SPRINGFIELD, MO — A congregation sat in suspense during the Sunday morning service over the weekend, as church members grew curious about where the pastor's reference to the 1997 film Anaconda was going.

While the members of Grace Covenant Church had grown used to Pastor Richard Bellman making various pop culture references during his messages from time to time, the mention of the Jennifer Lopez vehicle was unexpected.

"That one really came out of nowhere," said churchgoer Frank Parker. "We've had him reference Titanic and Star Wars. Lord of the Rings, of course. But Anaconda? I don't think anyone comes to church and expects to hear an analogy tied to that movie."

Pastor Bellman reportedly used the film's character of Paul Serone, played by Jon Voight, as an example of how toying with sin could eventually turn around and bite you. "A life of a lackadaisical attitude toward sin is a life like the one lived by Paul Serone in Anaconda," Bellman said. "He considered himself a snake hunter. He liked to live on the edge. He toyed with danger. In the end, Serone was devoured by the snake. Just like you will be devoured by your sin. And where you're going, there won't be any Ice Cube or J-Lo there to save you."

Congregants were said to have been looking at each other with confused expressions during the illustration. "He could have used a better example, I think," Parker said. "Like, maybe The Jackal. That one had Bruce Willis and Richard Gere in it."

At publishing time, the members of Grace Covenant Church were troubled to hear that Pastor Bellman was preparing a 3-part sermon series based heavily on I Know What You Did Last Summer.

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