Review - Lumo Project The Gospel of John

I was recently invited to review a new way to "experience" the Gospels . . . in this particular case, the Gospel of John. How might someone "experience" the Gospel of John in a "new" way, you ask? Well, in this case, through film.

"The Lumo Project is a ground breaking, multi-language biblical film resource transforming the way we discover, study and engage with the life of Jesus through the four New Testament Gospels: redefining the standard of visual Biblical media. The Lumo Project presents four films – one for each Gospel account – which will revolutionise the way we all experience the story of Jesus and the world of First Century Palestine in which he lived. The Gospel of John takes the story of Jesus from John’s gospel with its own unique characteristics. For John, Jesus is the Word of God made human. John is clear when we encounter Jesus, we encounter God.  The gospel writer points to the miracles (the ‘Signs’) and teachings as evidence of Jesus’ special relationship as the divine Son of God.

This full-length feature film about the life of Jesus takes the actual Gospel text as its script, word for word, unedited. Five years in the making, this epic production has been critically acclaimed by leading religious scholars as a unique and highly authentic telling of the Jesus story. Narrated by leading British actor David Harewood (‘Homeland’, ‘Blood Diamond’, ‘Merchant of Venice’) it is based on the latest theological, historical and archaeological research. With specially constructed sets and the extraordinarily authentic villages and countryside of rural Morocco, it immerses the viewer in the world of first century Palestine."

You will find more at the official website using this link.

So, how might someone in children's ministry use this resource? Well, consider the following ideas . . . 

• You might have older elementary children work their way through the film in class; since it is word for word the Book of John, it could be a way to engage children and help them better understand what was happening and what it means.
• You might make it available for families to work through together.
• You might use it with your volunteers - plan an event to watch it together; provide pizza and popcorn and make an evening of it. Then follow it up with discussion of how watching the film helps them better understand the Book of John.

These are just a few ideas, but watching the Gospel of John is sure to help you "experience" God's Word in a new and different way, which may help you better understand it as well!