| | Group: PandaMania | Group: Hometown Nazareth | Gospel Light: Son Surf Beach | Cokesbury: Shake it Up Café | LifeWay: Big Apple Adventure | |
| Day 1 | God made you – God creates the world | Jesus had a family… we do too | Meet Up with Jesus – Who is Jesus | Israelites Celebrate Passover – Be ready for God | Connect with Faith – I can have faith in Jesus | Don’t Be fooled by counterfeits – meet Jesus discover His bold claims |
| Day 2 | God listens to you – Elijah confronts prophets of Baal | Jesus had a name… we do too | Look Up to Jesus – why can I trust Jesus | Festival Celebrations for the Israelites – Give happily to God | Connect with Love – I can love Jesus | Treat Him like a King – Discover His miraculous birth |
| Day 3 | God watches over you – Jonah tries to run from God | Jesus had a home… we do too | Join Up with Jesus – why do I need Jesus | Jesus Celebrates the Festival of Booths – Believe in Jesus Fully | Connect with Trust – I can trust Jesus as my Savior | Let Him be your guide – discover His radical Life |
| Day 4 | God loves you no matter what – Christ death and resurrection | Jesus went to church… we do too | Open Up to Jesus – how can Jesus help me when I mess up? | Jesus Celebrates Passover – Remember Jesus often | Connect with others – I can tell others about Jesus | Claim the name Christian - death and resurrection |
| Day 5 | God gives good gifts – Hannah is given a baby | Jesus served others… we do too | Fire up for Jesus – what does Jesus want me to do | Celebrating the Festival of Weeks and Pentecost – Celebrate God forever | Connect with Life – I can live for Jesus | Spread the good news like wildfire |
I take issue with PandaMania for a few reasons. The first being that according to Tony Kummer, the theology was vague with little reference to sin - the very reason we need a Savior. VBS should revolve foremost around the Gospel and presenting it accurately to the children, second would be a high view of Scripture. I have heard it argued in regards to the former that it is simple enough for the church to fix; true... but if the curriculum cannot get something as crucial as the Gospel correct then why trust the rest of the lessons? As for the latter, American culture today screams not to trust the Bible. From the first book of Genesis, and America's love affair with Darwin, to the last book and the obsession with every end-of-the-world myth under the sun, American culture berates those who trust the Bible. Insisting it is little more than fantasy - Jesus was a nice man who taught us to love (along with Buddha and Gandhi)... read the Bible and get good morals from it. That is the message of the culture and shame on the church as a whole for doing nothing to challenge this view, and instead encouraging it. We tell Bible "stories" which translates to "fables" with pretty doodles cementing the thought of "fable". The PandaMania has beautiful graphics and adorable characters. In fact, I intend to "borrow" them for future posters. But the blatant rip-off of Kung Fu Panda seems to only get day one fully right... God listens to His children, but has no obligation or reason to listen to the unregenerate (2). God is watching over you because He is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent (3). God has a love for the world, but that doesn't guarantee heaven for the world (4) - God may love that child, but that doesn't mean the kid is going to heaven. God works for the good of those who love Him... but what that child sees as a good gift and what God sees as a good gift are often two very separate things (5). This lesson appears to set up that if we only ask God will give us nice things, and He may... but the ultimate good for a Child of God is to be drawn closer to Him. Which sometimes means that Fido dies from sickness instead of getting better or one doesn't get the new game station. That is a lesson many adults today struggle with, much less young children. PandaMania at a glance, and from Tony's caution, sounds more like an exciting new way to make bitter false converts rather than new lambs of the Good Shepherd.
Nazareth looks like it's purely for preschool... that is my hope anyway.
Son Surf... looks to be alright. I have gotten other items by Gospel Light that have been acceptable. Most of my thoughts for this are the same as for Big Apple by LifeWay below.
Big Apple Adventure: As LifeWay is of the Southern Baptist Convention I would certainly hope the Gospel message is sound... but I would want a closer look at it when everything is officially released. The lessons... would probably be fine. They just seem to be very vanilla; a dull theme is easy enough to liven up, a dull lesson plan that gives no credibility to its name, why bother? Is it possible that the lessons will be in-depth and wonderful? Of course, but I have been playing the VBS game long enough that have I become a cynic when it comes to such matters.
As for the Cafe, what can I say? I'm intrigued by it. Most evangelicals do not seem to realize just how much foreshadowing is in the festivals of the Old Testament, I would be surprised if any could tell me even one other festival than Passover. A bigger surprise still would be for them to explain the foreshadowing of the Passover. So a curriculum that examines something other than the vanilla (and misguiding) Touched By An Angel's "God Loves You" is WONDERFUL in my book. The overview presents a lovely curriculum along with crafts, snacks, games, and missions. The overall idea is that when you become a believer God "shakes up" your life and you do things for Him because you love Him. Plus by showing how connected the Bible is (which was written over hundreds of years) it points to the Bible's uniqueness from all other writings - in a world where "all are the same in the end" that is a good thing to be able to claim.
Gold Rush.... I would rush to do it ^_~ Seriously, I love AiG on the whole and the overview looks very promising. Day One in particular is something that is becoming more prominent among scoffers, "well what about __ myth which talks about ___ being (part)deity born of a human who was to save the world" the other day there was a rerun of a "documentary" on someone who was born shortly before Jesus and supposedly made similar claims... I did not watch it, I was not in the mood for a migraine. AiG also has a marvelously clear Gospel presentation for the leaders to use that specifically forbids confusing and vague language like "asking Jesus into your heart" (when a child is honestly confused as to why she couldn't see Jesus on the X-ray of an ill sibling's chest this is NOT CUTE!! It shows a damnable lack of an understanding of salvation! Another false convert walks about thinking she's in the clear when Hell is currently knocking at her door...). Instead, ensuring the child understands what sin is (not just the Sunday school answer either) and discussing REPENTANCE and FAITH!!! WOOT!!
Look forward to being able to post up what Go Fish has in store for 2011. Until then, go serve your King.
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