Reviewing The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus VideoBook

During the summer of 2013, I dropped $46 for The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus VideoBook in order to have another resource for family devos. You can find this six DVD set and workbook for $30 at www.goodseed.com. It is based on the Gospel of John and provides a good overview of the main message of the Good Book. John Cross, general director for GoodSeed, begins with creation and threads together essential Old and New Testament accounts. Two questions are focused upon:

1. Who is the Son of Man?
2. What is the good news?

As these questions are answered, nearly 1200 verses are provided. You get 11 hours of instruction divided into 15 chapters and 52 sections with each section ranging between 4 to 27 minutes. Mr. Cross teaches a group of adults in a classroom setting and at times the instruction is provided at historic sites in Israel. At the end of each section, you are to pause the DVD and answer the workbook questions.

Over 70 visual aids are used which I would like for my classroom; however, some people will probably find a few of the visual aids to be a little cheesy. The video could also use an update (e.g., music, font). Although Mr. Cross is not a dynamic speaker, he kept the attention my kiddos (seven and ten years old at the time). If you use the video with children, I wouldn't expect them to listen unless they are regularly presented the gospel message. The video is more geared for adults who want to develop a Christian worldview or those who are open to learning about our Father's character and the nature of sin. Spanish audio and subtitles are options.

We don't plan on using The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus VideoBook again, but I'm glad I bought it. It served its purpose by bringing a change of pace to our family devos and helping us draw closer to the Stranger on the road to Emmaus.

Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; Luke 24:13-15