Positive Action for Christ

Life of Christ

From the Gospel of John

by Frank Hamrick

      The Gospel of John is one of the most powerful books of the Bible and the most profound Gospel.  John’s Gospel is evangelistic, which means it causes men to trust God for salvation. Positive Action for Christ has produced a Bible study that captures this profound gospel and opens its powerful truths for high school students to explore.

Our Experience:

     Sarah (13) and I have enjoyed this bible study tremendously.  We found the student manual to be engaging and easy to use. The information contained within the student manual was fascinating. The real-life pictures and the artwork are beautiful and enhance the lesson being taught.

     I liked that this study of John started out with 3 lessons of Background information . There was an introductory lesson, a lesson on the purpose of John’s gospel and a lesson on the Geographic and Political situation at the time of Christ. This background information formed a solid base on which to study the Gospel.  I was impressed with the amount of Bible study Sarah had to do on her own, before we met together for a Teacher’s lesson.  The teacher’s manual states “…the objective of this study is not just to fill students’ minds with facts, but even more importantly to help them grow in the knowledge of their Savior, we have designed this section to help their minds ponder Him and His teaching.” It then warns that some students may be resistant to this approach, but I found that Sarah was the opposite. She was very enthusiastic and always ready to work on her part of the study and then come together for more information.

     The Life of Christ study can be used in many different settings and the teachers manual accounts for this. There are different options for how to plan out the lessons. They give a three, four, or five day option. But, then it also tells you that you may adapt the study to your particular needs.  We choose the three day option. Sarah would do the student work on one day, the next day we would proceed with the teacher’s lesson and the third day would be a review/quiz. I have to admit it was more review than quiz. With just the two of us, I could tell when she was understanding the information and when she needed more explanation, so I usually would just scan the quiz and ask her questions for review orally. I can see where the quizzes would come in handy in a school or Bible class type setting though. This particular study is designed for 9th –12th grades, although the company said it has been used as low as 7th. 

     The resources included in this study were very well done. The student manual is a 277 page consumable textbook. As stated earlier, the pictures and art are amazing. There are eight maps included in the appendix of both the student manual and the teacher manual. Also, included is a timeline of Christ’s life, a timeline of Christ’s last day on earth, a Jewish calendar, and a clock showing: modern time, Jewish time and Roman time (used by John) . The instructors manual is well thought out and easy to use. Each lesson covers lesson objectives and notes to help with teaching your student(s). Your student will take notes in their student manual while you are covering the information. You do not have to be a brilliant Bible scholar to teach this course, the teachers manual gives you all the information you need. Also included with each lesson is a smaller copy of the student manual lesson complete with answers to all the questions.   Included with the teachers manual is a DVD with  transparencies that enhance the teacher presentations. Sarah and I were able to sit with my laptop and look at the transparencies for each lesson while I was teaching it.

Life of Christ Student manual	$17.95
Life of Christ Student manual (outline only edition)	$8.95
Life of Christ Teachers Manual (includes transparencies DVD)	$41.95
Life of Christ Teachers Manual on DVD	$29.95
Deluxe Presentation DVD	$79.95
Overhead Transparencies	$99.95

Positive Action for Christ also produces products for Kindergarten through Adults. Visit the Positive Action for Christ website to see the many studies available.

Recommendation

     I would highly recommend The Life of Christ. Sarah and I thoroughly enjoy learning with this study. We both look forward to our times together to see what comes next. In our families budget, this product is more than I would usually spend. That being said, after using this study I feel it is well worth the cost and will finish the study and consider buying another that they offer.

I was not the only one to review this study. Visit the Crew Blog to read what my Crew Mates thought about this study.

As an Independent contractor for The Old Schoolhouse and member of TOS Homeschool Crew received a Life of Christ Student and Teachers manual for free in exchange for my honest review of their product.