Family Movie Devotionals: Aladdin

In Aladdin, the three main characters (Aladdin, Jasmine, and Genie) are all trapped by something and want freedom. Aladdin wants to be free from his life on the streets where he has to steal to eat, but he has no way to get ahead. Jasmine feels trapped by life in the castle and having to marry a prince she doesn’t love. And the Genie wants to be free from the lamp and experience life as a human.

Just like these characters, we all want to be free. We are all trapped by something called sin. Sin is when we do things our own way instead of God’s way. Sin separates us from God, and everybody sins. Some examples of sin are lying, disobeying, hurting people, making fun of someone, and many other things. The Bible says we are slaves to sin. It traps us and leads us to death.

BUT THERE IS GOOD NEWS! Jesus sets us free from sin! The Bible says, “Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.” (Romans 7:24-8:2).

Even though we all sin and deserve the punishment of death, Jesus died for us and took the punishment we deserve. Then He rose from the dead and is bringing freedom to everyone who believes in Him! We no longer have to be trapped by sin. Because Jesus loves us, we get to share in His life and freedom. We are not separated from God anymore! That doesn’t mean that we don’t sin anymore. We all still struggle to do the right thing. But Jesus will always forgive us and help us turn away from our sins. The Bible says, “If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” (1 John 1:9).

Take some time as a family to confess sins that you are struggling with to each other. Then pray to God and ask for forgiveness and thank Jesus for setting us free!

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).