Mr. Holland’s Opus with Paul McDonald and Britt Mooney
Coming up on the Men at the Movies podcast, we get you ready to go back to school with Mr. Holland’s Opus. Looking for an inspiring film that celebrates the power of connections in our lives? Look no further than "Mr. Holland's Opus." In this heartwarming movie, we are reminded that life is full of unexpected twists and turns, and it's during those moments that true magic happens. Instead of solely focusing on our plans and accomplishments, it's the connections we make with others that truly shape our journey. Don't miss the chance to witness the symphony of life unfold in "Mr. Holland's Opus," as we discover our greatest achievements are often found in the relationships we build along the way.
Quotes
“Life is what happens while you’re making other plans.”
When you get what you’re after, a thing that you think will satisfy you, you quickly realize it will not satisfy you.
Life is about moving people and engaging with them.
God gives us our gifts to be at His work with Him.
The spiritual gifts have to be done in love or else you’re doing them wrong.
At the end of your life, who will be in your symphony?
It’s easier to focus on what we didn’t achieve or accomplish than to hold on to what we did.
Themes
Our purpose as a compass, to point the right way.
Falling in love over time.
Chasing something that you think will fulfill your life only to find it just as empty.
Transactional vs. Transformational relationships
Connect with others in language they can understand
Recipe for an affair—feeling not enough, unable to connect, failing at home while succeeding at work, connecting with others who give you what you aren’t getting at home
Sons want to be involved in the love and desires of the father if we make the effort to include them.
Mr Holland’s three big decisions that composed his symphony:
Chose his wife when he could’ve left
Chose to connect with his son when it was difficult
Chose to fight for what was important
Did it matter?
Resources
“Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans” -John Lennon, Beautiful Boy
“But knowledge puffs up while love builds up.” - 1 Corinthians 8:1 (NIV)
“We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.” - Proverbs 16:9 (NLT)
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“If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.” - 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (NLT)
“You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.” - John 5: 29-40 (NLT)
“Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it—because it does.” - 1 Corinthians 14: 1 (MSG)
“You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” - 2 Corinthians 3:2-3 (NIV)
Questions
Who really knows you, your whole story?
What plans do you have?
How has life happened around the plans you’ve made?
Where have you been stuck, pointing the wrong way?
What dreams have you given up to take care of the life that is happening?
Where have you, like falling in love with John Coltrane, changed your approach over time? What have you fallen in love with all over again?
How do you look at your current stage in life as a waste, or an obstacle to where you really want to go? What does it mean to have a transactional relationship with someone? When have you done this?
What does a transformational relationship look like? Where have you experienced these?
Where do you have joy in your life?
If you knew you had a year left to live, how would your life change?
What’s the difference between happiness and joy?
What decisions/relationships are composing the symphony of your life?
Where do you feel like all your effort didn’t matter?
Where do you take your question of “Did it matter?”
Where do you feel like you’ve fallen short of what you wanted to accomplish?
What would it be like to list the things you have actually done and accomplished?
More info
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Edited and mixed by Grayson Foster
Logo and episode templates by Ian Johnston
Audio quotes performed by Britt Mooney, Paul McDonald, and Tim Willard, taken from Epic (written by John Eldredge) and Song of Albion (written by Stephen Lawhead).
Southerly Change performed by Zane Dickinson, used under license from Shutterstock.
Links: