What's in the Bible Review: Volume 11 - Spreading the Good News!

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Some entertaining theological discussions from the book of Acts

Cons: A bit dry when it comes to retelling the stories; songs

The Bottom Line:

Spreading the Good News

And how God started the church

Including Gentiles

Taking the Gospel to the Gentle Reptiles – I Mean Gentiles

It’s been a long time since a volume of What’s in the Bible? focused on just one book of the Bible, but that’s the case with Volume 11 – Spreading The Good News!  This video covers just the book of Acts.  Of course, there is lots of material to cover, so this hour video is not boring.

As always Phil Vischer and his stable of puppets take us through the events of the book.  We’ve got the coming of the Holy Spirit and the power He gives (no, not like superheroes), the founding of the church, persecution, and the spreading of the Gospel.  And that’s just in the first half.  The second half hour covers Paul and his conversion and his missionary journeys.

But that’s not all.  The video also manages to get in discussions on science versus miracles and why God protects some but not others.  Both of these discussions seemed light to me at first, but then I put myself in the shoes of the target age group.  Elementary kids will understand what is being said and will learn from it.  Just because I’m…older…and have heard these issues discussed before, I can’t judge this video by everything I’ve heard.  What is said here is true and solid and will get kids thinking.  That’s the most important thing.

Even with only covering one book, this video does seem a bit drier than some of the others.  Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of exciting things happening here, but it is a bit more of a straightforward retelling of the book than some of the others.  There is one cool moment when they compare Paul’s missionary journey to crossing the United States.  That really puts his travels into perspective and is something everyone will benefit from.

When you get this gang of puppets together, there is bound to be some antics.  As usual, I enjoyed Clive and Ian’s antics, specifically their guess definition of Gentiles (and then trying to justify it).  They also keep making funny references to superheroes, mostly Spiderman.  And yet that doesn’t come up with host Buck Denver fears that attempts to spice up the second half will include eating bugs.  Yes, it’s silly, but it’s fun, and kids especially will love it.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I must once again pick on the songs.  They are the weakest part of the show.  Honestly, if they were left out entirely I wouldn’t mind.

On the whole, this is a good mix of story and what it means, which is exactly what we’ve come to expect from What’s in the Bible?  Watch these in order, and when you get to Spreading The Good News! you’ll marvel at how God worked out the next part of His rescue plan.