If you’ve never heard of Buck Denver, Phil Vischer and my personal favourite, ‘The Old Testament New Testament Song’ here’s what you and your kids have been missing.
What’s In The Bible Re-Cap
DVD 1 | IN THE BEGINNING (Genesis)
The first DVD introduces kids to the Bible: who wrote it, why and what it's about?
• Best explanation of ‘sin’ we've seen in a children’s DVD
• Perfect balance between education & entertainment
“My son [aged 7] explained the concept of free will to a large sunday school he was visiting thanks to 'What's in the Bible?” – Charlotte, from Eden.co.uk
DVD 2 | LET MY PEOPLE GO (Exodus)
This one explains how the books were chosen to be in the Bible and the meaning of ‘salvation’ & ‘redemption’ through the Exodus story.
• Salvation Illustration – explains the difficult concept
• 4.9-stars on the What’s In The Bible? (WITB) store & 5-stars on Amazon
“It's made by the Veggie Tales creators, but unlike Veggie Tales, it does not ‘kiddify’ facts” – Mom, from Amazon.co.uk
DVD 3 | WANDERIN’ IN THE DESERT (Leviticus, Numbers & Deuteronomy)
How do you teach Leviticus to kids? Through song of course! This DVD rounds up the Pentateuch and explains each of the three books.
• Captain Pete explains what ‘holy’ means - with mashed potato
• The people of Israel have a 40-year ‘time-out’
“On the car ride today both girls were acting out parts of the DVD and laughing in our mini van.” – Nikki, from WITB Store
DVD 4 | BATTLE FOR THE PROMISED LAND! (Joshua, Judges & Ruth)
This DVD doesn’t ignore or dull down the gruesome battles, but explains these tricky books to kids (and tells the story of Ruth with popsicle sticks!)
• Sunday School Lady explains the Cycle of Apostasy
• Why don’t we deserve death for our sins? – Redemption
“Best DVD for young children on the Bible... even adults learn new things!” – Justin Ong, from Amazon.co.uk
DVD 5 | ISRAEL GETS A KING! (1 & 2 Samuel)
Here come the first Kings of Israel – Saul, David and Solomon (and an explanation of the Trinity!)
• Dr Schniffenhousen answers ‘What is the Trinity?’
• History Lesson: learn about the Philistines
“In episode #5 the Trinity is tackled… It is very well done and my husband has referenced it a few times already when speaking of God with our children (he really digs this DVD too).” – Jennifer Bogart, from Amazon.com
DVD 6 | A NATION DIVIDED (Kings & Chronicles)
The cast of puppets and cartoon characters lead children through stories of good and bad kings with fast-paced animation and catchy tunes.
• 39 Kings of Israel & Judah whistle stop tour
• Explains the split between Israel & Judah
“I also like that the information is presented as dialogue rather than as a lecture or sermon.” – Ruth the Church Librarian, from WITB Store
DVD 7 | EXILE AND RETURN (Ezra, Nehemiah & Esther)
Now Buck Denver and his puppet friends have reached the end of the 'Historical Books', so they re-cap the books with a fun song in crocodile infested waters.
• The ‘Old Testament New Testament Song’!
• Sunday School Lady explains the words ‘Smart’ & ‘Wise’
“Two things as their mom that I like the most: 1) hearing them sing along and repeat lines from the movies and 2) I learn right along with them!” – Amy D, from WITB Store
DVD 8 | WORDS TO MAKE US WISE (Psalms, Proverbs & The Writings)
Here comes the 'Wisdom Writings' – songs, poems and wise sayings. This DVD tackles the book everyone usually ignores in Sunday School (Songs of Solomon – ‘the mushy book’).
• Poetry & Songs in the Bible? All will be explained
• ‘A Proverb A Day’ challenge for kids!
“If I could I'd give it 10 stars.” – Louise Bostock, from Amazon.co.uk
DVD 9 | GOD SPEAKS! (Isaiah, Jeremiah & the Prophets)
Buck Denver and his trusty gang of puppets and cartoons guide you and your family through the 17 major and minor prophets with a helpful timeline.
• What’s a false prophet? What’s an oracle?
• Introducing Dr. Schniffenhousen’s ‘Prophet-O-Puter’!
“As a recent student of the Old Testament I've always struggled with understanding & remembering details about the minor prophets. This video has made it "click" in my brain! The information is so helpful that we are going to be watching the video in our adult Sunday school class as well!” – Jenn, from WITB Store
DVD 10 | JESUS IS THE GOOD NEWS! (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John)
Arguably the most important DVD yet! Showing Jesus on the cross is never easy, but What’s In The Bible do something unique – they show what God saw. It’s easy to give kids the facts, but the difficult part is allowing kids to make an emotional response, and that’s what Phil Vischer tries to achieve (connecting the Gospel knowledge with the heart).
• Explains what happened between the Old & New Testaments
• At last… The Good News! Solid salvation message pointing kids towards an adult understanding
• Perfect rating on WITB Store – All Twenty-One Reviews are 5-star
“While watching this DVD, our son came out of his room crying. At first we didn't know why, but the way they told the story of Jesus' death struck a chord with him.” – Marci, from WITB Store
“The 9 volumes leading up to vol. 10 are fantastic too, but 10, with its Gospel-explaining, deep-truth-teaching, and sincere-inviting, well, I cried, I laughed, and I prayed, thanking God for this work, His work.” – Homemaker in AL, from the WITB Store
DVD 11 | SPREADING THE GOOD NEWS! (The Book of Acts)
DVD 10 was left on a cliffhanger – Jesus left his followers, but what happens next? Starting with the Pentecost, the puppets tell the story of Acts focusing on Paul’s conversion and ministry.
• Clive & Ian explain the Holy Spirit: ‘the helper’
• Spreading the Good News isn’t easy, that’s why God helps us
• Release Date 22nd April 2013 – Preorder now!
11 Down... 2 To Go!
The 13-DVD series is running out of books in the Bible to cover with only the Epistles and Revelations left. Having built such a loyal and passionate fan club (seriously, it was incredibly difficult to find negative reviews for any of the DVD’s), I’m positive the What’s In The Bible story will continue into new adventures.
Clive & Ian already have their very own spin-off show, where they answer BIG questions about God in Clive & Ian's Wonder Blimp Of Knowledge. Plus the puppet gang have already turned their stitched button eyes towards Christmas in Buck Denver Asks... Why Do They Call It Christmas? So I’m guessing it won’t be long till they give the same treatment to Easter, potentially in 2014.
But that’s just speculation, for now you and your family can enjoy the entire back catalogue in the What’s In The Bible Department, where you’ll find all the DVD’s and the trailers to match.
April 5th, 2013 - Posted & Written by James Warwood
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