Transcripts: Apply Bible Principles

Transcript: How Love Leads to Genuine Peace
[In the room of a teenage girl named Olivia, a collage of drawings, family photos and a convention program decorate the wall. Dressed in a mustard yellow sweater, headband, and jeans, she wears earbuds as she sits on her bed and draws on a notepad. Her mom Irene calls out from the kitchen.]
Mom: Olivia! Olivia!
[Olivia removes one earbud.]
Hurry you’re going to be late for school.
[She and her big brother Gabe rush into the hallway. Olivia hugs mom, mom beckons Gabe to hug her too.]
Gabe: OK, Mom. I’m going to preach.
Olivia: See you.
[Gabe grabs a travel mug.]
Bye, Mom, Love you
Mom: Have a good day.
[Mom grabs her keys.]
Gabe: See you later, Mom.
[They all hurry out the door. At school Olivia greets other students as she walks to her desk. She sees two girls recording her, from the back of the class.]
Brooke: Today’s poll: Would she ever?
Amanda: She would never, she’s an angel.
Brooke: I think it’s all a front. You know she’s wild. Oh, she totally just saw us. OK. I’m totally posting that.
Amanda: Do it.
Brooke: OK. It’s up.
[Her classmates look at their phones. They mockingly laugh. She scans the room then looks at the post.]
Brooke’s post: Hey, everyone, Brooke here and Amanda. Guess who just walked in. Olivia.
[A kiss emoji.]
And there’s Jake. Today’s poll: Would she ever? No, she would never; she’s an angel. I think it’s all an act. You know she’s wild.
[Devil emoji.]
Oops, she saw us
Girl: I don’t believe it.
[Wide eyed Olivia looks around.]
Amanda: I don’t even think she likes guys.
Boy: What if she’s into girls?
[A classmate Jake looks at her.]
Brooke: Everybody’s getting it.
Amanda: I bet she’s still a virgin.
[Gabe and another brother cart witnessing. Two young men watch from a distance, one wears a t shirt with two fists breaking a chain, the other wears a beanie and carries a cardboard sign. They approach him.]
Man: Hey, can I see that?
Gabe: Yeah, of course,
[Gabe takes a brochure from the cart.]
Here you go.
[The man in the t shirt looks at it.]
Man: Enjoy Life Forever. Now, how are you going to do that?
Gabe: Well, that’s a very good question, actually. Well, God promises.
Man: No, no, no, not God, you! What are you doing?
[He leans in towards Gabe.]
Gabe: Me? Well, I try to help others.
Man: Try? Man, all you do is stand next to your little cart while the rest of us stand up for your rights, bro.
Gabe: Well, I’m actually neutral when it.
Man: Neutral? Ain’t no neutral. You’re just a coward,
[Gabe purses his lips and looks away.]
Keep your trash.
[He throws the brochure at Gabe’s feet. The two men storm off. Gabe gently picks up the brochure and puts it back on the cart. Back home, Gabe slowly walks in. Mom comes out of the kitchen to greet Gabe.]
Mom: How did it go?
Gabe: It was a tough day at the cart, but I’m OK.
[As he puts down his bag his sister Olivia enters. She walks past them without looking up. Gabe and Mom exchange looks, he shrugs. Mom follows Olivia to her room.]
Olivia’s phone plays Brooke’s video post: “Hey, everyone, Brooke here. And Amanda. Guess who just walked in? Olivia.”
[Mom enters.]
Mom: Olivia, what’s wrong?
[Tears roll down Olivia’s face. On the bed Olivia hands Mom her phone]
Olivia’s phone: “Hey, everyone, Brooke here. And Amanda. Guess who just walked in? Olivia.”
[Gabe enters.]
“And there’s Jake. Today’s poll: Would she ever? No, she would never; she’s an angel. I think it’s all an act. You know she’s wild. Oops, she saw us.”
[Mom’s brows furrow and Gabe shakes his head.]
Mom: I’m so sorry that happened to you.
[Olivia still softly cries. Mom takes a deep breath and relaxes her brow.]
Mom: You know, it reminds me of a situation Paul was in,
[Flash to Paul sitting in the dark.]
Mom: I think it was Acts chapter 16,
[Mom reads from Olivia’s phone.]
and verse 23,
[Gabe follows along on his.]
“After they had inflicted many blows on them,
[Back to Paul]
they threw them into prison
[Thrown onto the floor of the cell.]
and ordered the jailer to guard them securely,
[His dirt smudged face grimaces in pain.]
Because he got such an order, he threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks,
[Paul and Silas sit in darkness.]
But about the middle of the night, Paul and Silas were praying and praising God with song, and the prisoners were listening to them.”
[Both men look heavenward.]
What do you think made them want to sing?
[Mom warmly looks at both kids. The kids’ glance at each other.]
They loved Jehovah. And when they focused on that, how do you think they felt?
[Back to Paul, he serenely smiles with his bloodied lip, as his face glows with hope.]
Gabe: I think,
[Gabe looks up, then Olivia.]
they felt some peace.
Mom: That’s right. How about we dig a little bit deeper?
Gabe: OK.
Olivia: OK.
(Gabe’s mind repeatedly replays the cart situation.
“What are you going to do? You’re just a coward. Man, all you do is stand next to your little cart. You don’t do anything. You’re just a coward. You just stand next to your little cart. Ain’t no neutral. Stand up for your rights. You’re just a coward.”)
Mom: Gabe,
[In Olivia’s room.]
what happened today?
[Gabe recalls the man berating him at the witnessing cart.]
Gabe: It’s just that I’ve been yelled at in service before, but this time I wanted to,
[Mom listens compassionately.]
I don’t know.
[Olivia teary eyed.]
Olivia: I wanted to go up to the girls and smash their phones.
Mom: I’m so glad that you didn’t.
Gabe: Yeah, but I feel guilty, because I was like, I was like SO angry.
[Gabe looks down at his hands and bites his lip.]
Mom: It’s OK. Let’s keep reading. We had left off in verse 26.
[Mom gently touches Olivia’s knee and draws her attention back to the scripture on the phone.]
Gabe reads: “Suddenly a great earthquake occurred so that the foundations of the jail were shaken. Moreover, all the doors were instantly opened, and everyone’s bonds came loose. When the jailer woke up and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, assuming that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul called out with a loud voice Do not hurt yourself, for we are all here,
[Paul holds out his hand.]
So, he asked for lights and rushed in,
[Paul rushes towards him with a reassuring smile.]
and seized with trembling, he fell down before Paul and Silas.”
[The jailer falls to his knees and looks intently into Paul’s eyes.]
Mom: Now, think about what the jailer had done to Paul,
[Paul is thrown to the floor, his feet fastened in stocks. The jailer glares at him.]
He could have hated him for it.
Gabe: Yeah, he could have. But I guess he saw the jailer’s pain instead of just his own,
[Paul kneels down and puts his hand on the jailer’s shoulder.]
Yeah, Paul loved his neighbor. He didn’t hold back from trying to save his life.
[Contemplating Gabe nods to himself. Another day in front of the cart, Gabe rubs his hands together in anticipation. He sees the same two men. They approach Gabe and his partner. Gabe nervously bites his lip and collects himself.]
Man: Hey, how do you get the nerve to keep coming out here?
[He turns to face the man.]
Gabe: Look, you were right, about what you said. No one should stand around while other people suffer injustice.
Man: So do something. Fight like we do.
[Gabe confidently smiles.]
Gabe: This is my way of making a difference, the only way that I know the world can really change.
Man: Come on, man, the Bible?
Gabe: Look, I get what you’re thinking but let me show you just one scripture.
Man: All right, one scripture.
Gabe: So, this is the verse in the Bible that convinced me of how I can make a difference. It’s at Matthew 24:14. Here it says, “And this good news of the Kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”
(Olivia’s mind replays her classmates video post.
“Guess who just walked in? Olivia. And there’s Jake. Would she ever? You know she’s wild. I don’t even think she likes guys. What if she’s into girls? I bet she’s still a virgin.”)
[In Olivia’s room.]
Mom: Olivia, what are you thinking?
[Olivia recalls the video her classmates posted.]
Olivia: I don’t, I don’t know how they can do that. I don’t even follow them. If this doesn’t stop,
[Her mom Irene nods understandingly,]
I don’t know if I can.
[Crestfallen Olivia shakes her head.]
Gabe: You’re strong, OK. You just can’t let them get to you.
[Seated in a chair near the bed, her brother Gabe looks at her compassionately.]
Mom: It feels out of your control, doesn’t it?
[Head hanging low, Olivia holds back her tears. Next to Olivia on the bed Mom takes in a deep breath and smiles.]
Mom: Hey, I think we need another Bible example. Remember when we studied about the Shulammite girl?
[Flash to a swarthy girl with big brown eyes.]
Olivia: Yeah, I remember.
[Her face half veiled.]
Mom: And who was pressuring her?
[In a field with the sun low.]
Olivia: Solomon,
[Solomon in royal attire approaches the girl dressed in linen coloured fabric.]
But she wasn’t interested in him,
[He reaches out.]
just like I’m not interested in that boy Jake, so.
[She turns away.]
Mom: But it wasn’t just him, there were the daughters of Jerusalem in Solomon’s court, [A group of young women in colourful clothing and gold jewellery.]
They urged her to accept his attention,
[In the field they address the Shulamite.]
But do you remember what she said in the Song of Solomon chapter 2?
[She calmly speaks to the young women.]
Olivia: It says: “I put you under oath, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and the does of the field. Do not try to awaken or arouse love in me until it feels inclined.”
Mom: So, despite all of the pressure, who was really in control?
Olivia: She was,
[She resolutely walks through the group.]
No one was going to push her into something that she didn’t want to do.
[She confidently smiles as she walks away.]
Mom: She even said: “I am a wall.”
[The young women follow her with their eyes.]
You have the same power.
[Back to Olivia’s room.]
And if you believe that, it’ll change how you handle the pressure.
[Olivia nods in agreement.]
Now give me a hug.
[Uplifted Olivia accepts her mom’s soothing embrace. Another day at school, Olivia hesitates at her locker, then enters the class. She nervously glances over at the girls.]
Brooke: Hey, guys, update on yesterday’s topic. I guess she still needs a man.
Amanda: She needs something.
[The girls send a new post to the class.]
Brooke: I just posted it. Go like my video.
Olivia thinks: All they want is to see me give in.
Olivia’s phone: Hey, guys, update on yesterday’s topic. I guess she still needs.
Olivia thinks: Why would I give them the satisfaction? My peace comes from doing the right thing. Nobody can make me stumble.
[Olivia confidently taps the block icon on the girl's profile page.]
“I am a wall.”
[Back to the Shulamite girl, she turns away from Solomon. She leaves the daughters of Jerusalem behind her.]
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