Genre: DVD Curriculum Series/Christian Life/Inspirational

Loosely Recommended.

In eight 20ish minute sessions, passionate Bible teacher Jennie Allen encourages those who feel spiritually restless that God does have a purpose for their lives. The series begins with understanding our restlessness and God’s plan, then moves into discussion of our personal gifts, times of suffering/hurt, the places He has us, the people who surround us, our passions, and a closing of how this all fits together.

Each video session begins with participants from Allen’s female Bible study candidly sharing answers to questions as the camera cuts creatively from one to the next. Then the film delves into the core lesson where Jennie (in more of a lecture/sermon style than an interactive Bible study) tells stories, shares from the Bible (especially focusing on the story of Joseph), and preaches words of encouragement and inspiration. Allen’s story-telling is great, and is really the heart of the lesson.

Despite the content being very good, I felt like something was missing. I received this DVD for review by the publisher without the corresponding study guide, and I imagine the study guide would have made the difference. As it is I found the DVD only “okay”—I just was not emotionally/mentally prepared for each lesson or for the author’s very passionate lectures. The intensity, in fact, was a bit much for me; and the cohesion (probably brought together by the supplementary materials) was lacking.

Without knowing what the study guide and leader’s manual entails, I do not feel strongly enough about this series to recommend it, but I also expect that this may be a great video for any women’s (perhaps even men’s) Bible study using the DVD as supplementary material—that is, with an engaging lesson/discussion facilitated by a local teacher/leader, followed by this video as an encouraging “wrap up” of the “real” lesson.

I received a complimentary copy of this DVD from Thomas Nelson.

I do not typically post joint reviews, but in this case I received both Father of Lights and Finding God in the Bible simultaneously from the publisher, and for good reason. They each uncover what it looks like to be a friend of God. Also, in Finding God in the Bible Darren Wilson frequently refers to scenes and people encountered in his film, Father of Lights. I recommend watching the film first, then reading the book—although, of course, both are enjoyable completely on their own as well.

Father of Lights:

Genre: DVD/Christian Living/Charismatic

Highly Recommended.

I first encountered Darren Wilson through his feature film, Finger of God, in which he captured multiple supernatural miracles of God on camera in an exciting documentary-style demonstration of God’s involvement with humanity. His film, Furious Love, continued that story of God’s love and immanence. And Darren’s newest film, Father of Lights, wraps up this film trilogy with some of the most encouraging and exciting charismatic Christian footage I have seen.

This film expresses what it looks like to be a friend of God through documentary interviews and excursions with many of God’s close friends. As the film crew travels the world to visit with both known and lesser known Christian ministers, people encounter God, are healed, and recognize the warmth of God’s passionate love. There is also a particularly excellent scene where the film crew is able to film inside the Dome of the Rock, which is unheard of for Christians, but possible through the loving and miracle-working Father God. This is really an amazing film!

Finding God in the Bible:

Genre: Christian Living/Charismatic

Recommended.

In Finding God in the Bible, Darren Wilson candidly discusses some of the Bible’s more troubling stories and how each actually reveals something positive about God’s character. Areas analyzed, for instance, include Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his own son, Elisha cursing 42 youths to their death, what went wrong with King Saul, and many other interesting biblical passages. The majority of the book is taken from the Old Testament, with exception of the final chapter that focuses on Jesus’ character and interaction with His friends.

Wilson does not write as an apologist or theologian, but as a friend of God casually sharing his own personal insights, stories, and thoughts. Since I do love to study theology, at times I became distracted by very small insignificant details that were not quite accurate, and needed to remind myself to focus on Wilson’s overall message—a message, by the way, which was always excellent and well presented despite some very minor issues.

This is a book for anyone wanting to understand how God feels about humanity (He loves us, likes us, and wants to be our friend!), and also for those desiring to strengthen their own friendship with God. It’s easy to read, interesting, and very encouraging.

I received a complimentary copy of this DVD and this book from Chosen Books.

Genre: Multimedia/Apologetics

Series: True U

Highly Recommended!

Is the Bible Reliable? is a ten part DVD curriculum building the case for the reliability of the Bible as a historical document. It is the second in the line of Focus on the Family’s True U series, which take the viewer into the university classroom to explore various aspects of the biblical worldview.

These DVDs look specifically at whether archeological, historical, and anthropological evidence correspond with the events, persons, and places described in the Bible. The first six lessons look at the Old Testament: the documentary hypothesis, the validity of the Israelites as a distinctive people group that left Egypt for Canaan and took military conquest of the inhabitants of that land, the kingdoms of David and Solomon, and the Babylonian conquest of Judah. The next four sessions focused on the New Testament: the transmission of the Bible, evidence for the early composition of the synoptic gospels and Acts, and the significant corroboration of external evidence to the biblical account.

I was impressed with the amount of solid discussion in each 30 minute episode. This series offers a great jumping off point for further research and discussion into the historical aspects of the Bible. It was also well presented and easy to follow. I think it would be a great resource for an academically focused small group or college group, and would probably even benefit younger teens (depending on their interest and aptitude).

This set comes with two DVDs of ten 30 minute sessions and a discussion guide. The discussion guide has a fill-in-the-blank activity and a matching activity for every section to help solidify the main points, and has various blurbs and comics as well. If I was leading a small group of this study, I would try to get everyone their own discussion book.

I received a complimentary copy of this product as a part of the Tyndale Blog Network.