Watch Actor Chris Pratt Preach the Gospel in Under Four Minutes at the MTV Awards

MTV held its annual awards ceremony Monday night featuring the music, films, and speeches of Hollywood’s elite. MTV honored Chris Pratt with this year’s “Generation Award.” Pratt has starred in two blockbuster films already this year, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Avengers: Infinity War. The actor, who seems to be a blend of serious and silly, chose that same route for his acceptance speech, wherein he offered “Nine Rules from Chris Pratt, Generation Award Winner” to the next generation. It was refreshing and inspiring to see a handsome, talented, popular actor offer nuggets of wisdom and proclaim his faith in front of the entire MTV audience on national television.

Some of Pratt’s rules were silly and even a bit crude, but peppered in between the laughs Pratt offered several wise, somber pieces of advice about life, choices, and even Christianity. For example, while Rule #1 was “breathe” or else “you’ll suffocate,” Rule #2 was: “You have a soul. Be careful with it.” For some people in the audience, that might be the first time they’d ever heard such an idea—at least from a Hollywood star.

Pratt’s Rule #3 was simple but also profound. At first he said, “Don’t be a turd.” The audience laughed. But then he followed this up with more wisdom. “If you’re strong, be a protector. If you’re smart, be a humble influencer. Strength and intelligence can be weapons: Do not wield them against the weak, that makes you a bully. Be bigger than that.” While Rule #4 was a silly joke about how to give a dog medicine (with hamburger wrapped around it of course), he continued with his quest to offer solid wisdom to a generation that needs it.

Pratt continued. Rule #5: “Doesn’t matter what it is, earn it. A good deed. Reach out to someone in pain. Be of service. It feels good and it’s good for your soul.” Pratt didn’t hesitate to offer “Rule #6: God is real. God loves you. God wants the best for you. Believe that. I do.”

Rule #7 was a bizarre but hilarious mini-rant about how to use the bathroom at a party without stinking up the place. But while the audience was laughing about that, Pratt used that momentum and went into his last two rules which piggybacked on his previous tidbits of advice about Christianity.

Rule #8. “Learn to pray. It’s easy and it’s so good for your soul.” Finally, with the crowd clapping and nodding, he closed with a mini-theology lesson that was every bit as solid as a 45-minute sermon by a Southern Baptist preacher.

Rule #9: Nobody is perfect. People are going to tell you you’re perfect just the way you are. You’re not. You’re imperfect. You always will be. But there is a powerful force that you designed you this way. And if you’re willing to accept that, you will have grace. And grace is a gift. And like the freedom that we enjoy in this country, that grace was paid for by somebody else’s blood. God bless you. Please get home safely.

While Pratt’s devout Christian faith might have been a surprise to viewers or the younger audience members, he has been outspoken about his faith for some time. He often posts Christian themes on his social media and last year attended a Christian concert, spending time with the singers backstage.

Although he’s a Hollywood star, Pratt has experienced his share of trials and credits his faith with helping him through them. He and his wife, Anna Farris, divorced last year after nine years of marriage and his son Jack was born prematurely (he’s now five). In a YouTube video last year, a user asked him, “With the things going on in your life, how do you keep the faith?” Pratt responded that he had found hope and encouragement in a book his pastor recommended, Faith Forward Future. Pratt also credited experiencing his son’s premature birth with renewing his own faith. “It restored my faith in God, not that it needed to be restored, but it really redefined it,” he said.

In front of the MTV audience on national television, Chris Pratt, one of the hottest actors working in Hollywood currently, preached the gospel of Jesus Christ with humility, simplicity, and total verve. Without hesitation or judgment toward others, Pratt offered to anyone watching that clip the hope of eternal life, with the simple facts that nobody is perfect and “grace is a gift.” It’s refreshing to see a talented actor, starring in some of the biggest hits this year, touting his faith with boldness and humility. You can watch Pratt’s four-minute speech below.