Day | Baptist Press: Rev It Up! | Concordia House: Big Jungle Adventure | Bogard Press: Treasure Quest | Standard Publishing: Inside out & Upside Down on Main Street |
1 | Welcome to the Team: Jesus Calls Disciples – Join Jesus | Baby Moses Rescued – God takes care of us through Christ | Treasure of Salvation: Lydia Found of the Savior – learn how to believe on the Christ | Gratitude – Parable of the Whiny Workers (workers in the vineyard) |
2 | Learn from the Best: Jesus Shows His Power – God’s power helps us run the race | Crossing the Red Sea – Jesus rescues us from our enemies (sin, death, & devil) | Treasure of Prayer: The Church Prayed for Peter – how to pray when in need | Compassion – Parable of the Roadside Rescue (Good Samaritan) |
3 | Run up the Caution Flag: Who is the Greatest? Jesus first place in your life | Sermon Mount -Jesus is the light of life that we share with others | Treasure of Fellowship: The Church Focused on Fellowship – learn importance of Church membership | Forgiveness – Parable of the Shocking Servant (unmerciful servant) |
4 | Jesus is in the Winner’s Circle: Jesus is the Victor – His victory over sin | Peter and John run to empty tomb - Jesus rose from the dead to save us | Treasure of Scripture: the Bereans Searched the Scriptures Daily – learn to read Bible daily | Grace – parable of the Warmest Welcome (prodigal son) |
5 | Full Speed Ahead: Peter and John Carry On – Serve God | Heaven – Jesus, our Savior, prepares our heavenly home | Treasure of Soul- Winning: Soul winning in Gadara – How to share the Gospel | Faithfulness – Parables of the Master’s Money (ten talents) |
Rev It Up: Wow, the Gospel on Day 1?! There is a bit of a twist from the usual VBS timeline, but at least this promotes a proper understanding of good works and prayer (We do good works out of love for God and He answers the prayers of His children). I would certainly hope that the Gospel is presented soundly considering who the publisher is... So it appears to be fine as far as programs go - certainly better than some of the big name publishers (Group and Standard Publishing). Wouldn't it be nice if this VBS got many saved and revved up ^_~ for God, evangelism, and the Bible?
Big Jungle Adventure: I am a touch confused at the moment... In some ways it appears that, as with Rev It Up, Big Jungle Adventure is presenting the Gospel with each day. If so, WONDERFUL, assuming that it is properly given. On the other hand, with the Scriptures provided for each lesson it seems to be toeing the waters that PandaMania dove into - promising things only meant for Believers to all... Hopefully their curriculum will be present at "VBS Day"...
Treasure Quest: Ok even I have to admit the theme's look leaves a lot to be desired. But when it comes to lessons, it looks to be AMAZING! The Gospel is presented on Day 1 with the rest of the week being Christianity 101; the basics that every lamb of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, needs to know. So while the excitability factor may need work, the lessons appear solid - and ultimately that is what is important as well as a jewel among many rough VBS programs.
Inside Out and Upside Down: I read that it received praise from 'Christianity Today', that Standard Publishing is known for their Biblical content, and for the final cherry on top: they produced Hero Headquarters; is it a bad thing that this caused me to gag? Harsh? Maybe, but probably not. Last VBS day I was appalled when I watched the preview clip for it and horrified when I looked through the lesson plan. Did it pull out some lesser known Biblical accounts? Yep. With moralism as the main course and a heaping helping of normal VBS silliness for better and worse... To make it worse, they produced "Studio Go", which left a bad taste in my mouth when my church did it. Call me a pessimist if you wish, but when I look over the lessons and see "Kids will explore one of Jesus' parables in a variety of interactive ways and take a new look at what the Bible says about gratitude, compassion, forgiveness, grace, and faithfulness" coupled with the daily Bible passages it makes me quake with fear for all the churches that choose to use this program. Why? Because it SCREAMS moralism. The company's motto is "VBS CHANGES LIVES!" By the look of their programs, I would say it sure does - producing another generation of kids who see Christ as a merely man who taught others to be nice. I guess it does not help that the theme reminds me of Sesame Street meets Animaniacs with a touch of acid...
In attempt to be fair to the lessons themselves: Day 1's parable really is a lesson in gratitude if you are in the twilight years of life... in the dawn it would seem more of an excuse to "live it up" and get saved later. Compassion, it is a good thing to have and the Good Samaritan parable is a beautiful lesson in that everyone is the "neighbor" that we are to love as ourselves. But without Christ this lesson is a moralistic tale to be compassionate to all around. Day 3, forgiveness, my issue with it is pretty much the same as Day 2: good in and of itself but is pure moralism whenever Christ is taken out of the picture. Someone dear to me reminded me that this is a beautiful parable illustrating salvation, it is true that the parable is. My concern is that there will be abundant "ask Jesus into your heart" along with "so that Jesus will clean up your life and make it better". Day 5, are they really gonna talk about staying strong in the faith and that there are no backsliders, only false converts? I would be throughly stunned in a good way if that is the point. For over half the week the VBS takes the plan of several others - moralism, moralism. moralism and then finish off with the Gospel - this is putting the cart before the horse.
So what will installment 3 hold? Lord willing: Go Fish, David Cook, Apostle's Publishing, Augsburg Fortress, VBS Reachout Ministries, and Word Action. Until then, go serve your King!
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