Family Movie Devotionals: The Lion King (2019)

In The Lion King, Mufasa says, “While others search for what they can take, a true king searches for what he can give.” He is teaching his son Simba how important it is for a king to care for the needs of others more than they care about themselves. And he shows Simba how this makes the kingdom a great place for everyone to live. The rest of the movie proves his point. When Mufasa was king, he cared about everyone. Because of this, the land was green and beautiful, everyone had enough to eat, and all the animals lived in peace. But when Scar took over as king, he just took everything he wanted for himself. Because of this, the land became brown and ugly, everyone was starving, and the animals were sad and afraid. The best kingdoms are those that have a king who loves them. And those who believe in Jesus Christ have this kind of king.

Jesus is the king of Heaven and Earth. Everyone who believes in Jesus is a part of His Kingdom. He’s a king who cares more about our needs than His own. The Bible says this in Philippians 2:3-8, “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”

Even though Jesus is God and king over everything, He loves us so much that He died on the cross for our sins. Because of this, God’s Kingdom is perfect and His people are at peace. Jesus wants us to live this way, too. So instead of taking everything we want, whining when things don’t go our way, and keeping things for ourselves, let’s be like Jesus. Let’s live simple and generous lives. Let’s serve and love those around us. Let’s make everywhere we go more like God’s beautiful Kingdom.

These devotionals are resources you can use to teach your kids about Jesus! Movies have a unique ability to connect to and influence children, and we want to use this to advance God's Kingdom. These are designed for you to read with your children after you watch the movie. We pray these will be used to teach children in fun ways that they can easily understand. We hand these out at our monthly Community Movie Nights, where we show a free family-friendly movie (see our events page for upcoming dates).