Joel Johnson

The Forge is the latest movie by the Kendrick brothers, following on from their 2015 box office hit War Room . It was released on the 23rd August in the United States, where it finished fifth at the box office (grossing $6.6 million for the weekend). The movie will be released in Australia on the 29th of August and is screening in 109 cinemas across most major cinema chains, including Hoyts, Event Cinemas and Cineplex.  I recently attended a pre-screening of The Forge ; these are my observations and thoughts.  Overview The Forge follows Isaiah Wright (played by Aspen Kennedy), a 19 year old boy from Charlotte, NC, who is a year out of high school and is still floating around with no plans for his life. I say “boy” intentionally, because that is made very clear by the opening of film - he may be 19, but Isaiah is not a man.  When his single mother finally tells him to get a job or get out, Isaiah is rudely jolted into the “growing up” process. During this process, he giv...

 “... In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will – to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” (Eph 1:4-6) There’s a lot that is covered in these verses. In them, we can see God’s supreme plan to save His people through Jesus’ sacrifice, which He had in place before the creation of the world (Rev 13:8, Eph 1:4). However, here I would like to focus on one particular aspect which can sometimes be overlooked when we read this passage. I know that when reading these verses, I have previously overlooked it and when it was brought to my attention, I found it really fascinating. That is where Paul talks about the “adoption to sonship”. This is a single Greek word, υἱοθεσία , which doesn’t really translate well to a single word in English. It literally means placing in the condition of a son, in which we can see the idea of adoption. When you are adopted, you are ‘placed’ i...