Drive Thru History Review

       A lifetime ago, I studied Biblical and Theological studies at Regent University. I love all things Koine Greek and have way more commentaries and lexicons than current bookshelves. When I first heard about Drive Thru History® two years ago, I really wanted to check it out with my kids… except they were all under 5. As amazing and intelligent as I think they are, I knew the material would be over their heads. But this year, with the launch of Drive Thru History® "Acts to Revelation", I felt like we were ready to dive in (or should I say drive in) and learn!

     Drive Thru History® "Acts to Revelation" is an 18 part series that covers what occurred from the book of Acts to Revelation. We watched this as a family with my 7, 4, 2-year-old and of course baby. Given my kid's ages, we began by watching the series in 15-minute intervals and then used the study guide questions to talk about what we learned. The study guide provides a summary of each episode along with discussion questions. We found it better to share the questions with our kids before the episode and let it be like a discovery hunt as they watched and listened for the answers.  

    

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​      The videos are visually stunning and filmed on the actual location of Biblical events. The creators incorporate historical paintings to further illustrate the scenes and paired them with Scripture and incredibly upbeat narration from Dave Stotts, who clearly has the best job on the planet. The enthusiasm is contagious, cinematography amazing, and the content is powerful.
Episode 4 was particularly moving to me as the host walks viewers through the Road to Damascus to learn about Paul’s conversion. The actual segment of the road where Paul encountered Jesus lies in Syria and Stotts explained that he wasn’t able to enter into the country and shared that over 900,000 Christians have been martyred in the last ten years in the Middle East. Though this is never an easy topic to address with children, it’s so important that they have an understanding and thankfulness for our own freedom and know the need to pray for our persecuted brother and sisters.

     Each episode is incredibly rich in content. It truly had me thinking I must have dozed off in a few classes or am just getting old, but I prefer the former.  I loved being able to see the places where the Biblical events occurred. In episode 6, Stotts shows viewers around the remnants of Lystra where Paul was nearly stoned to death. After a brutal beating, Paul and Barnabas fled an incredible 60 miles to Derbe to escape. Reading the Biblical account is inspiring, but seeing the places and realizing just how far that journey was added an entirely new dimension to learning.
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     The program would make an amazing family Bible study (as we used it) or a stand-alone history class.  I can’t wait to get to the final episode on Revelation. My husband wanted to watch out of order and the collegiate systematic theologian inside of me just couldn’t go out of order!
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Be sure to check out what the rest of the Homeschool Review Crew thought!

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