The End is just the Beginning

It is finished! We celebrate these words during Resurrection Weekend and we heard them again on the final installment of The Bible on the History Channel.  I've have generally enjoyed the series, but most of all I have enjoyed the conversation that has grown out of it.  There is opportunity here, in this moment, to engage the world with Scripture, we MUST take it!  At least one Wal-Mart that I know of actually sold out of the DVDs of the series the first day they were available.  We can either use it or run from it, I hope we use it.

Things They Missed:

1. The Resurrection: It would have been nice to see the power of the resurrection take place.  We are brought immediately to the empty tomb but I would have liked to see how they would have portrayed the event.  This is not a big miss, I think they did okay, but the other issue I had was that (as Pastor Paul mentioned) it was still dark when Mary went to the tomb and it looked like it was about noon or at least late morning in the show.

The Church Unleashed

The Bible series as presented by The History Channel is over... it's now "history".  I enjoyed the series very much, enjoyed preaching on it, and enjoyed blogging about it.  It's almost sad to see it come to an end.

This particular episode took us through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, then dealt with the planting and expansion of the church in the compact fashion we have grown accustomed to.  Again in this episode, we saw some "extra-biblical" materials come in; things you won't find in the bible. But I still think the producers did a fine job in communicating biblical truth through the film.

Of particular note; I appreciated the way the religious authorities were portrayed in selecting and coaching the crowd at Jesus' trial before Pilate and the importance of showing the sacrifice of the Passover lambs while Jesus was being crucified.  Questions that arise; did Jesus kiss the cross?  Did his mother Mary help him pick it up?  These were touching moments but not biblical.  The crucifixion itself was handled masterfully, not overly gory but gruesome enough to get us to understand the brutality of the whole thing.  Pilate's comment, "he'll be forgotten in a week", was not biblical, but it summed up the political/religious feeling of the moment.

Betrayed but Not Forgotten!

We're well over half way through The Bible series on the History channel and time is slowing down a bit.  They now have three hours (two this week and one next week) to work with Jesus Christ and this episode was by far my favorite so far.  The writers and producers of this series have definitely been hinting at and pointing to the arrival of Jesus Christ for quite some time now and he is finally here!  I really enjoyed this episode and honestly can't wait until next week.

Things they missed:

1. Story line: Ask someone to follow along with the episodes with the one of the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John) in their lap and he or she might get confused trying to follow along.  There were a myriad of things out of place with the actual timeline of Jesus' ministry like the death and resurrection of Lazarus as well as Jesus' meeting with Nicodemus just to name a few.  It would do one well to read through the gospels again to remind oneself of what really happened and in what order.  Jesus didn't share the parable of the Tax Collector to Matthew when he called him (though Matthew was likely present) and events such as the Sermon on the Mount and the feeding of the 5,000 were not that close together in time. Nicodemus is another man that receives a lot play in this series, but he really is only in John 3 and in the end of John when he and Joseph buy the burial plot for Jesus together.

Where Are We?

We've now seen the fourth installment of "The Bible" on the History Channel and we are moving closer and closer to the point of all of history, the death and resurrection of Christ.  The tension is mounting between the old religion of Judaism and the birth of Christianity.  Again, those who have been working on this series have done a great job of presenting the bible to the world as a unified whole with a consistent theme.

Messiah Has Come

It has been quite an adventure following the History Channel's presentation of "The Bible" thus far.  The two remaining installments should be even more exciting as we follow the work of Christ and the beginnings of the early church.  Be in prayer for those who are viewing who need to make a decision to follow the one true Savior of the world.  May the Holy Spirit move hearts and lives through the efforts of those who have made this program.

Hope - Jesus has Come!

Once again the cinematic quality of the series continues to astound me.  The special effects are second to none and the acting continues to be believable, well cast (if you can lay aside a few things) and extremely well acted.  I've thoroughly enjoyed the first half of this series and now that Jesus has come I look forward to seeing him "change the world!"  Which is exactly what the Christ event did.  It not only changed the world, but eternity and the direction of the human race.

However, this week's installment offered some of the most troubling inconsistencies thus far, and disappointed me in many ways.  Here are a few things "they missed:"

Homeland - From Conquest to Kingship

As Pastor Paul touched on, the motif of "God is With us" and "Trust in God" is still alive and strong in the miniseries' third and fourth episodes.  I really like the way they are retelling the stories and touching on this major theme.  It seems to be pointing to an overall theme of Jesus being "God with us" when he is born.

It is quite obvious (and this is not a negative thing at all) that the producers, directors and writers of this miniseries always had Jesus in mind first and foremost.  I like what they've done so far, and I hear that Jesus is coming this next Sunday, so that is good news indeed!

Things they missed:

1. Conquest of Canaan: To the casual observer on Sunday evening the Israelites defeated Jericho and everything else fell into place.  The conquest of Canaan wasn't all neat and tidy for the Israelites though.  Immediately after Jericho the Israelites were defeated at Ai because of Achan's sin.  Again, I understand and respect that they must blitz through many of these stories for time's sake but there are quite a few gems missed here.

God is with us

The second evening of "The Bible" presented by The History Channel was just as exciting as the first.  I have heard many reports that the series has caught the attention of a vast segment of the country including young people and families.  People are being exposed to the biblical stories as never before.  Anticipation for each new segment keeps growing and people are talking about... The Bible!  I have it on good authority that it just gets better from here.  I believe the birth of Jesus comes next week!

Hyper Speed and Scripture: The Bible

Overall, I was supremely impressed by the first episodes of the History Channel's miniseries The Bible. As Pastor Paul mentioned in the previous post I thought it was a masterful touch to start off in the Ark with Noah recounting the story of Creation, the Fall and subsequent cursing of the world to his children. In that four minute intro the tone was set for the entire 10 hour trek through the Bible.  The Ark was depicted fantastically well, Noah was well cast, and they set a solid background for the History of Israel.

What about the Covenant?

Let me begin by saying that the History Channels first installment of "The Bible" was excellent!  I thought the stories were handled well and the biblical content portrayed accurately enough to convey the truth of the Word.  The made-for-tv special effects were well done and there was plenty of action to keep the viewer captivated.

Primer to "The Bible"

The Bible Miniseries starts this Sunday at 7pm CST!

I hope you're excited for the series we are doing on the Bible at Benson Baptist Church!  I know we are!  This Sunday, tune into The History Channel  to see a depiction of the Bible that hasn't really been done before.  For the next five weeks we will experience Genesis through Revelation in a new and powerful way through this made for TV miniseries.  As we embark on this adventure together there are a few things to remember:

Our five week journey through "The Bible" starts this Sunday and will run through the month of March.  This Sunday, March 3, Pastor Paul will preach on Abraham and Isaac, specifically Genesis 22:1-19.  In this difficult passage, we'll wonder together why God would ever call someone to make this kind of demonstration of their faithfulness and how this event in pre-Israel's earliest history sets the course for the entirety of God's revelation.

Learn a Little More!

We are excited to see what The Bible miniseries has to offer! To read more about what's in store, click here.

Here is one video trailer, giving a great taste of what's to come.