Thank you BH Impact for sending us this DVD to review!

Most Christians are familiar with Mary’s role in submitting to God’s will and bringing our savior into this world.  She agreed to carry the Lord’s child knowing that her future marriage and life would be endangered as a result.   Because of a dream Joseph received from the Lord, he knew that her pregnancy was indeed a miracle and continued the engagement knowing that his reputation would suffer as a result.  The movie Joseph and Mary doesn’t focus on the angelic visit and begins with Joseph (Kevin Sorbo) crafting a wooden cradle for their future baby.  

While the Bible doesn’t specify the ages of Mary and Joseph, I’m willing to bet that they were much younger than the actors used to play their roles in this film.  I’m also willing to wager that they were not Caucasian either.   The miscasting continues in the temple scene with Simeon and Anna. Their actors are much too young for their roles.  Both of them were promised to see the Messiah before they died and Anna was in her eighties when she saw baby Jesus.

The acting is still decent regardless of their ages and the main story of the revenge seeking rabbi, Elijah, is pretty good.  King Herod’s taxes are causing an uproar and people who resist paying taxes are made examples of.  Rebekah’s husband, Aaron, is killed in front of her despite Elijah’s attempts of appeasing the tax collector.  The husband’s dying wish is that Elijah takes care of his wife and he does so.  Her oldest son grows fond of Elijah and they become a family.  That is until Herod demands the deaths of young male children.  Rebekah vows vengeance on the soldier that carried out Herod’s orders on her family and she pressures Elijah into killing him on her behalf.

Elijah refers to the Deuteronomy 19 verse 21 which states a life for a life and an eye for an eye for agreeing to kill this legionnaire.  Joseph is trying to convince Elijah to forgive the man and have compassion on him instead.  As Jesus grows up and speaks in the temple, Elijah is convinced that there’s something different about this child and starts to believe that He’s the Messiah.  Can he accept Christ’s teachings and learn to forgive?  I’ll leave the rest for you see for yourself in this hour and twenty-two-minute film.

Thank you Public Media Distribution for sending us this DVD to review!

The BFG (Big Friendly Giant) book written by Roald Dahl came out in 1982 and the ninety-minute film adaptation was released in 1989.  This 2016 version has been digitally restored and comes with a before and after special feature so you can see the difference in real time.  Another added bonus is a documentary on Roald Dahl.  

The rest of this timeless classic remains the same where a young orphan girl named Sophie is woken up in the middle of the night and sees something peculiar.    There is a giant wandering around the town and is blowing something into the windows of her neighbors.  After she’s been spotted, the giant reaches into the orphanage, grabs Sophie, and takes her to his world of giants.

Sophie is afraid that the giant will eat her, but unlike the others, BFG does not eat humans.  He shares with her some of his other foods which are quite different from our world.  One of the beverages he offers her has the bubbles going down instead of up and as a result instead of burping, this drink causes the drinker to whizzpop/fart.  Needless to say that this song and other flatulence based humor in this film brought smiles and laughter out of my children.

The dated visuals are noticeable, but don’t detract from the story of friendship and courage.  There is also a good message about not judging people by their appearance and tolerating language mishaps.  Overall, my family enjoyed this film and look forward to watching the live action remake.  

Thank you Walkers Shortbread for sending us these delicious cookies to try!

Walkers Shortbread was founded in 1898 and is still family run and operated.  They are located in Aberlour in the Scottish Highlands and export their cookies, cakes, crackers, and puddings to over eighty countries worldwide.  We’ve been blessed to try their Pure Butter Mini Shortbread Fingers, Gluten Free Pure Butter Chocolate Chip and regular shortbread cookies.

Since I don’t practice gluten free living, I tried the Pure Butter Mini Shortbread Fingers first.  I was definitely able to taste the butter and the flakey texture was pleasing as well.  To my surprise there are only four ingredients (wheat flour, butter, sugar, salt) to these cookies and they are all natural!  A serving of four fingers/cookies will set your diet back by 170 calories and 9 grams of fat though.  Four out of five of my family members enjoyed them.  My son is spoiled by my homemade cookies I guess.

To fairly review the gluten free cookies, I took the Gluten Free Pure Butter Chocolate Chip and regular shortbread cookies to my mother-in-law who regularly eats gluten free products.  It’s no secret that a good majority of gluten free food tastes inferior to their gluten counterparts.  These Walker shortbread cookies are quite the exception though!  In fact, my mother-in-law said that you couldn’t tell that they’re gluten free.

Like the Pure Butter Mini Shortbread Fingers, the gluten free shortbread cookies are light, airy, and delicious.  Instead of wheat flour, a blend of rice, potato starch, maize, and xanthan gum (as a stabilizer) is used.  The other ingredients (butter, sugar, salt) remain the same.  The chocolate chip variety has chocolate chips as well which include sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, and natural vanilla flavoring.  

Thank you MarVista for sending us a screener of this movie to review!

This one hour and nineteen-minute movie is based off of the popular book series by Megan McCafferty.  The main character is Jessica Darling who is about to enter seventh grade and wants to start off on the right foot.  Her older sister with a passion for fashion gave Jessica a list of four things to do to be popular in junior high.  Here’s the contents of her sister’s “It List”:

1. Wear something different every day

2. Make the cheer team

3. Pick your first boyfriend wisely

Thank you VicTsing for sending us this product to review!

There are many uses for a garden hose nozzle and we put this eight-mode gadget to the test by using it on three children and washing two cars.  While hosing down my kids on a hot summer day, they seemed to enjoy the mist mode the best. Not only was it gentle and refreshing, it also produced rainbows as an added bonus.  The Cone mode is a little stronger than the mist and the kids liked that one as well.  If you’re looking for some more power that’s not too forceful, the flat mode is another good option to use.

The soaker mode was a disappointment and seemed to dribble more than soak anything.  It could be an issue on my end since there was water leaking out of both ends of my garden hose.  All of the other modes worked flawlessly despite the leaks.  There wasn’t any text or instructions included in the packaging.  Just the nozzle and an extra washer.  The nozzle did have a washer in place as I checked to make sure that wasn’t the source of the water leak.  The hose used is old so I blame that for the leaks and not the nozzle.

If you need a bunch of streams, the center mode is a good one to use and the aptly named shower mode has several streams as well.  The shower mode is great for watering plants.    The jet mode has a powerful beam and the rinse mode is similar but stronger and great for taking off soap from a freshly washed car.

Thank you Click Communications for sending us this DVD to review!

The original Kindergarten Cop starring Arnold Schwarzenegger came out in 1990 and was an instant classic.  Unfortunately, things have changed a lot since then and this sequel reflects many of those differences with the modern day kindergarten students.  One of the students is gluten free while another has peanut allergies.  The upscale private school that this movie takes place in caters to all religions and sexual orientations.  Not surprisingly, one of the students has two moms and a distrust for men.  Gone are time-outs and sitting “Indian style”; it’s now called “criss cross applesauce “ as the undercover FBI agent, Mr. Reed, soon learns. 

Mr. Reed (Dolph Lundgren) is a well-built ladies man that has no experience with children.  Reed’s partner (Bill Bellamy), has five kids and offers to help Reed, but he’s too proud to accept it.  To complicate matters, agent Reed has a tendency to fall for women while undercover, and this mission is no exception.  The other kindergarten teacher is attractive and nice and may have some information on the hidden flash drive that has the FBI’s data on it.  

The FBI aren’t the only ones after the stolen witness protection database as the syndicate boss, Zogu, seeks to silence a witness that is listed in it.  Time is running out and the FBI agents have to earn the kids' trust to uncover the secret location of the flash drive hidden somewhere on the school grounds.  

One would assume that a movie about kindergarten students would be safe for the whole family to watch.  Sadly, it’s not.  This 140-minute film is rated PG-13 and has some sexual references, violence, and plenty of blaspheming along with foul language.  Pretty much every cuss word is used with exception to the F-bomb.

Thank you No Starch Press for sending us this book to review!

All three of my kids love Minecraft and they all have learned various coding concepts from several books from No Starch Press.  When my oldest daughter heard about this book being released, she was eager to try it out and she’s glad that she did!  Not only does this book teach basic Python concepts, it puts them in an environment that kids can relate to and see their results in game instead of in a monochrome command prompt screen.  

There is a little setup involved and the first chapter of this twelve-chapter book covers installing and configuring Minecraft, Java, Python, and Spigot.  There are instructions for Windows, Mac, and Raspberry Pi setups.

The first Python concept taught is variables and the reader will learn how to use variables to teleport to different areas in the Minecraft game world.  Modules, mathematical expressions, and strings will be explained throughout the book as well.  True/False Booleans and If/Then/Else statements are also taught and with those abilities, the reader will learn how to make various mini-games.  Instant forests are made possible with While Loops.  Towards the end of the book the reader will learn about lists, dictionaries, modules, saving files, and object oriented concepts.

My daughter’s favorite lessons in the book are making moving blocks and a dance floor that changed colors.   She also liked the secret door that would open when placing a diamond on a pedestal.  There are over seventy projects to be completed and each of them utilizes valuable Python concepts. These skills can transfer over to pursuing further programming with Python down the road.    This book sells for less than $25 on Amazon in hard copy form and is available for half of the $29.99 MSRP digitally.

Thank you Disney for sending us this Blu-ray to review!

The Finest Hours is based on a true story and is considered to be the most heroic rescue in Coast Guard history.  The main character, Bernie Weber (Chris Pine), is a Coast Guard crewman who follows the rulebook and knows all of the regulations.  He’s very familiar with the ocean and knows how dangerous the bar can be to cross during nice weather, let alone during a severe winter storm.  When he was sent to assist the crew of the SS Pendleton, which split in half on February 18th, 1952, he did not hesitate knowing full well that this was a suicide mission.  It was up to Bernie and his crew to attempt to rescue the stranded men since all of the other Coast Guard ships were assisting another split oil tanker, the SS Fort Mercer.

The tiny rescue boat defied all odds and reached the SS Pendleton despite missing crucial navigational equipment.  The next hurdle was bringing the thirty-two rescued men to safety on a boat that’s designed to carry twelve.  Some tough decisions had to be made, but they paid off in the end.  I won’t spoil any of the details because I recommend watching this thrilling movie.

Although The Finest Hours is a Disney movie, it is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of peril.  There are some deaths and injuries shown and one of the characters cusses (d*mn).  Other than those issues, this movie is safe for most audiences.  

The acting was good and I recognized some of the actors in this film.  There were some blue visual artifacts and other inconsistencies that I noticed, but they didn’t detract from the story in any way.  For example, sometimes Bernie’s nose would be pink from the cold and a few frames later it was back to normal and then suddenly pink again.  

Thank you VicTsing for sending us a review sample!

In all honesty, I rarely drink.  In fact, all of the alcohol in the house is used for cooking recipes only.  To test this breathalyzer out, I drank ¼ cup of soft, semi-dry white wine while preparing some braised chicken that called for it.  Setting up and using the breathalyzer is pretty easy.  The most difficult part (other than drinking wine that I’m not fond of) was putting in the three AAA batteries.  The batteries were a pretty tight fit, but I got them in by applying some pressure.  

On the back side of the device is storage for five mouthpieces.  To use the device, simply insert a mouthpiece on either side of the device and press the power button.  The breathalyzer will beep and warm up for fifteen seconds.  When it’s ready it will beep again and you’ll have to blow for five to ten seconds until it beeps again to let you know that it’s done.

Thank you Patterns of Evidence for sending us this book to review!

In 2015 my husband and I were blown away by Timothy Mahoney’s documentary searching for archaeological evidence of the Biblical Exodus.  Many Egyptologists disregard the Biblical account of the exodus due to lack of evidence in the New Era Kingdom of Ramesses II.   In this 392-page book, Timothy describes his twelve-year long journey to figure out if the events in Exodus really happened or not.  His methodology is logical, scientific, controversial, and the results very convincing.  I highly recommend reading this book and/or at the very least watching or renting the film!

Timothy focuses on six events that took place in the Exodus.  The arrival of the Israelites, their multiplication, slavery, judgement of the Egyptians, their leaving (Exodus), and their conquest of Canaan.  While there is plenty of evidence of these events all taking place in the Middle Kingdom time period, archaeologists disregard it all because it’s not in the New Era Kingdom.

The origin of the New Era Kingdom is explained and picked apart for its many inconsistencies.   Throughout this book you’ll read several interviews between Timothy and renowned Egyptologists and archaeologists.  David Rohl, who agrees with this new timeline, isn’t even a Christian.  Many of the other interviewees are not onboard with altering the current Egyptian timeline.  It’s easier to throw the Biblical evidence under the bus than to change and re-write history books.

There is plenty of evidence of Joseph residing in Egypt.  He has a canal, Bahr Yusef (waterway of Joseph), named after him!  Many assume that the seven-year famine that Joseph interpreted from Pharaoh’s dream was a drought.  Planting crops is equally difficult if areas are flooded and that could have been the source of food shortages as well.  An archaeological dig site has uncovered a city named Avaris and there is evidence that a high ranking Semitic ruler lived there.  On this property with twelve columns resides an empty tomb has a statue of a man with a Semitic hair style, skin color, and a colorful robe.  Since the bones are missing as the Bible declares, there is a good chance that this could have been Joseph’s residence. 

Thank you Click Communications for sending us this DVD to review!

Lego Star Wars: Droid Tales first aired on Disney XD in the summer of 2015.  With its recent DVD release, everyone can now enjoy the retelling of the Star Wars saga from C-3PO and R2-D2’s perspective.  The overarching story is that R2-D2 has been kidnapped and while chasing after his captor C-3PO recalls and shares his adventures with different audience groups during some downtime.  This 115-minute DVD is broken down into five episodes and here’s a quick summary of each one:

Exit from Endor – The victorious rebels are celebrating and Luke Skywalker sees the ghosts of Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Mace Windu.  At the campfire,C-3PO recalls the story of Anakin’s childhood and run in with Qui-Gon Jinn and Queen Amidala.  Extra comedy is added into the retelling of The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones including several severe injuries of Jar-Jar Binks and Darth Maul’s overuse of the word awesome.

Crisis on Coruscant – While still tracking down R2-D2’s whereabouts, C-3PO shares his version of what happened in Revenge of the Sith.  General Grievous and Count Dooku “kidnap” the emperor in order to lure Anakin to join the dark side.  Darth Vader makes his appearance in this episode.  On a lighter note, Yoda’s line, “Oh heck what the” cracked us all up.

Mission to Mos Eisley – C-3PO heads to Tatooine to track down R2-D2.  He reminisces about A New Hope where he and R2-D2 are sold to Luke Skywalker after all of the other robots scavenged by the Jawas mysteriously break during their inspection.  Luke Skywalker begins his Jedi training with Obi-Wan and Yoda and later destroys the Death Star.  At the end of this episode, C-3PO reunites with Chewbacca and continues his quest of rescuing R2-D2 from his mysterious captor.

Thank you Quartous for sending us this book to review!

Like many kids, my children enjoy building all sorts of things in Minecraft.  It’s a great outlet to encourage creativity and to interact and work with each other to create enormous structures.  If your family is new to Minecraft, the Unofficial Minecraft Lab for Kids book will go through the basics and will provide guides on building projects both inside and outside of the game.

My son learned how to make a TNT cannon and both him and my daughter also made flags and banners inside the game.  I like how the home projects correlate with the in-game ones.  To accompany these labs, my kids also learned how to make a marshmallow launcher and a Creeper face banner.   To go along with setting up a target practice inside of the game, my kids learned how to make a bow and arrow using wet popsicle sticks, dental floss, and Q-tips.  (I kept finding Q-tips throughout my house for a few days afterward.)

Minecraft is about survival and that entails foraging for food to eat.  One of the final labs gives a recipe and instructions for making mushroom stew to enjoy outside of the game.  If your kids are like mine and not a fan of mushrooms, they may prefer the cookie lab found earlier in the book instead.    Some other labs include making a simple circuit with an LED and a watch battery, or a Chinese finger trap to go alongside the in-game zombie trap.

There are lots of great ideas and fun projects to enjoy together as a family.  This book was a hit over spring break when the weather wasn’t nice enough to play outside.  The book will retail for less than $24 on Amazon when it comes out in June 2016.

Thank you BH Impact for sending us this DVD set to review!

Touched by an Angel began in 1994 and was almost cancelled after its first season. However, it was brought back for eight more seasons after the fans of the show wrote enough letters to change CBS’ mind.  During season’s three through six, Touched by an Angel was one of CBS’ highest rated series.  While it was nominated several times for the Golden Globe Awards it never won them.  It did however win multiple Outstanding Drama Series awards, and rightfully so!

The series begins with a couple of angels named Tess and Monica.  Tess is Monica’s supervisor and Monica is a newly promoted “case worker” who lends a helping hand to people in dire situations.  The show doesn’t pull any punches with the topics it discusses.  There are shows about alcoholism, drug addiction, AIDS, cancer, teen pregnancy, racism, homosexuality, and that’s just within the first couple of seasons!  While many of the shows are kid safe, some of them have serious themes and minor language that may not be suitable for young children.   I am happy to report that intimate relationships are eluded to and not explicitly shown.

I also like how this show displays God's love and even though we may be going through tough times, God never abandons us.  It also makes it clear that tough times are not necessarily a punishment and our mistakes still have consequences despite repenting and being forgiven for them.  The angels are not depicted as being perfect either; both Tess and Monica let their pride and emotions get to them and they get set back on track and confess their sins and make amends.  Andrew (from season two on), the angel of death, often appears in the show as well.  His appearance doesn't always mean that someone is going to die, but it's usually the case.  

Throughout the nine seasons and fifty-nine DVDs in this set there are numerous guest appearances from many popular celebrities including Bill Cosby, Celine Dion, Montel Williams, Randy Travis, and Wynonna Judd.  I also like how the show’s finale has guest characters from the first season reprising their roles and bringing closure to this inspiring series.   

Thank you PrayerBowls for sending us one to review!

PrayerBowls is a husband and wife team that offers two different styles for bowls designed to receive prayer requests.  We were sent the Angie set, which is named after a woman that prayed daily for the founder during a serious illness and her many surgeries.  Angie used a bowl to place her written prayer requests and this idea inspired Karen to design some PrayerBowls for family and friends. They were well received and PrayerBowls was born.    

The Angie bowl is white and has a light teal edge with a cross in the center of it.  A Swarovski Crystal adorns the center of the cross. Inscribed on the edge is Philippians 4:6 which states: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God.”   The Celeste set is white with gold trim and it has five Swarovski Crystals on its cross and the verse Romans 12:12 which reads “Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfast in prayer.”  

Thank you Shout Factory for sending us this DVD to review!

This one hour and ten minute DVD contains five episodes that focus on keeping and restoring friendships.  Here’s a rundown of what each episode is about:

Make New Friends but Keep Discord – Fluttershy and Discord are unlikely friends since Discord is the ruler of chaos.  During one of their tea parties, Fluttershy mentions that she’s been invited to the upcoming Grand Galloping Gala and that she’s bringing Tree Hugger as her guest.  As the name suggests, Tree Hugger is very in-tune with nature and maintaining her chakra.  Discord is greatly offended and is jealous that some pony is getting between him and his Fluttershy.  He’ll have to keep his feelings in check and communicate with Fluttershy before things get out of hand at the Gala.

Slice of Life (100th episode) – Cranky and Matilda are a couple of donkeys in love and planning to get married.  Their only problem is that their wedding invitations that were sent out to everyone had the wrong date on them!   While scrambling to reschedule everything, their village is attacked by a bugbear.  Steve, an effeminate dragon hair dresser gives Matilda advice by telling her that it's not the marriage that's important, but the ceremony.  What?!!!   

Amending Fences – Twilight Sparkle has made many great friends since moving to Ponyville.  The problem is that she has forgotten about her previous friends in Canterlot.  To make matters worse, she left on bad terms with some of them too.  Twilight Sparkle returns to Canterlot to make amends with her friends and seek forgiveness for her previous wrong-doings.

VR Has leveled up: Oculus has included the sense of smell with their latest product, the Oculus Snift!

By adding the sense of smell to video games they take gaming to a whole new level! For example, when you burn a meal in the forthcoming VR version of Cooking Mama you’ll take your meal preparation a little more seriously!  A DLC for Lucky's Tale will feature Pepe’ Le Pew as he pursues his love interest, a black and white cat that looks like a skunk.  “Believe me, you DO NOT want to get him killed” says the present of Oculus VR, Brendan Iribe. Some games will feature pleasant smells like the Snift version of Flower which will be coming to PC later this year.  

Owners of the Snift can put their noses to the test with the future release of Jackbox Games'  "Name that Smell!". If your nose isn't very good, doctors are looking into using Snift's technology to strengthen the sense of smell.  Nothing can be confirmed without FDA approval though. Pricing and availability for Snift has not been authorized as required by the rules of the Federal Communications Commission. Snift is not, and may not be, offered for sale or lease, or sold or leased, until authorization is obtained.

Thank you PBS kids for sending us this DVD to review!

The Odd Squad is a government agency that’s run by kids.  Their mission is to investigate and rectify strange occurrences and to keep everyone safe.  All of the agents have names that begin with the letter “O”.  Field agents Otto, Olive, and their boss Miss O., are in each of the six episodes on this 90-minute DVD.  As the title suggests, each episode is musically themed and most of them use math logic to solve the perplexing mysteries in their neighborhood.

Here’s a break-down of each episode:

Dance Like Nobody is Watching – The agency is under a lockdown as their alarm system got triggered.  Their scientist, Oscar has put many booby traps in place and has long forgotten their patterns.  Otto gets to show off some of his dance moves while de-activating a tricky laser trap. 

Sound Check – There’s a hot boy band called Sound Check and all of the townsfolk and agents (except for Olive) are digging their new single – “Take Away 4.” The problem is that whenever people hear the song, four of their items disappear!  

Thank you Anthem Productions for sending us this Blu-Ray to review!

My All American is based off of the book Courage Beyond the Game: The Freddie Steinmark Story written by Jim Dent.  Both the book and movie are based on a true story about a young man who lived for playing football.   Freddie wasn’t very tall for a football player, measuring in at 5’ 9”, and as a result not many colleges responded to his applications for scholarships.  Some of his taller friends had no trouble hearing back from prestigious colleges.  Freddie compensated for his height with speed and strength and was a very talented safety.

His high school coach saw his potential and worked him pretty hard.  After school’s training, Freddie’s father worked him even harder!  Freddie was very disciplined physically, academically, and spiritually by praying and attending mass daily.  Due to financial constraints Freddie’s family was relying on his football skills to land him a scholarship to pay for his college tuition.  Despite the lack of responses from colleges, Freddie and his family did not give up.  

Freddie’s high school coach put in a good word for him and one of his taller friends to University of Texas’ coach Royal.  Freddie was finally given a scholarship and a chance to show his prowess on the field.  Instead of taking the credit, Freddie said it was an answered prayer.   Getting the scholarship was half the battle, maintaining it is even harder.  Freddie survived the cuts that weeded out half of the prospective players.

Despite having some leg pain, Freddie didn’t let it stop him from achieving his goals.  His dedication and skills set him apart on the field and his efforts made the 1969 Texas Longhorns national champions.  Once they won the “Game of the Century” that was attended by Richard Nixon, Freddie got his leg examined by a doctor and the diagnosis was startling.  

Thank you Falco Ink For sending us a screener of this movie!

When Joel Evan Green was a one-year-old, he had brain tumors and was only given four months to live.  His parents had a choice.  They could distance themselves and prepare for his death, or celebrate each day of his life.  While the tumors came and went with chemotherapy, Joel lived a few more years and was showered with love each and every one of those days.  Throughout Joel’s treatment, his parents documented their journey for this documentary and their game immortalizing Joel’s battle with “That Dragon, Cancer”.  

Both the film and the game capture the struggles and testing of the family’s faith and hope for saving their son’s life.  Lots of emotions are shown and they’re all genuine.  A couple of swear words are said so keep that in mind for younger audiences.   

It was really neat to see the behind the scenes discussions and work put into the making of “That Dragon, Cancer.”   Ryan and Amy Green worked together on the script and their sons lended their voice talents in the game as well.  While the laughs in the game are Joel’s, the crying is not.  

Thank you Bohlsen Group for sending us this book to review!

The book of Hebrews is not one of the easier books in the Bible to read.  Fred A. Schreeren, who wrote Dynamic Studies in Hebrews, goes over each and every verse in this thirteen-chapter epistle.  The Bible study is broken down into twenty sessions that are designed for weekly Bible studies.  Even though snacks are usually a given at a Bible study, I thought it was amusing that this study says to “assign refreshments for next week.”  

Most of the sessions are around ten pages in length and involve referencing and comparing verses from both the New and Old Testament to those in Hebrews.  Some of the sessions recommend assigning someone to read and summarize other books (God’s Appointed Times, Christ in the Passover) for the next session.

I like how each study gives you a warm up question that will set the tone for the current study.  I have to admit that I changed my point of view from the start to the end of the study on at least one occasion.  One question that I changed my mind on was: How do you normally respond to someone who gets in trouble?  While my initial answer was “Not much pity if they deserved it”, after reading and studying on how much Christ suffered on our account, I was convicted about how I’m lacking in the compassion department.  

There are some great Old Testament comparisons to Jesus being the high priest of the New Testament to the Old Testament’s Melchizedeck.  This Bible Study also goes over the necessity of the new covenant.  The author also makes the case that Paul is the author of Hebrews since he was longing to see Timothy, references believers in Italy, and last but not least, it has his signature ending: “Grace be with you all. Amen.”