How to Train Your Dragon:

How to Train Your Dragon: Change-Your-Life Prayer Reminders: 

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If you are going to use a movie clip, ALWAYS PREVIEW IT! No exceptions! You are responsible for what you show your group! Our writers will always try to provide ―clean clips‖ and warn you of nearby questionable words or content, but all art forms are subjective. Only you can determine what to show your group. Number one rule: watch it first. Please read the Terms of Use at the end of this lesson for important licensing and copyright information.

Goal: To develop a sense of wonder and excitement about prayer by engaging and reframing conceptions of it.

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Setting the Stage: Provide paper and crayons or colored pencils. Have your students draw a picture of their best friend. As they draw, ask them to think of how the two of them came to be friends. What is it about the two of them that allows them to be friends? How long did it take for them to develop their friendship? What keeps them together as friends? Allow your students several minutes to draw as they consider these questions. Then invite the students to share their pictures and ask them to respond to the questions above. Remind them that some of the same elements that go into a good friendship can improve their relationship with God. Ask the students to keep their strong friendships in mind throughout the following discussion.

How to Train Your Dragon Overview: Hiccup wants to be just like other Vikings, but he is not. He lives on the dragon-plagued island of Berk where life consists of eating, sleeping, and fighting dragons. Hiccup, like the other young villagers, wants nothing more than to join the fight against the dragons who regularly raid the island for food, but Hiccup’s overprotective, village-chief father, Stoick the Vast, will not allow Hiccup to fight. Against the wishes of his father, Hiccup continually sneaks out to fight dragons, hoping that killing a dragon will change everything. One night, using one of his inventions, Hiccup brings down a mysterious and terrible Night Fury. Everything does change, but not as Hiccup expected. As Hiccup approaches the wounded terror, he decides not to kill the Night Fury because it is as frightened as he is. In the succeeding weeks, Hiccup visits the wounded dragon. During


these visits to his mystifying and magnificent new friend, whom he erroneously names ―Toothless,‖ Hiccup learns much about the village’s foes. He finds that they need not be foes at all. In the meantime, he is also enrolled in dragon training, where the young villagers learn to fight dragons. Using the tricks he learns from Toothless, Hiccup harmlessly subdues each of the dragons using unconventional and nonviolent methods. In time, Hiccup and Toothless together take flight in a final, decisive, (unfortunately) violent battle to heal the wounds that have set the Vikings and dragons at odds.

IMPORTANT NOTE: How to Train Your Dragon is rated ―PG‖ for ―sequences of intense action and some scary images, and brief mild language.‖ There are certain elements of Viking mythology included. Characters at times refer to ―the gods‖ or call on Thor. This plays a very minor role in the film. Leaders should preview clips prior to showing them to the group. Also, it would be helpful if the leader has seen the entire movie.

Scripture: Exodus 3:1–15; 1 John 1:1–4; Matthew 6:5–8 God is not tame. He identifies himself as ―the One who will be who he will be.‖ This can be unsettling. It was unsettling to Moses in the Exodus passage. This can, at times, keep us from prayer, but we must not fail to approach I AM. God is also a God who knows us and who seeks us out. He sought Moses out in response to the cries of the Israelites. Moses was out alone in the desert. He was without distraction, and God was able to catch his attention.


God also caught the attention of John. John learned firsthand from Jesus, who he knew and touched and laughed with and cried with. John also knew of God through his Spirit, who dwelt with the church after Jesus left, and continued to reveal the Son and the Father. God refuses to be domesticated, but longs to have a relationship with us. This is part of why we go into the closet (or out into nature, as was Jesus’ custom). We go away by ourselves to meet with the Almighty. He meets with us in the places where our attention can be grasped—the desert, the mountaintop, the closet, in dreams, as we think on him while walking or washing dishes. This meeting can be unsettling, even frightening. It often feels safer to keep ourselves distracted by television, Facebook, killing dragons, or talking about God rather than listening to God.

Movie Clip: ―Meeting Toothless‖ DVD Times: 

Start the first clip near the end of chapter four (time: 20:17) as Hiccup walks into a clearing in the forest. Stop this clip at the end of chapter four (time: 21:55) as the Night Fury looks up at Hiccup sitting on the rock.

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Start the second clip at the beginning of chapter six (time: 27:42) as the camera looks down on the pond where Toothless lives. Stop this clip at the end of chapter six (time: 33:12) after Toothless touches Hiccup’s hand with his nose and then goes away. Introduction to Clips


In the first clip, Hiccup sees the Night Fury for the second time. He has just learned during dragon training that dragons always go for the kill. So he wonders why, on their first meeting, the dragon lets Hiccup live. He now goes to learn more about the dragon who let him live. In the second clip, Hiccup interacts with the fearsome Night Fury. He soon learns that, while Toothless (who is named in this clip) is a powerful dragon, he holds no terror for Hiccup. Rather, in time, they become friends. Key Principles from Clips There is very little dialogue in both of these clips. Most important is the interaction between Hiccup and Toothless. Notice the change in demeanor and attitude that occurs in both throughout the clips. Two focal points of the clip are the mutual gestures of good faith (Hiccup: removing dagger; Toothless: sharing fish), and Hiccup allowing room for Toothless to touch him, rather than insisting that he be able to pet Toothless.

What Did You See? After viewing the clips, ask the group these questions: 

What spiritual elements did you see?

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Which words, phrases, or images were most powerful to you? Why?

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Who do you see yourself as in the clips? Why?

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In what role(s) can you see God? Why?

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Why did Hiccup return to visit the dragon?

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Why do you think Toothless didn’t just eat Hiccup?

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How did the relationship between Hiccup and Toothless change in these clips?


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How long did Hiccup stay with Toothless during the second visit? How is this significant?

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What is the significance of Toothless touching Hiccup?

What Did You Read? After reading the Scriptures for today, ask the following questions: 

What are the key elements in these Scriptures?

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Referring to Exodus 3:1–15, what catches your attention most?

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Why was God able to get Moses’ attention?

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Why did God want Moses’ attention?

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From the 1 John passage, in what ways does John know fellowship with the Father and Jesus Christ? How might the readers of his letter share in that fellowship?

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What does it mean for us to share in fellowship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?

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Reflecting on Matthew 6:5–8, do you remember Jesus ever going into a closet to pray? If he didn’t, then what does he mean when he tells us to do so?

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What picture of God do you get from these passages combined?

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Considering these three scriptures together, what about prayer has been revealed to you?

What Does It All Mean? Tie the movie clips and Scriptures together by asking the following questions: 

What do you think of when you think of prayer?


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How do you come before God? Do you come scared and caught off guard like Moses, loud and boastful like the Pharisees, or with wonder, thankfulness, peace, and expectation like Hiccup came to Toothless?

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What emotions do you most often experience when you go to pray?

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Hiccup went to the pool to meet with Toothless. God found Moses out in the desert. Jesus often prayed in nature. Do you have a secret place, a ―closet‖ where you go to be alone with God? If so, where? (This does not have to be a physical place. It could be an activity or a posture that opens you to God’s presence.) If not, where might be a good place for you to try?

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Hiccup often went to see Toothless to get to know him. When we have a good friend, we like to spend time with them to become as acquainted with her or him as possible. This is part of why we pray––to get to know God. How often do you meet with God alone? How long do you usually spend in your prayer closet?

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Hiccup could go to the pool to find Toothless, but he could not make him do what he wanted. In the end, all Hiccup could do was put out his hand and wait for Toothless to come to him. Sometimes prayer is like that. We must come and wait. Sometimes we may feel God’s touch, sometimes not…but God is always there. Whenever we wait, we come to know God more and we experience the Trinity in a new way. Have you come to this point of waiting on God? If so, in what ways has this waiting shaped your understanding of God? If not, why do you think you’re not yet at this point?

Creative Activity:


Have a whiteboard or newsprint on hand for this prayer experiment brainstorm. After your discussion of current prayer conceptions and practices, have the group brainstorm new prayer practices that may help them in coming to God. Keep a list of the ideas so the whole group can see. Some possible suggestions taking a walk through the neighborhood asking God to guide you in your relationships with your neighbors, reciting a prayer like, ―Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me‖ while you do some repetitive task like washing dishes, keeping a prayer journal, reading prayers (you may find prayers of John Wesley, prayers from the Book of Common Prayer, and from other saints online or in other prayer books), asking God how you can live for him at school as you walk between classes, etc. After a list has been formulated, challenge your students to pick one prayer experiment to try during the following week. Pray for your group before they leave, asking God to prepare them for life-changing interactions with him in their times of prayer.

TERMS OF USE: In producing this teaching material, Barefoot Ministries references the use of movie clips as suggestions for teaching Christian principles in home small groups. The use of movie clips is a suggestion only, and alternatively the movie content could be discussed verbally, without showing any movie clips. Special permission must be granted for any public performance of copyrighted material, including church use. Legal use of and licensing of suggested material under copyright is the responsibility of the local user and/or the local church. Barefoot Ministries is not responsible for the licensing or use of any media suggested in this material. Barefoot Ministries advises that any church or individual secure proper licensing before any public showing of any part of any motion picture, or recorded copyright media. You can secure a Church Video License and/or find out more information about public viewing of copyrighted media by contacting Christian Video Licensing International at www.cvli.org or calling 1-888771-CVLI.
