Josh Larsen

The Spiritual Practice of Watching MoviesWhat's your favorite Christmas movie? Easter movie? Pentecost movie? Casual viewers and movie buffs alike have favorite movies to watch at certain times of the year. But for film critic Abby Olcese, movies with spiritual themes aren't just limited to the holiday season. They're part of a deep human need to connect our favorite stories to the natural rhythms of our lives, and to let them shape and give meaning to our experience of the seasons all year long.The life of the church is also defined by stories, which we revisit through the pattern of the Christian year. In Films for All Seasons, Olcese invites us to reflect on the great themes of the church calendar through the lens of film. From superhero movies and Star Wars to classics and arthouse films, she chooses movies for each liturgical season and leads us through them with skill and infectious enthusiasm, exploring how each one can inform and deepen our appreciation of its corresponding season.Films for All Seasons is more than just a book about movies--it's a model for how we engage with art as Christians.Includes: Explorations of popular, classic, and arthouse films and how they relate to liturgical seasonsReflections on the great themes of the church calendarDiscussion questions after each movie designed to facilitate discussion with small groups and friends

Why would anyone want to watch horror movies? Why would Christians, in particular, bother with the genre? In Fear Not , critic Josh Larsen makes the case that monster movies, creature features, slashers, and other fright films artfully reflect our deep worries in a way that resonates with the Christian experience. Combining critical observation and theological reflection, Larsen devotes each chapter to a different horror subgenre, connecting that subgenre to a commonly shared fear. In addition to considering how the Bible acknowledges and speaks to that fear, each chapter demonstrates how the related themes, narratives, and aesthetics of a handful of films can be viewed through a corresponding theological lens. Reading Fear Not , movie fans will come to appreciate the artistry of the likes of Get Out, The Shining, The Blair Witch Project, The Babadook, Night of the Living Dead, and The Sixth Sense, while also seeing the ways these movies resonate with our fears and, in some cases, hint at God's redemptive comfort.

Why would anyone want to watch horror movies? Why would Christians, in particular, bother with the genre? In Fear Not , critic Josh Larsen makes the case that monster movies, creature features, slashers, and other fright films artfully reflect our deep worries in a way that resonates with the Christian experience. Combining critical observation and theological reflection, Larsen devotes each chapter to a different horror subgenre, connecting that subgenre to a commonly shared fear. In addition to considering how the Bible acknowledges and speaks to that fear, each chapter demonstrates how the related themes, narratives, and aesthetics of a handful of films can be viewed through a corresponding theological lens. Reading Fear Not , movie fans will come to appreciate the artistry of the likes of Get Out, The Shining, The Blair Witch Project, The Babadook, Night of the Living Dead, and The Sixth Sense, while also seeing the ways these movies resonate with our fears and, in some cases, hint at God's redemptive comfort.

"Movies are our way of telling God what we think about this world and our place in it. . . . Movies can be many things: escapist experiences, historical artifacts, business ventures, and artistic expressions, to name a few. I'd like to suggest that they can also be prayers." Movies do more than tell a good story. They are expressions of raw emotion, naked vulnerability, and unbridled rage. They often function in the same way as prayers, communicating our deepest longings and joys to a God who hears each and every one. In this captivating book, Filmspotting co-host Josh Larsen brings a critic's unique perspective to how movies function as expressions to God of lament, praise, joy, confession, and more. His clear expertise and passion for the art of film, along with his thoughtful reflections on the nature of prayer, will bring you a better understanding of both. God's omnipresence means that you can find him whether you're sitting on your sofa at home or in the seats at the theater. You can talk to him wherever movies are shown. And when words fail, the perfect film might be just what you need to jump-start your conversations with the Almighty.

This book contains one huge, ginormous, massive, immense, mammoth, gargantuan monster of a maze . In total there are over a mile of twists, turns, and dead ends to navigate through. Pack a suitcase and bring an extra pencil, because this may take you a while. This is maze solving for the endurance athlete Designed by Master Builder and Computer Programmer Josh Larsen, this maze will send you jumping from page to page to find the interconnecting path to the finish. Skill Level: Advanced Tools Required: Pencil, Pencil Sharpener Solution: included