Home Alone and The Christmas Story we Never Saw Coming

well good evening and welcome to crowd Church online it's great that you're with us forgive my rather husky voice I managed to find it for tonight's service so it's great to be with you uh online and I'm just checking yes we are in fact live so uh do say hi in the comments love to know where you are from today I am hosting with this beautiful lady beside me you can put Anna on the screen now yeah oh there I am yeah it's like this beautiful lady beside me and it maintained a picture of M don't know what that says about Matt but anyway yeah hi everyone nice to see you all tonight yeah it's great to be with you and I'd like you say I'm not quite sure what that says about me short of uh Zoe not being quite as trigger happy as she needs to be tonight but you're trying to do 25,000 things are we are we all good at the back we're all good excellent so uh great to be with you now Christmas isn't it are you are you Christmas out yet do you know what I wouldn't have said so until this weekend at the start of this weekend I was still all all up in the Christmas spirit you know had a few Christmas parties last week did my work Christmas Day and then this weekend I've done not one not two but this is my third Christmas service since yesterday I did like one yesterday evening quiet one and then I did one this morning in Nativity with my little boy and then I'm here again tonight so yeah I'm starting to feel like this is my threshold for one weekend okay well the good news is uh and there's I say the good news maybe good news maybe not there's no crowd service next week so you don't have to be here next week no and also presumably we're saving the best till last you know with the crowd well you and me yeah ex actually that's what I'm saying Jen Jen's like no no no I'm definely the best uh heckling tonight crowd we from Jen yeah yeah well maybe you you and Jan but do you want to come up and host Jan she might be better than you if you're so Hy L to gaet down there haven't I anyway let's let's move on from that let's move on indeed so yeah very warm welcome to you uh it is great to be with you uh we are going to be doing a little quiz in just a minute so make sure you are getting ready in the comments or whatever you're using to write your answers down because we are going to want to know what you're saying um we're going to get ready for our home alone quiz so don't go anywhere and don't cheat don't you know did you just say Home Alone quiz yeah wow this is a first for Crow Church well you know I thought let's be Christmasy yeah I love it what's more Christmasy than home alone I mean obviously the birth of Jesus I mean we could get into a whole conversation here about what's the most christmy Christmas movie can we my husband would say die hard but I absolutely disagree i' got more heckles yeah die a Christmas movie is it a Christmas because it happens at Christmas apparently yeah yeah yeah you see I would say die hard is a Christmas movie I would but then I heard Bruce Willis uh he did a roasting didn't he and he he said the only reason he did it was to tell everybody that di hard was in fact not a Christmas movie I agree with him so controversial here on the live stream but home alone is and it's like right up there with a top few for me so what are your top Christmas movies oh I knew you were going to ask me this so that for sure and also I would say elf is up there that's my favorite comedy CL yeah and um yeah I I think Arthur Christmas is there for the like kind of animations and do like I also love A Bit of Love Actually I know not everyone does but I I love a good romcom so yeah it's it's not everybody's cup of tea what are your top three then my top three Christmas movies I do love earling Berlin's White Christmas I literally don't know what that is it's came out in the 1950s okay say no more it's the original Bing Crosby uh White Christmas song has Ro Rosemary Clooney in it which I I think was George cl's grandmother oh okay cool um and she played one of the ha sisters but I met I was atie not his grandmother sorry yeah yeah yeah so that was what the song White Christmas was from yeah the white the song White Christmas came from that movie and um it's a really great film really goes on for two hours really wholesome good family film so I watched that every year I've always watched that since I was a kid and a few years ago we went and watched the live version of it down at the Empire and we went down there there was there me there's Zoe was it AJ came with us and your mom was it the four of us cuz the boys had gone to UNI and we went and watched White Christmas down at the Empire at the theater at the theater and it was empty I mean empty it was like there was like a there hadd been a train strike or something going on that day or maybe just no one's heard of that movie maybe that's what it is and they just but we went and we we literally could sit in almost any seat that we wanted we bought the cheap seats and we sat in the expensive seats and no one seemed to care which was great um but I give my take my hat off to the the team they absolutely belted out the chunes that's awesome so we had a great time so that's number that's one of your three what are your other two though uh Home Alone would be definitely you know one of them um I do like clouse clouse is is fast becoming a favorite after Christmas yeah good one um would be a good one um for a whole bunch of reasons yeah yeah I mean just lots of Die Hard I would still say is a Christmas you shaking your head at me anyway you know what in the com have you seen die hard I was going to say if you have I'm having a word with your mom do you know what we we need to um have some comments in the chat box tell us what your favorite Christmas Die Hard a Christmas movie or not oh wonderful life is a great have you seen a Wonderful Life yeah I've seen Wonderful Life yeah that's one of Sharon's favorite movies that's a good one yeah it's a wonderful life so Miracle on 34th Street mhm the original Santa Claus from the 19 we could just keep going and going yeah everyone tell us what your favorite movie is in the chat box yeah yeah we could I've been watching Christmas movies all week which has been phenomenal actually I've been resting this week cuz as you can hear I've been a bit Gruff which has meant we've watched a lot of Christmas movies um I won't tell you the name of the Christmas movie we watched today dear Lord I think anyway uh so not a good one then uh I it's not something I'm prepared to mention on the Church live stream uh let's just put it that way but I'll talk to you about it later so anyway should we do this Home Alone quiz I think we better had we better had now where have I put my here we go yeah we'll talk about it later it's not a problem okay so let me get my glasses okay so ad says in the comments uh Die Hard is definitely a Christmas movie okay ad and son you're watching from North Wales uh so hi ad and Sophie Jan says It's a Wonderful Life yeah is the uh is is a is a is a very good film like you and you and Sharon would say the same thing there Jen I think it's um it's totally true a Wonderful Life great fil you know that I did not watch home Al uh Home Alone wonderful life until last year first time i' watched it really yeah wow gosh you've not seen it uh Patty is watching on Instagram hi Patty lots of love to you and Simon uh she's in New Zealand am I serious about the jumper what do you think to the jumper I mean people can't see it fully on screen can they but it's Star Wars themed I'm guessing it is my Star Wars themed Christmas jumer Yes it glows in the dog which is now something about Matt is that he literally has more Christmas jumpers than any other man I know like you never yeah you never seem to run out of them yeah I definitely got some so Laura says Singing in the Rain that's not a Christmas movie yeah but that doesn't make it a Christmas movie Laura says she watches it at Christmas it's a Christmas movie I'm not sure that's technically true no me either uh but sorry Laura you're wrong there's a there's there's quite a few that would definitely make Die Hard a Christmas movie then and Little Women Little Women oh Christmas Carol That's a classic Muppet Christmas Carol Muppet the Muppet version is the best yeah the muet Christmas car anyway let's do the quiz let's so so let's bring up the questions um the Home Alone quiz okay have you actually watched Home Alone yet this year um no not not this year I will watch it before Christmas with my little boy there he loves it too yep okay um Simon Says alien oh come on people no I'm Sor yeah no it's just not going to happen is it okay uh so the first question where is the mallister family traveling for Christmas write the answer in the comments Home Alone Home Alone chapter one verse one original the verse Home Alone the original yeah Home Alone one not verse one or chapter one it's not Bible where is the mallister family traveling for Christmas is question number one question number two uh what were the character names in the movie of the wet Bandits don't shout it out it's write in comments uh question number three what does Kevin steal from the store what does he steal from the store and question number four what is the name of the gangster movie Kevin watches at home what's the name of that film and then the last question number five complete this quote this is my house I have to blank you know when we put this slide together I totally was like in my Terry wogan blanky blank if you remember you're a certain age blanky blank okay so question number one where is mallister family traveling for Christmas Laura you go right what was the answer Paris Paris is is in fact the right answer well done uh question number two what were the character names of the wet Bandits M and har har Harry yeah done you remember going Harry um Harry Harry uh what does Kevin steal from the store question number three the answer is a toothbrush correct do you PR no you just get the joy of knowing you completed the quiz uh question number four what is the name of the gangster movie Kevin watches at home I can't remember the the movie but I remember the line which is like something about your filthy animal your filthy animal I can't remember what the movie is that it's from it's called angels with filthy souls ah there we are is the answer and number five complete this quote this is my house I have to defend it is the answer technically that should have been two blanks cuz it's two words should have been blanky blank yeah okay oh well just for next time all right stickler for the rules thank you very much how did you get on let's see who got it did anybody get all five did anybody get all did anybody get four you got three and a half three and a half Laura three and a half rounded it up it's four yeah round that up it's five you may as well say you've won all of them I love that did you get any of the answers I got like three and a half as well very good very good I actually got four when I did the qu I mean I know I put the quiz together but I pulled it off the internet and I got four cuz I after looking at the answers no no no before I looked at the answers I look at the questions jeez you're on one tonight you aren't you it's a good job this is your last Christmas service think it might be my last service ever can me comeb hug in a minute um so yeah so now I got four I didn't get the movie uh angels with filthy souls yeah anyway let me talk to you about home alone so um it is uh one of my favorite Christmas movies because one of my favorite memories uh over the years my kids grew up was them watching Home Alone for the first time and I've got a video somewhere I put a video camera under the TV uh and just left the video running whilst they watched it you know and um the just the sheer laughter that emanated from my kids it's just one of those things that I'll never ever forget um and it's one of the reasons why we still watch it I I still every time I watch it I kind of remember what happened you know the first time the kids watched it but behind the cuteness and the joy and the laughter and the fun and Marv getting smashed in the face with an iron um there's actually a really really profound story which we're going to get into tonight um and so a story of being lost of being found of family of redemption uh which obviously beautifully ties in with the Christmas story which is you know while we're here we're in the Star Wars Christmas jumpers talking about Christmas movies so shall we get into it I think we shall I think I'm looking at you you're just like yeah talk for a little bit yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah we've talked a lot about Christmas movies so yeah well we may as well get into it yeah absolutely so um the film as you spoiler alert right this film was released in 1990 if you have not watched film sa but we're going to be talking about the film you've had plenty of time to watch it really um but obviously there's sort of this time where Kevin is really annoyed with his family and he's like I wish they would all disappear and then of course he wakes up and they're not there and he kind of has this realization he has this moment I've made my family disappear right uh and this this kind of this idea of wanting your family to disappear we've all had these moments where uh We've sort of said to ourselves I just wish everybody would just disappear and leave me alone right why do we do that well because uh we often feel we could do it better on our own a common feeling I think amongst parents but there you go um but for Kevin he also thought you know life would be better on his own didn't he and it turns out that he gets his wish they sort of all disappear and what does he do he runs around the house he jumps on the bed he eats crazy amounts of ice cream he watches movies he shouldn't watch he goes into his brother's room um he does all of those things you filthy animal uh which is where that phrase comes from anyway he even does this doesn't he if you want to pull that picture up we get this sort of iconic scene in the movie where Kevin puts on the After Shave of his dad and uh we get that screaming thing and the one thing that's really BGG I mean there's a few things that I really like about the film there's a few things that really bug me one of them is the fact that Kevin McAllister's dad is wealthy enough a to afford that house B to pay for a whole horde of people to go to Paris some of which travel in first class all the parents and he's paid for it and yet is After Shave of choice is brute uh the cheapest Nast Sur yeah it must have been it's like the cheapest nastiest After Shave out there isn't it and uh it just it just makes me laugh right uh it just it really makes me laugh and so uh Kevin anyway Kevin is doing all these crazy things isn't he why simply because he can because it seems at the moment the restraint has disappeared and has been lifted and there in fact are no consequences for his behaviors there are no rules very good so no limits uh just Freedom which sounds wonderful doesn't it uh we have all craved freedom in some way and if you think about it in our sort of modern day world I think we've taken this idea this notion of freedom to a whole new level uh you can be free to live your best life you know you do you uh you you be you you live your truth that sort of subjective truth whatever is true to me is true in life so no one therefore can tell me what's right no one can tell me what's wrong therefore I am free to live life my way uh according to my terms we are free because Freedom ultimately this Freedom that we all crave is this sort of freedom from restraint it's like we've all had this sort of massive Kevin mallister moment and we've just gone a bit nuts with it um we've been jumping if you like on our metaphorical beds uh all going a little bit crazy doing things that we shouldn't be doing because like I say in our minds this perceived freedom is the absence of restraint right so what is what does it mean to be free we live in the Free World the West the Free World what does it mean to be free it means to live without boundaries it means people don't tell me what to do I live life on my terms without restraint R but ironically I think that's the exact opposite of what freedom is why because I don't think actually and I I'm yet to be convinced otherwise I don't think you can actually live a life free from restraint you just can't do it you just walk outside jump up gravity is going to pull you down right you are there is always some kind of gravity uh going on something is going to pull you down there is some kind of restraint so what does freedom actually mean then for me to be free that means I get to choose follow me on this I get to choose what restrains me so what do I mean by this I get to choose in effect my gravity a free man gets to choose their gravity so for example um I had the freedom to choose to marry Sharon who you if you regular crowd you'll have seen her um I had the freedom to choose to marry Sharon it was a choice that I got to make but in that making that decision what I chose to do was to be bound or to be restrained by the the promises of that marriage right and quite rightly so too because why would I not want to do that but it was a choice that I got to make because I was free to make it I was free to choose to be bound by the marriage covenant you have the same thing in work right we have the freedom to choose in some respects in the west who we work for because that's what freedom is we get to choose what restrains US who restrains us and so in work I get to choose to work for this company over here but I am then Bound by the contract of that employment I have to do certain tasks I have to be there at a certain time um so I my decisions my choices cause restraint so so a free man gets to choose what restrains him so freedom is not actually life without restraints um despite I think what Instagram tries to tell me um and this is something that we'll see happen in home alone because obviously when night falls for Kevin and the house feels empty and dark and lonely well that all that freedom doesn't feel so free uh anymore does it now of course Kevin doesn't actually uh make his family disappear I I genuinely don't think he does I don't think he has that skill or Talent um but what did actually happen if you think about what actually happened uh they they just left him behind I I mean they just for got about it it's just pretty sad when you think about it isn't it really um they miscounted got in a car sat in first class and then forgot all about Kevin whilst he was sat upstairs in bed um and I think here we can tie that into how I think a lot of people feel uh in life and certainly uh in relation to God where I think it's a complaint I've often heard about God that it's like he's too busy or we're not important enough really to be seen like we've been been sent to the top room you know some kind of punishment uh that we that we don't really want to live some kind of punished life and when we eventually come out of that for whatever reason God doesn't seem to be there and doesn't seem to be interested in us it's like we've been left to face the worst part of life all by ourselves which is where I think Kevin finds himself and whilst uh he finds him uh he finds sort of dealing with this this Freedom actually again if you think about it freedom is one of those interesting things when people talk about it they talk about it from a very personal point of view I want more freedom because I want to live life more on my way that's then very individualistic isn't it which bizarrely creates more isolation and so you have the free countries the free the the countries of the West apparently the most free countries in the world who also ironically have the highest rates of isolation have the highest rates of loneliness um and the two things in my head AR aren't aren't disconnected do you see what I mean the way we think about Freedom uh and the way we become isolated so back to Home Alone we've got this character called Old Man Marley uh he's in the background so old man Marley can anybody tell me what his name uh his nickname was that the kids give him this is going deep into the detail of the movie anybody have you seen home alone just once wow zaffy okay when you were in school and you didn't pay attention Okay so you're not going to be able to answer this question uh he was the kids gave him this nickname called the Southbend shovel Slayer let me make sure I've got that right yes the Southbend shovel Slayer uh the scary neighbor who salts the sidewalks walks up and down salting the skywalks to get rid of the bodies uh was the reason he did that apparently according to the film and I think it's amazing the stories that we can create uh in our minds about someone that we've never actually met and even home alone you know even Christmas movies need a bad guy and so as you know from the movie Kevin has got it all wrong about old man Marley he's listened to what other people have told him about old man Marley and that formed an opinion of him caused him to live in fear of it but he has to find out who the guy is for himself and I think the same is true with God you know we're talking about Jesus it's Christmas you know we we talk about Christmas we talk about Jesus like Jesus came we have the Nativity we have the birth of Christ we start thinking about Christ we got the wise man or I don't know what you think it's just a cute story it's just an old Fable um it's actually real Jesus came etc etc all these sort of things that we can't that we think about but in involved in all of that as we talk about Christmas as we we talk about Christ there's all these ideas that we have about him often I think formed by media personality uh our parents what we were taught at school all that kind of thing and Kevin thinks old man Marley is a bit of a mean old Geer doesn't he and I think when I think about how I viewed God before I became a Christian this was often how I think about him you know God's mean and angry uh just sat on a waiting to zap you in case you had any kind of fun whatsoever um like Santa God has a naughty and nice list only no one is ever on the nice list uh and he is Scary or distant and aloof uh old and actually for me not relevant and not needed um some of the ideas that I had about God and so in effect we've turned God uh into the Southbend shivel Slayer in the spiritual world since um and so I think God gets a bad rap in so many ways but it wasn't until I met Christ for myself that I discovered who he really was um and the irony was in all of this Kevin the very person that he was trying to avoid was the very person that saves him at the end of the film um and there's this beautiful scene one of my favorite parts of home alone because of the music when they're in the church right and Kevin actually gets to sit down and talk with uh old man Marley and it turns out his scary neighbor is just really uh a heartbroken dad who misses his son and it's in church Kevin's view of this guy changes and this was obviously a key thing that I wanted to pick up on because you it's Church Church Christmas service um and I think if you're watching this online um if you're in person and you're not sure about God or you've got some ideas about God which have been formed outside of you actually trying to figure it out for yourself I think church is a really good place um and I would strongly recommend that you go to church because at some point you will meet him um and have a conversation with him and you can make up your own mind and I like I say I bet you Kevin is glad that he did um because at the end of the film Marley rescues Kevin and the movie is great and funny and I just love how he just beats up um what were they called Marvin hariry uh how he just beats these guys up um but ultimately it all fails doesn't it um and Kevin needs Marley fundamentally Kevin was a kid trying to deal with adult-sized problems uh and he needed Marley to help him intervene and I think that's the point right um You might feel like you've got it all together you're doing life just fine Kevin thought he was handling the wet Bandits really well as well and everything is going to plan until it isn't and at some point it doesn't and in truth I think often even as adults we're just kids uh trying to handle adult-sized problems uh and I think we need God to come and get alongside us help us you know Lord because this is way bigger than me and I think for me the first step in that Journey was to acknowledge the view I had about God was probably wared and twisted and I needed to meet him and then decide which I think fundamentally is what is all about um it's about meeting Jesus the Shepherds met him Joseph met him Mary met Jesus for the first time uh that very first Christmas Christmas is all about meeting Jesus so what else is Christmas about what else is going on in this story and I'm going to use that phrase that most preachers use I'm coming into land now is that my hint to pick the mic back up yeah get ready okay get ready uh so let's talk about Cath Catherine mallister Kevin's mom right now she is obviously desperately trying to get home she's desperately trying to get to Kevin she is trading jewelry she is taking flight she is on a van with the what were they the poker poker poker poker band which was John Candy I think from memory uh she was doing whatever she could do to get home which is what a mom would do and I think right here is the Christmas story uh I don't you see I don't think the first Christmas is just about a baby in a Manger um I don't think it's just about the Shepherds and the wise men and the angels and that's all amazing and awesome and we've talked about that before crowd um I think it was about God who looked at his children um lost alone trying to defend themselves against things too big for them to handle and he said you know what I'm Coming For You and I I think he did what he needed to do to get to us Jesus actually put it this way he said um the son of man came to seek and save the Lost not judge them not tell them off for getting lost uh but to find them and to bring them home that was his mission and Jesus tells This brilliant story which we've talked about before at crowd uh about a Shepherd who had a hundred sheep which is a very precise number but he had a 100 sheep 99 of them are doing really well one of them though wanders off and the Shepherds decides to leave the 99 sheep who are safe and go and find this one sheep that was lost and eventually he finds them um and you know what the shepherd did he didn't tell the Sheep off even if he did I don't think the Sheep would have fully understood to be fair uh he put the sheep on his shoulders carried the Sheep back and then has a big party basically there's rejoicing um and this is what the Bible tells us it says that uh Rejoice with me the shepherd says Rejoice with me for I have found my sheep that was lost and then Jesus uses this as an an allergy and he says just so I tell you there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents in other words there's a lot of joy in heaven when we are found which I think is a wonderful thing and that's for me uh what I when I watch Home Alone and I see Katherine mallister searching out her son I think think of God and Jesus searching me out at Christmas time and I think that's the joy of Christmas um it's not just about being found I think it's about the celebration that follows I love how scripture talks about this that there was rejoicing I think Christmas is about celebration I think it's about Joy uh I think it's about rejoicing God's not angry that we got lost but I think he is incredibly happy that we are found and so I hope you um experience that rejoice in this Christmas and I pray you find that Joy this season even if that season actually isn't that much fun um I don't know whatever's going on uh maybe like Kevin um I wrote this down maybe you feel a little bit like Kevin trying to handle everything on your own or maybe like old man Marley scared to take the step towards reconciliation with someone important or maybe you're just tired of Defending Your House against things that feel too big for you whatever is going on in spite of everything everything there is still joy to be found in the knowledge that we are cheesy line not actually home alone so Christmas we sing this song Don't We Oh Come Emmanuel and Emmanuel just means god with us the fact that Jesus came to be with us at Christmas is utterly mind-bending if Christmas is true it is I mean it's just mindbending uh that's why we can have joy I mean I love the carols I do I love the we sang some carols beautifully I love the decorations you can't see them with the beautiful fairy lights in the ceiling and it looks great I love the tree the decorations I love the food really really love the food definitely love the movies and I'm of course a big fan of the Christmas jumpers but for me Christmas ultimately is about finding that Joy it's about finding that celebration of a God who came to seek and save that which is lost and he found me and we can enjoy that and celebrate that so you know what at the end of the movie everyone comes home that empty quiet house becomes full of noise of laughter uh be becomes full of people Kevin has worked on his character whatever the problem was at the start of the film it's all forgotten about by the end of it even Buzz his brother becomes a nice guy for a second and I think if you think about if I think about it I think ultimately this is what God wants he wants his house full with his family full with noise full with joy full with laughter um I don't think his family is complete without you and I don't think it's complete without me I don't think he Santa checking to see if you've been naughty or nice this year because I think he dealt with a naughty problem once and for all 2,000 years ago through the death of Christ I just think it's all about you in God's house at Christmas having fun in God's family being found remember how Home Alone started Kevin wish and his family would disappear exactly the opposite with God uh he wants everybody uh to show up so yeah that's my little Preamble from the movie I've gone through all my my notes all my pages uh so all that's left to say on that I think well actually there's going to be a lot more to say on next we've got conversation Street coming up uh whatever your thoughts questions comments I do write them in the comments we will come to that um of course write your takeaway in there what's your biggest takeaway um especially from like the movie you know the Home Alone movie how it relates to the Christmas story when you watch it what's your biggest takeaway uh I would genuinely love to hear that write that in the comments um but yeah over to you Miss Anna wow where to begin with that I mean there was a lot in there Matt I'm just I'm just going to have a drink now so yeah yeah you just take a moment that was um inspiring and also yeah just a lot of challenge in there and a lot lot of things that I've never seen in that movie before I mean that whole the thing that struck me the most was that whole idea of when it feels like you're pursuing freedom and that freedom is totally being able to do whatever you want whenever you want like like Ken did at the start and how initially that feels like a really good thing I know I grew up in a Christian family and you know when I first left home I was like woohoo I can do whatever I want now no parents around I'm going to you and I you know I think a lot of people have that sense as they grow up of like wow I'm free from parental constraint I can do whatever I want to do with my life be whoever I want to be and yeah that can be exciting for a while but then it only takes you so far and um yeah it strikes me that kind of time and time again you see that that kind of idea that the world often sells us that total freedom is to Freedom doesn't actually take you into a place of Freedom long term it might fil for for a while yeah but actually I've just think I've got so many friends and yeah just different people that I've met over the years who've believed that and then found themselves somewhere other than Freedom like tied up in alcoholism or drug addiction or all kinds of difficult situations with relationships that they thought was going to be good and free and actually ended up really hurting them and harming them um yeah and yeah so it just strikes me that that is just really true and I've never seen that in that story like I've never thought about it in that way before yeah I think it's an interesting one isn't it the the idea of freedom is living without constraint which usually means living without consequence so um you know what would you do if you knew there were no consequences well I'll just eat chocolate all day because you know well why would I not take food but um and I have the freedom to do that but there is this restraint with it there's a consequence of it right and I have to be aware of that um and to live like there's no consequence to my actions or my behaviors well is is utter foolishness in many ways um and I think when I when I was younger you tend to live like that you tend to not think about the consequence you think about the here and now yeah you think you're very present uh what I do right now so the same when I when I left home I'm like Yay you know I don't have to do what I'm told anymore and I can do this that the other and it you know and you go and do things you probably shouldn't but that you you you do that not really thinking it through not really thinking about the consequences um I think as you get older you start to think a l not much but a little bit more about the consequences don't you of of of behavior uh you know I I know that if I don't exercise for a few weeks I'm going to be sore and stiff I I've become aware of that that's an age related thing you've not got there yet obviously I'm getting there to be honest yeah I I no you're right though I think some of it is an aging and but in a good way I think there's a maturity that comes when you realize Freedom isn't freedom from all constraint and actually that some restraint is a healthy good thing like I used to love freedom to do whatever I wanted at any time night or day and now I feel like actually I quite like structure in my life and having I don't know the kind of rhythms of life that mean I have to be certain places and do certain things I'm you know have to be more responsible I'm a m certain other people depend on me my employer depends on me like yeah I but I as I've grown older I've learned to actually like that rather than feel that it's a constraint or something that holds me back it's actually something that gives me more freedom yeah yeah entirely true entirely true so I I just it's I just think it's interesting to talk about this concept of freedom and what that actually means and why I think at the heart of the Christian message there's this concept of Freedom it is for Freedom that Christ set you free uh is what the Bible tells us and actually true freedom is the decision to to decide to follow Christ or not right now if I if I didn't have that freedom then I think we've got a whole different problem but I think that's the truth of God you make that decision yes or no and following Christ is choosing to be restrained there's that word again by Christ yeah that's he is my Lord this is language that the Bible uses I submit to him I bow the knee to him not my will but your will be done not my way but your way and that can be very hard to get your head around and actually I think it's quite costly I mean you know the Bible talks about you've got to lay down your life you got to take up your cross it's that daily decision to go I could choose to do this a different way but to do it your way to be restrained by you to be constrained by this Covenant that I am in is probably the better way and I think that for me is what freedom is all about yeah I think you're right and also it strikes me that that you know there's a cost to not doing that as well because would you agree that everybody is enslaved to something so you can be you know kind of lay down your life for Christ or you can be following something else I don't think anyone is truly free like I think about friends that I have who perhaps don't choose to follow Christ but they're pursuing something in their life something that's important whether that's money or fame or or popularity with people or just headism or you know you'll be enslaved to something yeah um I think over time if that's the thing you see more than anything yeah I think there's there's always something that's got our heart there's always something that's got our attention so in that respect there's no such thing as total freedom outside of no I think you have to understand what freedom is and isn't and I just think our our definition of freedom is skewed I think it's warped um and I think if you think freedom is life without restraint I think you've misunderstood what freedom is I just think that is uh selfish behavior in many ways um that is hedonistic that is indulgent that I mean there's so many words I could use to describe that and I'm talking about me here you know it's selfish I want to do things my way in my terms um because I'm not faffed with anybody else out here do you see what I mean as soon as you try and put some kind of constraint on me I am I am I have now become the victim I mean this whole victimhood culture in many ways is is has come out of this so I'm I think understanding what true Freedom what Biblical freedom is it's not a life without restraint it's the ability to choose what restrains you and I think once you've got your head around that it makes a lot more sense yeah I really like that choosing to and like deciding what you choose will restrain you yeah what's your gravity I think is a is a great thing because you've got to choose something something right and um it's it's true in life I mean a lot of self-help gurus talk a lot about discipline and they talk a lot about um resilience you know I can choose to spend an hour in the morning at the gym which no one really wants to do and restrain myself to that or I can choose not to do that right I can choose to uh put my selfish desires aside and be a better husband or I can choose not to do that right but fundamentally there are consequences to both those choices yeah do you see what I mean yeah and um I think it's just a really important conversation to get your header in yeah definitely I I also really liked actually mat what you said about um kind of like how the film reflects our views of God like you know on the one hand that God might be this mean and controlling or scary person and you know also I think often you know the Santa Claus kind of character who you just go to and ask for all your wishes to come true and he has a good list and a bad list and are you being nice enough to you know get into heaven or to get what you want out of God I think in a way that's quite a childish way to come to God isn't it like I think when I was younger I used to I wouldn't have ever phrased it that way but I do think I used to think about God a little bit like that like if I do all the right things and I just you know I'm a nice enough person and I you know read my Bible and go to church and do all the things that expected I felt were expected on Me growing up in a Christian family then like God will give me a nice life cuz that's the deal right like things will go my way when I pray get answered yeah I know that's not worked out so yeah but it's interesting isn't it how we can like make God yeah into our own image almost or what we think should how he should behave like that's it's a really interesting point isn't it because often times it's like that it's like you get asked questions like if God existed for example why is there suffering one of the big existential questions and I get it and I understand it because what we're saying is in my head if I was God if I had that power I would end suffering right so therefore if God hasn't ended suffering he has not acted according to my thinking therefore God is either not real or God is not good um and it's bringing God down to our human form now I think this the questions about suffering I'm not belittle in it and I I think there are big questions that we're going to get into actually a lot in the next term when we go through Genesis but I think um beyond that what that fundamentally is it's like I'm bringing God down to my level I am trying to think of God in my very humanistic terms uh which is why I struggle with this whole idea of uh truth comes from me you know truth is subjective truth is whatever I make it um because it's like well really where's that coming from if the truth is subjective where's that coming from it's coming from how I feel it's not really a great not really a great source of Truth is it how you feel because it changes fairly consistently and also what when you actually step back from it who really wants a god who's small enough to fully understand and contr control and think like you know a God that thinks like me you know that thinks that small and has that kind of perspective on the world like I don't want a god like that I want a god who's much bigger and much more all-encompassing all powerful and sees things I don't see and is out you know God is outside of space and time and you know and the creator of all things and like you know it it slightly brazs my mind when you really start to think of it like but I kind of at the same home don't you want a God who blows your mind who isn't so small that you can fully get him and put him in a little box and then he's not God take him around with you yeah yeah that's by very definition is is has is not good that's just like a Genie in a lamp yeah yeah and again I get my three wish Santa Claus again oh Santa Claus yeah yeah yeah it's the same thing isn't it uh Nicholas put here in the comments she now wants to go and watch Home Alone yeah I think everyone should do that this week go watch Home Alone and tell me what you think uh sefie you need to watch it again yeah do you know what really is going to scare you about home alone so um obviously mcau cin he plays the little boy Kevin in it yeah was about 10 when he did that movie which is the same age as my little boy is now right well he's nearly 10 and um do you know how old he is now well I'm guessing 44 44 yeah same age as me isn't that scary no way you're the same age as Kevin so when he filmed that that was the size I was roughly when that film first came out I actually remember going see it at the the theater like or at the cinema like when I was about 10 yeah 10 or that is slightly scary yeah that really makes you feel old doesn't it it does I'm not going to lie it does cuz uh why do how old would I have seen so it came out in 1990 so I'd have been 17 I was 10 yeah I was 17 you can do the maths it's fine just hold everyone how old I am I won't know I well never mind No One Believes you they're all going they're all writing in the comments there's no way you're 44 you're lying you're not telling the truth as long as they're saying I look younger not older yeah they're saying you look younger and they're put in the comments there's no way Matt's as young as 51 Matt looks old like 86 yes people surely him and Noah used to be mates H that's what they're saying in the comment I'm not they're not saying that at all of course obviously uh but yes I looking at the time we should probably end the live stream yeah yeah we've been going on uh just to let you know ladies and gentlemen that crowd will be uh uh not happening uh for the next two weeks so the next crowd EP I wonder it's not an episode what's the word I'm looking for service the next crowd service yeah the next crowd service 5th of January uh and we're going to start on the Book of Genesis we're going to have Jack marinina uh introducing us to the Book of Genesis we are going to be working through uh Genesis until Easter time awesome so if you don't know what Genesis is the first book of the Bible talks about the origins of the earth probably one of the most contentious books that we have in the Bible even in the church people how do we interpret it how do we understand it we're going to get into it we're going to ask we're going to I'm not saying we're going to answer all the questions we're going to ask a lot though uh and we are going to be looking at that we're going to be talking about the nature of God we're going to be talking I'm just trying to think of all the different ones covenants we're going to be talking about desire I mean it's all going on how the Earth was created I mean that's a big one isn't it science and religion what's all that together so do stay connected with us for that do like and subscribe with what's going on uh we would um love to stay connected with you on that but that's what's coming up next term but for the next two weeks there will be no crowd service online uh I'm going to be celebrating Christmas with my family which I assume is what you're going to be doing yeah I yeah I'm going to be celebrating Christmas with my family definitely yeah looking forward to a little break few days off work yeah what what what are you going to get for Christmas what getting for Christmas what do you want I don't know you have to ask Hope listen yeah um I haven't got anything major I want this year just little bits and pieces okay my son oh know I can't say in case he watches this what he's getting or what he wants well what he's put on his Christmas list which is very long but top of the list there's some really huge Nerf guns like nearly bigger than him so I'll send them around to yours with with them we got some time to bring some yeah yeah I'll have a Nerf fight with him that's no problem love that absolutely love that listen it's been great to be with you uh in about 10 minutes time if you'd like to come meet us online you can do um zo you're going to put the thing in the comments so in the comments um is although I'm not sure actually that goes in the Instagram comments it's just in the YouTube and Facebook comments basically I think it's go. crowd. Church MeetMe if you go to that URL in about 10 minutes um we'll just be there just saying hello come come say how's it be good to talk to you for 10 minutes uh good to meet you it's always nice to meet people I mean we talk to the cameras and we talk to this beautiful people in behind the cameras but um it' be always nice to meet people face to face but yeah anything else from you no just have a great Christmas and we'll see you in the new year yeah Merry Christmas everybody and we will see you in a couple of weeks have a good one care everyone bye for now