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(esoteric music)
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(gentle music)
(phone beeping)
(students talking)
- [Student] Daniel's here.
- [Daniel] Guys, can have your attention, please?
Guys, guys.
Thank you.
I just found out a great Christian friend of mine,
he died earlier this morning.
So today is definitely a very sad day for me,
all of a sudden.
I met him six years ago.
And if it's okay with you guys,
I would like to tell you about him.
You see, the Lord, he used this man
to change my life.
I was in youth group at my church
in school to set out for the summer.
Guys, we had no idea a huge change was coming our way.
(students talking)
- Students.
Students.
Students?
Students, please.
(Mr. Packer coughing)
Students.
- Come on, you guys.
Mr. Packard has something important to say.
- Girls, please.
- Shannon, quiet your pack.
Show some respect to Mr. Packard.
- No one cares what you say, Teddy.
- You will if I come over there.
- Don't threaten me.
- Like I'm scared.
- You better start watching your back.
- Shannon, come on.
Let Mr. Packard finish.
- [Teddy] We want to get out of here.
- I just want to let you know
that this is our last night together.
Next Sunday, you'll be getting a real youth director
because the church just hired one.
- You can't leave us Mr. Packard.
- Yeah, we just figured out
what we can get away with with you.
(students laughing)
- Very good.
Yes, so, well, now you'll have some on you to pick on.
I understand he went to seminary,
so perhaps he can teach you students something.
- Teddy's unteachable.
- Look who's talking.
(students laughing)
- Well, all I can say to the new guy is
good luck.
- It was unanimous decision, Brandon.
This congregation really wants you to be their new pastor.
They have the utmost respect for you and for Lisa.
- I don't know what to say.
I'm incredibly humbled,
and you know Lisa and I love it here too,
but I feel like the Lord wants me to lead the youth
at my old church first.
I mean, I'm worried about that place, especially those kids.
I feel like that's where I'm supposed to be for right now.
- Kind of like being a missionary in your own home church.
- Yeah, I guess so.
You know, I want to be here, Pastor,
but I feel like I could use this experience first.
- I can hang on to here for a little while longer.
We'll just wait on the Lord's timing.
And if you need someone to talk to, I'm here for you.
- I appreciate it.
I got the keys.
- And I'm ready.
Wait.
I'm nervous.
(gentle music)
And I'm hardly even talking.
- Babe, you're going to do great.
(students talking)
Can I have your attention, please?
Could I have your attention please?
Thank you.
My name is Brandon Cobb, your new youth director.
This is my beautiful wife, Lisa.
She'll be here with me each week to help out.
The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart.
The commandment of the Lord is clean,
enlightening the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever.
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
yea than much fine gold,
sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Moreover, by them as thy servant warned
and in keeping of them,
there is great reward.
Psalm 19, verses seven through 11.
I would like these verses to be the theme of this class.
First, a quick word about myself.
I actually grew up in this church.
Sat in this youth group.
I was a pretty worldly guy.
You know, just having fun.
In fact, the only reason I even came to church
is 'cause my parents made me,
but it all changed for me one day.
I got serious about the Bible
and the things of the Lord.
My eyes and understanding were opened,
and my hope,
well, our hope,
is that we can motivate you to get serious about him too.
However, in doing this,
you must have a handle on God's word.
So that's what I plan to do in here
on Sundays when we meet,
just talk about God's word,
and on Wednesdays, I'll mix it up with some fun events,
but always drawing it back to the word of God,
but I need your help in doing this.
I would like each of you to make a commitment
to do two things.
First, I'd like you to memorize
Psalm 19, verses seven through 11,
and then for your daily Bible reading,
start by reading the gospel of John,
just one chapter a day.
And we can discuss John, chapter one,
this Wednesday evening when we meet.
- Come on, man,
you really think that we wanna read the Bible?
- And you are?
- They call me Squirrel.
- Squirrel?
- Because he used to hunt squirrels when he was younger.
(students laughing)
- I see.
- I mean, it's boring.
Just being honest with you.
- And I appreciate the honesty,
but let me ask you something, Mr. Squirrel,
have you ever used a map before?
- Yeah.
When I didn't know where I was going.
- And it helps you get there, didn't it?
- Sure.
- Think of the Bible as a map.
Not only will it tell you how to live your life
here on Earth,
more importantly, it'll tell you how to get to Heaven.
- I still don't want to read the Bible.
How about you guys?
Anyone want to read the Bible?
(students mumbling negatively)
- Er, I, I do.
- And what's your name?
- N-, Natalie.
- It's nice to meet you, Natalie.
So is Natalie the only person in here
who wants to read the Bible?
- That's about it.
- You are?
- Teddy.
- It's nice to meet you, Teddy.
- Well, at least she know what you're up against.
(students laughing)
- You know, I grew up playing a lot of baseball.
Was a pretty good fielder, but just a fair hitter.
One day my coach comes up to me and he gives me this bat.
It's this really old looking bat.
And I'm pretty sure he made it.
He said, "Brandon, you start using this bat.
It's going to make you a better hitter."
I didn't want to at first.
I mean, the thing looked ridiculous,
but I wasn't hitting the ball either,
so I thought I'd give it a try.
And the strangest thing happened
I started hitting the ball.
I mean, I was hitting the ball
better than I ever had in my entire life.
I'd go up to all my teammates and say,
"You guys gotta use this bat,"
but they didn't want to,
'cause of the way it looked.
I kept using it,
and became one of the best hitters in my league that year,
I even made the all-star team,
got to play in this big stadium in the city.
We thought we were Major League Baseball players
getting to play on that field.
I'll never forget that day.
Got to bat three times,
I hit three line drive singles into left field,
hardest balls I ever hit.
And if you'd have been there that day, watching me play,
you would have said, "That kid is good."
But it wasn't really me.
It was that bat.
That old homemade bat that nobody wanted to use.
So you say, "What's the point?"
Ask yourself these questions. (gentle music)
Do you really want to go to Heaven when you die?
Do you want to live your life to please the Lord?
Do you want your life to be used by the Lord
to influence others for him?
If the answer to any one of those questions is yes,
then you must,
guys, you must use this bat.
Remember, it's the bat.
- I, uh, really like our new guy.
- Yeah, like we wouldn't have guessed.
- He's too preachy turned me off already.
He got one thing right though.
I'm only here because of my parents.
- Yeah, me too.
- That was a good story about the bat.
- All right.
You know the routine, make it fast.
- Don't worry, I will.
Hey, what are you going to tell him this time?
- I rigged the lights on one of the frying machines
so that it flickers.
(playful music)
Mr. Webber?
- Yes, Squirrel?
- I think there's something wrong
with one of the frying machines.
- Which one?
- Well here, lemme show you.
I noticed that the timer light wasn't working,
and it was flickering.
- [Mr. Webber] Flickering?
- Yes, flickering.
- [Mr. Webber] Flickering?
- Check it out, I noticed it on my last batch of fries.
- [Mr. Webber] That could be a short.
- [Squirrel] See right here, see?
On, off, on, off. (machine whirring)
What did I say?
- Mr. Webber's so stupid, he has no clue.
- Like I said, if we just do a little bit every time,
he's never going to find out.
- You got it, man.
- I'll see you later.
(birds singing)
- Marcy, remember, we've got church tonight.
- Yeah, I know.
- Well, I was hoping you'd be a little more excited
since you have a new youth director now.
- (scoffing) I think he's gonna be worse than Mr. Packard.
- What do you mean?
He just started.
You need to give him a chance.
You gonna ride with us tonight?
- No, I'm gonna drive,
I told Shannon I'd pick her up.
- You know, I really don't like you hanging around Shannon.
- She's my friend.
- She's not a good influence.
- Mom, she's my friend.
- I'd prefer you find some different friends.
- The, the judgements of the Lord
are true and righteous altogether.
More to,
to be desired...
More to be desired are they than gold,
yea, than much fine gold.
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Moreover by them is thy servant warned,
and keeping in them, there is great reward.
- N-, n-, n-, nice job, Natalie.
(students laughing)
- First of all, thank you, Natalie, that was a great job.
- Yes, Natalie, that was really beautiful.
- And Teddy,
think you might owe Natalie an apology
for your not so kind comment there.
- She knows I'm kidding.
- I know he's kidding.
- See?
- Okay, but how about we agree
not to kid around like that anymore?
And is Natalie the only person in here who knows the verses?
How about you Teddy?
You get them down?
- Nope.
And don't plan to memorize them either.
- Why not?
- Because I don't read the Bible.
I told you that already.
And don't go telling me some story about some baseball bat
'cause it's not going to do any good.
- Do you even have a Bible?
- Yep, it's on my shelf.
It looks good there.
(playful music)
- You run track, don't you Teddy?
- That's right.
- What event?
- 400 mainly, sometimes the relay.
- Okay.
Tell you what.
Why don't you and I have a race,
one lap, 400 meters next Wednesday.
And if I win, you make a commitment
to read the word of God every day for a month.
And if you win, I'll, I'll wash your car
the following Wednesday if you come to our meeting.
- You'll wash my car.
- If you win, I'll wash your car.
But if I win,
you read the Bible every day for a month.
- Come on, Preach.
You can't beat me in a race and you know that.
- I don't know, I ran in high school.
What do you say, guys?
Next week, we'll all head to the track
so Teddy and I can race.
- Why you want to race me, Preach?
You know you have no chance.
- [Brandon] I think I do.
- Just race him, dude.
Free carwash.
- There's a catch somewhere.
Some loophole.
- No catch man.
And I'm a man of my word.
The only question is, will you keep your end of the bargain
if you lose?
- Just race him.
It gets us out of class.
(students mumbling encouragingly)
- [Students] Race him, race him, race him.
- I'll keep my end.
You're on.
- Sounds great.
It's settled then.
We'll all meet here first
and then we'll head to the track together.
- Hey Preach.
You sure you wanna race me?
- Yeah, I'm sure.
(door creaking)
- Hi, Auntie.
- Oh hi.
How was the meeting?
- It was good.
Er, I,
really like Brandon.
- I'm so glad to hear that.
- Yeah, his, his wife Lisa is very nice too.
- And Teddy?
Again?
- But,
but Brandon said something to him about it,
which I really appreciated.
Mr. Packard would have never done that.
(gentle music)
- Don't you think I should end with that verse though?
Sweetheart?
You doing okay?
- I'm sorry.
I was just thinking about Natalie.
I was talking to her tonight after class,
and I feel so sorry for her.
- Because of the stuttering?
- Well yeah, that, but,
I found out tonight that both her parents
were killed in an accident
when she was only seven years old.
And ever since then,
she's been living with her aunt, Mrs. Kincaid.
- I didn't know that.
- Natalie showed me a picture of her.
She said they have a great relationship, so that's good.
- Yes, that's very good.
- She's just such a beautiful girl,
inside and out.
She told me she doesn't really have any true friends,
so I told her that she has two new friends in you and me.
- Yes she does.
- She wants her life to count.
To be used by the Lord.
- I'm really glad she has you.
(peaceful music)
(tense music)
All right guys, I am ready to go.
Question is, are you ready?
- Hey Preach, I'm gonna do you a favor, okay?
I'm gonna let you start on the inside.
- That's very kind of you, Teddy.
All right, Squirrel, you can be the starter.
- All right, come on boys.
- Let's go, Teddy.
- Let's go, go Brandon.
Someone has to cheer for him.
- Thank you, Natalie.
Let's go, babe. (clapping)
- Take your marks.
Get set.
Go!
(exciting music) (students cheering)
Come on, Teddy!
- Go Teddy!
- [Squirrel] Come on, Teddy!
Yeah!
(Lisa whooping)
- Go Brandon!
Come on!
- You got this, Teddy!
- Bye bye, Preach.
- [Marcy] Teddy won!
- [Shannon] Of course he won.
(Brandon sighing)
- Good race, Teddy.
- I was toying with you, Preach.
I could have beaten you by 100 meters if I wanted to.
- Free car wash, dude.
Hey Brand, how about you and I shoot some pool?
That's my game.
(laughing)
- All right everybody, fun's over.
Let's head back to the church now.
- Way to go, dude.
- Hey, good job Teddy, we knew you could do it.
- That race was so dumb.
- Great race, Teddy.
- Teddy, hey, good stuff.
- Hey Lisa,
I still don't know why your husband wanted to do this.
He had no chance.
- I know, right?
He never stood a chance.
- Then why he wanna race me?
- I guess because he thinks it's that important
for you to read the Bible,
he was willing to try.
(gentle music)
- Stay focused now.
- I'm ready.
- All right, here we go.
(playful music)
Hey, Mr. Webber,
can I talk to you for a second?
I have an idea for you.
- Oh boy, what is it, Squirrel?
- Boy is right, follow me this way.
So I've been thinking about this for a while now, right?
Over here.
You know how we put the lemon on the cup
when we serve water?
Why do we do this?
- Well, we've always done it that way.
- Right, but why?
Mr. Webber, I've gotta be honest with you here,
I see people take it off,
and just, they toss it.
So it seems to me like you could be saving some money here.
- Oh, I don't believe it'd be much of a savings.
- Yeah, but think about it, Mr. Webber.
It'll add up over time.
Now, no one's even gonna notice,
and hey, if someone says something,
then we'll just bring one right out.
No big deal.
- Well, you're just an idea man, aren't ya?
Build a better mousetrap.
What do you do, just sit around and think this stuff up?
- Just something I noticed.
- Well I'll tell you what, Squirrel.
I will consider it.
- That is all I can ask.
I'll see you later this week, yeah?
(birds singing)
(dog barking)
- Shannon, here's your allowance,
and the extra we said we'd give you
for going to youth group.
- Okay, leave it there.
- And your father and I are glad you're going.
It's what we want, and it's good for you.
- Wait, is that all I get?
I thought it was more.
- Shannon, we discussed this.
You get more in a month than most kids get in a year.
- Yeah, well I'm not most kids.
- [Teddy] Now, do a good job, Preach.
- Only the best for you, Teddy.
- And don't forget the tires.
- Hey, you got it, man.
- I'm gonna head inside now, and no help from Lisa.
She's gonna be my supervisor.
Don't help him.
- Okay, no help!
I'm the supervisor.
All right, let's get moving, Cobb.
It's not gonna wash itself.
(playful music)
(gentle music)
- Hey, how's it g- g- g- g- g- g- g- g-
going there, Natalie?
- Hi, T- Teddy.
(playful music)
- What's up, man?
(Teddy sighing)
What?
What is this?
- What's wrong, Teddy?
- There's something on the back of my chair.
- I wonder what it could be.
(Shannon laughing quietly)
- Shannon.
- Gotcha.
(Shannon and Marcy laughing)
- What is this, grade school?
- I told you to watch your back.
- That's a grade school move, Shannon.
- Ah, you'll survive.
- She got you, man.
(Shannon and Marcy giggling)
(students chatting quietly)
- All right everybody, let's get started.
- Brandon,
you actually washed his car?
- Of course I did.
- I didn't think you'd do it.
- Well, we made a deal.
- Teddy would have never kept his side.
- Hey, you don't know that.
- Please, like you're gonna read the Bible.
- I might have.
(Squirrel kissing his teeth)
- I washed his car, Squirrel,
because it was the right thing to do.
- Cool, I'm just saying that if Teddy lost,
he would have never kept up his side of the bargain.
- Hey, you do not know that.
- Yes I do, I know you.
- Let me ask you guys something.
Say you go to a convenience store,
buy a bag of chips and a soda.
Costs you four bucks.
You hand the cashier your 10 dollar bill,
and when he gives you the change,
instead of giving you a five and a one,
he gives you a 10 and a one.
What do you do?
- Easy.
You keep it.
- Yeah, you keep your mouth shut,
you pretend you didn't see anything.
- No you don't.
You'd call attention to it,
let him know a mistake's been made.
- You'd call attention to it,
but not me.
- Yeah, (clicking)
if the cashier's stupid enough to make the mistake,
that's their problem.
- What if you guys are the cashier?
- Then we're the stupid ones.
(Teddy laughing)
- It's the law of the jungle, Preach.
It's the way it is.
- Guys, don't let money dictate the situation here, okay?
Right or wrong should determine it.
That's the law of the Bible.
Your conscience will feel better about it too.
Just like me washing your car, Teddy,
I mean, we had a deal, I lost.
So I washed your car.
(stirring music)
It's just the right thing to do.
- Hey, Natalie.
How was youth group last night?
- It was good.
- Hmm?
Really?
Come on, what's wrong?
You seem down.
- I'm f- fine.
- Natalie.
What's the matter?
- It's,
the other,
other kids just make fun of me.
At least, Teddy does.
- Teddy again.
I'm gonna have to speak to his mother.
- N-, no, we've talked about this,
I mean, you, you can't, it, it'll just get worse.
- Natalie, it's hard for me to watch you hurting like this.
- It's not just Teddy.
I'm not making a difference
in anyone's life for the Lord.
I, I want my life
to count for something,
but how can it when,
when I can't even talk?
- Oh Natalie.
Natalie.
(gentle music)
I don't know why God has elected to give you
speech with a stutter.
I don't know.
What I do know is that probably
one of the most important men in the Old Testament, Moses,
had a speech impediment.
And God used him mightily.
Have you ever heard of Fanny Crosby?
She was blind,
and she wrote some of the most wonderful hymns
the church has ever known.
God found a way to use her mightily.
- I und-, I understand.
- Look, we both know that what Teddy is doing is wrong.
And I know you don't want me to talk with his mother.
So what I will do is pray,
and ask God to take care of this for you.
And by the way, you are making a difference
in the lives of other people.
You just don't know it yet.
You stay with living the life for our Lord,
and he will find a way to use you,
mightily.
- Okay.
- Now, did I tell you
that Lisa talked to me about what I did with Teddy?
(Marcy laughing)
- She saw that?
No, what'd she say?
- You know, that we shouldn't do that to one another
because we're young adults now.
She treated me like I was a five year old.
- She's probably just trying to keep the unity
within the group.
- Yeah, well we all know Natalie's her favorite.
- Yeah, but I feel bad for her, you know?
'Cause of her situation.
- Yeah, I guess I could feel sorry for her
if she didn't play the victim all the time.
- Brandon, would you mind taking this shirt
back to the store since it's near the church?
I decided I don't want this one.
- Yeah, that's fine.
- Thanks, I'll put it near the receipt over here, okay?
- Okay.
- What you working on?
- Checking some articles on how to build your youth group.
Everything in here mainly talks about organizing fun events,
nothing about using scripture.
- What brought this on?
- Got a call from our old friend, Matt.
- Matt?
What did he want?
I didn't think you two were that good a friends.
As I recall, you were usually on the opposite
side of the issues during seminary.
- Well, he heard I took the youth group.
Called to see how it was going.
- And probably to ask how many you have, right?
- Yeah, he then proceeded to tell me
that his youth group's grown from 60
to over 200 in just over a year.
- And now we know why he really called.
- I asked him how he did it.
He started talking about all these programs
and fun things that they do.
- Yeah, but is he giving them the truth,
or just telling these kids what they wanna hear?
- He just talked about the things that they do.
- So are we just gonna start playing games now
every time we get together?
- No.
(sighing) I'm sorry, honey.
I'm just frustrated.
- I know.
- I know what God has called me to do,
and I know that there is power in the word of God.
But with this group,
nothing seems to be registering.
- Brandon, it's the times we live in.
Most people aren't into spiritual things, you know that.
- Yeah, I know.
- I just wish we thought more about our end,
then people would take spiritual matters more seriously.
- Our end?
- When we die?
(Brandon laughing) Our end?
- That end.
- Yeah, that end. (laughing)
- That end.
(gentle music)
All right, this way guys, over here.
Just keep coming, a little bit further.
That's good, perfect, perfect.
You guys ever see a movie
called The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry?
- [Teddy] Never heard of it.
- I ha-, have.
- Wait, is that a Christian film?
- Yes it is.
- Oh, that explains why it's not on my watch list.
(students laughing)
- I really liked it.
- The movie's about a 75 year old man
who tries to motivate these three 12 year old boys
to read the Bible and follow the Lord.
My favorite scene is where Jonathan
takes them to a cemetery.
Starts talking to them about eternity.
- So that's why you brought us here?
- Well, the Bible says it's better
to go to the house of mourning than the house of feasting
because death is the end of every man.
And the living take it to heart.
- Using scare tactics now, Brandon?
- No scare tactics.
It's just reality.
We're all gonna die.
Unless the Lord comes back first,
and when you think about death,
it's a scary thing.
- I ain't worried.
When I die, I'll just deal with it then.
- No you won't, Teddy, it'll be too late then.
Guys, this is why it's important for us
to put our trust in Jesus before we die.
- Okay, so what does that mean, Preach?
Trust in Jesus, I mean, we all heard it,
but what does it really mean?
- Okay.
I'll tell you guys a story
about something that happened to me a couple of years ago.
Excuse me, guys.
I was flying by myself, going to Denver.
Plane left under pleasant skies in the early afternoon.
As we got closer to land,
the weather started getting pretty bad.
Pilot comes over the loudspeaker and says,
"It's gonna be a bumpy ride coming in."
Ordered the flight attendants
to shut everything down and buckle up.
(somber music)
As we continued to fly,
the plane started bouncing around more and more.
I thought to myself, "This is getting serious."
I looked out my window,
and all I could see were dark clouds all around me.
Plane started jumping around even more,
and the turbulence was so violent,
it had become a real force to reckon with.
I gotta tell you, guys,
I was scared.
I mean, really scared, everyone was.
Plane had literally turned into a roller coaster
that nobody wanted to be on.
So I started praying.
And I mean really praying hard.
And I'll be honest with you guys,
I thought we were gonna crash.
I thought I was gonna die that day.
Have you ever been totally frightened,
thinking you might die?
All other thoughts go away, they just vanish.
The last 20 minutes of that plane ride
was the most severe case of turbulence
I've ever experienced.
But finally, yes, finally,
the plane landed.
The moment it touched the ground,
the whole plane just erupted into a huge applause,
everyone was cheering.
Even the flight attendants.
What a relief to be on the ground.
To be safe.
Just a moment earlier, I'd never been so scared
in my entire life.
In that moment, never been so happy.
I grabbed my bag from the overhead compartment,
started walking off the plane,
and usually, the flight attendants are there
to greet you as you walk off,
but this time,
it was the pilot.
The couple in front of me spoke to him,
and then it was my turn.
And I said, "Thank you, sir.
Gotta tell you, I've never been so scared.
Didn't think we were gonna make it."
And he looked at me
with a very calm demeanor,
and a reassuring voice.
He said, "There is no need to be scared.
I had it all the way."
(uplifting music)
I thought about that phrase as I entered the terminal.
Sorry guys.
You just had to be there
to know what we were experiencing.
I mean, the fear was so real.
You see, I had no idea how to land that plane.
I had to trust that the pilot could do it.
And the same rule applies to our lives here as well.
It's a scary thing to think about our death,
I told you, I'm scared to die.
But when it happens,
and for those of us who have followed the Lord,
we are gonna have to trust
that Jesus had it all the way.
That Jesus will do what he said he would do,
and usher us into the presence of God with him in Heaven.
And that, Teddy, to me,
is an example of what it means to trust in Jesus.
Anyway,
let's head back to the church now.
- Hey Brandon.
That was good, man.
Jesus had it all the way.
I like that.
- Thanks, Squirrel.
(stirring music)
(knocking)
- Marcy, here's some of your stuff.
- All right, if you just put it right there,
I'll put it away.
- Thanks, I appreciate that.
What's this?
- It's just something Brandon gave to us.
- What's it supposed to be?
- Just something he was telling us about.
- What?
Do you mind sharing with me?
(Marcy laughing)
- The white flag is supposed to symbolize
us surrendering our lives to the Lord.
He gave it to everyone.
Told us to keep it.
And he said when you feel committed,
to raise the flag up.
- So why haven't you put up the flag?
- Mom,
please, just put it back.
- Okay.
Okay.
I'm sorry, I know this is your space.
- Thank you.
(gentle music)
- Okay, now wait here while I get him out of the way.
- Cool.
(playful music)
- So lemme see if I got this straight.
The boss's wife tried to make a move on him and he said no.
Then she said that Joseph made the move on here,
and he went to jail.
- Yep, that's what happened.
- I mean, that's not right.
- Wait, you believe that story?
Joseph was guilty.
- Shannon, Joseph was a righteous man,
he ran from her because he didn't wanna sin before God.
- All men are the same.
- The dude got railroaded, Shannon.
Typical woman, she didn't get what she want,
so she turned on him.
- Like I have always said,
you cannot trust women.
- Oh, and like you're the expert.
(students laughing)
You don't know anything.
- Come on, Shannon, what are you talking about?
(students clamoring)
- Okay, guys, guys.
Settle.
Here's an observation
that I want you to take from this story.
In this life, we will suffer injustices.
And they're hard to swallow at times.
I mean, Joseph went to prison
and he was there for a long time.
And he did nothing wrong.
And he had to keep trusting
that God was gonna get him through it.
And that's really the point that we're trying to make here.
- Remember, this Saturday, we're going up to Potter's Ranch
for our one day retreat.
We'll meet here at the church at eight,
and we should be back by six.
- And if you want,
we can argue more about men and women up there.
(laughing)
(Shannon and Marcy talking quietly)
- [Marcy] We're gonna be late.
it doesn't make a difference though,
nobody will notice.
- [Shannon] You might kiss Stanley?
- [Marcy] Yes.
(Shannon and Marcy laughing)
That'd be so funny.
- Hey girls, can I talk to you for a minute?
- Sure.
- I was hoping that
you might reach out to Natalie.
I just noticed that no one really talks to her very much.
- We can't really relate.
- Well, maybe you could try to.
- It's really hard to talk to her.
She takes like a year to say anything.
- That seems a bit exaggerated.
What if the roles were reversed?
- But they're not.
- But what if they were?
Just please think about trying, okay?
- Okay.
- Thanks.
I'll see you Saturday.
(tense music)
- She's starting to annoy me.
(pool balls clanking)
(phone ringing)
- Teddy, what's up man?
- [Teddy] Marcy just called me.
Says Shannon wants to meet with us today.
- About what?
- [Teddy] She didn't say, just said it was important.
- Why'd she have Marcy call you?
- [Teddy] You know Shannon, thinks she's a big shot.
It's like Marcy's her secretary.
She says she wants to meet tonight.
- Tonight?
No, I got work at five.
- [Teddy] I told her that, she said we can meet there
before your shift.
- All right, yep, I'll be there.
(phone beeping)
All right Shannon.
I've got like five minutes before work starts,
so what's so important?
- We need to figure out a way to get rid of Brandon.
- Is that what this is about?
- Yeah.
They need to go.
- What's wrong with Brandon?
- [Shannon] I don't like him.
- Brandon's okay.
- Yeah, he's okay.
I got a free car wash.
- Teddy got a free car wash.
- And he did a good job too.
Hey, you need to get him to play you at pool,
get you a free car wash.
- Nah, he won't play me.
- Guys, they're trying to brainwash us.
- He's just doing his job.
- They need to go.
I want Mr. Packard back.
- Mr. Packard, why, so you can rule again?
- Marcy, what do you think?
- I thought Brandon was gonna be okay at first,
but I'm gonna have to go with Shannon on this one.
- See?
They need to go.
- You know, you keep mentioning Brandon.
You also keep saying them or they,
so I think that this isn't about Brandon.
But it's Lisa that bugs you.
Isn't it?
- Yeah, do we detect some sort of jealousy here?
- Mm hmm.
- She's Little Miss Perfect and I don't like her.
- Don't you got better things to worry about
back at the estate?
(Squirrel laughing)
- They're brainwashing us.
You mark my words.
- All right, this is stupid,
and I've got a work shift, all right?
- You mark my words.
- Been trying to make it interesting.
But for the most part,
they're just not serious about their commitment.
If there even is a commitment.
I'm not sure what else I can do.
We do have this one girl, Natalie,
and that's about it.
- Welcome to the ministry.
(Brandon laughing)
You sure you still wanna pastor?
- Yeah, maybe I should reconsider.
- Well, you were voted in unanimously,
but I could do a recount.
- I've been doing some research,
and it seems that there's more talk these days
about growing your membership with programs and events
rather than just simply building your flock
by teaching the word of God.
- Sad,
but true.
- Let me ask you.
Did you ever have that temptation?
- (sighing) Brandon,
every pastor wants their church to grow,
but not at the expense of misleading people
or making the Gospel easier for them to accept.
I heard a sermon once that has always stuck with me.
I was at a week long revival meeting,
it was years ago, I was in my twenties,
I was younger than you,
and I had just committed to the ministry full time.
And that night, the preacher said,
"God is looking for two things."
And he said, "If you don't hear anything from me
for the rest of the week, get these two things."
He said, "God is looking for faithfulness,
and he's looking for motives, and don't ever forget it."
Well, that really spoke to me,
and I have tried to keep that
in the forefront of my ministry ever since.
- That's a good word.
- Well, that's why I wanna remind you,
don't give up on these students.
Just keep sharing the truth,
because you never know what's getting through.
- I will.
But with this group,
it looks like nothing that I say or do is getting through.
- Ah, well,
look at the group Jesus had to deal with.
Peter, James, John,
did I say Peter?
- And I have to deal with Teddy, Marcy,
Shannon and Squirrel.
- Squirrel?
- It's his nickname.
- Well, Jesus had to deal with Judas too,
knowing all along he was gonna betray him,
but he never gave up on him.
- I hear you.
I do care for these kids, Pastor.
I wanna see them do well in their lives,
to follow the Lord.
- God knows your heart, Brandon.
He knows what you wanna see happen there.
But you know, everyone may not respond.
- I'd take one more person right now.
(Pastor laughing)
All right guys, come on in.
Let's go, let's go, let's go!
(upbeat music)
Park it over here, guys, for a second.
I wanna talk to you about something.
Guys, the two most important decisions
you'll ever make in your life,
number one is to receive the Lord.
- And the second is who you will marry.
And that's what we'll talk about in this discussion.
- Guys, let's be honest.
We tend to always make our choices
based purely on the physical appearance.
- But the goal should be to find the one
that God wants you to be with.
- And since you're gonna spend
the rest of your life with this person,
you wanna find someone who'll put the Lord first.
- And you wanna find someone
who's gonna be your best friend.
- Also, guys, I wanna challenge you
to keep your relationships as pure as you can
until you get married.
- Because that'll help you make your decision
based on a spiritual relationship,
not just a physical one.
- I wanna see you guys
have real happiness in your marriages.
- And when you find the right guy,
God's man for you,
oh, how amazing your relationship and your marriage can be.
- And you think you found the right guy?
- Yes, Shannon, I have.
- Remember, when we keep God's principles,
there is great reward.
- This is hard, Preach.
- Training for your races is hard too, Teddy.
But it's worth it once you have success.
- I know one thing.
My wife better be a good cook,
or I ain't gonna marry her.
(boys laughing)
- That's great Teddy,
you're gonna pick a wife based on how well she can cook.
- It's better than when you ask a girl out.
(Teddy laughing)
"Hey, do you wanna go out with me?
And by the way, do you like to hunt squirrels?"
(boys laughing)
- You know, it's a great thing I don't say that.
- I can see the ad now.
"Must love to hunt squirrels."
(boys laughing)
- Whatever, man.
- Guys, whether she can cook or hunt squirrels or whatever,
Proverbs says whoever finds a wife,
finds a good thing.
And obtains favor from the Lord.
- And you found a good thing in Lisa, didn't you?
- Yes, Squirrel.
I sure did.
- I don't know why Shannon is so down on Lisa.
- Yeah, Shannon's the one that needs to go.
- I think Brandon's doing a pretty good job.
He's definitely more interesting than Mr. Packard.
- Sure does take that Bible stuff seriously.
- Yeah, he does, doesn't he?
I mean, that dude, he's very serious about all this.
(stirring music)
- Your shot.
(bell ringing)
- Hi. - May I help you?
- I need to return this shirt my wife purchased,
she just decided she didn't want it.
- Okay sir.
Oh, sorry.
This was on the all sales final rack,
this one can't be returned.
- Really?
Um, I bet she didn't know that. (laughing)
How would she have been able to tell?
- There would have been a sign on the rack.
Plus it's coded right here on the receipt.
- (sighing) And you can't take this back?
- Sorry sir.
- No chance, huh?
- Sorry.
Those were the terms of the sale,
and I can't change the terms.
- I understand.
I appreciate your help though.
(bell ringing)
(somber music)
I can't change the terms.
Hey guys, sorry I'm late.
Ready to go now.
Who wants to recite the verses?
Other than Natalie?
Come on, guys.
We do these every time, surely someone else has them by now.
Play the flute.
This is what we all should be doing.
I know you're confused, what do I mean?
In Matthew chapter 11,
Jesus makes a profound statement in verses 16 and 17.
He says, "What shall I liken this generation?
It's like children sitting in a marketplace
calling to their fellows,
'We piped unto you and you've not danced.
We mourned unto you and you've not lamented.'"
What does he mean?
You see, these are two extremes.
"We piped unto you and you've not danced."
Another translation says,
"We played the flute for you, and you've not danced."
See, this was the message of Jesus
going around and saying, "Whosoever believes in me,
I will give them eternal life."
"We mourned unto you, and you've not lamented."
See, this was represented by the preaching
of John the Baptist,
who had a message of repentance to the people.
And what was the Jews' response?
They didn't.
They responded to neither one, they stayed in the middle,
because they were indifferent.
And what Jesus said over 2,000 years ago
is still true today because as far as I can tell,
most people just don't care.
I get it, guys, look.
There was a day I didn't see my need for any of this.
For God or for the Bible.
I was only interested in what I could do for myself.
I got involved in a lot of sinful vices
'cause I thought it was the thing to do.
But it didn't lead me anywhere.
It didn't give me any real joy or real peace.
In fact, it just left me feeling empty inside.
And then I watched two of my best friends die
within about a month's span.
One from a drug overdose,
the other because he was driving drunk
and got killed in a car accident.
And it shook me.
These guys were my friends.
But where are they now?
I wish that I could help them,
but I can't.
I wish that I could tell them
about the new life that I have in Christ, but I can't.
I wish that I could tell them
I found true joy and true peace.
But I can't.
Guys look, I'm not God.
I can't judge their hearts.
But they never took this Bible stuff seriously.
And it seems to me that you guys keep passing on it too.
And as much as I wish I could help you,
I realize now
I can only play the flute.
You have to respond.
You have to make it your own.
Sadly, most of us don't.
Like the Jews of old, we too have become indifferent.
Indifferent to the fact that Jesus Christ came to this Earth
and died on the cross being the perfect sacrifice
to pay the penalty for our sins.
Indifferent to the fact that he was then buried,
and he rose again on the third day
according to the scriptures, proving he was God.
Indifferent to the fact that he went
to the right hand of the Father to make a way
for us to enter Heaven and have eternal life.
The Lord Jesus is looking for followers
who realize that they are sinners and need a savior.
These are his terms.
And I can't change them.
And only the humble may apply.
You see guys, as you sit here tonight,
you're either playing the flute,
or the flute is being played to you.
In other words, you're either sharing
the good news of Christ,
or you need someone to share it with you.
I know what I wanna do.
I wanna play the flute.
And you see this book, guys?
This book whereas written by God and given to us
for our benefit, to help us, and to guide us.
This is why we study it.
This is why we learn it.
Now, does anyone,
other than Natalie,
want to recite the verses?
(somber music)
I can't change the terms.
Go ahead, Natalie.
- The law of the, the Lord is perfect,
converting the soul.
The...
Testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple.
The st-, st-, statues of-
- The statues of the Lord are right.
Rejoicing the heart.
(music swelling)
The commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever.
The judgment of the Lord is true,
and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold.
- Yea, than much fine gold.
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb,
moreover by them is thy servant warned,
and in keeping of them there is great reward.
- Now it's time to get serious.
(gentle guitar music)
■ I have decided ■
■ I'm gonna take a stand ■
■ No more hiding ■
■ No more sitting back ■
■ 'Cause I'm done staying silent ■
■ Caught up in my choice ■
■ And I'm gonna stop trying ■
■ And raise my voice ■
■ I surrender all to you ■
■ Everything I say and do ■
■ I am done with my pride ■
■ God, I give you all my life ■
■ 'Cause your word is perfect and pure ■
■ I've heard and now I'm sure ■
■ It's written on my heart forever ■
■ God I, I surrender all to you ■
■ Everything I say and do ■
■ I am done with my pride ■
■ God, I give you will my life ■
■ 'Cause your word is perfect and pure ■
■ I've heard it now I'm sure ■
■ It's written on my heart forever ■
■ God, I surrender ■
- Thanks for waiting, boys.
Here's your checks.
- Thank you, sir.
- Yes, thank you.
- Have a good night.
- Hey,
why did you clock us out right away when we got there?
We didn't get any extra time.
- I can't do what we've been doing anymore.
- What are you talking about?
- Clocking out late like we do, I can't do it.
- What do you mean?
It's what we do every time.
- Not anymore, man.
- Why not?
- Because it's stealing.
- It's no big deal, he doesn't notice.
- Donnie,
if you owned this place,
would you want your employees doing this to you?
- [Donnie] I wouldn't care.
- Donnie, look at me, man.
Be honest.
Would you want your employees
to be doing what we have been doing?
Stealing from you.
- No, I wouldn't.
- Okay, great, so then we need to stop,
and we need to do likewise,
I'm telling Mr. Webber what we've been doing.
- You can't do that, you'll get us fired.
- It's a chance we gotta take.
- [Donnie] You can't.
- I need your check.
- What?
- We need to give him our checks to cover what we stole.
- No way, I need this.
- Donnie, I'm telling him what we both did,
and I'm giving him my check so you need to do the same.
- Forget it, man.
- You're gonna be fired for sure if you don't,
because I'm telling him.
Look, I'll do the best I can to cover for you,
because it was my idea, but,
I need your check.
- Ever since you got into that Bible stuff,
you're different, man.
- Yeah.
It's called having some wisdom for once.
- Oh, you think you're better than me now?
- No, I never said that.
It's just something that I know that I,
that we need to do.
Your check, man.
(somber music)
- Hey man, just give me a minute to drive away.
(gentle music)
- I gotta get the right number.
(knocking)
- Mr. Webber, can I talk to you for a second?
- What is it, Squirrel?
- I wanna give you these two checks back.
- What?
These are payroll checks.
- Donnie and I have been stealing from you, sir.
- Stealing?
What do you mean?
- Well, when we clock out, we've been faking it.
And we've been adding 10 to 15 minutes
on our timecards each time.
- Adding time?
- Yes sir, and we know that we're wrong, sir,
and that's why we feel like we owe you.
- Wait, wait, you've been messing with your time cards,
adding minutes?
- Yes sir, but we've only been doing it for a few weeks,
and these two checks here should be more than enough
to cover what we owe you.
- I can't believe that you guys would do that.
I, I, I should fire you right now.
In fact, where is Donnie?
- Well, he's gone sir.
But he knows that I'm here to talk to you.
You see, sir, it was my idea,
and all I can say is that I'm sorry,
and that I promise you, Mr. Webber,
that if you give me another chance,
I will be the best employee that you have ever had,
and I think Donnie will be too.
- You are an idea man, aren't you?
Ideas on how to rip people off.
Talk about taking advantage,
I have been good to you.
- Yes sir, you have been.
And I'm sorry.
We're both sorry.
Mr. Webber, it won't happen again.
You see sir, I started reading the Bible.
(gentle music) And I've gotten serious
about my relationship with the Lord.
And that's why I'm telling you this.
- Really?
- We're sorry.
I guess I'll,
wait to hear back about our jobs?
Okay.
- Squirrel?
I appreciate you telling me this.
- Well,
it's just the right thing to do.
- I'm not getting paid to be here like you are.
- So Natalie just walked in.
Did I tell you, I overheard Lisa
talking to Natalie about boys.
Probably because Natalie wants a boyfriend or something.
(Marcy chuckling)
And Lisa said, "Just be patient,"
'cause God's got someone special just for her.
- She's probably just trying to encourage her.
- But why lead her on?
No one's gonna wanna marry that stutterer.
Can you imagine her at a wedding?
"Do you take this man to be your husband?"
"Oh, I think, I, er, er, er,
d-, d-, d-, d-, d-, do." (Marcy laughing)
- Hey Shannon.
I overheard you talking.
You mind laying off Natalie?
She doesn't bother you.
- Well look who's talking.
No one makes fun of Natalie more than you do.
Hypocrite.
Come on. (gentle music)
- I just need a little more time.
We had this breakthrough with some of the students,
and we've been having some really good discussions.
- That is great to hear.
- I wanna thank you so much for being patient.
I mean, you know Lisa and I wanna be here,
but we can't leave just yet.
- We understand.
- Thank you so much for the support.
I'll keep you posted, okay?
- Brandon.
I am very proud of you.
- Thank the Lord, sir.
- Natalie?
There's someone here to see you.
- [Natalie] To see me?
- To see you.
- Teddy.
- Hi Natalie, sorry to bother you.
Can I talk to you for a minute?
- I'm gonna let you two have a moment.
- No Mrs. Kincaid, please stay,
I'd like you to hear this as well.
Natalie, um,
I'm sorry for the way I've been making fun of you
about your speech. (gentle music)
It's been downright mean, and it's a sin,
and there's no other way to call it.
I know that you usually just laugh about it,
but deep down inside, I'm sure that I'm hurting you.
And I'm sorry.
Very sorry.
I have no excuse for making fun of you the way I did,
so I hope you can forgive me.
All I can say is that I was blind,
and now I see.
- Well, er,
thank you, Teddy.
I forgive you.
- No,
thank you.
- Teddy, that was really just so great of you.
- Thank you for accepting my apology, Natalie.
I'm gonna go now.
(Teddy laughing)
See you at youth group.
- Okay, see you there.
- Thanks for stopping by.
- Natalie, um, (gentle music)
I wanna encourage you to keep being who you are.
You see,
everyone at youth group knows one thing.
That if there's a real Christian in there,
it's you.
I'm really glad you're here with us, Natalie.
- All right, listen up, listen up.
I've got some exciting things to talk about tonight,
found in the Book of Genesis.
- Where's Lisa?
- Yeah, no Lisa tonight.
She wasn't feeling too well.
So I'm flying solo.
She did want me to tell you all hi,
so hi.
(students laughing)
So Methuselah lived to be 969 years old,
which makes him the oldest person recorded in the Bible.
And his name literally means
his death shall bring judgment.
Okay, I want you to keep that in mind.
Now, Methuselah lived 187 years
and had a son named Lamech.
Lamech lived 182 years,
and had a son named Noah.
So Methuselah was 369 years old when Noah was born.
Gotta keep in mind
people lived a lot longer back then.
This was before the flood.
Now, what did I say Methuselah's name meant?
- His death shall bring judgment.
- Exactly, now Squirrel, what does the Bible say
in Genesis, chapter seven, verse six?
- "And Noah was 600 years old
when the flood of waters was upon the Earth."
- So how old was Methuselah when the floods came?
- 969.
- And if his name means his death shall bring judgment?
- God predicted it.
- That's right.
God foreshadowed the great flood
969 years before it ever happened.
- Wow.
That's pretty cool.
- That's why God is God.
And the numbers always add up in the Bible.
Anyway, our time's up for tonight.
Now lemme close with a quick word of prayer.
Father in Heaven, I thank you so much
for these students, for your word and its accuracy,
and how amazing it is when we dig in
to see what it offers.
I pray your blessing over these kids,
bring them back safely here Sunday.
In Jesus' name, amen.
All right, guys, thanks for coming.
Have a good night and we'll see you Sunday.
- Hey, you go ahead.
I'll meet you in a minute.
- Okay.
(students chatting)
- It was pretty cool.
- [Student] Thanks.
- Thanks buddy, have a good night.
- See you Sunday.
- Yeah, see ya.
- Thank you. - Yeah.
- That was really good.
- Thank you, Natalie, have a good night.
- That was all right.
- Thanks dude.
- That was cool man.
See you Sunday?
- Yeah, I'll see you.
- Okay.
- Brandon.
Can I talk to you for a minute?
- Yeah sure, what's up?
- I just wanted to say
that I want to start participating more.
I know I haven't been very enthusiastic,
especially with your wife.
I'm sorry.
I wanna try to change my ways,
because I know you're just trying to help us.
(gentle music)
- Shannon,
thank you, this is really great to hear.
- Yeah.
That's all I have to say.
- Okay.
- Okay, bye.
- All right, have a good night.
I'm home, babe.
You feel any better?
- So much better, I'm so glad I stayed home.
- Well, you are never gonna guess
who just apologized to you and me tonight.
(phone ringing)
This is Brandon.
Pastor wants to see me?
Sure, I'll be right there.
- [Pastor Michaels] I do appreciate you coming in today.
Yes, come in.
- You wanted to see me, sir.
- [Pastor Michaels] Yes, there's something
that we'd like to talk to you about.
This is Mrs. Burns, Shannon's mom.
- Oh, it's a pleasure to meet you.
- Brandon, did you meet with Shannon last night?
- Yeah, she was at youth group.
- And did you meet with her alone?
- Alone?
Er, for a minute.
She stayed afterward and said
she wanted to talk to me about something.
- And what happened then?
- It was actually pretty amazing.
She wanted to apologize to me
for not being as cooperative as she could
for Lisa and myself.
She seemed very sincere, it was a beautiful moment.
Is Shannon okay, did something happen to her?
- Where was Lisa?
- She wasn't feeling well, so she stayed home.
Can someone please tell me what's going on here?
- I'll tell you what's going on.
Shannon told me you made a pass at her.
- Made a pass?
That's ridiculous.
- She was very distraught and upset,
her friends had to drive her home.
- This is crazy.
We talked for two minutes, she apologized,
I accepted and then she walked away
with a smile on her face.
I don't understand what's going on here.
- You are lucky my husband is out of town
on business right now.
- Okay, Mrs. Burns,
I don't know what Shannon's up to here,
but I can assure you I did not make a pass at your daughter.
- I don't want you ever going near her
ever again, you got it?
- Okay, Sandra, please let me make a suggestion.
I would like to privately meet with you and Shannon first,
and then perhaps we can get together after that.
I would also like to keep this very quiet, okay?
Especially until we get things sorted out.
- What about the youth group?
I certainly don't want this man teaching our kids.
- I'll take care of that.
Let's just set up the meeting with Shannon,
and then we'll go from there, okay?
- I can bring her by this afternoon.
- That'd be fine, I'll be here, we can meet right away.
- Thank you, Pastor.
Stay away from her.
- Her apology was a set up.
- This could be very serious, Brandon.
- She's lying, Pastor.
I don't know what she's up to, but she is lying.
- Okay.
Let's hope so.
(somber music)
- Pastor Lawrence.
It's Brandon.
I think our time at this church just ended.
- [Teddy] You've gotta be kidding me.
- I'm not, just got off the phone with Pastor Michaels.
- Well, did you tell him that Shannon
has it out for Lisa?
That maybe she's just trying to get rid of her?
- Teddy, I told him everything,
and he says it's Brandon's word against Shannon's.
- Yeah, but it's obvious she's lying.
Surely Pastor Michaels believes Brandon over Shannon.
- I don't know, man.
So we might have a bigger problem here.
If word gets out about this,
it is going to ruin Brandon.
- Yeah, but there's no way Brandon made a pass at Shannon.
Did you talk to him?
- Yes, and he said that she's making it up.
- Oh man, this is wrong.
- I'll tell you what's gonna happen here, Teddy,
the church is going to get rid of Brandon.
- Yeah, but he's the best thing to happen to this church.
- And they're going to get rid of him.
You watch.
- [Marcy] You know, a lot of people are starting
to find out about what happened.
- [Shannon] Yeah, well,
Brandon should have thought about that before.
- Well, now my mom's getting a lot of phone calls
asking her about it.
- I couldn't just let it go,
what if he did that to someone else?
Want some more soda?
- Yeah, sure, thank you.
- I wonder if Lisa thinks Brandon's the right guy now.
(Marcy laughing)
- I understand, Pastor Michaels.
It's been an honor to serve.
If it'd be okay, I'd like to come by the church on Sunday
and say a final goodbye to the students.
I've grown quite fond of them these past few months.
I'll keep it short, yeah.
Okay, I'll see you Sunday.
Bye.
- So we're moving on?
- Moving on.
Although he says it's her word against mine,
he does believe me.
More and more people
just keep finding out about the incident,
and it feels like this is best.
- Best,
or easiest?
(students talking)
- Students,
students, hey, can I have your attention please?
Thank you.
Mr. Packard is going to be taking over
your class for a while
until we can find a new youth director
as Brandon is moving to a new position at another church.
- You mean because Shannon
ran him out of here with her lies.
- I realize that some of you are upset,
but since word of this has gotten around,
we feel that it's best to make this change.
- Pastor, she's lying,
and she's too afraid to show her face here
because she knows that we'll expose her.
- I told her not to come in today,
and Brandon is here, and he wanted to take a moment
to be able to say goodbye to you.
- Shannon's the one that should be saying goodbye.
- I know you guys are upset.
- Because she made it up,
and you're punishing an innocent man here.
- But I really think it's for the best.
- But how could you believe what she says?
- Squirrel.
Let it go.
Do you remember I told you the story of Joseph?
How we all suffer injustices in this life, do you remember?
Let it go.
- Okay, Brandon, if you could.
- Thank you, sir.
I want you all to know that Lisa and I,
we'll cherish all the fond memories we made here together.
It's been an absolute pleasure getting to know all of you.
- This is so un-, so unfair.
- It's for the best, Natalie.
- Pastor,
do you mind if I say something else?
- No, go ahead.
(somber music)
- I do want you guys to always remember one thing.
The law of the Lord is perfect,
converting the soul.
Testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple.
Statutes of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart.
The commandment of the Lord is clean,
enlightening the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever.
The judgements of the Lord
are true and righteous altogether,
more to be desired are they than gold.
Yea, than much fine gold.
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Moreover by them is thy servant warned,
and in keeping of them,
there is great reward.
I love you guys.
- Okay.
Mr. Packard will now be handing out these workbooks,
which will be your curriculum for the next few weeks.
(gentle music)
- Work books.
We don't need no work books.
- You okay?
- I'm really gonna miss them.
- This ain't right.
- I kept trying to call Shannon, but she wouldn't pick up.
Went to her house too, but she wouldn't see me.
Her dad wasn't too happy I came by.
- She got us, man.
Nothing we can do about it.
- Take care, okay?
- Natalie.
- Your, um, mom said that you'd be back here.
- Hmm.
Do you want something?
- Why did Shannon make this up?
- Make what up?
- You know,
what she says Brandon did.
- Look, Brandon has a problem and he needs help.
- Marcy, do, do,
do you really believe
that Brandon made a pass at Shannon?
- Shannon said he made a pass at her,
and I believe her.
- Brandon and Lisa
were great for our youth group and you know it.
And...
We lost them because of this.
Do you really believe that Brandon made a pass at Shannon?
- Yes.
I do.
(somber music)
- You know, Marcy,
you're gonna have to make a decision.
Are you gonna follow Shannon,
or are you gonna follow the Lord?
(tense music)
(phone ringing)
- What's up, Teddy?
- [Teddy] Guess what?
We got someone who wants to meet
with me, you, and Natalie tonight before your shift.
- Shannon?
Good, I wanna talk to her.
- [Teddy] No, not Shannon.
- She made it up.
- You know that?
- Yes. - Are you sure?
- She told me.
- Okay, then we should go tell the pastor.
Maybe we can still get Brandon's job back.
- Brandon's not coming back, man.
He's gone.
He's already pastor at the other church.
- We can at least try and clear his name.
- That'd be Marcy's word against Shannon's.
- Okay, but we gotta do something.
- Believe me, I hate the idea
of having Shannon get away with this.
We need to have her admit it publicly.
- Good luck with that.
- Maybe we can think of something.
- So what made you turn
on your best buddy Shannon all of a sudden?
(gentle music)
- A friend came to me and challenged me.
Asked me if I was gonna follow Shannon,
or the Lord.
And I chose the Lord.
- Good for you, Marcy.
- [Teddy] Yeah.
It's nice.
- Man, Shannon really messed things up this time.
I cannot wait for my next conversation with her.
- You're gonna get your chance.
- What?
- She's gonna be there Wednesday night.
Her mom pays for her to be there, you know?
- Well, me and Miss Shannon are gonna have a little talk.
- Still, it'd be nice to get her to confess.
(somber music)
- You're leaving for church early.
- Yeah, I'm gonna go meet someone.
- Marcy, we talked about this.
I really wish you wouldn't spend so much time with Shannon.
- Shannon,
no, we're not talking much anymore.
I'm gonna go meet Natalie, you remember her?
- Oh.
Okay,
yes, I know Natalie.
- She's really nice.
I'll see you later.
- Shannon, can we talk to you for a second?
- Yeah, what's your problem?
- We know you made it up about Brandon.
- Look, guys, Brandon has a problem.
I just hope he gets the help that he needs.
- Look, we know what's up.
- 'Fess up, Shannon.
Confession is good for the soul.
- Shannon,
you know that Brandon wouldn't do that, so why say it?
- I can't do that.
- How do you sleep at night?
- Look, just because you guys fell for his brainwashing,
doesn't mean I did.
- Wouldn't wanna be in your shoes
when you leave from this Earth.
- Judging me now, Squirrel?
- I'm just saying.
- You're brainwashed.
Admit it.
- You really are something.
- Come on, Squirrel, admit it,
confession is good for the soul.
- You really love to push people's buttons, don't you?
- Okay, guys,
this really is not gonna accomplish anything.
- I agree.
You know what, I'm with Shannon on this.
(tense music)
- What?
- Maybe Brandon is brainwashing us.
Look, before I met him, my life was fine,
and now, I don't do any of the fun things I used to.
- Teddy, I, I,
I can't believe you're saying this.
- I mean, but what are we gaining out of this?
Maybe we are taking this religion thing
a little too serious.
- You know, Teddy's got a point here.
It has been cramping my style.
- Squirrel.
- We're young.
We can worry about this stuff later.
- What if there is no later?
- That's a chance I'll have to take.
Teddy, what do you think?
- A chance I'm willing to take.
You know what, we should be thanking Shannon right now.
- Shannon,
we owe you.
- Yes, thank you Shannon,
for showing us what Brandon really is.
- I, I, I can't believe you guys.
- Natalie, think about it.
Brandon really did do a number on us.
Shannon, you did us a favor.
- She ran, she ran off Brandon.
- And did us a favor in doing so.
- No, she ran him off.
- And she did us a favor.
- She did us a favor.
- No.
- She did us a favor.
- Stop saying that.
- Don't you get it, stupid?
I did you a favor.
I did all of us a favor.
- Gotcha.
- Uh oh.
(somber music)
- What?
- We knew you'd admit it.
We just had to push right buttons.
- I didn't mean to say that.
- How do you feel?
- I didn't mean to say that.
- Confession is good for the soul.
- No he,
he really did make a pass at me.
- The charade's over, Shannon.
We got you.
- I don't need this.
- That's too bad.
- Great job, dude.
- You too, man.
- Wait,
so you guys were just kidding?
- We didn't wanna tell you
because we knew that your acting would be so much better
if you didn't know it was staged.
- It was a really good idea, Teddy.
- Yeah, but it doesn't get us Brandon back.
- But it's still something.
I mean, we got her to admit it.
- Well,
I guess it's back to Mr. Packard.
- Maybe not.
■ Looking forward to Heaven ■
■ Where I'll worship the lamb ■
■ The great I am ■
■ I'm looking forward to Heaven ■
■ No tears, no shame ■
■ No loss or pain ■
■ So I'll walk with faith, Lord, not fright ■
■ Holy passion, heavenly sight ■
■ Yes I'll walk with faith, Lord, not fright ■
■ Holy passion, heavenly sight ■
■ Yes I'll walk with faith Lord, not fright ■
■ Holy passion, heavenly sight ■
(congregation murmuring)
- Thank you, Stephanie.
You wrote that, didn't you?
It was beautifully done, thank you so much.
Good morning everyone.
If you have your Bibles,
please turn to the book of Ephesians.
We're gonna continue our study through this great book.
Today, I'll be diving into chapter two.
I'll start by reading the first 10 verses,
and then I invite you to join your hearts with mine.
Let's see what the word of God...
What the word of God has to say to us.
I'm sorry everyone, I just noticed
we've got some very special guests with us this morning.
Folks, these are some friends of Lisa's and mine
from our youth group.
We're so glad to have them here,
and pleasantly surprised.
I know this is a little out of the normal,
but I'd like to introduce them to you.
If you guys wouldn't mind standing.
It's okay, please, stand up.
From my right, I have Gwendolyn,
Theresa, Matthew,
Marcy, Natalie,
Teddy, and Squ-
and this is Daniel.
Welcome to all of you.
Welcome.
Picking it up in verse one of chapter two.
In you hath he quickened,
who were dead in trespasses and sins.
Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course...
(congregation chatting)
- [Daniel] Well, we'd play Corn on the Cobb,
we'd put a mean cob in the corner.
(Lisa laughing) Oh, speaking of.
- Oh, here. - Speaking of.
- Thanks for waiting, guys.
It's so good to see you.
- Well, actually, you might see a bit more of us.
- What do you mean?
- We finally got Shannon to admit the truth.
That she made it all up.
And now we're kinda looking for a new church home.
We're hoping that we can start coming here.
- Really?
I know it's a long drive across town.
- We think it's worth it.
- Okay. - Yeah, of course!
- You know you'll be welcome here.
- And we really want you guys to know
how much we appreciate all that you,
all that both of you
have done for each and every one of us.
Seriously.
- Thank you, guys.
Where's Teddy?
I know I saw him.
- Uh, he stepped out for a minute.
He is still here though.
- Okay.
- In fact, in appreciation
for all that you guys have given us,
we wanted to give you guys a little something too.
We feel like we owe you.
- No, you don't owe us anything.
- Just having you here today
has been so great.
- But we really wanted to give you guys something.
We struggled to come up with what the right thing would be.
But we wanted it to be something that was truly meaningful.
We finally, finally came up with the perfect gift.
- Squirrel thought of it.
- And he's right, it is perfect.
- Seriously, you guys don't need to give us anything.
- No.
- Well actually, it's not something that we can give you.
It's something we have to show you.
So if you two would please follow us outside.
- What are you up to?
You guys don't have to give us anything.
- Just follow us.
- Just promise when you get out there,
close your eyes, Lisa, you too.
- What are you guys up to?
- [Marcy] Just come with us.
- Okay.
- Close our eyes, what are you guys up to?
- You'll see, you'll see.
Come on, keep 'em closed, keep 'em closed.
- I got it, they're closed. - Lisa.
- Yes, they're closed,
they're closed. - You're guiding me.
You are guiding me.
- Scary, but they're closed.
- All right, right here.
For you, Pastor Brandon.
(gentle music)
In gratitude of all you've given us.
All right.
Open your eyes and see your perfect gift.
(Brandon sighing)
- You're right, Squirrel.
It's perfect.
- Hey Preach.
- Now, uh, do a good job there, Teddy.
- Only the best for you.
- And don't forget the tires.
- You got it.
- It's good to see you, Teddy.
- You too.
(music swelling) (Lisa laughing)
- That was so funny.
(talking and laughing)
- And we started going to church there.
And it was such a special time for all of us.
We even got our parents to attend.
Brand taught the Bible,
and everything, guys, everything was going so great.
After college, I got a job, moved away.
But I always kept in touch with Brandon,
I made sure of that.
And then six months ago, I got a phone call.
Saying that Brandon
had stage four cancer.
And this morning, he went home to be with the Lord.
(Squirrel sighing)
Too early if you ask me, but...
He was 41 years old.
My heart is with his wife, Lisa.
See, you guys, this man changed my life.
He got me reading the Bible.
He got me serious about the Lord,
and for that, I am eternally grateful.
And I know that this isn't normally
how we spend our Sundays together,
but I feel under the circumstances,
I hope you understand that I wanted to share this story
about my very special friend,
Brandon Cobb.
You see, if it wasn't for his influence,
I wouldn't be standing here.
Teaching you guys on Sundays.
All right, I know it's time to go,
and I can't close in prayer today,
but I'll see you guys next Sunday?
And remember, read God's word.
(students talking quietly)
- Daniel,
I'm sorry to hear about your friend.
- Thank you, Ashley.
Thank you for caring.
(melancholy music)
- Guys, right here,
it says for it is by grace you have been saved,
through faith.
And this is not of yourselves,
but it is a gift of God, so that no one can boast.
There is such power in these words, guys,
because it's of God that we obtain eternal life.
Not of our own doing.
(uplifting music)
- Don't be scared, Brandon.
Jesus had it all the way.
(peaceful music)