これは｢ザ ホープ」ファンのホームページです。
On this site there are various resources which can be used to compliment the Japanese version of The Hope gospel presentation. Check out the first worksheet which can be downloaded on the right.
We decided to set aside a number of Sunday mornings to go through The Hope video with a small house-church group. All the members are seekers or new believers.
-----------------
WEEK ONE
The first week we dived in and watched the first 3 sessions which covered Creation, Adam and Eve, Satan, Original Sin and the promised Messiah.
Before watching , I posed a question: "What do they think I personally do not like about the video?"
We followed the video (about 20 minutes viewing time) with a discussion. I wanted to know if the group had grasped the essentials. It was clear that having just watched the film they were not able to answer questions like "Where did evil or sin originate?" even though it was clearly taught in the video. I had to be ready to open Isaiah chapter 14 and reinforce the video teaching with the Scripture.
Oh, and as to the question I asked before watching one in the group thought I didn't like the suggestion of the 'Big Bang'. This point came from someone with some church background. Non-one suggested that the thing I didn't like was the stereotype imagery of Satan. In fairness to the producers though, both the objections were silenced by the narrative which clearly stated that it was by God's word that universe was created and that Satan can (and does) appear in many forms.
One member asked about the two trees in the garden and was particularly interested in the Tree of Life. This was great as it opened up discussion about 'Types of Christ' which can be seen throughout the Bible. The most graphic example of this shown in the video was the animal sacrifice made by God to clothe Adam and Eve. It's great that this first blood sacrifice was highlighted.
I really feel that printable worksheets with Bible references and so on would be a real boon. The English site (link on the right) has a downloadable resource which runs to 128 pages or so. I feel one page would meet the needs of our group.
-----------------
WEEK TWO
The following week we watched sessions 4-6 which covered Noah, Babel and Abraham/Isaac.
Again, the essential theme of 'Types of Christ' were discussed. Blood sacrifice referring to the previous session was also drawn upon. In retrospect I think it would have better if we had just focused on Noah this week and kept Abraham for the next time.
I was kind of relieved that no-one asked questions like "How did they fit all those animals in?" or and other dark alley questions. The emphasis today in discussion was more about how we need to get into the Ark of Christ Jesus. I like how we the video helped show that God is angry with sin and must judge sin. We need people to see things from God's perspective and not put out a man-centred gospel.
It was great that the example of Ishmael Vs. Isaac echoed teaching we covered a few weeks ago on how the only way go is God's prescribed way and not to take things into your own hands.
During the week I showed the DVD jacket to a Japanese Christian who attends another local church. She had never heard of The Hope and so I plan to pass it on to her once we are through with this first course.
--------------
WEEK THREE
Today we watched Joseph through to Moses and the institution temple sacrifices. It has become clear that 20 minutes of The Hope is more than can be easily assimilated by our small group. I guess this is why the producers broke it down into 12 chapters (12 session / weeks?) which could span over about three months. This is fine for a house group situation but I had hoped that this material could be run over about five weeks --- many seekers will baulk at a 3 month commitment to find out about the Bible but a five week course might be OK. We have run the Japanese version of the Alpha course several times and found that if people didn't get saved by week three then the teaching became less and less relevant and tedious for some.
Nevertheless, this session was successful in highlighting more 'Types of Christ" -- this is a great boon to using this material. Already the group are aware that the Bible can be read on many different levels; as a narrative, as metaphor and with practical and spiritual applications.
I think it really does need some kind of study sheet(s) to consolidate the material and actually get the participants opening the Bible. They might not be aware that we are half way through The Hope but have only actually just reached the book of Exodus!
In support of the video I do feel that the visuals will help bring back the full sweep of the narrative in times to come. At least now it will be a little easier for the folk to place the context and chronology of some key OT events.
If I were to run with The Hope again then I would want my trusty Panorama of the Bible ready to reinforce the points and to review the previous weeks lesson before each viewing. Someone has uploaded a copy of the Panorama I use here. It is a large file so it takes a while but you can click on it for a close up.
From now on we will just watch one 'chapter' at a time.
-----------------
WEEK FOUR
Today, one of our regulars didn't turn up and a couple of guys who had missed last weeks session actually did come. For these reasons we re-ran the previous weeks video so that these people could catch up and the lady who didn't come wouldn't miss out.
It occurred to me this week that the Japanese version could be improved with subtitles when the characters in the films are speaking -- something is lost when you don't catch Jesus saying things like 'I and the Father are one' and so on.
---------------
WEEK FIVE
This week's session was great. We watched part eight which is concerned with the Incarnation, the early life of Christ and His commencement of ministry at baptism. Before viewing we took some time to re-cap the main events of the previous weeks using the panorama linked above. This is really a good idea and it doesn't patronize the people to go over things again and again -- in fact they like it because they comment previously that the course was too fast.
The question posed before we watched was "Why is it important that Christ was born of a Virgin? -- The answers they gave were very satisfactory and led into some more teaching (delivered by me) about the uniqueness of Christ.
We looked at John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth and the life, no-one comes to the Father except through me" and we discussed how this claim refutes the possibility of there being more than one 'Truth'.
Then we skipped to John7:17 where Jesus says something like "If anyone seeks to do the will of God he will find out if my teaching is from God or if I speak by myself" --- this is a really key scripture. We are literally challenged to find out if Jesus' teaching = God's teaching.
The Japanese in the group stated that it is very unusual for Japanese to be encouraged to critical thought like this. This is a cultural issue which perhaps ought to be explored a great deal more extensively -- how else will they become good 'Bereans'?
So this session concluded with the question 'How can you be sure that Christianity is 'the truth'? The answer is in the unique person of Christ -- The Truth.
-------
WEEK SIX
Focusing on the the events leading up to and including Christ's crucifixion, this video helped us see the full orchestration of God's masterplan. This session was particularly good for bringing up the subject of free will and pre-destination. We considered the sheer unlikelihood that all the factors and symbolism permeating the final days of Christ's earthly ministry were by chance.
I like this video series because of its emphasis on the 'blood line' which concluded at the cross -- It explains why blood was needed in atonement in the first instance and why there is no more blood sacrifice requirement.
To compliment the video we opened Matthew chapter 16 and considered Jesus' words to Simon Peter; "Who do you say that I am?" This provided some continuity from the previous weeks message and challenge to come to a personal verdict about the person of Jesus Christ.
-------
WEEK SEVEN
Today we concluded our trial of The Hope video material. There are a number of positives I'd like to draw out of it. I liked how each bite size segment covered the essentials without getting sidetracked. It was good how the time-line finished at Pentecost whereas I think most videos stop at the ascension. The invitation to salvation at the end was nicely handled and lends itself to being built upon to lead people to Christ.
It is highly recommended (by me!) to have a Bible open and ready to read a passage after the video. I suggest this for good reasons. 1) It gets the seekers used to handling / reading the Bible 2) It consolidates what they just saw in the video.
-------
