Sermon Illustrations
"Lilo & Stitch": In Families, No One Is Forgotten
In the Disney film Lilo & Stitch, Stitch is a creature from outer space. He is the result of genetic experiment by an alien scientist. He is small, blue, and toothy. He slobbers and growls almost continually, and his genetic instinct is to destroy. Though he is no bigger than the average dog, Stitch can lift items several times his own weight, and he breaks most everything he touches.
Stitch escapes his home planet and makes his way to earth where he is mistaken for a dog by a young Hawaiian girl named Lilo. Lilo adopts Stitch from the local pound, and he becomes a member of this small, broken family.
Lilo is unlike other girls her age; she is rough and tumble. She has been in the care of her older sister since their parents died in a car accident. Lilo, like Stitch, doesn't fit in well. This creates a bond between the two.
Lilo and her sister soon realize they have no ordinary canine on their hands. One night at a restaurant, Stitch attempts to swallow the head of another patron. When they get home, Stitch goes into destruction mode. He blows the contents of a blender all over the kitchen and then breaks the blender. Frustrated by Stitch's behavior, Lilo's sister prepares to throw Stitch out. Stitch is saved only because of a family motto passed down from their father: the Hawaiian word ohana. Just as the older sister tosses Stitch out on his ear, Lilo cries, "What about ohana!"
"He hasn't been here that long," says her older sister.
"I haven't either!" says Lilo. "Ohana means family, and in family no one gets left behind…or forgotten."
The older sister says, "I hate it when you pull ohana on me." Reluctantly the older sister agrees to keep Stitch.
Elapsed time: Measured from the beginning of the opening credit, this scene begins at 00:35.15 and ends at 00:36.29.
Content: Rated PG