Kingdom of Heaven

THE MOVIE CLIP: Can My Sin Be Forgiven?

Kingdom of Heaven is set during the time of The Crusades. The movie centers on Bailian, played by Orlando Bloom, whose wife committed suicide after the death of their newborn son. Shortly thereafter, in a moment of rage, Bailian kills a “holy man” for telling him that his wife is condemned to hell for her actions.

After the murder, Bailian becomes a fugitive. As Bailian runs from his sins he meets his father, a Knight, whom he never knew, who promises to help him find the forgiveness he seeks if Bailian will join him in the fight of The Crusades.

INTRODUCING THE CLIP:
I want to show you a clip from a movie called Kingdom of Heaven. This is a movie that deals with a lot of issues like violence, guilt, shame, confusion, hatred and other problems that have plagued the church and Christians for hundreds of years. The clip you are going to watch involves a guy named Bailian (played by Orlando Bloom) who has just committed a horrible sin – murder – and now he is seeking out the answer to a question that we all have asked at one time or another, “Can my sin be forgiven?”

SCENE SCRIPT:

BEGIN CLIP AT 10 minutes and 34 seconds (in Chapter 4)

[Bailian rides to meet his father (Godfrey) after committing the terrible crime. The two meet on horseback in the middle of a road.]

Godfrey: If you’ve come to kill me…these days it’s not that easy. Well?

Bailian: I have done… murder.

Godfrey: Haven’t we all.

Ballian: Is it true that in Jerusalem I can erase my sins? And those of my wife? Is it true?

Godfrey: We can find out together.

END CLIP AT 12 minutes and 0 seconds.

TRANSITION STATEMENT: “Is it true my sins can be forgiven?” That’s a great question, isn’t it? Let’s take some time to explore that question together to see if we can figure out the answer.

DIVIDE INTO SMALL GROUPS:
Let’s go ahead and split up into our discussion groups, and then afterward we’ll come back together for a final word.

CLICK HERE for a quick training article on how to maximize your small groups using our small group format—a great resource to equip your small group leaders.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:



1. AROUND THE CIRCLE: Everybody share your name and an embarrassing moment in your past.
2. ASK A FEW: I think it’s fair to say, based on the clip, that Bailian was really concerned with finding forgiveness from his sin. Do you think most people today are truly concerned with finding forgiveness of their sin? Why or why not?
3. ASK A FEW: Bailian admits that he committed murder in that scene. Do you think different levels of sin exist (where one sin is bigger/worse than another)? Why or why not?
4. ASK A FEW: How many ways can we be forgiven of our sin?

Read the following passage:


1 JOHN 1:5-10 (NIV):
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.



5. ASK A FEW: What do you think God’s view of sin is given that the Bible says, “God is light,” and “in Him there is no darkness at all”?
6. ASK A FEW: What does this passage say about people who follow Christ but are still knowingly playing with and involved in sinful activities?
7. ASK A FEW: Bailian knew the seriousness of his actions, so he sought forgiveness of his sins in Jerusalem because he heard that it was possible to be forgiven there. What are some things you’ve heard people say or do that they thought would somehow earn them forgiveness from their sin? (Answers might be work really hard, volunteer more, give more money, be a good person, serve at shelters, etc.)
8. ASK SOMEONE: This passage only mentions one way for sins to be forgiven. What is it?
9. ASK A FEW: So, if Jesus is the only way we can be forgiven and we know that we have to “confess our sins” to be forgiven, what does that actually mean? In other words, what does confessing our sins look like?

Read the following passage:


JAMES 5:16 (NIV)
“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”


10. ASK A FEW: In the passage we just read, we were told to confess our sins to God. In this passage, it sounds like God is encouraging us to confess our sins TO EACH OTHER as well. Why do you think that is?
11. ASK SOMEONE: Based on this verse, is it fair to say that James thinks everybody has sinned?
12. ASK SOMEONE: In addition to confessing our sins to each other, what else does James instruct us to do?
13. ASK SOMEONE: What does James say will happen if we confess our sins and pray?
14. ASK A FEW: Have any of you ever actually confessed your sins to someone else and asked for prayer? If so, are you willing to briefly share how it turned out?
15. OPTIONAL – AROUND THE CIRCLE: Turn to the person next to you and say, “I have sin in my life. Would you pray for me?” If you are comfortable sharing more, then do so. Then pray together for forgiveness and the strength to follow hard after God!

WRAP UP:
Maybe you’ve had a time or so in your life when you’ve felt a little like Bailian. Granted, you probably didn’t kill anyone, but you definitely knew what it was like to desperately search after forgiveness for something you did wrong. When you realize that you’ve sinned, and that sin stands between you and a relationship with God, you want to do whatever it takes to get forgiveness from that sin. Forgiveness becomes a HUGE deal!

Sadly, lots of people try to get forgiveness from their sin in the wrong ways. We talked about some of them tonight in our groups. They try to “be good,” or “help others,” or “go to church,” and all of those things are good… but they don’t offer us forgiveness from our sins. Even in the clip we watched, Bailian thought that going to Jerusalem was the key to forgiveness. After all, that’s the “Holy City.” But that’s not the way the Bible says we get forgiveness of our sins.
The good news is we don’t have to make some special trip to a special place to find forgiveness of our sins. All we need to do to get forgiveness of our sins is to confess them to Jesus and ask Him to forgive us. It’s as simple as that!
The REALLY good news is you can do that now!

That’s right. 2,000 years ago, Jesus paid for all of our sins – past, present, and future – so you can take Him up on His offer to forgive you right now.
If you want to talk more about this after we close, grab one of the adult leaders. We’d love to chat with you about finding forgiveness.

Close in prayer.

Written by Jamie Locklin