Reel Luke

Meeting Jesus by seeing stories

(This series will be uploading lesson by lesson during fall 2024.)

SERIES OVERVIEW

"Let's rediscover the Bible as the cinematic book that it is." Matt Canlis (author of Godspeed) at New Staff Training 2024

Think about your favorite movie scene, one that you know so well you can describe it in detail, including the setting, the characters, the music, the action, and the dialogue — one that you love so much you can see it clearly in your mind at any time.

The stories of Jesus should be that powerful for us. We should be able to recall them, see them, and hear them, just like our favorite movie scenes. But many people never experience the Bible in that way. The stories never come to life for them as vivid scenes.

The "Reel" Luke is not a typo. Yes, the stories of Luke are real, and we hope people believe that. But we also hope people develop reading skills that will bring the stories to life just as powerfully as if they were a movie reel, Instagram reel, or TikTok reel. There's no official name for the learning process we're introducing in this series. It's just reel discussion using reel questions for reel learning, i.e. reading and learning by first seeing and experiencing.

Reel learning isn't an end in itself. We don't aim to see, hear, and experience Biblical stories as reels just because. We do it so that the story comes alive, engages us in new ways, and opens doors for deeper discovery and learning about Jesus and his truth.

Each of the lessons in this series focuses on one story from the gospel of Luke and includes the same list of reel questions related to setting, characters, and plot (you can preview all questions at the dropdown menu below). Each lesson also includes a few story-specific questions that are listed just below the Reel Questions dropdown menu. And of course each lesson includes faith questions in the dropdown. These are the most important "so what" reel questions.

It may take time for people to develop the imaginative muscles needs for reel learning. But the payoff will be worth it as people are drawn closer to Jesus.

Be sure to check out the leader guide for some ideas on how to use reel questions and other best practices.

Reel Questions

❮

Reel Setting (place)

Where did this story happen? (Describe the setting — in a house, on a road, by a lake, in a city, etc.)
What do you think that place looked like? smelled like? sounded like?
Do you think it matters that this story happened in that specific place? Why?
What about the place in this story feels familiar? What feels strange?

Reel People (characters)

Make a list of all the people in this story and give a one-word description of each (include “crowd” if there is one). Why did you choose that word?
What does Jesus say and do in this story? List all the things. Does anything surprise you? Why?
Which person (besides Jesus) is most interesting to you? Why?
What details about the characters do you wish were included or explained in the story? Why?
Why do you think [choose a specific character or the crowd] spoke or acted the way they did?
What are some different things that person (from previous question) could have said or done? How would that have changed the story?
What do you think the onlookers were thinking and feeling as things were happening in this story? Why?
How do you think the main characters might have changed after this story? Why? (Sometimes it tells us, like with Zacchaeus, but other times it doesn’t.)
How do you think the crowd or onlookers might have changed after this story? Why?
If you’d been there, where would you have been standing or sitting? What would you have been thinking or feeling? Why?

Reel Events (plot)

List all the events in the story, like this for Luke 7:11-17, when Jesus raised a widow's son:

Jesus and his friends were walking into town followed by a crowd.  
Another crowd was walking out of town.
The two crowds meet.
Jesus sees a sad woman.
Jesus talks to a sad woman.
Etc.

List all the events that are assumed in the story, like this for Luke 7:11-17:

A woman and her only son lived in a small village.
They knew many people in the village.
The son died (unexpectedly?) leaving the woman totally alone.
Because the woman was so overcome with grief, her friends helped plan a funeral.
Etc.

What do you think are the two or three most important moments in this story? Why?
If this story were a film, when would the music be scary or tense? When would it be joyful or upbeat? Why?
What do you think maybe happened right before this story? What do you think maybe happened right after this story?
Does the biblical story before or after this one matter to this story? How? Why do you think that?
What are some different ways things could have happened or ended in this story?
If this story were happening today in your school or town, what are ways Jesus might have acted or explained things for your context? (e.g. maybe he would have used a different phrase than “fishers of men” to explain what his followers would do)
What would you call this story if it were a full-length book or movie? Why?

Real Faith

What’s a way people could misunderstand or misuse this story? (e.g. “Jesus will calm all the ‘storms’ in my life,” or “Jesus will heal my grandma if she just believes enough.”)
Why do you think this story is in the Bible? Why would God want us to read and learn from it?
What are you learning about Jesus (or his Father or the Spirit) from this story?
What are you learning about following Jesus (living for Jesus and living like Jesus) from this story?
After reading this story, what are some questions you have about Jesus and following him?