Digging in Deeper: Proverbs 29:18

“Without revelation people run wild, but one who follows divine instruction will be happy.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

It’s been a little while since I’ve gotten to do something like this. Part of the blame for that lies with my own schedule of late. The other part of the blame doesn’t fall on me, though. There just hasn’t been a whole lot from the other side that has furnished me the opportunity. The opportunity for what? Another media review! It’s fun Friday, and Marvel has finally released more content onto Disney+ for us to talk about. This time, appropriately enough given the season, it was all about witches. There were broomsticks and cauldrons and cats and spooky locations and more than a little of the occult. Let’s talk about Agatha All Along, Marvel’s first attempt to take a page out of Sony’s playbook and make a series in which the hero is a villain. And, fair warning, if you haven’t seen the series yet and plan to, don’t read on. I’m going to spoil all the big reveals as we go.

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Digging in Deeper: 2 Timothy 3:13

“Evil people and imposters will become worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

What if the people around you weren’t who you thought they were? Maybe you’ve had that experience. You thought you knew someone really well, and then seemingly out of nowhere they did something so profoundly out of character as far as you had understood it that you were struck with a powerful sense that maybe you didn’t actually know them at all. Depending on how close you are to the person with whom you had this experience, this could be a pretty painful discovery. I know of a woman who discovered after more than two decades of marriage that her husband had a completely separate family including a woman he called his wife and kids. Learning people aren’t who we thought they were can be intensely disorienting for us. But what if we learned they weren’t simply not who we thought they were, but were in fact aliens who could assume the identity of anyone around them. Then we’d be living in a comic book world. It is this very comic book world that was the focus of Marvel’s latest streaming release, Secret Invasion. Let’s talk about what worked, what didn’t, and the Gospel implications of a series with enormous potential, but which couldn’t quite stick the landing. By the way, if you haven’t watched the series yet, proceed at your own risk. This is going to be full of spoilers.

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Digging in Deeper: James 1:19-20

“My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for human anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever experienced the letdown of unmet expectations? I’m sure you have. We all do from time to time. Sometimes that’s our own fault because we placed too much hope in the wrong things. Sometimes it is the fault of someone else who sold us more than was available to buy. Oftentimes it’s a mixture of both. I recently experienced a theatrical letdown. My hopes were high for a great film, but it just didn’t deliver. This morning, we’re going to talk about the latest offering from Marvel Studios: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and why it just wasn’t what I expected. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, proceed with caution because I will include spoilers.

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