Audience
Junior High/ Middle School, High School, Young Adult
Topics
Sacrifice, Redemption
Key Scripture
2 Corinthians 5:21
The Point
Jesus was our Katniss
Materials
Youtube video, Dodgeballs
Components
Message
Preparation
Download Hunger Games trailer from youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4S9a5V9ODuY
Download Fan Video from youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS4I_1y0OJM
(I use www.zamzar.com)
Ideas for the Sermon
Play your own version of The Hunger Games. Depending on the size of your group set up different districts and put them in different corners of the room. Then put dodge balls directly in the middle of the room, say “Go”, and let the blood bath begin. (Figuratively I hope)
In this message we will be looking at lessons from the hottest thing going right now, The Hunger Games. Let’s start out by watching the trailer to this awesome movie.
Show trailer
Start out by giving this synopsis of the movie in your own words.
In Suzanne Collins’ riveting tale of life in North America after its destruction, a powerful Capitol emerges as residents of its twelve outlying Districts individually struggle to survive under its bleak rule. Living under the constant reminder that the Capitol obliterated District 13 when the people incited a rebellion decades before, 16-year old Katniss Everdeen quietly carves out a path of meager survival for herself, her younger sister, Prim, and their widowed mother under the Capitol’s strict regime.
Each year, the Capitol assembles its Gamemakers to create an elaborate arena filled with deadly trigger points and calls upon one girl and one boy from each of the twelve Districts to play in its nationally televised Hunger Games. On the Day of Reaping when 24 children are selected to fight to the death, Katniss is whisked away from her daily quest for survival alongside her friend Gale, and thrust into the elaborate Capital as she is prepared for the Hunger Games.
In this world of instant gratification and superficial people, Katniss contends with her drunken, disengaged mentor, Haymitch, and wrestles with her feelings about her co-Tribute from District 12, Peeta Mellark. Growing up apart from Peeta in the same District, Katniss struggles to determine if Peeta is the boy who once showed her an act of kindness pivotal to her family’s survival, or if his actions are motivated to keep himself alive, as the Capital will allow only one Tribute to survive the Hunger Games’ treacherous arena.
In the days to come, Katniss must fend for her survival against the natural elements and the vicious Careers, who are Tributes who’ve trained for the Hunger Games their entire lives. Katniss meets a young Tribute whose likeness to Prim tears at her heartstrings and she continues to process what Peeta’s motives could be as the end draws near. Should she kill these two or be killed? If Katniss wins, her family will be handsomely taken care of and her District will receive the additional food it so desperately needs to survive.
Deep inside the Hunger Games, readers are treated to the witty, young mind of Katniss Everdeen, a survival-savvy girl who yearns to trust in a world that has shown her nothing of the sort.
End synopsis
But the pivotal part of this movie comes when the selection of the tributes occur. Katniss’ sister Prim is selected to the Hunger Games. It is very obvious that Prim would not last one second. With her motivation being to save the life of her little sister, even if it means risking her own; Katniss volunteers to become the tribute thus taking the place of her sister Prim.
Watch this fan video to get a taste of what that was like.
Show Fan Video
Illustration:
Eugene Nida of the American Bible Society told about the translators' search for a word of phrase in a West African language to translate "redemption" or "salvation." Finally, they came upon a fitting image...
In that people's past, tribes would fight each other, take prisoners, and march them to a city on the coast where they were to be sold to the slave traders. If a relative or friend among the slaves were recognized, he could be bought for a price. The redeemed slave would then have the iron collar removed from his neck. In the tribe's native language, the process was described as "taking his head out" in order to set him free.
In the Bible of that language, then, "redemption" would come to be translated as "taking his head out"—a fitting image for the last-minute rescue which Christ has made by buying our freedom at a price.
This is what Katniss did. She took Prim’s head out. And this picture of redemption is found all throughout the Bible, in fact, it is the main theme of the Bible. And it no place is it more obvious than in 2 Corinthians 5:21.
Verse: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
1. Jesus became sin.
Jesus took our place on the cross just like Katniss took Prim’s place in the Hunger Games. He certainly didn’t have to do it, but He did it because He loves us that much.
2. Jesus knew no sin.
Jesus was being punished even thought He did nothing wrong. If there was ever a person who did not deserve punishment it would be Jesus. But Jesus volunteered to be the tribute anyway.
Katniss was the same way, she did nothing to deserve being in the Hunger Games but she volunteered to be a part of them anyway because she loved her sister that much.
3. Jesus made us perfect.
The verse says, “so that we might become the righteousness of God”. Those are very exciting words!
The beauty of Jesus dying on the cross for us is that He made us perfect, He made us complete. Even though we are sinners and even though we continue to sin, Jesus took the penalty for those sins and now we are made to be perfect.
In church-ese we call this justification. And the easy way to remember that is that it is “Just As If I Never Sinned”. Jesus makes us perfect.
But there are two words to end the verse that are very important… In Him. Sometimes we believe that we are the ones making it happen. We are the ones who are living the good life and doing the right things. But all of our good works are mere rubbish compared to Jesus. The only way we are made perfect is IN HIM.
Can you imagine what it must have felt like to be Prim? Her life was spared, so she must have been extremely relieved about that. But she had an 11 out of 12 chance of losing her sister. She must have been extremely heart-broken again.
But think about the value that Katniss put on the life of Prim. She thought that Prim’s life was so valuable that it was worth giving up her own for it. Ultimately, Prim has to live a life of significance knowing what sacrifice was made for her to keep it. She must live a life that is a “Thank You” tribute to her sister for what she did for her.
That is how we are to live our lives, as a “Thank You” to Jesus for the sacrifice He made. We don’t do good works in order to EARN anything. We do good works as a TRIBUTE to the one who gave it all for us.
Thought of the Night: Live your life as a tribute to God.
