When our school year (like so many of yours) took a hairpin turn mid-March, I found I missed the little things most—those luxuries we hadn’t realized were luxuries. Watching the students file into morning chapel and sit down right next to each to other. All of us singing together, inhaling and exhaling one another’s saliva droplets, unaware that that was a privilege we could lose.
But just as I’ve loved seeing how God has transformed our losses into unanticipated gifts, I have loved seeing how our school transformed morning chapel into a little “chapel at home.” The at-home version is greatly simplified, yes. But during those last months of school, the girls and I gathered around the table each day, watched a video from The Bible Project, and then read a portion of Scripture together. Chapel wasn’t what it had been, of course, but it became something else for those last few months—a time to gather around the light of Scripture together and to remember who God is.
You’ve probably already watched a video from The Bible Project. They’ve been around for a while. Co-founders Tim Mackie and Jon Collins use their differing gifts to articulate some of the more abstract ideas in Scripture, both explaining the concept through each video’s narration and illustrating it through the video’s art.
I was most familiar with their videos summarizing specific books of the Bible, but they also make short videos about theological terms or concepts, or about the genres of Scripture—so many things. And the videos explain so clearly what role each book or idea has within the bigger story of the Bible. For all you visual learners (I’m one, too): you’ll love these. And for those of you wondering how much such a resource costs: they’re all free! (But, of course, you could always donate to the Bible Project.)
So, how could you use these with kids? If your pastor is preaching through a book of the Bible, you could watch the corresponding Bible Project video to give your family a big-picture view of your pastor’s week-by-week preaching. Or you could pick a specific theme, like “The Covenants” or “The Holy Spirit,” and dig into that with your kids. Or you could browse through their library and see what strikes your fancy. I highly recommend the series “How to Read the Bible.” We started watching it during the last weeks of the school year, and our girls loved it so much they insisted we keep watching through the summer.
One note, though: I do encourage you to pre-watch these videos before sharing them with sensitive or young children. I haven’t seen anything in them that is inappropriate for adults, or even older children, but the Bible can be gruesome and disturbing at times, and in the interest of staying faithful to the text, the Bible Project doesn’t shy away from that. Your kid may not be ready for some of the videos quite yet.
But hey, even if that is the case, you can still enjoy them! And I really think you will.
The Bible Project (Video Resource)
