The bible tells us that we are often quick to judge other people by outward appearances. But unlike us, God is more concerned about what people are like on the inside.
We are a nation obsessed with outward appearances. We spend billions of dollars to lose weight, gain muscle, and to have plastic surgery every year.
And it seems that Hollywood projects an unrealistic image of what it means to be beautiful.
But one Hollywood film, way back in 1945, explored what it means to be beautiful both inside and out, in the eyes of two people who love each other.
In the first film of our Movie Month sermon series, we’re going to look at this theme through the film, “The Enchanted Cottage,” starring Dorothy McGuire and Robert Young.
The story is about a WWII airplane pilot, Oliver Bradford, whose face is disfigured and body maimed in a crash. Wanting to hide from family and friends he moved to a seaside cottage.
There, he befriends Laura Pennington, a homely girl to whom love has not been kind. Let’s watch the opening scene of the movie.
[Video Clip]
Over the years, the cottage has been rented to newly married couples to spend their honeymoon years. Now, a lonely widow lives in and owns the cottage. She and her husband were the last to honeymoon there many years before.
Laura Pennington has returned home to the seaside village after some years away. Let’s watch.
[Video Clip]
So, Mrs. Minnett, the owner and caretaker has rented the cottage to a young engaged couple who are soon to be married, Mr. Bradford and Miss Alexander. They come to show Miss Alexander the cottage, as she has not seen it yet.
They decide to rent the cottage, but Mr. Bradford has applied for commission in the Army Air Corp. He expects that he won’t receive orders for several months. But he receives his orders immediately, and goes off to the war. The wedding is postponed until after Mr. Bradford comes home from the war. So, they send a note to Mrs. Minnett explaining their change in plans. Let’s watch this scene.
[Video Clip
Laura Pennington begins to work at the local canteen. After working there for six months, Halloween arrives, and they are throwing a party for the servicemen at the canteen. The woman who runs the canteen insists that Laura come out of the kitchen where she washes dishes alone, to meet some of the good-looking servicemen. There are more men than women, so the picking should be good for Laura. But let’s watch and see what happens.
[Video Clip]
One day, a telegram arrives from Mr. Bradford. He wants to rent the cottage for an indefinite period of time. But he will be coming alone. He and Beatrice Alexander never married.
He arrives, and goes straight to his room, where he stays in seclusion. Nothing can persuade him to come out of his room—not his family, nor his former fiancée. He is ashamed and angry over the way he looks after his wartime airplane accident. Oliver is so despondent that he makes an attempt to kill himself with a gun. Laura enters the room and sees him standing with the gun, and she takes it from his hand.
Later that evening, she brings him his supper. Here’s the scene.
[Video Clip]
Slowly, Oliver and Laura develop a friendship. They spend time talking in the cottage garden.
One day, Major John Hillgrove, himself a wounded airman who had been made blind in the First World War, came to call on his neighbor, Oliver Bradford. Although he is blind, Major Hillgrove “sees” things as they really are better than most people. Let’s take a look.
[Video Clip]
Mr. Bradford’s angry interior gradually begins to thaw, and he begins to enjoy taking walks with Miss Pennington down by the seashore.
Eventually Oliver proposes marriage to Laura, and she accepts. They see beyond appearances, and see the inner beauty in each other. And so, in their eyes, they are the most beautiful people in the world, both inside and out.
Then something extraordinary happens, and Oliver and Laura send for Mr. Hillgrove.
They experience a physical change in each other. They wonder if it is only the enchantment of the cottage, and that they will become homely again if they leave the cottage. They don’t want to lose what they have gained.
Mr. Hillgrove tells them to accept the gift that has been given to them. Accept it as the miracle that it is.
They enjoy the happiness they have found in each other, and the love that they share.
Then, one day, Oliver’s mother and step-father come to call on Oliver and Laura. They haven’t seen them since their wedding.
Mr. Hillgrove tries to prepare them for what they will see while Oliver and Laura are still upstairs getting ready. He tells them that they will not see Oliver and Laura as they see themselves. However, Oliver’s mother and step-father don’t seem to understand.
Finally, Olive and Laura come downstairs. Let’s see what happens when they meet up with each other.
[Video Clip]
Finally, Oliver and Laura realize that their true beauty lies inside, but not in outward appearances. Their true beauty lies in the fact that they love one another.
Our true beauty, the beautiful and unique way that God has made each and every one of us, also lies in our inner being. Our worth and beauty comes because God has given it to us, and because God loves us.
In many ways, we must be like Mr. Hillgrove, the blind man in the movie. He is truly the one whose sight is most keen, because he does not rely on his eyes to see, nor does he get distracted by outward appearances.
When God sent Samuel to Bethlehem to select a new King of Israel, he thought for sure that the first of Jesse’s sons was the one to be king. He was tall and he seemed like the ideal king. But the Lord told Samuel to not focus on outward appearances, but to look at what was in the person’s heart instead.
In other words, it’s our character, our integrity, and our love of God that matters most.
As each of Jesse’s sons is presented to him one by one, God keeps telling Samuel to wait. After the last son is presented, Samuel asks Jesse if there’s anyone left. And that’s when the youngest, the one you’d least expect was chosen to be the next king and his name was David.
Centuries after this story about Samuel selecting David as the next King, the prophet Isaiah was also thinking about what the future king of Israel would look like.
Isaiah says that this new King will have no form or majesty that anyone will take notice of him. And there will be nothing about his appearance that will lead you to think that he is the one.
As we read the four gospel accounts, we find out that Isaiah was right. Many didn’t notice that Jesus was the one, including the religious leaders of his day.
But it was through what Jesus did for us by dying on a cross to take away our sins, that we know that he truly is the true King and Savior of the world.
This is the love that is the most important love of all. This is the love that can make all the difference in the world in our relationships, in our friendships, in our family relationships, in our marriages, and in the relationships with the people we encounter.
It’s God’s love made known to us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ that we are able to see what true love is which makes this story on our first Sunday of Movie Month, a true classic.
We are a nation obsessed with outward appearances. We spend billions of dollars to lose weight, gain muscle, and to have plastic surgery every year.
And it seems that Hollywood projects an unrealistic image of what it means to be beautiful.
But one Hollywood film, way back in 1945, explored what it means to be beautiful both inside and out, in the eyes of two people who love each other.
In the first film of our Movie Month sermon series, we’re going to look at this theme through the film, “The Enchanted Cottage,” starring Dorothy McGuire and Robert Young.
The story is about a WWII airplane pilot, Oliver Bradford, whose face is disfigured and body maimed in a crash. Wanting to hide from family and friends he moved to a seaside cottage.
There, he befriends Laura Pennington, a homely girl to whom love has not been kind. Let’s watch the opening scene of the movie.
[Video Clip]
Over the years, the cottage has been rented to newly married couples to spend their honeymoon years. Now, a lonely widow lives in and owns the cottage. She and her husband were the last to honeymoon there many years before.
Laura Pennington has returned home to the seaside village after some years away. Let’s watch.
[Video Clip]
So, Mrs. Minnett, the owner and caretaker has rented the cottage to a young engaged couple who are soon to be married, Mr. Bradford and Miss Alexander. They come to show Miss Alexander the cottage, as she has not seen it yet.
They decide to rent the cottage, but Mr. Bradford has applied for commission in the Army Air Corp. He expects that he won’t receive orders for several months. But he receives his orders immediately, and goes off to the war. The wedding is postponed until after Mr. Bradford comes home from the war. So, they send a note to Mrs. Minnett explaining their change in plans. Let’s watch this scene.
[Video Clip
Laura Pennington begins to work at the local canteen. After working there for six months, Halloween arrives, and they are throwing a party for the servicemen at the canteen. The woman who runs the canteen insists that Laura come out of the kitchen where she washes dishes alone, to meet some of the good-looking servicemen. There are more men than women, so the picking should be good for Laura. But let’s watch and see what happens.
[Video Clip]
One day, a telegram arrives from Mr. Bradford. He wants to rent the cottage for an indefinite period of time. But he will be coming alone. He and Beatrice Alexander never married.
He arrives, and goes straight to his room, where he stays in seclusion. Nothing can persuade him to come out of his room—not his family, nor his former fiancée. He is ashamed and angry over the way he looks after his wartime airplane accident. Oliver is so despondent that he makes an attempt to kill himself with a gun. Laura enters the room and sees him standing with the gun, and she takes it from his hand.
Later that evening, she brings him his supper. Here’s the scene.
[Video Clip]
Slowly, Oliver and Laura develop a friendship. They spend time talking in the cottage garden.
One day, Major John Hillgrove, himself a wounded airman who had been made blind in the First World War, came to call on his neighbor, Oliver Bradford. Although he is blind, Major Hillgrove “sees” things as they really are better than most people. Let’s take a look.
[Video Clip]
Mr. Bradford’s angry interior gradually begins to thaw, and he begins to enjoy taking walks with Miss Pennington down by the seashore.
Eventually Oliver proposes marriage to Laura, and she accepts. They see beyond appearances, and see the inner beauty in each other. And so, in their eyes, they are the most beautiful people in the world, both inside and out.
Then something extraordinary happens, and Oliver and Laura send for Mr. Hillgrove.
They experience a physical change in each other. They wonder if it is only the enchantment of the cottage, and that they will become homely again if they leave the cottage. They don’t want to lose what they have gained.
Mr. Hillgrove tells them to accept the gift that has been given to them. Accept it as the miracle that it is.
They enjoy the happiness they have found in each other, and the love that they share.
Then, one day, Oliver’s mother and step-father come to call on Oliver and Laura. They haven’t seen them since their wedding.
Mr. Hillgrove tries to prepare them for what they will see while Oliver and Laura are still upstairs getting ready. He tells them that they will not see Oliver and Laura as they see themselves. However, Oliver’s mother and step-father don’t seem to understand.
Finally, Olive and Laura come downstairs. Let’s see what happens when they meet up with each other.
[Video Clip]
Finally, Oliver and Laura realize that their true beauty lies inside, but not in outward appearances. Their true beauty lies in the fact that they love one another.
Our true beauty, the beautiful and unique way that God has made each and every one of us, also lies in our inner being. Our worth and beauty comes because God has given it to us, and because God loves us.
In many ways, we must be like Mr. Hillgrove, the blind man in the movie. He is truly the one whose sight is most keen, because he does not rely on his eyes to see, nor does he get distracted by outward appearances.
When God sent Samuel to Bethlehem to select a new King of Israel, he thought for sure that the first of Jesse’s sons was the one to be king. He was tall and he seemed like the ideal king. But the Lord told Samuel to not focus on outward appearances, but to look at what was in the person’s heart instead.
In other words, it’s our character, our integrity, and our love of God that matters most.
As each of Jesse’s sons is presented to him one by one, God keeps telling Samuel to wait. After the last son is presented, Samuel asks Jesse if there’s anyone left. And that’s when the youngest, the one you’d least expect was chosen to be the next king and his name was David.
Centuries after this story about Samuel selecting David as the next King, the prophet Isaiah was also thinking about what the future king of Israel would look like.
Isaiah says that this new King will have no form or majesty that anyone will take notice of him. And there will be nothing about his appearance that will lead you to think that he is the one.
As we read the four gospel accounts, we find out that Isaiah was right. Many didn’t notice that Jesus was the one, including the religious leaders of his day.
But it was through what Jesus did for us by dying on a cross to take away our sins, that we know that he truly is the true King and Savior of the world.
This is the love that is the most important love of all. This is the love that can make all the difference in the world in our relationships, in our friendships, in our family relationships, in our marriages, and in the relationships with the people we encounter.
It’s God’s love made known to us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ that we are able to see what true love is which makes this story on our first Sunday of Movie Month, a true classic.
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I love the way that you can take normal every day "things" and apply them to a Biblical theme. What a gift God has given you! Once again, this is just another one of the many things that you do that makes you the "awesome" Pastor that you are. Is there any way that I could see the video clips that you showed during your sermon?
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