Ms. Marvel and the Welcoming Reach of Jesus [Free]
A Bible Study on the TV show Ms. Marvel
Not sure where to get started? Find our 101 Guide to using our curriculum here.
Opening Prayer
Begin with a prayer that sets the tone for the study, asking for openness and understanding as participants delve into the themes of light, darkness, and the Holy Spirit's guidance.
Sample Prayer:
God, thank You for welcoming us before we have everything figured out. Help us be honest today about the places where we feel different, lonely, or out of place. Remind us that Jesus does not turn people away. Open our hearts to Your love, and help us see others with that same welcome. Amen.
Prep Questions
Have you watched Ms. Marvel? What did you think of Kamala Khan?
Have you ever felt like the odd one out?
What is something that makes you unique?
Why do people sometimes feel pressure to copy someone else instead of being themselves?
Where is a place where you have felt like you truly belonged?
Link to Video
Shortened Transcript
The sermon looks at Kamala Khan from Ms. Marvel and the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:27–38.
Kamala Khan is a Pakistani-American Muslim teenager from Jersey City. She is creative, nerdy, loves the Avengers, writes fan fiction, and especially looks up to Captain Marvel. But Kamala also feels like she does not quite fit. She is caught between family expectations, school life, culture, religion, and her dream of becoming something more.
In the first episode of Ms. Marvel, Kamala sneaks out to AvengerCon with her friend Bruno. She wears a Captain Marvel cosplay and brings a mysterious family bangle. When she puts it on, she suddenly gains powers and causes chaos. Afterward, her mother tells her to focus on her own story.
The sermon connects Kamala’s struggle with the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8. The eunuch is also someone who may have felt like an outsider. He is from Ethiopia, connected to another culture, and would not have easily fit into every part of Jewish religious life. Yet he is reading from Isaiah and trying to understand God.
The Holy Spirit sends Philip to him. Philip hears him reading Scripture and asks if he understands it. The eunuch says, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” Philip explains the good news of Jesus. Then the eunuch sees water and asks, “What is to prevent me from being baptized?”
Philip baptizes him right there.
The sermon focuses on the difference between the “myth of perfection” and the true welcome offered through Jesus. Kamala may feel like she does not look like the heroes she admires. The Ethiopian eunuch may have felt like he did not belong in the religious world he was trying to understand. But Jesus welcomes people who feel outside, different, or unworthy.
The message is simple: where there is water, there is welcome. Baptism reminds us that Jesus opens the door wide. Nothing about our background, appearance, questions, culture, or past can make us unworthy of the love offered through Christ.
Guided Questions
Why do you think Kamala looks up to Captain Marvel so much?
What are some ways Kamala feels different from the heroes she admires?
Why do we sometimes believe we have to become like someone else before we can matter?
In Acts 8, what stands out to you about the Ethiopian eunuch?
Why is it important that the Holy Spirit sends Philip toward someone who may have felt like an outsider?
The eunuch asks, “What is to prevent me from being baptized?” Why is that such a powerful question?
What kinds of things do people today think might prevent them from being welcomed by Jesus?
Why do churches sometimes act like bouncers instead of doorholders?
What does baptism show us about God’s welcome?
Who in your life might need to hear that they are welcome, loved, and not too different for Jesus?
Activity
The Belonging Map
Give everyone a piece of paper or a notes app.
Ask them to draw three circles:
Places I feel like I belong
Places I feel like an outsider
People who may need welcome from me
Give everyone a few minutes to write words, names, or places inside each circle.
After that, ask them to quietly look at the second circle: “Places I feel like an outsider.”
Invite them to write this sentence underneath it:
Jesus meets me here too.
Then ask them to look at the third circle: “People who may need welcome from me.”
Invite them to write this sentence underneath it:
I can be a doorholder, not a bouncer.
People can share if they feel comfortable, but no one should be forced to share.
After Questions
Use these at the end or as take-home reflection.
Which circle was easiest for you to fill out?
Which circle was hardest?
What did this activity teach you about belonging?
Have you ever felt like you had to be perfect before God would welcome you?
How does the story of the Ethiopian eunuch challenge that idea?
What is one way you can help someone feel welcomed this week?
Spiritual Practice
Look for Water
This week, pay attention to water.
When you drink water, wash your hands, see rain, pass a lake, or notice a puddle, pause for a moment and remember:
Jesus welcomes me. Jesus welcomes others.
Then pray this simple prayer:
Jesus, thank You for welcoming me. Help me welcome others too.
Choose one person this week who may feel left out or unseen. Send them a message, invite them into a conversation, sit with them, or simply remind them that they matter.
Practice being a doorholder, not a bouncer.
Closing Prayer
Conclude with a prayer that acknowledges the Holy Spirit's presence and asks for continued guidance and protection in the journey of faith.
Sample Prayer:
Jesus, thank You for welcoming people who feel different, forgotten, or out of place. Thank You for meeting the Ethiopian eunuch on the road and for reminding us that nothing can separate us from Your love. Help us stop chasing the myth of perfection. Teach us to live as people who open doors instead of closing them. Show us who needs welcome this week, and give us the courage to love them well. Amen.
Notes From The Nerd Pastor:
Ms. Marvel is a story about identity and belonging. Kamala Khan loves superheroes, but she does not feel like the heroes she admires. She is Pakistani-American, Muslim, nerdy, creative, and caught between different worlds. She wants to be like Captain Marvel, but her mother tells her something important: she needs to focus on her own story.
That connects beautifully with Acts 8. The Ethiopian eunuch is also trying to understand where he belongs. He is reading Scripture, seeking God, and asking big questions. He may not seem like the “expected” person to be included in the story of the early church. But the Holy Spirit sends Philip directly to him.
That matters.
Philip does not block the way. He does not make the eunuch prove himself. He does not say, “Come back later when you understand everything.” Instead, he explains Jesus. And when the eunuch sees water, he asks the question at the heart of the sermon: “What is to prevent me from being baptized?”
The answer is beautiful: nothing.
Jesus welcomes the outsider, the seeker, the confused, the curious, the different, and the person who does not feel perfect enough. The church should not be Heaven’s bouncer. We are called to be doorholders.
So whether you feel like Kamala, Bruno, Carol, Philip, or the Ethiopian eunuch, hear the good news: you are welcome in Jesus. You do not have to become someone else first. You are invited into the story of God right now.
Resource Notes:
Find basic information about Ms. Marvel on the Marvel or Disney+ wiki.
Helpful Nerd Terms:
Kamala Khan – The main character of Ms. Marvel, a Pakistani-American Muslim teenager from Jersey City who loves the Avengers.
Ms. Marvel – Kamala’s superhero identity.
Captain Marvel / Carol Danvers – Kamala’s favorite hero and one of the Avengers.
AvengerCon – A fan convention celebrating the Avengers.
Bruno Carrelli – Kamala’s best friend who helps her sneak out to AvengerCon.
Bangle – A family item Kamala wears that unlocks her powers in the show.
The Myth of Perfection – The false idea that we must become perfect, impressive, or like someone else before we can belong.
Philip – A follower of Jesus who is led by the Holy Spirit to speak with the Ethiopian eunuch.
Ethiopian Eunuch – A court official from Ethiopia who reads Isaiah, hears the good news about Jesus, and is baptized.
Baptism – A Christian practice using water that shows welcome, new life, and belonging in Jesus.
Doorholder – Someone who helps others feel welcomed into God’s love.
Bouncer – Someone who tries to decide who is not allowed in.
Theological Themes:
Belonging, identity, baptism, welcome, grace, outsiders, inclusion, evangelism, the Holy Spirit, Scripture, guidance, discipleship, Christian hospitality, cultural difference, self-worth, the myth of perfection, Jesus’ sacrifice, water as a sign of life, the Body of Christ, radical welcome, and being a doorholder instead of a bouncer.
Other questions? Ask in the comments below!