It's a Wonderful Life: A Bible Study Based on the Christmas Classic It's a Wonderful Life

We enjoyed this Bible Study and found that we shared some personal experiences while answering some of the questions. We also shared our faith journeys.We watched the movie 3 days before Session 5. This really helped us see the movie in a different light and enjoyed the message that every life is special. Sometimes, we don't understand why things happen the way they do, but God does and he helps us get on the path we were supposed to take.

I am most grateful to Alan Vermilye for introducing me to Frank Carpra's film, “It's a wonderful life", a timeless masterpiece produced in 1946, staring Jimmy Stewart. While this film is familiar to most Americans, it is perhaps not so much for non-Americans like myself. Mr Vermilye has cleverly used pop-culture to compose yet another excellent "knowing-God-deeper" exercise on life’s ups and downs, topics that are relevant to everyone and to all ages and for all times. Carved into five bite-sized sections (film clips before each section included), this new bible resource from Alan uses the story of a man, George, who lived in Bedford Falls, a small town somewhere in USA. George had big aspirations to escape and see the world, dreamt of going to college and be a civil engineer building tall skyscrapers. Big dreams but derailed because to his credit, conscientious George shouldered undesired bigger responsibilities destiny placed on him at the most inopportune timing. Mr Vermilye, in raising questions after each section, with references to the Bible, can tremendously help Christians delve deeper into understanding our almighty God's unique and mysterious plan for each and every human being, and find peace. The theology behind is complex and raises many more questions not mentioned by Mr Vermilye, such as the contentious question of whether humans truly have freewill and control over their own fate and path in life. If that is so, how can that reconcile with God's sovereignty, omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotence. These are contentious theological themes for Christians who don't believe in election and predestination if they dare to wade into them. Do I believe that God has predestined everyone to walk a certain life’s path with no deviations possible? If God is indeed all knowing and all powerful and ever present, why didn’t God thwart the evil overlord Mr Potter’s and his evil ways, apropos on a bigger scale, the countless evil happenings in the world since Eve plucked that apple, ate it and offered it to Adam? Is the concept our God is infallible and good challenged by the notion that God also allow/ or even appoint necessary evil to happen. 'The story of Job comes to mind. Satan did God's bidding and inflicted unimaginable pain, suffering and tragedies on Job, a righteous man. Do we have a reactive God who acts only when enough prayers are heard and only if prayed by the right people? Or do prayers get answered when the things we pray for happened to fit into God's plan? Do prayers change our unchangeable God or do Christians grow spiritually, evolve and gain deeper understanding of God's divine truth by praying frequently, earnestly to finally see the will of mortals are often not the will of God? I believe all Christians have an unseen guardian angel guarding and guiding us as we go through our short and bumpy life on earth. George Bailey had angel-second-class Clarence as his guardian angel, who informed George that he had been there watching George and steering him every every crucial step since he was a child. No, I do not believe in alternate realities. It certainly was not God's will that Clarence should intervene earlier by exposing Mr Potter for taking the $8000 to save George all that grief and worry. God stopped George from jumping into the icy river, just as God has steered George all his life with events and people crossing his path, never random happenings but with God in the director’s chair and the script for the universe written by Him on His lap. Noteworthy is the selfless George probably attempted suicide to save his business and family from ruin with the 15k worth on his life. Quite noble I should say. For a non-praying person like George, he prayed tearfully in desperation, humbling himself before God. Not believing he could get help from God, George was also quick to curse God and then went for the river. Yet God saved him from suicide. Pausing here for a reality check. While God intervened for George, there have been millions through the ages that have succeeded in suicide. Norway alone, where I live, had 600 people taking their lives last year. That is a huge number for a small population (5 million) like Norway. So many (including Judas Ischariot ) apparently did not have a guardian angel like Clarence to prevent their suicide. Dare we accuse God of being discriminatory and be angry at God's sovereignty over the whole universe? Can we ever fathom God's mysterium and His do-as-He pleases attitude?"Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!Romans 11:33"I, myself, have been afflicted with bipolar disorder for most part of my life. I am 56 years old and am a survivor of two suicide attempts earlier in my life. Only by God's grace, I have survived. So many years have gone by and I now see the wonderful blessed years of life on earth I would have missed and the bottomless grief averted for those who were dear to me. All because God stretched out his merciful loving hands and chose to save me. Interestingly, the film took a different approach with George Bailey - showing us an alternate reality of Bedford Falls If George Bailey was never born.There were many characters in "Its a wonderful life" who led different lives, each encountering different challenges. Just like in the real world, no two lives or fates are similar. Unlike Mr Scrooge in “ A Christmas Carol’, it was not hard for anyone to like George Bailey, even evil Mr Potter loved George, because George was an exceptionally wonderful human being, not just by human standards, but divine too might I say. He was selfless, a good son, brother, husband, loved by the working class whom he cared for so genuinely, the welfare of others were priorities over his wants, like his travel plans to see the world, his honeymoon or a life of riches if he gave up building and loans that served the working class. George was good role model to his fellow town citizens but he was not perfect, capable of anger and envy because he was human afterall. But certainly the world will be a much better place if we have more saints like George Baileys fighting for the underclass and living according to his good conscience and scouts honor dutybound attitude. But then the world in reality is filled with the good, the bad and the ugly. With no exception, the good must suffer too in our brief sojourn in the world. We are reminded by Mr Vermilye in the final section with bible references to Job from the Old Testament that the righteousness must also suffer undeservingly. Without question, our Lord Jesus suffered more than anyone ever will yet also most undeservedly to say the least.We are also encouraged by King Solomon’s words of wisdom that we should all be content and happy with our lot in life, if we truly believe our destinies are always in God's hands. Our most important duty as humans is to fear God and obey His commandments. Then we will always have a clear conscience come what may and sleep well at night.Thank you Alan for the unforgettable experience. Your book has prompted me to see and learn much more than merely enjoying the film, "Its a wonderful life".

Vermilye's bible study program uses Frank Capra's beloved 1946 film, It's A Wonderful Life, now a holiday classic, as a template to encourage discussion about the things that truly matter in life.... not just during the holiday season, but year round. Vermilye asks participants of this program: what can we take away from the character of George Bailey (played by Jimmy Stewart), a man persistently torn between his yearning to see the world, accomplish great things and his loyalty to his family, whose needs regularly challenge the possibility of fulfilling those yearnings?Through George Bailey, Vermilye looks at the common culprits within hectic lives that can distract us from missed blessings and suggests how we might regain focus. This study is laid out over a five week time frame, broken up into an easy to follow sectioned guide book full of discussion prompts and questions as well as detailed plot and character summaries. Also incorporated, naturally, are relevant scripture references. Additionally, Vermilye offers online material in the way of clips from the film which can either be downloaded or watched straight from the site. Between the book text and the website, readers are given prompts on when to pull up each clip per unit (usually 3-4 per unit, five units total for the whole program). If you're looking into this program, I'm guessing it's because you've likely already seen and loved the film. That said, it should be understood that this program will unavoidably have spoilers within the text for anyone who has not seen the film. Since we're on the topic of spoilers, let me add my own here. At one point, Vermilye's text does make mention of the scene where Mr. Gower (Bedford Fallls' pharmacist) nearly poisons a patient after receiving disturbing news about his son, but the text does not explain that this was actually accidental, unintentional on Gower's part while he was beside himself with grief.Okay, so a quick breakdown of the program layout (what you can expect to cover / discuss):SECTION 1 -- BEST LAID PLANS* looking at "interruptions" (setbacks -- tragedy, unexpected expenses, etc.) in life as potential divine interventions to redirect you onto the path of greater things or opportunities.Biblical Text Referenced:*Book of Matthew -- Jesus & John the Baptist; Jesus, Peter, James & John in Garden of Gethsemane* Book of Luke --- Joseph & MaryPowerful questions:"What are some sacrifices you have made and how has that ended up affecting your life in the long run?"SECTION 2 --- GEORGE'S SELFLESSNESS* respecting and appreciating one's individualism rather than treating people as objects or a means to an endBiblical Text Referenced:* Book of Luke (Zacchaeus story)* Romans* Parable of "faith of a mustard seed"Powerful questions:"Why might we feel that the things we do for others are insignificant in the grand scheme of life? According to James 3:5, what can one small spark do?""How do you know when a sacrifice is no longer worth it?""How would you describe sacrificial living? Does it come naturally or is it a choice?""How does our cynicism about a person's reputation hinder us from helping them, and then hinder them from making real change in their life?"SECTION 3 -- POOR LIFE CHOICES & THEIR CONSEQUENCES / ANGER MANAGEMENT*there's empowerment in focusing on what you CAN control in a situationBiblical text referenced:Phillipians, Matthew, Mark, James, Ephesians, Psalms, Proverbs, Corinthians, Romans, HebrewsPowerful questions:"How would you define contentment? How has your contentment level changed as you have aged?""How has the emergence of instant communication in today's modern culture presented a challenge to managing anger? What might George have done if he had access to email, texting or social media?""What is James' instruction for us regarding our anger?""Have you ever felt like things just got worse the more you prayed?""How did Abraham maintain hope when all the facts pointed to something else? Do we have to ignore facts in order to have faith?"SECTION 4 -- MIRACLES*Naturally, this section incorporates parts of the Nativity story, but other biblical text referenced in: Luke, Mark, Romans, Galatians, HebrewsPowerful questions:"How does your faith benefit family and friends and vice versa?""Have you ever thought maybe you are someone's miracle?"SECTION 5 --- GIFT OF LIFE* "One of the reasons It's A Wonderful Life makes such an excellent bible study is that it emphasizes the importance of every life. Regardless of your gender, race, talents, abilities, or socioeconomic status, your life has value and it matters." ~Alan Vermilye*George's story speaks to the heart of anyone who's ever struggled with feelings of low self-worth, wondering if anything you do has any sort of significant, far-reaching effect on the world.Biblical text referenced:*Book of Job, Jeremiah, Matthew, Luke, EcclesiastesPowerful questions:"How does Job compare to George?" (as far as finding / maintaining hope in difficult times)Vermilye closes the bible study on a short history of the film as well as some general historical references of the 1940s for context (the movie as a whole spans 26 years, from 1919 to 1945). He also offers some movie trivia, much of which can be found on the DVD extras in a documentary hosted by Tom Bosworth. It was interesting to learn that Jimmy Stewart majored in architecture at Princeton when his character George Bailey often talked about his dream about creating big, impressive structures around the country.Also funny that there's a note about the song "Buffalo Girls" being played seven times throughout the film! I wondered. I know I always find myself humming it for a couple days after every re-watch!As Vermilye promised, I certainly did find myself asking the deep questions as I worked my way through this program, even though I thought I knew this film backwards and forwards and, though I love it, couldn't imagine getting anything new from it. He showed me!

I purchased this book to determine whether it would work either for our Bible Study group at church or as the basis of a sermon series at my church. So, while I read through the book, I did not use the book myself within a study.This 5 week study is aimed at Advent, but the themes are valid during any time of the year. The questions are well aimed, and could provoke good discussions. There are designated scripture passages as a parallel to the section of A wonderful Life, but the passages are not included, so you need to have a Bible handy to look them up.While I chose not to use it as the basis for a Sermon Series, I would recommend it for a small group study. In fact, it might work especially well in a home Bible Study group. There are links to clips from the movie, but most of us have access to the movie itself in one form or another. This particular movie themed study might actually be comfortable to invite friends who are not currently attending church. There are some fun additions, including trivia about the movie that would make for fun conversation within the group.On a personal note, the questions made me re-evaluate the last few years of my life. Like George Bailey, I made some very hard choices. In my case, it was to care for my husband through a terminal disease. By reframing those years into the movie themes, I rediscovered the importance of my journey.There are no in depth theological insights or expository commentary on scripture, just common sense reflections on how life, the movie, and scripture interact.

It’s a Wonderful Life Study Guide: A Bible Study Based on the Christmas Classic It’s a Wonderful Life uses Frank Capra’s beloved film to spur spiritual growth and reflection. The guide is organized into 5 sessions, each comprised of a couple of video segments (with provided transcripts) and several accompanying questions (some with bible verses, some without). Also included are a trivia section and samples of other Brown Chair Books bible studies. As with any bible study, what you get out of it depends on how much you put in; but author Alan Vermilye provides a good array of questions that serve as a solid launching points to explore one’s spiritual life and relationship with God. And he uses the film quite effectively; relating its themes and messages to relevant biblical passages. A solid bible study, It’s a Wonderful Life Study Guide: A Bible Study Based on the Christmas Classic It’s a Wonderful Life is sure to heighten one’s appreciation for the film and to aid in taking a spiritual inventory.