City Bible Forum City Bible Forum

Civil War



Russ Matthews & Ben McEachen discuss Alex Garland's controversial film and how this affected both reviewers differently. This movie is worth seeing this year. Listen in to find out why...

Civil War contains mature content: violence and language (Be sure to read the rating for this film prior to viewing)


Film Summary: Alex Garland embeds the audience into the centre of the action as it unfolds with a team of journalists trying to get the story affecting the country out to the world. Photojournalist Lee Smith (Kirsten Dunst) leads a small team that foresees the downfall of the current administration and strives to get to Washington, DC, before the Western forces. Yet, the journey is marked by precarious situations in every community as anarchy and confusion have taken over the country since law enforcement has been disbanded. Their press credentials allow the team to move through each community and even provide them access to local battle scenes that occur along the way. As Lee tries to protect and mentor the aspiring photographer, Jessie (Cailee Spaeny), her Reuter’s partner, Joel (Wagner Moura), attempts to navigate the backroads of America to get them to the nation’s capital before it falls.

[video: https://youtu.be/jSoZEMODK4I?si=1uPOTthvKKdjUNvD]


We've got a lot of ground to cover!


So many shows, so little time. At least it feels like it. Between all the different streaming platforms and the blockbuster movies coming to cinema trying to get audiences back in a post-COVID world, we are spoilt for choice on screen – and yet, still “have nothing to watch”.


Deciphering all the voices in entertainment and how to think about the themes raised in movies, TV, and streaming is tough: enter our new podcast The Watchlist.


Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, Prime Music or Google Podcasts

Watch on Youtube


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Have you heard of 'slow living'?

Slow living has been described has been described as a way of living sustainably for the environment, but also for mental health. Practices include DIY home projects, making your own butter from milk, investing in a garden and upcycling old clothes.


The joy is literally in the making.


Some are drawn to slow living as a reaction to fast living. Always chasing the next thing. Lifestyles that have become too expensive to maintain.


But there is a cost to slow living too — it is very time-consuming.


We might compare ourselves to strangers on the Internet whose gardens are thriving, and feel bad when we can't keep up.

Jesus promises fullness of life in Himself.


The quality of life is not measured by how fast or slow we live it, but by who Jesus is in our lives.


What could life look like if we trusted in Jesus to be our Lord, Saviour and King?

Lately, my TikTok feed has been filled with videos of dangerous Australian animals; huge snakes in the roof, giant spiders in the bathroom, kangaroos attacking people on the street.

The videos are usually flooded with comments from people overseas terrified about how wild and dangerous Australian animals are. (Although most Australians in the comments don't try and correct them.)


You know it's easy to get the wrong impression about something just from a few short clips on the internet.


Take Christianity for example—a news story here, a short sermon clip there, and it's easy to get the wrong impression.


Don't get me wrong; Christians make all sorts of mistakes.


But I often tell people if you really want to know what Christians are like,


you need to go and see for yourself.


Visit a church community, maybe your impression will get changed.

Just like those people who visit Australia, only to find we don't all have kangaroos hopping down our street.

Ghostbuster: Frozen Empire


'I ain't afraid of no ghosts' The litmus test for devoted Ghostbuster fans would have to know what to say after hearing the lyric, “If there’s something strange in your neighbourhood, who you gonna call?” The Ghostbusters have been part of the fabric of society for forty years, and this unlikely bunch continues to find new life for their franchise.

Russ Matthews from Reel Dialogue and Laura Bennett from Hope 103.2 talk Ghostbusters and the newest instalment Frozen Empire. Two generations of Ghostbusters must work together, young and old teaming up to face their greatest threat yet.

[video: https://youtu.be/Fp1eMe-12Kc?si=HVvwnSxe3g45OK21]


We've got a lot of ground to cover!


So many shows, so little time. At least it feels like it. Between all the different streaming platforms and the blockbuster movies coming to cinema trying to get audiences back in a post-COVID world, we are spoilt for choice on screen – and yet, still “have nothing to watch”.


Deciphering all the voices in entertainment and how to think about the themes raised in movies, TV, and streaming is tough: enter our new podcast The Watchlist.


Subscribe on Spotify, Apple, Prime Music or Google Podcasts

Watch on Youtube


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Recently, I heard a story about a man who lived in communist Russia. His job for the KGB was to discover, monitor, and when called upon, break up Christian meetings with extreme force.


So he went from house church to house church inflicting terror and suffering on Russian Christians.


One time, he kept discovering and breaking up the same house church and amidst this group, he kept seeing a young, attractive woman, Natasha, who accepted the beatings for her faith. But one time, he stopped his troops beating her up


because he noticed something different about her, and wondered why she would constantly risk her life.


Well, perhaps it was because she had found the truth and nothing would stop her from following Jesus.


And ultimately her courage, faith and loyalty to God made the KGB agent wonder whether Christianity was true.


And in time, he accepted Jesus himself.

I recently moved interstate. No longer do i know where to go to get the best coffee, or the best meal, or the best whatever it is I'm after — which is why I love those 'best of' lists.

Someone else has done all the hard work and come up with the places I should go.


Now, imagine if someone had done a 'best of' list for all of life; the one place to go for life forever.


Well thankfully, someone has.

In one of the biographies of Jesus, one of His followers says this about Him:


"Where else have we to go when You alone have the words of eternal life?"


If you want life forever, there's only one place to go on the 'best of' list: Jesus!


He tops the list of where to go for life forever — He's the only one on the list!


Now, if only figuring out where to get my coffee was that easy...