The Revival

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[glass breaks]

(propellers humming)

(traffic rushing)

(bell chiming)

No man has seen

God at any time.

John 1:
18.

How do you define God?

If you look at Christianity,

Judaism, Islam.

Each group, we all

define God differently.

And our definitions are

based on our culture,

our geography, our experiences.

[Man] Amen, Brother Eli.

There's a great comfort

in defining things.

Labeling them.

It gives us a sense of control.

But, if we define something,

aren't we saying that

we understand it?

Aren't we limiting it

with our own perspective?

I love Jesus.

Thank you, Brother Trevor.

All right.

As you all know, we

have a little potluck

after the service

down in the, um...

Fellowship Hall.

Thank you, Miss Martha.

The Fellowship Hall.

You should all try some of my

wife's Tater Tot casserole.

All right.

Thanks so much for coming.

See you all next Sunday.

(choir singing)

(people chattering)

Oh, Trevor.

How are you doing?

I've got great news

for you, Preacher.

Oh, yeah?

I got the Southern

Baptist Board of Churches

coming down here in two weeks.

Why would they be

interested in coming down?

Well, I just happened to

know their head talent scout,

Brother Charles

Bucky. (chuckles)

He and I actually went to

huntin' camp together as kids.

I'm the one who actually

drug him to the nurse

after I shot out his eye.

Well, my father never

joined the board, so I...

Your father drew 400.

Manuel Baptist is the church.

Emmanuel Baptist just

gives out door prizes.

Well, maybe we should

give something out, too.

Besides the Word?

I'm gonna go

welcome the visitor.

All right.

Good talking to you.

Hello, brother.

I haven't seen you

in church before.

I'm glad you made

it to the potluck.

Do you want to come over

and meet the rest

of the congregation?

Okay.

You want some time by yourself.

I can respect that.

I just wanted to come over

here and introduce myself.

I'm Brother Eli.

I'm the pastor here

at First Baptist.

Okay.

Well, enjoy your food.

[Man] I like your hands.

Excuse me?

Your hands.

They're pretty.

Like you ain't never

done anything with 'em.

(laughs) Well, I've

done things with my hands.

[Man] Like what?

Well, I do my studies.

I wrote my sermon with my hands.

Church got any place

for folks to stay?

Unfortunately, we can't have

people staying in the church

because of insurance reasons.

You got any place I can stay?

June.

Oh, um.

This is my wife.

What was your name?

Daniel.

Daniel, Daniel.

Hello.

Daniel, we have a nice

service on Sunday nights

at six o'clock with

a nice worship band.

You're more than welcome...

It's good to meet you.

All right.

He might come.

Yeah, you never know.

[Preacher] If

you've been born again

and you have the love

of God in your heart,

then you are called

to spread his message.

When I go out soul winning,

I go in assuming that

they are gonna get saved.

Now, you may say, Brother Aaron,

it doesn't always

happen that way.

Like seeds falling

on hard soil some...

And sure, there

are gonna be days

when you're giving it your all.

You're knocking on doors,

you're passing out pamphlets,

you're stopping

people at Walmart.

Something on your mind?

No.

[Aaron On Radio] And

still folks don't get saved.

But, you know what?

We need to expect

that the Word of God

is gonna change people.

We preach with conviction

expecting something to happen.

(gun fires)

[Eli] Praise the

Lord, that's a biggin.

Yeah.

Follow me.

Did you freeze up?

Most people do on

the first time out.

[Eli] No, I had no intention

on shooting anything.

(leaves rustling)

[Man] Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

[Trevor] I almost

shot your son.

That's all right.

I got a spare at home.

God bless you, brother.

[Man] Hey, He does.

Every single day.

Come on.

Oh, yeah.

(grunting)

Best part of huntin'

is the cleanin'.

Most people talk about the

trackin' and the shootin'.

Hangin' with their buddies.

Not me.

No.

For me, huntin' is

something you do with God.

I like the blood.

Not the sight of it as

much as the feel of it.

It feels like life.

Like hot liquid life.

It's exhilarating.

You know, sometimes I get

all dressed up for work

in my suit, and my tie,

my hair all gelled.

And I'll spot some

blood on my forearm,

or under my nails,

or on my chin.

Just between you and me,

I don't clean it off.

Nope, I keep it with me

throughout the workday.

I figure if an employee sees it

maybe it'll make 'em

work a little bit harder.

That blood is life.

People respect, and

even fear a man,

who can grab ahold of life.

Take it.

Take it.

You know, offerings this

week was the lowest it's been

since the first year

this church has existed.

I'm aware.

[Trevor] The

congregation's grumbling.

What do you mean

they're grumbling?

Some folks, not me, of course,

but some folks are

talking about bringing in

another pastor if

things don't improve.

That's my father's church.

They can't take it away from me.

If they voted you out,

there ain't a whole lot

you could do about it.

Look, I am on your side.

I'm the one who got the Southern

Baptist Board of Churches

to come down here.

Come on.

That's exciting, man.

What do we do?

(laughs) Okay, okay.

First, I need you to

bring your sermons

down to the congregation

a little more, you know?

People around here

like to feel like

something's happening

in their souls

and sometimes you're just

trying to make a little too much

happen in their brains.

So, let's bring back

some questions, you know?

A call and response.

Who loves Jesus?

Well, I love Jesus.

I love Jesus, too.

I don't know, give 'em

something else to do

besides just sitting there

listening to to you ramble.

You think I ramble?

I outline my

sermons three times.

Forget I said that.

I'm sorry.

I told the board that the

week they is coming down,

that that was the week

of our annual revival.

Our annual revival?

Yeah, we gotta get the

town behind us, you know?

Singin', dancin', rededicatin'.

That sort of thing.

Get as many people out

as we possibly can.

Put up signs, grill

up hot dogs, potlucks,

whatever we need.

Just make a good

first impression.

I've no doubt that you

can be a good preacher.

It takes time.

Folks know that.

All I'm saying is

now is the time.

[Aaron On Radio] Some folks,

they're gonna get to Heaven

and get many crowns,

and many rewards.

And other folks

are gonna get saved

by the hairs of their chin.

If God gave us what

we all deserve,

we would all deserve damnation,

but his grace, and his mercy,

allows us believers to

enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

And I'll tell you

this right now.

I would rather be the

biggest loser in Heaven.

Think about this now.

I'd rather be cleaning

the toilets in Heaven

than the guy in

Hell who God thinks,

this fella didn't

know any better,

I'm gonna give him

the least punishment.

Miss Martha says everyone

at the potluck thought

this was the best

casserole there.

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