Bible, Theology and Apologetics for kids
A couple of months ago, I reviewed a fun series of 9 DVDs for kids from Veggie Tales Creator Phil Vischer, called Buck Denver Asks, “What’s in the Bible?” This month, Phil’s team sent me a review copy of the 10th DVD in this fun series: “Jesus is the Good News!”
In this post, I’ll give you a quick review of this DVD. But I also want to tell you a little story about how my son and I ended up up watching this video with a bunch of kids at our local bookstore–after closing hours. Read on…
What’s in the DVD?
My son and I were pretty excited to get a pre-release copy of “Jesus is the Good News!” Like the rest of the series, this DVD comes with a digital copy and a coloring page on the back of the DVD insert. It’s got two, 25-minute episodes which covers Matt, Mark, Luke, and John–plus a few bonus features, including outtakes. He put it into our Xbox 360 right away, and we started watching it together.
Check out a couple of videos Phil put out to help you get a feel for what you’re getting in the 10th DVD in the series.
Historical Background and Setting
This video is everything the Old Testament series has been leading up to. It begins with an a recap of DVDs 1-9, and then gives us a little background on the New Testament Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Apparently, Pirate Pete knows more than church history, and that’s why he gives us the skinny on Jewish groups like the Pharisees, Sadducees and the Zealots in “A Pirate’s Guide to Jewish History.
This first 25-minute segment also introduces us to the authors of the New Testament Gospels and the people who wrote them. One of my son’s favorite parts was hearing about the Romans and Alexander the Great. Why? As a home schooled kid, he’s been studying this in his history class with my wife.
So later, I found out that the Dallas Theological Seminary bookstore was hosting a screening of the DVD after closing hours for the seminary kids–complete with popcorn and juice boxes! We joined 26 kids, 9 moms and 5 dads for the screening. It was fun to see some of the 6 and 7-year olds get up and dance to Chuckwagon’s new song!
Theology and Apologetics Stuff
The 2nd part of the DVD finally gets into the life of Jesus. Here, things take on a more serious tone and Phil takes over the storytelling without much distraction from the puppets. What stuck me about his presentation, is how Phil hit a lot of the same major points that I discuss in my talks on the picture we get of Christ from Scripture. For example:
- Jesus heals a paralyzed man to show he has authority to forgive sins.
- Jesus calms the storm to show he has authority over nature.
- Jesus raises Jairus’ daughter from the dead to show he even has authority over death.
Phil helps kids understand that Jesus is a person of the Trinity, that he said he was divine, and that he physically rose from the dead, validating his claims. Plus, he explains the gospel in a way kids can understand.Interestingly, this DVD even gets details like Jesus’ wrists being nailed to the cross–not his palms. Someone obviously looked in to this. Still, it’s tastefully done at an age-appropriate level
When I asked my son what his absolute favorite thing was, he said, “How beautifully the story of Jesus and the crucifixion was done.” It was actually kind of emotional for my 8-year old. And it inspired me to read through Psalm 22 for our family devotions that night.
Conclusion
Again, when it comes to introducing the Bible, theology and apologetics to children in a way that’s simple to get, this rocks. It’s Bible literacy for a new generation. Whether you’re a parent, grandparent, or Sunday School teacher (without a magic flannel graph), check out Buck Denver Asks What’s in the Bible? The whole series is very well done.
I highly recommend volume 10, “Jesus is the Good News!” for your 6-10 year olds. This DVD is one great way to help your family focus on the Good News of Jesus, especially during the days leading up to Easter.
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