"Brothers" Short Film Review

A dead father. A funeral service. A grieving family.

A sequel to the parable of the Prodigal Son. Set in modern times.

Although produced several years ago, the short film "Brothers" is still being used frequently to promote spiritual discussions. The film begins a few years after the original story from Luke 15. The father is now dead and the fallout between the two brothers is still happening.

The plot deals with several topics, including regrets, forgiveness, jealousy, and perseverance. We've all experienced these issues and any one of them would easily spark a conversation with viewers.

Actors Anthony Cosmano and Chris Burns do a great job as brothers in need of reconciliation. The acting is believable, both among the two main characters and the extras at the wake. I love that the mom is included in this sequel too, bringing depth to the storyline. I also appreciate how the backstory is told without making you feel like you're listening to backstory. It's not forced or contrived, it's just a conversation that happens naturally between the two family members in the lobby.

Directed by staff member, Paul Hardway, the film (shot in First Presbyterian Church of Orlando) is almost 9 minutes long. Our ministry has used this film both in the U.S. and overseas with much success. Below are some of the questions you could ask after to prompt deeper talks.

• Which of the two brothers has the greater flaws?
• How would your own dad respond if you were the brother who abandoned the family?
• What do you think about the concept that the father in this story is like God?

You can be part of the movement that brings the greatest story of all time to everyone. When you're done viewing the short film, scroll down and join the Jesus Film Project's^® email newsletter to see how the story of Jesus changes everything.

Paid to Betray Their Country

Nadia and Neesha* are two women in Central Asia who are passionate about sharing their faith. In the face of great danger, they would secretly hand out Bibles and tell others about Jesus, even though their country was hostile toward Christianity.

One day they spoke to a man who was an undercover policeman. He arrested them and discovered eight Bibles in their purses. Sitting in a basement jail and fearing for their lives, they began to pray.

Then Nadia said, “I read that when Paul was in prison, he sang. So let’s sing!”

One of the prisoners down the hall yelled, “You’re crazy! They are going to rape you both and then kill you. How can you sing?”

But the women kept singing praises to God. Suddenly, the undercover officer came down the stairs. He unchained them and took them to a private room for interrogation.

“You risked everything to give these Bibles away. You have betrayed your country and your family. No one would risk all this unless being paid a lot of money. Who is paying you to do this?”

Nadia replied, “You are right, someone did pay for us to do this. I will tell you everything.”

“Who is it?” the man pressed.

“His name is Jesus, and He gave His life to save mine.” Nadia continued sharing all she knew about Christ and how He came to save the world.

Finally, the policeman interrupted, “Stop! If you keep talking, I’ll end up believing this story too.”

With that, he returned the eight Bibles to Nadia and Neesha and, incredibly, released them to go. Astonished and suddenly standing free outside the prison, the two women quickly separated, each going a different way in case they were being followed.

As soon as Neesha turned the corner and was out of view from the prison, she ran face to face into the undercover officer. She stopped and gasped. He had been waiting for her at the prison’s back entrance.

“Give me one of those Bibles!” he whispered.

“Excuse me?”

“May I please have one of your Bibles? I must know more about this Jesus.”

Neesha smiled, dug down into her purse, and handed him a copy, along with a card giving instructions on how to download the Jesus Film^® app.

“Thank you,” he said and then he disappeared inside.

Nadia and Neesha need your prayers as they continue to risk everything to spread the gospel.

You can download the Jesus Film app here.

*For security reasons, Nadia and Neesha are composites of two unrelated incidents.

New Translation Finished!

As of yesterday, production of the 1700th classic “JESUS” film translation was completed. It is the Cheke Itolo language, for Solomon Islands people in the South Pacific. All glory goes to God! 

Respecting the Bible

I grew up in church and my family was very devout. I recall my father telling me to never place my Bible on the ground. We were to respect God's Word as a holy, living love letter from God to us.

One time I remember using it like a coaster by placing my glass of water on it. My mother almost flipped out as she scolded me. This was the last time I made that mistake. To this day I am careful to treat my Bibles with respect, even if I mark them up inside with highlighters.

I've been through a lot of Bibles over the decades. Sometimes the binding gives way, the pages fall out and the cover fades or cracks. Not from misuse, but from daily use. Tape and glue can only go so far before I need to buy a new copy.

Some people, however, are not so excited about God's Word. Check out this story of how one tiny Bible changed a man's journey.

It was hot and Lonalynn was tired of being rejected all day whenever she tried to spark spiritual conversations with Middle Easterners.

During this Jesus Film^® mission trip, Lonalynn handed an Arabic New Testament to Mo, a Muslim man on the street. He took it, glanced at it briefly, then promptly threw it down on the curb.

That was the last straw for Lonalynn. Infuriated, she yelled "Hey! No! You do not treat a holy book that way!"

Mo stopped and waved his hand at her, "It is not the Koran. I have no use for it."

"This is the Word of God and you must respect that," she said as she picked it up from the street.

When he saw her passion, he changed his mind, took the Bible from Lonalynn and asked for more information. They spoke for a long time about the one true God and his Word.

Mo walked away that day eager to read this book from God and to watch the Jesus film Lonalynn gave him.

More conversations have been occurring as Mo continues to meet with local Jesus Film workers. Pray for Mo as he embarks on this new spiritual journey and reads his new Bible.

Check out this link to learn more about the Bible and its power to transform lives.

Building Bridges with a Thriller

Rarely do horror movies present the message of Christ. And I wouldn't really call the latest short film created by Jesus Film Project^®, a horror film. "Nightwatch"  is more of a G-rated thriller.

Moreover, God is using it to reach students overseas with the gospel. In one Asian country a young woman named Tiffany is seeing God work…

Tiffany was pretty sure the director of the girls' school, which adheres to the dominant religion in the area, didn't like her.

But as the in-country contact for Jesus Film Project teams in her region of Asia, Tiffany worked hard to build bridges with leaders in the community.

One day, to her surprise, she had a nice visit with the director. This resulted in an invitation for Tiffany and some of her Jesus Film^® associates to teach an English class at the school.

The superintendent personally welcomed the team to the campus, serving snacks and talking with them for an hour before the seminar for the students began.

The team then showed the short film "Nightwatch"  to a group of 72 girls before breaking out into small discussion groups.

According to Tiffany and the other members of the team, the time spent with the girls was precious. The director seemed appreciative of their visit as well.

Pray for God to continue to strengthen the relationship between the local ministry workers and the school's director and teachers. And pray this leads to more opportunities for believers to interact and have spiritual conversations with both the educators and the students.

I often use the sovereignty-themed, Mel Gibson movie "Signs," to jump-start conversations about God. What other scary movies from Hollywood might be easy to use for sparking spiritual conversations? Give us your ideas in the comments.

God's Perfect Timing

As Christians, we often never find out what happens to the people with whom we share our faith. If they are not an ongoing part of our life, we may never see them again. This is especially true when we distribute material but don’t get a chance to have a conversation.

This last summer, I went on a Jesus Film Mission Trip^® and had the opportunity to help distribute free Bibles and DVDs to busy shoppers in London. I was discouraged in not being able to have spiritual conversations with many of those who took the gifts I was handing out. Until I heard this story …

Every day Sada*, a Middle Easterner residing in London, would walk by the Jesus Film^® workers and take one of the films and a New Testament. Then, as soon as she was out of sight, she would toss it in the garbage. It was her small way of helping her people avoid the distraction of Christianity.

All summer the Jesus Film workers were there in London. Every day Sada took a copy. Near the end of summer, she forgot to discard it and found it in her bags when she got home. She tossed it up in her closet and forgot about it.

For nine years!

Soon after Sada graduated from med school, she discovered the Bible and the DVD in her closet and became curious. She opened the package and watched the film. Then she began reading the Scriptures. To make a long story shorter, she eventually received Christ into her heart.

Sada is now a doctor and an influential leader in her community in the UK. She shares her faith regularly.

God’s timing is perfect. Had Sada received Christ nine years earlier, before college, she says her parents would have cut her off financially, disowned her and a degree would have been impossible. Her chance of being a doctor influencing other community leaders would never have materialized.

We may share the gospel dozens of times with a friend. We may give away hundreds of Bibles or other materials. We may pray for years for the salvation of a loved one and never see evidence of a change.

But be encouraged; God is at work and He knows the perfect time to draw people to Himself. If you’d like to know more about Jesus Film Mission Trips go to www.jesusfilmmissiontrips.org.

*name changed

Loving By Faith But Cursing Mad

"I don’t really care about you and your family so stop trying to be friendly. I only care about myself. I don’t need you guys in my life."

My jaw dropped as this relative of mine spewed out his hateful comments toward me and my family. He was lashing out at me for making small talk and asking how he was doing. My question was benign enough, but no doubt something about it set off his tirade of misplaced anger.

As someone who doesn't follow Christ, his reaction should not have been surprising to me. I apologized and tried to respond with kindness and humility. This only enraged him more. He called me some awful things, letting me know he didn't care to speak to me again.

My thoughtfulness didn't help anything. In fact, rather than deflating his anger, I exacerbated the issue. While I've had to protect myself against another attack by setting boundaries, I still want to be an example of forgiveness and love him by faith, in order to be a light in his dark world.

Honestly, part of me wanted to slap him across the face. But he was obviously struggling with something deeper than just people being kind to him. Maybe he thought I lacked authenticity? Certainly a firm slap would not have helped him see Christ in me.

Hate and intolerance toward Christ followers is not only an American problem. Check out this story that recently came across my desk at Jesus Film Project.

In a northern African village, a woman we'll call Asma became suspicious; she knew something was happening in a particular house where many women met regularly, and she was very angry.

She suspected the meetings were attended by women who had renounced her country's religion and become Christians. But she wasn't sure. She wanted to find out, but was so angry she dared not speak with them.

Whenever Asma saw one of the women on the road, she would curse and swear, calling them prostitutes and betrayers of her family's religion. However, they always greeted her pleasantly, ignoring the insults.

Later, Asma's husband was unfaithful to her, and everyone in the village heard about it. This brought shame upon her. One day on the road, she passed one of the women, but instead of cursing, she hung her head in shame, hoping to pass unnoticed.

One of the women walked up to her and said, "We care about you and want to talk to you if you like." Asma burst into tears and they embraced.

The women took her to their home and comforted her, demonstrating love and acceptance in spite of her past mistreatment of them. After watching our film "Magdalena," a powerful adaptation of the "JESUS" film for women, Asma realized Christ was who she needed. She became a Christian and experienced release from her shame and anger.

What a powerful reminder for me. I need to be full of the Holy Spirit at all times, even when accused wrongly or mistreated. When my flesh wants to defend or hold resentment, I pray the Heavenly Father helps me respond in love—like Christ, when hanging on the cross for so many of us who didn’t want his gift.

If you would like to know more about how to love by faith, check out this resource at Cru.org.