JellyTelly Review: Galaxy Buck - Mission to Sector 9

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: A great Biblical message about being used by God

Cons: The story isn’t as entertaining as much of Phil’s previous work

The Bottom Line:

Mission in deep space

Contains a great message but

Lacks entertainment

Boldly Taking the Gospel Where No Man Has Gone Before

If you dig back into my archives, you’ll find it no secret that I really enjoyed Phil Vischer’s What’s In the Bible? series of videos.  Using giant puppets, he went through the entire Bible exploring the themes of each book and how it fit into God’s overall redemption plan.  So when Galaxy Buck: Mission To Sector 9 was announced as the first part of a follow up project, I was excited.  After seeing it, I wasn’t as impressed as I thought I would be.

This 40 minute video reunites many of the major characters we got to know through What’s in the Bible?, but forget everything you thought you knew about them.  Much like how the characters of VeggieTales change their role based on the story, we now find Buck Denver and most of the gang working for Pastor Paul, who has an intergalactic broadcast sending the Gospel to the far reaches of the solar system.  Buck and the rest of the crew work in the phone banks, helping people get their tote bags and other goodies.  But Buck isn’t satisfied.  He knows God wants him to do great things.

Buck thinks his opportunity has come when a report of a down transponder comes in from Sector 9.  So, under the supervision of Sunday School lady, Buck leads Clive, Owen, and Marcy out to this distant uninhabited planet to fix the transponder so that Pastor Paul’s message can still go out.  Only when they get there, they encounter danger and aliens.  Will Buck succeed in his mission?  Or has he doomed his friends?

I honestly had a hard time getting past the new jobs everyone had.  It took me longer than expected to get into the story as a result, although it didn’t help that the story was slow, period.  Yes, I’m familiar enough with Star Wars and Star Trek to get the fact that we were getting some spoofs of them, but it just wasn’t that funny to me.  Instead, I kept waiting for something to happen.

Since we are talking about spreading the Good News we learned about in the earlier videos, I was expecting a little more about that, too.  Honestly, I think the initial idea of Buck and his crew working a phone bank a pretty good indictment of many Christians today.  However, I didn’t feel like the story went much beyond that.  But since this is the first of these videos, maybe I was expecting everything at once.

I will say I loved the moral.  Buck has to learn that God wants him just to be available, not to look for big things to do Himself.  That’s very Biblical.  Plus, when you are open to God and His leading, you’ll find yourself doing bigger things than you ever dreamed even if they aren’t what you think are big things.

Yes, I am looking at this as an adult, but an adult who has enjoyed much of Phil Vischer’s previous work.  I’ve always found good lessons mixed in with fun stories and great jokes.  This video had one out of three, at least as far as I was concerned.  Kids might enjoy it more.

It’s a shame that Galaxy Buck: Mission To Sector 9 isn’t more entertaining because it absolutely has a great message for all to learn.  Here’s hoping that the next Galaxy Buck adventure has more entertainment with its lesson.

What's in the Bible? Review - God's Kingdom Comes! - Volume 13

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Entertaining way to learn good theology

Cons: It’s the last one

The Bottom Line:

Covers last few books

Including letters, locusts

And a great wrap-up

Finalizing the Bible with More Letters and a Forest Look at Revelation

When Phil Vischer set out to cover the Bible in 13 hour long episodes, I didn’t think he could do it.  But here we are with Volume 13 of What’s in the Bible? – God's Kingdom Comes!, and that’s exactly what he has managed to do.  He’s even managed to keep these videos entertaining.

If you’re just coming to the series here, go back to the beginning.  While Phil himself does some of the talking, he is assisted by a collection of puppets.  Those personalities provide much of the humor of the series.  Additionally, the themes we’ve been following come full circle here, and the summary happens at the end.  I’m not saying you would be lost, but you won’t get the full benefit of things if you jump in here like you would watching it all the way through.

As you can imagine, this is a quick look at the books of the Bible.  While some things are faster than others, this is not the place for an in depth Bible study.  However, it gives anyone from grade school up a good frame work for understanding every book of the Bible and what it shows us about God.

As always, there are two 30 minute episodes on this DVD.  The first covers the general epistles, also known as the books Hebrews through Jude.  Each book gets discussed, including author and general theme.  There is nothing too revolutionary here, but it is a good summary of what these books are about.

The second episode focuses on Revelation, the final book of the Bible.  While some of the puppets are hoping for a nice easy book to end things on, as is quoted multiple times, this is the hardest book in the Bible because of the symbolism and imagery used.  While all the various events and imagery is covered, Phil gives us some help in trying to interrupt it.  Even so, he reminds us that what is most important with the book is not identifying and explaining each creature or image but in getting the big picture – the forest not the trees if you will.  It’s a very helpful reminder that I often forget myself, and really could have used a few times in college while discussing the end times.

This final episode then ends with the bird’s eye view of the entire Bible, discussing the various sections and what we learned from them.  Considering it’s a five minute or so part of the video, it’s amazing how much truth and theology is packed into it.  And it is all wrapped up with a challenge.  What will you do with what you’ve learned now?

I started volume one because I liked the idea behind the series and was curious to see how Phil would pull it off.  I stayed because I was amazed to see him doing exactly what he set out to do with great theology and entertainment.  (I have one quibble with one line in volume 1.  That’s it for the entire series.)  That holds true here.  While he didn’t make me see things differently this time around, he did remind me of some things I already knew.  Sometimes, that’s just as valuable.  And he does it with humor as the characters react to what they are learning.

Honestly, I’m sorry to see the What’s in the Bible? series end.  God's Kingdom Comes! sends things off on a high note however, and will leave the series fans happy they invested the time.  More importantly, it will give them a frame work for understanding the Bible as they delve into it on their own.

(And yes, we do find out if Michael and Pierre ever get to Grandma’s house.)

What's in the Bible? Review - Letters from Paul! - Volume 12

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Explains deep theology easily with entertainment

Cons: Not quite as entertaining as most

The Bottom Line:

Takes theology

Makes it understandable

And fun to learn, too

Paul’s Letters Lead Us to Some Deep Theology

Phil Vischer’s series What’s in the Bible? is quickly winding down.  In fact, with volume 12, we’ve reached the penultimate release.  With the Gospels and Acts behind us, it’s time to dive into some deep theology with Letters From Paul!

Wait, deep theology with giant puppets for a target audience of early elementary kids?  Yep.  That’s exactly what is in store for us, but don’t worry that it will become dry.  There’s still plenty of entertainment value here.

As usual, this hour long video is divided into two half hour segments.  And they are very logically broken down.  We start with the usual recap, reminding us of what we’ve covered in the previous books of the Bible.  Yep, it’s getting longer every time.

But then we are introduced to letters in general. (You know, e-mail on paper.  Paper?  Um…)  From there, we spend the rest of the first half hour learning about the letters that the Apostle Paul wrote to the churches.  We get general themes and a little about the churches, including Paul’s connections to them.  And since this does cover all of Paul’s letters we do hear about the ones he wrote to individuals.  We learn about the order their order in the New Testament as well as the order they are written in.  All kinds of factual stuff like that.

From there, we hit the second half hour episode, and we start getting into the meat of what Paul wrote about.  This isn’t an in depth study, but then again, none of the videos in the series have been.  Instead, we get the general ideas that Paul talked about over and over again – grace, justification, sanctification – all those big words.  But don’t let this scare you or your kids away.  Each idea is broken down in ways that kids will understand.  And if you have never gotten the hang of some of these big words, you just might finally get them, too.

As I said, all this is presented with the usual high entertainment value from the usual cast of puppet characters.  The quick breaks between all of them certainly keeps your attention.  Because of the deep concepts covered, this isn’t the most entertaining video of the series, but it still kept my attention and will keep the attention of the kids.  Plus they’ll be learning Biblical truths.

I’ve often thought the pre-show segments with the Michael, the puppet kids who is watching these with his brother as they travel to grandma’s house, were pointless.  However, one of those just about killed me laughing in this video.  It made all of them completely worth it.

And there are still songs.  They’re the weak link in the video yet again, although not as bad as in some of the videos.  What really threw me was when, at one point, they repeat the same song as if it were brand new.  If it was a test, yes I was paying attention.

I am constantly amazed at how Phil is able to take so much scripture and make it easy to understand and relevant while still entertaining.  And he’s done it again with Letters From Paul!  I’m torn to looking forward to seeing him finishing this journey through the Bible and being disappointed that no more videos will be coming out.

What's in the Bible Review: Why Do We Call It Christmas?

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Fun, informative look at American Christmas traditions

Cons: As usual for series, songs could be better

The Bottom Line: 

Jesus, trees, Santa

Why are they part of Christmas?

Watch this to find out

Buck Denver and the What's in the Bible? Gang Tackle the Story of Christmas

Over the last year and a half, I've become a fan of Phil Vischer's DVD series What's in the Bible?  Each edition uses puppets to give a broad overview of a section of the Bible.  But for a Christmas special, Phil does something slightly different.  Why Do We Call It Christmas? breaks the formula but is still plenty fun.

This 45 minute video still stars all the same characters.  But instead of the newsroom and their various normal environments, this episode finds newsman Buck Denver in his cabin in Indiana.  He decides to invite all his friends for a Christmas party.  While he, Marci, and Sunday School Lady bake cookies and wait, the others find various modes of transportation to get to the cabin.  Along the way, they start discussing various questions about Christmas like why we call it that, why we bring an evergreen tree into the house and decorate it, why we celebrate on December 25th, and just how Santa Claus fits into the whole thing.  They even discuss Hanukkah and the true story behind it.

The biggest break from the formula is Phil Vischer himself, who only appears at the beginning and end.  Instead, all the time is spent with the various puppets on their various adventures.  I would say this one has more of a "plot" than the others, although the heart is still imparting information.  I wouldn't say there was anything here that truly surprised me.  Still, it was interesting to remember where our traditions come from.  Since the audience is mostly American kids and families, those are the traditions discussed, although other countries are mentioned when discussing the origins of some of our traditions.

While this video isn't just a retelling of the Biblical Christmas story, it does include that in the final third.  But it goes beyond Christmas to connect it to Easter and what the birth of Jesus ultimately means for us - forgiveness of sins.  It's a powerful ending to a fun DVD.

And make no mistake about it, this video is filled with the usual fun banter between characters and silliness we've come to expect from the series.  As usual, the songs are hit or miss.  All this and some informative content as well.

Those looking for a way to explain our American Christmas traditions to their kids will be very interested in Why Do We Call It Christmas?  It's an entertaining yet informative way to do just that.

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.

Video Review: What's in the Bible Vol. 10 - Jesus is the Good News!

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Entertaining overview of the Gospels and some theology

Cons: The songs don’t work for me

The Bottom Line:

Covering Gospels

And history before they start

Fun theology

What’s in the Bible? Gets to the Exciting Part as We Finally Hit the New Testament

For nine volumes, Phil Vischer and his puppet friends have lead us through all the books of the Old Testament, showing us how sinful we are and how holy God is.  With volume 10 of What’s in the Bible?, we’re finally entering the New Testament, and Jesus is the Good News! is a strong way to do so.

As always, there is lots of information crammed into these two half hour shows.  The first one is really background.  It covers the 450 year period between the two parts of the Bible and the theories on why God waited until the Roman Empire was established to send the Messiah.  We also get a glimpse of the authors of the Gospels and the major Jewish groups on the scene at the time.

With all that established, the second show delves into the contents of the Gospels.  It spends roughly half the time on the life and ministry of John the Baptist and then Jesus.  As has always been the case with these videos, very few of the familiar stories are retold.  The assumption is that everyone knows these stories from Sunday School.  Instead, the focus is on what the stories show and how they fit God’s redemption plan.

To that end, the episode talks about not only Jesus paying the penalty for our sin on the cross but also why we need to study both the Old and New Testaments what the kingdom of God looks like today.  Maybe because so much of my Bible training has focused on the New Testament, but this is the first volume where I felt Phil was skimming over the surface and not really covering the topics he brought up completely.  Of course, to really cover all the theology here, he’d have to spend hours, and he only had one.  I certainly don’t remember getting any of the information presented here at all in the target elementary school age range, so my hat is off to him for what he does teach.  There is some good theology here and kids will enjoy it.

So far, this is sounding kind of dry.  And the second half is certainly more serious than the first.  But rest assured that the cast of puppets do insert their jokes and interruptions throughout the entire thing.  Every is more serious when discussing Jesus, but the show is still entertaining.  And when you remember that Phil does all the puppets himself, the voice work is pretty amazing.

The real weakness here is the songs.  Once again, they’re okay, but nothing better.  Phil wrote them himself, and there are very few of them.  I could see kids enjoying them, and since that’s the target audience, they are all that truly matter.

So Jesus is the Good News! is a great introduction to the New Testament.  With only three more volumes to go, I’m looking forward to see how What’s in the Bible? wraps things up.

Video Review: What's in the Bible? Vol. 9 - God Speaks!

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Covers a lot of ground very well while holding attention

Cons: More data means less entertainment

The Bottom Line:

Finishing OT

With all seventeen prophets

In logical way

17 Books and a Recap? This is a Packed Edition of What's in the Bible?

After the first few volumes of Phil Vischer's What's in the Bible? series, I wasn't convinced he'd manage to finish his introduction to the Bible in 13 volumes.  But after watching him finish the Old Testament in Volume 9: God Speaks!, I think he might just do it.

This one hour entry in the series tackles the 17 books of the prophets.  As always, there are two, roughly 25 minutes each.  The first part is more an introduction to these books.  Phil and his band of puppets explain such things as what a prophet is (and how it is different from a profit), when and where they lived in the history we've already learned, and what kind of oracles they gave.

Yes, that means that all 17 books are covered in the second part, which is actually closer to 30 minutes.  A few of the more familiar books are given more time, like Daniel and Jonah.  But we do get a brief introduction to the contents of all 17 of these books and what their main themes are.

But wait - we aren't done yet.  After a summary of the prophets (with Sunday School Lady leading us on rap), we get a summary of everything we've learn through the Old Testament.  Okay, so it's only a couple minutes and more focused on history than lessons, but it is a good reminder of where we are and what has happened.  Moments from the previous DVD's popped into my mind as I watched.  And I would rather they focused on new content than extensive summary in every disc (that was actually something I was complaining about early on).

Normally, at this point, I'd talk about how entertaining the video is.  That would be the one point where this one falls flat.  There is so much ground to cover that the jokes and banter between the characters is kept to a minimum.  There is more of it in the first half, but the second half is down to business as we learn about the prophets and what they said.  It's the driest of the DVD's so far, but that's the hazard of having to cover so much ground at once.  And, honestly, I think this is the best approach to covering the material.  Breaking it up over two discs would require almost as much work since they'd have to remind us of the groundwork.

Now this isn't to say there aren't some chuckles and a few laughs along the way.  Between all the puppets, we get a few grins and chuckles even when the pedal is to the medal.  Plus we see the return of a puppet we haven't seen for a while and learn who is a Trekkie.  Yep, they go there.

And I can't really fault the disc for this since they handled so much ground so well.  The prophets are not an area that gets covered on a regular basis, so most of it isn't super familiar to anyone.  Thanks to some of their graphics and the summaries, I felt I had a better handle on these books than I've had in a while.  The information is presented clearly and that's saying something when you are covering so much ground.

So What's in the Bible? God Speaks! isn't the most entertaining entry in the series, but it does still keep your attention as it covers a lot of ground.

Video Review: What's in the Bible? Vol. 8 - Words to Make Us Wise

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Entertaining look at books hard to teach to kids

Cons: Parts on Job could be stronger

The Bottom Line:

Some words of wisdom

Taught so kids will understand

Learn and still enjoy

Wisdom, Songs, and ... Mushy Stuff?

What's in the Bible? is a series designed to teach the Bible to kids via 13 one hour lessons and puppets.  Obviously this isn't a comprehensive view of the Bible, but an introduction that teaches the important themes of each book and what that teaches us about God.  The 8th volume just came out.  Entitled Words to Make Us Wise, it focuses on the poetry books of the Old Testament.

Now I've got to admit I wondered how these would be covered.  These books would be hard to teach kids because there isn't much in the way of stories.  But creator Phil Vischer (the man behind the original VeggieTales) proves that he can get the job done with another entertaining video.

As always, there are two half hour lessons on this DVD, and between the two of them, we cover 5 books of the Bible.  First up, we learn about these poetry books and why it is important to know the difference between history and poetry.  (After all, one of the books here compares God to a bird.)

Job is obviously the easiest book to cover since there is a story to it.  I was a little unhappy with the discussion of parts of it (seems to not want to take the pose parts as metaphorical as well as the poetry parts), but the conclusion was certainly right on.  Then we head to Psalms and learn about the praise God of Israel and how some of those Psalms are the basis of the hymns we use today.

The second episode takes us through the wisdom of Proverbs (and how that is different from smarts), Ecclesiastes and the meaning of life, and finally the love poem that is Song of Solomon.

I was most interested in how they would cover that last book.  After all, it is a love poem and these videos are aimed at kids.  I've got to say, this may have been the funniest thing they've done for any of the videos ever.  Between the talk about the comparisons in the book (your hair is like a flock of goats) and the characters' reactions to the "mushy stuff," it was a riot.

Of course, the entire video is filled with some jokes along with the information.  I found it entertaining, and I'm well beyond the early elementary target age.  They do keep the songs to a minimum, which helps.  Those are always the weakest part of the episodes.

What always amazes me is that Phil Vischer performs all the puppets himself.  How does he make all those voices without losing his?  It's amazing, but I never find any weaknesses there.

So we've got an entertaining hour on five books that kids probably won't be that familiar with at all and context to help them understand what they will find there.  This is the exactly what the series tries to do, and it succeeds perfectly.  What's in the Bible? Volume 8: Words to Make Us Wise is a great addition to the series.

Video Review: What's in the Bible? Vol. 7 - Exhile and Return!

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Great history told in entertaining and relevant ways

Cons: Songs still a weakness (but only a handful this time)

The Bottom Line:

Wrapping up section

Of history with a full

Disc of facts and fun

What’s in the Bible? Finishes Up the Old Testament Histories in Exile and Return

Phil Vischer is now officially half way through his new project.  Best known as the creator of VeggieTales, for the last few years he’s been focusing on What’s in the Bible?  This straight to DVD series features Phil and a range of puppets are we get an overview of the Bible and why each section matters.  The series will run 13 videos, and Exile and Return! is volume 7 in the series.

This DVD looks at the final three books of the “histories,” the Old Testament books that chronicle Israel’s history.  Specifically, that means Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.

Each video in the series is an hour in length, and that’s further broken down roughly in two.  The first half hour, then, looks at Ezra and Nehemiah.  First, there’s a brief recap of where we are in Israel’s history (both kingdoms have been conquered).  As we delve into the story of the return to Jerusalem and rebuilding the temple and later the walls of the city, we also learn about the rulers who allowed the Israelites to return and rebuild their land.  I must admit I am fairly shaky on this time in Israel’s history, so I found the program interesting and learned a lot from it.

The second half focuses on the story of Esther.  It’s one of the longest retellings of a Bible story we’ve seen to date on the series, but even then they leave out a few of the details.  But the entire point of the videos isn’t to retell Bible stories but to give a broad overview of what is in each book of the Bible and how that fits into the overall story God is telling.

Toward that end, they actually spend the last 10 minutes of this video asking what we’ve learned from the History section of the Old Testament, that starts with Joshua and covers twelve books.  The answer, of course, is about God’s love and patience but ultimately his holiness and justice when faced with continual sin.  It also shows that, no matter how we try, we cannot follow God’s laws on our own, so we need a Savior.

Speaking of learning, there is also a discussion of why some numbers in the Bible are rounded or why some names are spelled differently by different authors.  They also discuss would Judah became for the basis for the ethnic term Jews that we still use today.  (And I felt so foolish for not figuring that out myself years ago.  See, even adults can learn something from these videos.)

Of course, this isn’t just dry facts.  Our host Buck Denver is trying to host despite a caffeine overload.  Clive and Ian are still in a plane, and Captain Pete is still trying to join them for the songs.  The back and forth between the characters can create some fun jokes and keeps this from being boring lectures but something that kids will actually learn from.  I know I laughed along the way.  And if a really serious point needs to be made, Phil is standing by in person to make it, although he doesn’t say much until the last few minutes as he’s trying to wrap things up.

The one downfall to this series has been the songs.  They can be enjoyable or they can be painful.  There are only a handful here, and they are okay, so that didn’t distract me too much from the information I was supposed to be learning.

So Exile and Return! becomes a stronger entry in this fun series.  Considering the books we’ll be tackling in the next couple of videos, I can’t wait to see how Phil makes them interesting as we learn What’s in the Bible?

Video Review: What's in the Bible? Vol 6 - A Nation Divided

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Entertaining way to gain Bible knowledge

Cons: Humor not as fresh as some videos

The Bottom Line:

Divided kingdom

And consequences of sin

Covered on this disc

Two Shows on the Split Kingdom

A Nation Divided.  No, we aren't talking about American politics.  Instead, it's the 6th volume in What's in the Bible? a DVD series from Phil Vischer, creator of VeggieTales.  As he continues his broad strokes survey through the Bible, we've reached the period of history in which Israel was divided into two kingdoms.  As always, Phil and his puppets entertain while teaching us some important lessons.

All the videos in this series feature a variety of Muppet like Puppets that Phil uses to entertain while still teaching about the Bible.  There are two half hour segments here that really flow together.  In fact, I have a hard time remembering exactly where they were broken.  Phil himself appears on screen at times, usually when an important point has to be made.  Most of the lesson itself is taught by Sunday School Lady and her magic flannel graph.  In other news, Ian and Clive get out of the jungle and sing songs from a biplane while Pirate Pete tries to get in on the act.  And reporter Buck Denver actually gets into his role as reporter.

Behind all the silliness from the various puppets, there is plenty of Bible knowledge imparted.  As with the other videos in the series, very few Bible stories are retold point blank, although Ian does get a new favorite Bible story.  Anyway, the purpose of these videos is to give a broad overview of the Bible and point out the important parts of God's redemption plan contained here.  The books of the Bible included in this video are Kings and Chronicles, and those include lots of kings.  All of them are mentioned, although very little detail is given about each of their reigns.  We do get a little bit about Ahab, Jezebel, Elijah, and Elisha, but again it's minimal.

Instead, the video shows us how the people of Israel continually turned their back on God and how God used Assyria and Babylon to judge the sin in the nations as a result.  It's a sober lesson in the consequences of sin.

These videos build on each other, as Phil and the characters make reference to things that we have already learned.  Yes, they do offer some brief explanations and definitions, but it really is best to watch them in order.

Of course, that does bring up my only real complaint with the videos, it seems like the jokes are becoming familiar and a bit repetitive.  Likewise, the songs seemed especially corny this time around.  Even so, I did laugh a few times in the hour and was entertained most of the time.

So that the show doesn't end on quite the downer, they do bring in God's prophecy through Isaiah of the coming Messiah followed by a choir of puppets doing one song from Handel's Messiah.  (I bet this is the first time puppets have ever done that.)  I find it interesting since the prophecy, while taking place chronologically during the time recorded here, doesn't happen in any of the books discussed.  And Isaiah isn't the next book in line, either.  Complaint aside, it does make for a more hopeful ending than we would have gotten.

Volume six of What's in the Bible? has the normal mix of humor and important Biblical truth.  While a bit predictable, A Nation Divided does a good job of tackling a serious message.

Video Review: What's in the Bible? Vol. 5 - Israel Gets a King!

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Entertaining and educational at the same time

Cons: None at all in this volume

The Bottom Line:

Covers lots of ground

While still teaching repentance

With funny puppets

Tale of Three Kings

Phil Vischer is continuing his whirlwind tour of the Bible with volume 5 of What's in the Bible?  Using puppets, he's trying to put the familiar stories of the Bible in the broader context of the God's redemption plan.  It's an ambitious project that seems to be working.  Israel Gets a King! finds us looking at I and II Samuel as well as the first part of I Kings.

As always, there are two half hour programs on this DVD.  The first looks at I Samuel, the reign of King Saul and his time chasing David.  The second hour goes through the reign of King David and his son King Solomon.

As always, these shows are filled with great fun.  Captain Pete (a pirate), sings songs from his new (slightly leaky) submarine.  The story of Saul chasing David seems to involve Star Wars.  We get quite a few jokes as characters interact with each other.

But the entertainment never gets in the way of learning.  This disc tackles the doctrine of the trinity, pretty heady stuff for the elementary age target audience.  It does keep the audience in mind when it comes to some of the more serious things like David's adultery with Bathsheba.  The story is told, but in a way that won't make parents uncomfortable.

As I said, these videos focus on the big themes and not on retelling individual stories.  For example, Samuel in introduced without talking about his childhood.  He is simply introduced as a prophet who God used to anoint Saul and later David.  Saul's disobedience to God's commands are discussed in general, and Jonathan hardly merits a mention.

Obviously, there is a lot of stuff they leave out.  They have to if they are coming to cover so much ground in one hour.  However, they do a great job of picking out the important parts and weaving together an important theme.  Obviously, we're traveling through Israel's history and introducing key figures.  But the focus on Saul, David, and Solomon allows them to really focus on responses to sin.  They leave us with a challenge about how we will respond to sin in our lives.  Will we make excuses like Saul?  Will we pretend everything is normal like Solomon?  Or will we repent and turn from it like David?  Maybe it is because of some stuff I am going through personally right now, but I had never quite thought about these kings and their response to sin in quite this way.  Yes, I'd heard about David plenty of times, but contrasting him with the other two made his repentance stand out even more.

So Israel Gets a King! is another entertaining and educational chapter in the What's in the Bible? series.  It will entertain everyone while also putting some familiar stories in a greater context.

It leaves us with just one question.  Exactly how does one flunk chapel?

Video Review: What's in the Bible? Vol. 4 - Battle for the Promised Land!

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Good information on three more Bible books; entertaining

Cons: Some bathroom humor; some okay songs

The Bottom Line:

Bible overview

Continues to move forward

Informative fun

Moving Forward to the Second Section of the Bible – Housewares, I Mean Histories

Phil Vischer is attempting to provide kids, their parents, and anyone willing to learn with an overview of the themes of the Bible in a thirteen volume series.  After the first three entries, we've made it through the first five books of the Bible.  It's time to start kicking it into high gear, and that's just what happens with What's in the Bible? Volume 4: Battle for the Promised Land!

Phil is best known for creating the popular VeggieTales series, but instead of computer animation, this time he's using giant puppets and even stepping in front of the camera himself to handle some of the tricky bits and more serious moments.  But the show is still filled with humor and entertainment.  It's hosted by a newscaster and got a Sunday school teacher, two ladies watching and commenting occasionally, and a pirate.

This video boldly takes us into the second major section of the Old Testament, the histories (although some of the characters incorrectly guess that this next section is housewares).  As always, there are two half hour episodes, although I just use the watch all feature on the DVD and watch them both back to back.

The first section covers Joshua.  It talks about the conquest of Israel and whether or not God was justified in taking the land from those who live there and giving it to the Israelites.  The second half hour covers Judges and Ruth.  While we get a brief retelling of Ruth, we don't get any of the stories from Judges.  The emphasis in this section is on the cycle of the Israelites turning from God and worshipping idols, God judging them, the Israelites repenting, and God raising up someone to rescue them.

So far with this series, I've been blown away by how Phil is able to give us so much great information while keeping the jokes flowing.  This time, I felt the information was a little lacking.  Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of great stuff in here, but I didn't feel I learned anything new.  I'm not ashamed to admit I've learned from the previous entries, so that was a bit disappointing to me.  And the recaps they do at the beginning of each episode are getting a little too familiar, especially if you watch both episodes back to back like I do.

The songs in these videos have been hit or miss, so I'm disappointed to say that this video features lots more songs.  See Pirate Pete wants a bigger part in this episode, so he floats over everyone in a hot air balloon breaking into songs about what we're learning.  And, some of them are good and some aren't.  Furthermore, for the second half hour, Pete decides he needs to use the bathroom, but no one knows how to get him down from the hot air balloon.  Never having been a fan of bathroom humor, I didn't care for this section at all.

But I do have to mention the song from the Bentley Brothers.  These two real people come out and sing about the book of Judges.  This is the only time we get anything close to the stories from the book as we see pictures of the men and woman as their names are sung.  If you know the book well, there's enough to remind you about most of them.  It's a catchy song and a good way to jog memories of Deborah, Gideon, and Samson without taking time to tell the stories.

Battle for the Promised Land! is still a good video.  It will entertain kids and show them how Joshua, Judges, and Ruth fit into the larger story of God's plan of salvation.  I think my expectations were too high going into it.

Video Review: What's in the Bible? Vol. 3 - Wanderin' in the Desert

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Makes three hard Bible books entertaining and educational for kids

Cons: A tad dry a couple of times.

The Bottom Line:

Finds entertainment

In lists of laws.  Provides laughs

And education.

Pentateuchs, Levis, and Deserts, Oh My!

I'm finally beginning to see how the What's in the Bible? series might make it through the Bible in 13 episodes.  After getting through Genesis and Exodus in the first two videos, we actually tackle three books in volume 3: Wanderin' In The Desert.

Okay, so maybe getting through Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy in one hour isn't quite as amazing as it sounds.  After all, much of the content in these books are laws about how the Jews were to conduct their lives as God's chosen people.  This is a pretty easy area to summarize.

For those not familiar with the series, it's a collection of DVD's designed to teach kids not only what is in the Bible but how it relates to our lives today.  The series was created by Phil Vischer, the man behind VeggieTales.  This time, he hosts along with a bunch of giant puppets.  There are songs, there are jokes, and there are some pretty serious discussions in all of this.

Each hour video in broken down into two 30 minute segments.  The first focuses on Leviticus, the largest collection of laws in the Bible.  Along the way, we learn the difference between ethical laws (don't lie, don't kill) and ritual laws (don't trim your beard.  We also learn what Holy means and why mashed potatoes might or might not be Holy.

Part two covers Numbers and Deuteronomy, focusing on Israel's 40 year punishment for not trusting God to give them the Promised Land.  It also tackles the big question of whether or not we can trust the Bible, even talking about some of what those who don't believe the Bible offer as counter arguments to what the Bible says.  The video ends with a nice recap of the first three videos in a song about the Pentateuch (the five books of Moses) set on a river boat.  Yes, it does make sense in context (or at least to new stage manager Marcie).

A couple of times, I thought this might video might not live up to the first two.  I mean, how do you really find much of anything entertaining in these three books?  As Phil said in an interview, there is a reason we normally skip over these books when planning stories for Sunday School.  But just as it was getting a bit dry, they'd throw in an unexpected joke or song and they'd have my interest again.  The songs also snuck up on me.  I was at first skeptical, and they are a bit simple.  But I found myself smiling at how they were weaving serious truths into a catchy melody before they were done.

These videos are a great resource for parents or kids' leaders at churches.  They may not retell the familiar stories of the Bible in the ways we are used to, but they continue to put them in a theological context that is solid yet explained simply enough for kids to understand.  Heck, I'm learning a thing or two myself while being entertained.

Wanderin' In The Desert really did have a lot going against it.  While not quite the most entertaining video in the series to date, it does continue the incredible series What's in the Bible?

Video Review: What's in the Bible? Vol. 2 - Let My People Go

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Entertaining look at the Bible, its history, and doctrine

Cons: Don't cover much of the Bible itself

The Bottom Line:

Big picture tour through

Genesis and Exodus

With fun background, too

Let My People Finish Genesis and Exodus

Let My People Go is the second volume in Phil Vischer's new series What's in the Bible?  This DVD is just under an hour long and continues to inform and entertain kids and adults.

The primary idea behind the series is to give an overview of the Bible in 13 DVDs.  As you might expect, we don't get into too many specifics.  This is a broad stroke outline of the Bible.  Giant puppets are used to covey the lessons, with news reporter Buck Denver as our master of ceremonies.  Most of the content comes from Sunday School Lady with other characters like a priest and a pastor showing up to help explain things and a few other characters to ask questions.  Even Phil spends some time in front of the camera to explain the really important things.

The first video covered the first 11 chapters of Genesis, so we pick up here with the rest of Genesis and all of Exodus.  The video breaks the hour length into two shorter episodes, and the first of those finishes off Genesis.   We get God calling Abram to the Promised Land, a very brief mention of Isaac, and enough of Joseph's story to learn why the Children of Israel went down to Egypt.  I told you it was brief.

Episode two covers Exodus, focusing most of the time on Moses' early life and the plagues on Egypt.  When we get to the story of Israel building and worshipping the Golden Calf, the parallel is made to things we make idols in our lives today.

The videos are also trying to show how these stories fit into the big picture of the Bible, the story of God's plan to free us from sin.  These aren't just some dry stories out of context but shown to be part of something greater.

The secondary purpose of these videos is to give the audience some basic knowledge about how we got the Bible and theology.  To do that, the first episode talks about how the books of the Bible were chosen, both Old and New Testament.  They even take some pretty serious swipes at The Da Vinci Code here.  While the second episode was supposed to talk about Salvation and Redemption, most of that was in episode one as well.  They do a great job of explaining the terms and then give us examples of a brother and sister in a boat to fully illustrate them.

None of this is done in a dry manner.  With so many characters popping in and out, there are plenty of interruptions for humor or questions.  Naturally, things keep moving, but it is well thought through enough that you get the information you need without being bored once.

Of course, these aren't intended to be a complete course in every detail of the Bible.  They do make a great foundation for further family devotions and discussion.  I highly suggest that parents watch them at least once with their kids.  You'll learn a thing or two and know how to work what your kids learn into your discussions.

Personally, I am loving What's In the Bible?  Now that I've watched Let My People Go, I'll be impatiently waiting for disc 3 in this highly entertaining and informative series.

Video Review: What's in the Bible? Vol. 1 - In the Beginning

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Bible history and overview packed with fun

Cons: One theologically questionable sentence

The Bottom Line:
Information crammed

Into an entertaining

Video for all

Start Phil Vischer's New Series and Learn What's in the Bible?

It's no secret that I've been a fan of Phil Vischer's VeggieTales series for years.  So when he announced a new, thirteen part video series called What's in the Bible? I had to at least give it a chance.  For some reason, I wasn't sure if I would like it, so it was with a little fear that I stuck Volume One - In the Beginning, into my DVD player.  It wasn't long before I was smiling, nodding my head at some things, and learning a thing or two myself.

This series isn't just another collection of Bible stories.  The purpose here is to give the overall frame work of the Bible so kids (and the adults they hang out with) will have the context for those stories in the greater plan of God's salvation.  It is also designed to give us answers to bigger questions about the Bible.

But it doesn't happen in a dry, lecture format.  This is Phil Vischer, after all.  Instead, we've got a bunch of oversized puppets that are there to guide us through the videos.  Our host is Buck Denver, a news reporter.  Most of the content comes from Sunday School Lady and her magic flannel graph.  There's a piano playing priest and an African American pastor.  British brothers (and explorers) Clive and Ian contribute.  Then there's Popsicle Puppet Theater and the pirate who knows church history.  Phil Vischer voices all the characters, but he also appears as himself throughout the videos when it is time to explain things that are a little more complicated.  Throw in a few songs, and you've got a fast moving, highly entertaining debut.

This DVD features two 25 minute episodes.  The first one is background as it sets out to answer the question what is the Bible.  (And there's a great segment where a scientist conducts tests on it to try to answer the question.)  It talks about the number of books in the Bible and how they are divided up.  There's even some discussion about the Catholic Bible and why it has more books than the Protestant Bible.  All that is done with humor and facts, explaining why it is included for some and not for others.

Episode two delves into who wrote the books and how the books for the Bible were chosen.  And we also finally get into the Bible itself as we overview the first eleven chapters of Genesis in about fifteen minutes.  As you can imagine, we don't get into too many specifics.  The point of these videos isn't to retell all the stories in great detail.  Instead, it's to give the context of the stories, in this case the set up of man's rebellion against God and how bad it gets so quickly.  We even discuss why God made man with free will.

These videos obviously won't be avoiding controversy, since episode two tackles the questions of how old the Earth is.  Like with the number of books in the Bible, it explains the two different interpretations of "days" in Genesis 1 fairly and evenly, not making judgments but explaining the two sides.  Unfortunately, at one point during this mini segment, Phil says, "God told Moses what to say and let him chose the words."  That's going to be a rather controversial statement for those (like me) who believe that God inspired the words and not just the thoughts.

Frankly, this brings up my biggest piece of advice for these videos - watch them with your kids, at least the first time.  There is a lot of deep stuff here as well as some difficult stuff addressed.  You'll want to know what they are learning so that you can help answer questions that arise.  While that above paragraph represents the only theological issue I found in the 50 minutes, you should also watch them so that you can teach discernment and going to the word of God instead of videos for the ultimate truth.

I've mentioned a few times that I was really entertained by this disc.  They included plenty of jokes and silliness along the way.  They cut back and forth between characters quickly to ask and answer questions.  Really, you are getting a college level course in the Bible in a much more entertaining fashion in 50 minutes.  When this one was over, I was ready to sit down and watch the next one immediately.

The one statement aside, I was blown away by how much content and fun was packed into the 50 minutes that was volume one of What's in the Bible?  I still don't see how they will cover everything in thirteen discs, but I will be along for the enjoyable ride.

Index: What's in the Bible?

In this new series from VeggieTales creator Phil Vischer, Phil and a collection of giant puppets take a 13 episode look at the overall themes of the Bible.  Aimed at slightly older kids (early to middle elementary school), it gets into some good theology at times and ties together all those stories kids hear so often in Sunday School.  Definitely well worth watching.

In the Beginning
Let People Go
Wandering Desert
Battle for the Promised Land
Israel Gets a King!
A Nation Divided
Exile and Return
Words to Make Us Wise!
God Speaks!
Jesus is the Good News!
Spreading the Good News!
Letters from Paul!
God's Kingdom Comes!
Why Do We Call It Christmas?
Galaxy Buck: Mission to Sector 9