I allow you to help me then I what you? I trust you...
And even though eeyore is the eternal pessimist he hopes and they hope they will find eeyore a new tail...
I want to show a clip to further demonstrate how this love plays out in the Hundred Acre Wood. While trying to trap the supposed villain Backson all of them except Piglet have fallen into the hole and it’s up to Piglet to get them out.
Hole Clip
We are going to get frustrated with others, but it’s how we handle it. Even though Rabbit gets utterly frustrated with the solutions you can still see his love for Piglet and the others.
And this love shown by Pooh and his friends is the kind of love we strive to continue to foster here in this church.
Not only do we want to foster that here in this building, but we want to foster that same love and community outside of these walls. Think about what heaven is like….think about the prayer we pray at least every Sunday if not also during the week…your will be done…on earth as it is in heaven…it’s our responsibility as followers of Christ to live out this model of love.
Let’s take a look at one last example from the movie-Pooh has recruited Piglet to help him retrieve some honey.
Piglet scene-The Plan
takes responsibility even though it’s clearly not his fault…that’s love…in a world that seems too long to place blame on everyone but ourselves…Piglet takes the difficult and humble road-“I’m sorry I messed up your plan Pooh.”
And at the very end of the movie, even though Pooh has not gotten to enjoy the delicious sweet honey he so desperately hungers for, he chooses to return Eeyore’s tail instead of satisfying his own hunger-love is not self seeking. And in the end because of his selflessness he gets the greatest reward of all…now that sounds familiar.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
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