This is a Salaback Church podcast. Hey everybody.

Today we are continuing our At the Movie series. We're going to be looking at Toy Story 4. I just got to say I love this movie. Now, there are a lot of different things about this movie that I love. There's so many themes in here and they really do mirror God's heart for our own lives. You might be wondering what can I really learn from a movie about toys?

But I'll be the first to say, watching this movie as a grown man in my 40s, my early 40s, might I add, I was moved by this story.

And it's not just because it's the last of the Toy Story series.

It really has some powerful messages.

It hits on a lot of the questions and struggles that we all

relate to at different points in our lives. Now, today we're just going to focus on three of the

characters and learn a lesson from each of them. And as I introduce them, I want to invite you to

ask yourself which of these three characters you relate to the most.

Now, let's start with Woody.

As you probably know, his owner in the original Toy Story movie is named Andy.

And I like that.

My first name, obviously, is Andy.

And my last name is Wood.

So since it's Woody and his owner was Andy, I kind of feel connected to him on a personal level.

In fact, when I was a kid, people would call me Woody.

Woody is the cowboy sheriff and leader of the toys from the first movie,

who sees his sole purpose as bringing joy to their owner, Bonnie.

But when Bonnie's playtimes come around, this means the toys get a whole lot of anxiety.

Though Woody tries to hide it, being repeatedly left to collect dust leaves him disappointed

and discouraged. In many ways, Woody embodies people who might feel like the prime of their

life has passed, or that maybe they're not needed or wanted in ways

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