The actors in a powerful new movie imagining a dystopian America where Bibles are banned, Christianity is vanquished, and believers are forced into underground churches are sharing the miracles that helped make the movie possible.

“Disciples in the Moonlight” stars Drew Varvel, Brett Varvel, and Josh Strychalski joined CBN News to discuss the movie’s impetus, the film’s details, and its intended impact.

“I would describe it primarily as an action suspense thriller,” Brett said. “This [is a] movie that was based off of a question that Josh came to me with over 10 years ago, which was, ‘What if the Bible was illegal?’”

With that in mind, “Disciples in the Moonlight” focuses on seven characters trying to smuggle the Bible to underground churches across the U.S. at a time when the Scriptures are illegal and a new, “less-offensive” and watered-down version of the Bible is available.

Brett’s real-life brother, Drew, who co-stars in “Disciples in the Moonlight,” said the most exciting part of the project is that “there’s nothing else like this.”

While the movie imagines a terrifying America — one in which the government cracks down on faith — Brett said this faux situation actually exists in other countries today.

“We have freedom here in America, and what I’ve seen happen over my lifetime is a continual growth of apathy in the church of America,” Brett said. “And, so, all of a sudden, this desire started building in my heart.”

Watch the cast explain the importance of “Disciples in the Moonlight”:

And that desire is to wake up the church and prepare people to stand if and when more intensive persecution does strike.

“It really centers around the question of: ‘How much do we treasure the Word of God?’” Brett said. “Is it absolute truth? Is it absolute authority in our lives? Josh has had a great quote in some of our interviews where he says, ‘Am I a practicing atheist in my faith?’”

He continued, “I really desire to see the church wake up here in America.”

Strychalski said there were “challenges and setbacks” along the way to getting the movie made. But those issues led the team to lean deeper into God.

“All of the challenges and setbacks that we encountered in every phase of the project was really an opportunity for us to press into … prayer,” he said. “The release of this movie [can] only be explainable because God did it. And it wasn’t something that we were able to muster up our strength to do on our own willpower.”

Sources:faithwire

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Actor Mark Wahlberg is crediting his faith for the massive success he’s had in Hollywood.

“My faith, and my family, and just finding good balance,” Wahlberg told Fox News, cataloging the reasons for his success. “But I have to attribute all my success to my faith.”

The “Patriots Day” star made his comments at the opening of his new restaurant, Flecha. He also had the establishment blessed by Bishop Kevin W. Vann of the Diocese of Orange Christ Cathedral.

Wahlberg is no stranger to sharing about his Catholic faith. In addition to being outspoken, he funded and starred in the 2022 film “Father Stu” about amateur boxer-turned-priest Stuart Long.

“You got to stay prayed up,” Wahlberg told fans the year the movie was released. “God bless you.”

Prayer is certainly central to the actor’s life. He has said he starts each day with Scripture and invocations. But Wahlberg doesn’t foist these values upon his kids. Knowing they see his daily example of devotion, he hopes it resonates with them.

“Even with my faith, I don’t force it on [my kids]. But they know that dad can’t start the day without being in prayer, can’t start the day without reading my Scripture or going to Mass,” Wahlberg told NBC’s “Today” in 2022. “And hopefully, instead of forcing that on them, they’ll say, ‘Well, if it works for dad, maybe it’ll work for us,’ and they’ll kind of gravitate toward it on their own.”

The actor’s consistency in his faith has been notable over the years, as he has discussed the impact clinging to God has had in his life. In fact, Wahlberg has repeatedly spoken about the power of faith not only to bring good things into his life but also to help him cope with issues that might unfold.

“As soon as I started putting my faith and focus on God, good things started happening for me,” he told Fox News in 2023. “And even when they didn’t, it gives you the coping skills to deal with things that are inevitable, like loss and failure and those things.”

Wahlberg added, “But, you know, again, my faith and my family, those are the most important aspects of my life.”
Sources:faithwire

http://theendtimeradio.com

It’s a story that needed to be told, says “Sound of Hope” writer and producer Rebekah Weigel, because Possum Trot is not just another small Texas community near the Louisiana border, but a town that chose to live out God’s command to care for the orphan.

“This is such an amazing story,” says Weigel, an adoptive mother herself, adding, “we need to see more churches step in” the way that Bennett Chapel Missionary Baptist Church did.

Back in the 1990s, W.C. Martin, the pastor of the small church in Possum Trot, and wife Donna felt the Lord call them to adopt a child. Martin began preaching to his rural church about what the Bible says about adoption, and the congregation was moved to action. In total, 22 families in the church adopted 77 of the hardest-to-place children in the foster care system.

“There’s probably only a couple hundred people in the community of Possum Trot, an unincorporated area,” Weigel says, “but, you know, they took it seriously, and they did it together as a community. And I think that’s something I really loved about this story, was just the sense of doing it together, like bearing each other’s burdens, and, you know, when one was weak, they came together, and they helped each other, and I think we need more of that.”

Now, the inspirational story of what happened years ago in the little community of Possum Trot is hitting the big screen on July 4 in the feature film “Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot.” Angel Studios is distributing the film. To learn more and purchase tickets, click here.

Weigel joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss the true story behind the film and the experience of telling such a moving story through film.
Sources:BREAKING CHRISTIAN NEWS

http://theendtimeradio.com