We’re fans of the Bible Project.
Last night we finished watching all their overviews of the Bible videos.
It took us five nights watching three hours a night to view the sweep of Biblical history from Genesis to Revelation.
I cannot praise The Bible Project enough for the encouraging, enthralling, astonishing, marvelous, witty, wise, and insightful experience.
I just wish we had watched them years before.
Oh, wait, I only heard about them two years ago!
What is the Bible Project?
They explain it best on their website, www.Bibleproject.com:
BibleProject is a nonprofit animation studio that produces short-form, fully animated Bible videos and other Bible resources to make the biblical story accessible to everyone, everywhere. We create 100% free Bible videos, podcasts, and Bible resources to help people experience the story of the Bible.
bibleproject.com/about
I first learned of them from a friend who attended Multnomah University with founders Timothy Mackie and Jonathan Collins.
As a Bible study leader since I graduated from college, I’m always looking for new ways to present material.
My personal studies also send me scrambling through books, articles, and new ways to learn about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.
My life is rich as a result!
I fell in love with the Bible Project the first time I watched a video.
How does my Bible study use the videos?
Every time my group begins a new Bible study– I prefer to teach a straight book of the Bible study, not a subject study–we watch the pertinent video.
I download the video onto a USB stick and plug it into our church’s television. It takes about 10 minutes to view, depending on the video, and then we start the first study.
Here, for example, is the overview of the Old Testament:
A minute and a half in, with Timothy Mackie cleverly explaining all, we watched the following drawing appear on the screen:
As he talks, someone draws pictures in the blocks illustrating the key points. Each video lasts 8-12 minutes, with larger Biblical books broken into two parts.
I love hearing about the book’s organization and then watching the themes and ideas unfold across the screen.
Bible Project explains their motive this way:
From page one to the final word, we believe the Bible is a unified story that leads to Jesus. This diverse collection of ancient books overflows with wisdom for our modern world. As we let the biblical story speak for itself, we believe the message of Jesus will transform individuals and entire communities.
bibleproject.com/about
The videos demonstrate that unified story.
Here’s what the finished Old Testament video story looked like:
It took Mackie nearly 13 minutes to tell the whole story!
Within this overview, he touched on the major themes running throughout the Old Testament, setting the stage for a more detailed study of the individual books.
But wait! There’s more
Bible Project is supported by gifts and everything is free. The website has a wealth of material any teacher or individual can use to understand the Bible better.
Their free resources include all the video downloads, poster downloads, notes, resources, and guidance for churches.
The videos are available in 23 languages, from Afrikaans to Vietnamese.
A missionary friend uses Bible project videos with the people she meets in her country.
What she really appreciates is how many people go on to watch other videos on their own after she’s introduced one.
The Bible Project also has a podcast and a blog.
Who are these people?
You never want to trust your Bible study to people whose theology may differ from yours.
The team page describes who they are.
Mackie is the writer and creative director. He holds a Ph.D. in Semitic Language and Biblical Studies and is a professor at Western Seminary.
Collins holds a BA in Biblical Studies and is the other writer and creative director. Check out their team before you dive in.
Why do I appreciate them today?
I write this on day 23 of “sheltering in place” during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
We’ve just spent five nights watching the videos. My husband had only seen a few, but we agreed to start at the beginning and go to the end.
Fortunately, the Bible Project Youtube page allowed us to watch them all in order. (If interested, it starts here).
We “cast them” from Youtube to our television and began what became my most significant retreat–time out of life to study the Bible–in years.
I normally can’t sit and watch television; I work a puzzle, sew, or clean up the kitchen.
But these videos captured us and kept me enthralled all three hours each night.
The sweep of the Bible story is breathtaking. The initial overview video of the Old Testament sets up the themes and points out the recurring patterns.
I’d never seen them spelled out so clearly before–and then throughout the rest of the Scriptures.
When we finished Revelation last night, I stood to applaud–so awed, humbled, and amazed at my God.
I have a degree in English Literature. I know how to look for patterns in the text. Part of studying literature involves watching for repeating ideas and words.
Bible Project Bible overview, using those boxes, showed those patterns.
And don’t get me started on the clever words matched with clever drawings.
I‘ve read and studied the Bible since I was 15 years old. I’ve studied commentaries and books on the passages I’ve taught.
I’d never seen some of these patterns and themes quite this way before.
Truly, it was magnificent and my awe at our Lord expanded in marvelous ways.
Takeaway
Of course, I’ll continue to use the videos in my classes.
Now that we know they also have “theme videos,” we’ll probably watch those, too.
But these overviews! You’re doing a disservice to your Bible knowledge if you don’t view them.
In the meantime, thank you to Timothy Mackie, Jonathan Collins, and all the team members at Bible Project, as well as their supporters.
May God continue to bless your work as much as you have blessed me.
(Some of you will want to know my church affiliation. As a military family, we’ve worshipped God in a variety of church settings. You can see the list here. I currently teach at a Lutheran Church– Missouri Synod.)
Tweetables
In praise of the Bible Project videos! Click to Tweet
An astonishing 15-hour sweep of the Bible. Click to Tweet
How to better understand the Bible by video. Click to Tweet
Oooh, this sounds good. Will definitely have to check out, thanks for sharing!
Your family would love it.
Thank You!
I have a very old and tattered copy of Streams that was given to my family in the 1930’s from a missionary to their small Mexican American Methodist church in Arizona. My mother passed it on to me. I have used it off and on for many years. Now here in 2020 for the first time in looking to see what the copyright date was I discovered in googling the Oriental missionary society a whole new world including your blog. Can’t wait to explore and follow the trails. Thank you Jesus!