This is one item from Rose Publishing that I have had my eye on for awhile now. I have wanted to check it out and do a review so I could let you know how it is put together. This review will be slightly different as I will be covering the different items included since this is the complete kit that I am reviewing. It includes DVDs, Books, Leader’s Guide, Participant’s Guide, etc. The kit is put together very nicely and I’m very happy that Rose Publishing allowed me to check it out so I could do this review.In fact, here is a link to a very good 2-minute introduction/trailer video from the author himself (Timothy Paul Jones, PhD):
The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
@RosePublishing
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QUICK SUMMARY:
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DESCRIPTION OF THIS BIBLE STUDY:
Publisher: Rose Publishing
NOTE: Please check out the website for the DVD Bible Study Course’s website! Right now you can get this at $45 off the normal price. As of the time of writing this review, you can get the complete kit PLUS an extra Participant Guide as well – all for only $64.99! Check it out – http://www.howwegotthebibledvd.com/buy/
Items Included in Bible Study Kit:
- DVD of all six 25-35-minute sessions
- Leader Guide (printed and digital copy)—Includes flexible lesson plans and outlines, fun icebreakers, Questions Participants May Ask, and additional prayer and application activities
- Participant Guide (printed) with discussion and application questions, key terms and definitions, session outlines for following along and note-taking, and additional material for further learning
- Fold-out time line of the history of the Bible
- Reference Handbook of How We Got the Bible (168 pages)
- PowerPoint – Ready-to-use teaching PowerPoint® with over 100 slides of facts and apologetics proofs
- CD-ROM with PDFs printable promo materials (posters, banners, door hangers) PLUS digital banners (jpg), and PowerPoint® save-the-date slide (jpg)
SESSIONS INCLUDED IN THIS BIBLE STUDY:
This Bible Study kit is broken out into 6 separate sessions that are covered in the DVD, Participant Guide and Leader Guide. The Reference Handbook and Fold Out Time Line are items that can stand alone but are very good additions making this Bible Study very complete.
Session 1: What’s So Special About the Bible
- Gain understanding of why the Bible is important, why God gave it to us, and how the written Word of God transforms us.
Session 2: How We Got the Old Testament
- Enjoy understanding why the Old Testament is crucial to our faith today and get insight on important details like who wrote the Old Testament, a general overview of the books, and how we know it hasn’t changed over the centuries.
Session 3: How We Got the New Testament
- Be amazed by how well the New Testament was preserved and protected and get insight on how the books were written from eyewitness accounts. Find out how to combat common myths about the Bible’s inaccuracy. See why the “Telephone game” analogy can’t be applied to the way in which Scripture was passed down.
Session 4: How the Books of the New Testament Were Chosen
- Explore how the New Testament canon was chosen. Discover how unreliable books were excluded from the canon by the first Church.
Session 5: How the New Testament Was Copied
- Discover how God has preserved his Word sufficiently for us to recover the message He intended. Dive into various fragments of evidence and solid examples to see why we can trust today’s Bible be true to God’s original Word.
Session 6: How We Got the Bible in English
- Encounter the people that gave their lives to bring the Bible to us in English, and find out why we have so many Bible translations. (John Wycliffe, William Tyndale, King James I, and many more!)
BREAKDOWN OF EACH ITEM INCLUDED IN KIT:
One thing that I want to point out is how each of the items included in the kit (or at least the ones that I was able to review) all have a similar feel in the design and layout making it feel like a very well thought out kit. Very impressive, Rose Publishing! Also, I have included the individual ISBN numbers that I had handy for the individual items included in the complete kit.
DVD VIDEO (ISBN: 978-1628622065)
As I mentioned previously in this review, it is based all on the digital content and not the physical content. So, I received electronic video files from Rose Publishing to watch each of the sessions included in the DVD that comes with the kit. The videos range from anywhere around 25 to 35 minutes in length.
The videos are very professionally done and are of the author (Timothy Paul Jones, PhD) explaining the content. He presents it in a very clear and easy to listen to manner which lends to an easy understanding of how we got our Bible handed down to us through many years. The thing I appreciate the most is how he explains how we can trust the Bible and its accuracy.
LEADER GUIDE (ISBN: 978-1628622089)
The kit comes with a digital as well as physical copy of the Leader Guide. My review is based on the digital copy that I received from Rose Publishing. Each of the six sessions has very helpful ideas for group leaders including Key Terms, Outlines for the session, Tips for preparation for before the meeting, how to open the session, quiz with answers, possible questions that participants may raise, prayer and application activities, and so much more. Each section that utilizes the different materials in the kit, it gives clear instructions on where to look. The way that each session is laid out is really flexible to allow you to structure the Bible Study to your group of people. This really is one of the better leader guides that I have seen so far.
PARTICIPANT GUIDE (ISBN: 978-1628622126)
The kit comes with a physical copy of the Participant Guide. My review, however, is based on the digital copy that I received from Rose Publishing. I really like how they laid this Participant Guide out. Not just in the content for the actual meeting and viewing of the particular DVD session, but the fact that they included things to do during the days between the session meetings that help support the sessions. Very nicely done!
FOLD-OUT TIME LINE OF THE HISTORY OF THE BIBLE (ISBN: 978-0965508261)
This fold-out time line (A Time Line of Key Events in the History of the Bible) is very nicely done and covers quite a bit of material. In a way, it kind of gives a quick summary of the kit in a visual manner. It is very nicely designed and extremely helpful.
REFERENCE HANDBOOK (ISBN: 978-1628622164)
The Reference Handbook is really designed extremely well. The contents of the handbook are all pretty well covered in the DVD material, however there is extra material in the Reference Handbook that is not necessarily covered as in depth in the DVD. There are some wonderful charts throughout the handbook to give you great visuals to help you understand what the author is getting at in this Bible Study Kit. This handbook really can stand on its own as an amazing tool to understanding how we got our Bible. However, when packed with the entire kit, Rose Publishing really nailed this kit down as a fantastic tool to equip believers to really have the foundation of why we can trust the Bible as the true Word of God.
POWERPOINT (ISBN: 978-1890947460)
I didn’t get a digital copy of this resource as it probably would have been hard to get me 100 power point slides.
CD-ROM
I didn’t get a digital copy of this resource, but I’m sure it would come in very handy if you are doing this as a group study or classroom study. It has printable promotional materials to advertise the Bible Study. These materials include posters, banners, door hangers and PowerPoint slides for announcing the Bible Study in your church and community.
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MY REACTIONS:
MY OVERVIEW OF ENTIRE BIBLE STUDY KIT:
Ease of Use:
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MY CHRISTIAN REVIEWER RATINGS:
Quality: N/A – Typically when I rate Bibles and books, this Quality section is based on the physical quality and/or durability of the physical copy. Since I cannot attest to this due to reviewing a PDF file, I am actually going to leave this one as “n/a” or Not Applicable. Once I end up with a hard copy in my hands, I will update this rating accordingly. For now, I will not factor it into my overall final rating.
Appearance: 9.7 – Overall, the appearance and design of the content is very good. The videos are edited very nicely and easy to watch. The “print” materials are nicely designed and have a similar feel and approach. Very well done.
Value: 9.8 – I wish I had the physical copy of this book so I could more accurately represent this rating. So, with that said, I am going to base this strictly on content and not physical properties. As for the content alone, I would rate this very high.
Innovation: 9.5 – The multiple use of media and materials really does please me regarding innovation. I think Rose Publishing really did a great job of living up to their description of a “Complete Kit” for this Bible Study.
Other/Wildcard: 9.6 – The fact that Rose Publishing not only created a very high quality Bible Study, they also provide promotional materials to raise awareness and interest in this Bible Study. I have to give them kudos on doing their due diligence and going the extra mile to really put out such a fantastic resource.
Overall Rating: 9.7 out of 10
Company Summary:
From the publisher’s website: Rose Bible Reference resources help believers to love God by deepening their understanding of who God is. Packed with charts, time lines, and simple summaries, Rose products are designed to make the Bible and its teachings easy to understand. Our prayer is that as readers continue to dive into the Word of God their love for the Lord will deepen as they gain understanding. Rose Publishing is based in Torrance, CA.
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– Michael
The Christian Reviewer 
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