Drive Thru History Has Done It Again

Yet another review of Drive Thru History®, because, ya'll, my family loves this company, the man behind it, and the quality products he produces.  We have previously reviewed The Gospels CD set and The Drive Thru History Adventures site, but this time we are taking a look at Drive Thru History® "Acts to Revelation" CD set.

This 3 disk,18 episode set comes with a full color study guide included in the case.  It is the newest brain child of Dave Stotts, producer and star of the Drive Thru History®, franchise.  Acts to Revelation picks up where The Gospels left off, the time where Christianity got its start.   Nine hours of footage includes live video from all of over the middle east, maps, pictures, timelines, scripture, and of course, Dave's witty humor!

Dave begins in the Book of Acts with the first Christians in Disk 1 and ends with the 7 churches in Revalation by Disk 3.   In between you do a lot of traveling in the trusted Jeep they have affectionately named Steve McQueen, across vast lands where Jesus and the disciples once walked.
 

Part Bible lessons and part history lessons, you get to see places and details close up through Dave's eyes. Places visited include Cyprus, Galatia, Philippi, Jerusalem and Rome, learning about the disciples and their lives as well as the history of that time.

Our thoughts and how we used this-
I always have grand ideas of sitting somewhere quietly and watching these series, but alas, that never happens.  Why?  Because my family loves them as much as I do.  Since each episode is about 27 minutes long, we usually watch two at a time in the evenings during our devotion time.


The study guide that is included with this CD set has a summary of each episode and questions meant to spur your conversation and see how well you listened.  We read through those questions after watching each episode and discuss, but quite honestly, most of our conversations come from things we have seen in the show.  Often times there are things that will spark additional questions and we use google to go down a lot of bunny trails!  A lot!

There is a SIDE NOTE section for each episode in the study guide that gives additional information about something pertaining to that episode.  For example, for episode 4 about Damascus you learn that the road to Damascus, also know as the Decumanus Maximus, was a 50 foot wide street that ran for an entire Roman mile.  Beautiful, full color photos of historical landmarks grace every page.
 

Not all of the lessons are easy to hear.  This particular time in history was often a violent one, as shown in Episode 15 describing the Martyrdom of Paul and Peter.  If you have younger children watching, this is recommended for 6th grade and up. Please be aware that some of the subject matter is for mature audiences.

While we love the quality of these CDs and the beauty they contain, what I love the most are the conversations that follow.  Seeing the Bible come alive through pictures, both modern day and ancient, and hearing the excitement in Dave's voice makes the Bible even more exciting to us.  In fact, because of this series, we are hoping to send our 17 year old son on a tour of Israel next year for a graduation gift.

One of our favorite episodes is the story of the conversion of Saul to Paul on the road to Damascus. As he often does, Dave tells the story as close to or at the actual historical site.  Dave travels to the border of Syria, but of course, does not enter due to safety reasons.  (Instead he hangs out at a cafe that is now located there.)  It was a solemn reminder that the area is still one of unrest and danger; a good lesson to our homeschooled kiddos of how blessed we are to live where we do.

Once again,  Drive Thru History® has exceeded our expectations and have become another beloved CD set to watch over and over again!  I am confident it will bless you as well.

80, yes 80, other amazing reviewers have been enjoying this set!  Click on the banner below to see what they had to say as well!