Lilo and Stitch - A sermon on Ohana as family - July 21st

Aug 21, 2026

Upload by Xiajie

A sermon on “Lilo and Stitch” uses Luke 15:1–10 to explore what “Ohana” (family) means, linking the film’s message that love leaves no one behind with Jesus’ parables of the lost sheep and lost coin. The message addresses objections about broken, imperfect families and challenges naive affirmations of idealized togetherness. It reframes family as seeking the lost with joy, emphasizing repentance and renewed belonging.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time13 min

AccessFree to download

Lilo and Stitch - faith and films introduction

The film’s story and Ohana theme

Luke 15:1-10 - Jesus’ parables of the lost

Questioning the ideal - family brokenness and exclusions

Two approaches to ideals like Ohana

Lilo and Stitch and What It Means to Be Family A sermon by Rev. Aaron Fulp-Eickstaedt At Immanuel Presbyterian Church, McLean VA On July 21st, 2019 Luke 15:1-10 Today we continue our summer sermon series on faith and films with a look at the movie Lilo and Stitch in light of the first ten verses ofthe 15th chapter of Luke. Lilo and Stitch, for those of you who haven’t seen the movie, is the animated tale of Lilo, an elementary school aged Hawaiian girl who has been in the care of her young adult sister Nani ever since their parents were killed in a car accident. Nani has her hands full with Lilo, who is acting out. The situation has come to the attention of social services, who sends a burly social worker named Mr. Bubbles to do a home visit, which, to put it mildly, does not go well. Meanwhile, on a planet far, far away, a mad scientist has fashioned an aggressive and nearly indestructible alien (who is about the size and roughly the shape of a dog) . This alien manages to escape in a spacecraft which crashes into one of the Hawaiian Islands. The mad scientist and a member of the Galactic Federation are sent off to capture this alien. But the alien, who is knocked unconscious after being hit by a truck, is taken to the pound—where Nani and Lilo wind up adopting him. Lilo names him Stitch. The plot continues with several convoluted twists—as you might expect in a story about an out of control alien and an orphaned girl. But the money line, which Lilo has learned from her deceased father, and repeats to her big sister Nani, is this: “Ohana mean family. And family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.” Not even Stitch, who—spoiler alert—is transformed by the love of Lilo and comes to understand and live out the meaning of Ohana himself. The passage I’m about to read contains the first two of three parables found in Luke 15 that Jesus tells the disciples and the grumbling Pharisees, who are mad because he’s reached out to tax collectors and sinners. The two I’ll be reading precede Jesus’ relating the famous parable of the Prodigal Son. That is the story of the younger son who asks for and fritters away his inheritance before going back home, and the Father who welcomes him back by having a feast, and his angry and resentful older brother who doesn’t want to join the party. You’ve heard lots of sermon about that parable, I imagine. Before Jesus tells that parable, he shares these two. Listen for what they might say about the concept of Ohana as well. Now all the tax-collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying,‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he told them this parable: ‘Which one ofyou, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them,“Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.”Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance. ‘Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying,“Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.”Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.’ Every Wednesday at noon we meet as a staff to have a devotional, share lunch, review the bulletin, go over the calendar for the week ahead, and talk about how and what we’re each doing, It’s often helpful, productive, and even fun. We laugh some. It’s a nice little family we have as a staff. We’ve got a nice camaraderie and input is freely shared—including whe

FAQs

How does the sermon connect “Lilo and Stitch” to Luke 15:1–10?

It reads Luke 15’s parables of the lost sheep and lost coin alongside the film’s message about Ohana, emphasizing seeking and rejoicing over what was lost.

What is the “Ohana means family” message discussed in the sermon?

It highlights the quote that family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten, and argues that love transforms even Stitch’s understanding of Ohana.

Why does the sermon address objections about the ideal “nobody gets left behind”?

It notes that real families can be deeply broken, with harm, silence, abuse, neglect, and divisions that contradict an uncritical ideal.

Aug 21, 2026

Upload by Xiajie