500G - God

VCG-500 THE LAST LEAF- (J/A); 25 min.; No guide; Bonneville Productions, 1984.

For Susan Brady, a young girl dying of pneumonia, her life and death seem linked to a withering vine outside her window. She believes she will die when the last leaf falls. Her older sister takes art lessons from an elderly French painter neighbor who still longs to paint a masterpiece. In an ironic ending his sacrificial painting of the last leaf gives him his masterpiece. Can be used as an Easter parable.

VCG-502 TODAY'S THE DAY TO EAT RASPBERRIES- (A); 5 12-min. segments; Guide, Morehouse, 1989.

A video of the death and dying experience of Rev. Colin Campbell, past rector of St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Palo Alto. Rev. Campbell's fine Christian spirit gives a positive view of a painful death from cancer.

VCG-503 IF I SHOULD DIE BEFORE I WAKE- (Y); 30 min.; Guide; The Media Guild, 1993.

The video deals with the issues of life and death. A plane carrying a high school track team to the state meet crashes, killing everyone. A boy who stayed home because of an injury feels guilty that his friend who replaced him died. His attempt to make sense of life and death form the focus of the video.

VCG-504 A LATE FROST - REFLECTIONS ON AGING- (A); 10 parts; 55 min.; Guide; EcuFilm, 1995.

The video takes the viewer on a poignant and inspiring exploration of some of the concerns and issues of aging through the writings of the last Gerhard Frost. This 10-part video on aging is an excellent resource for stimulating discussion. The 10 parts are: 1. Change 2. Remembering 3. Forgetting 4. Seeing more clearly 5. Living until we die 6. Worth 7. Going on-Segment One 8. Going on-Segment Two 9. Dusk 10. Dawn.

VCG-505 MOTHER WOVE THE MORNING- (A); 2 hrs., 15 min.; Book; Carol Lynn Pearson, 1992.

Carol Lynn Pearson presents a one-woman play which dramatically and poignantly portrays the feminine nature of God. A stirring and thought-provoking drama.

The video teaches spouses, family members, friends, neighbors, and caregivers how to help and what to say to those who experience miscarriage, stillbirth, or death of a newborn.

The video gives firsthand understanding of the grieving experience and can help people get through the grief process.

Story 1 - THE BRIDGE (11 min.) is a dramatic parable of God's sacrifice of his son. A father is working on the controls of a railroad bridge to allow an approaching train to cross safely over the bridge. He sees his young son on the tracks. His decision to save the passengers and sacrifice his son powerfully demonstrates God's sacrifice of His son.

Story 2 - THE PUMP- (9 min.) A man journeying through the desert has car trouble and decides to walk. He finds a pump with a water bottle. The note on the pump advises him not to drink the water, but to use this water to prime the pump. His response to this command is a matter of life or death. The parabolic story is useful for Christian discussions on obedience.

Story 3 - THE MOUTHS OF BABES- (15 min.) consists of a series of questions to which very young children respond. Topics range from the nature of God to how to live. Although the video often evokes laughter, it should be used to help equip parents and teachers to listen for the issues underlying the children's answers.

VCG-509 TELL ME ABOUT GOD: HELPING CHILDREN DEVELOP A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD- (A); 45 min.; Guide; EcuFilm, 1998.

This video helps parents, grandparents, and Sunday School teachers discover their proper role in bringing faith into the lives of children. Child experts in this six-part series discuss how children learn and how teachers and parents can use that knowledge to become a more successful teacher or parent. The video also provides insight into how to respond to questions when you don't know the answer, how to teach a child about God's love and the power of prayer, and how to take the first steps in Christian education.

Whether the loved one is a child, an adult or older relative, this insightful video helps those facing the emotional rollercoaster of caring for the terminally ill.. Caregivers are shown how to make the final days of a loved one as fulfilling and meaningful as possible. Whether serving as a caregiver, facing the sudden death of someone you love, or coming to terms with your own grief, the video provides the perspective, practical tips and resources to make the best of difficult times.

DVG-511 GOD, WHY? TEACHINGS FROM THE TSUNAMIS – (A); 1 DVD, 1CD; 2 sessions; 30 min.; EcuFilm, 2005.

DVG-512 NOOMA series with Rob Bell- (Y/A); 12 DVD’s; 10-14 min. ea.; Guides; French, German, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, and Spanish subtitles; Gospel Direct, 2002-2006.

This set of short films features communicators that really speak to us. Every DVD touches on issues that we care about and want to teach about that are presented in a way that fits into our world. Each one emphasizes some aspect of each person’s relationship with God.

.1 RAIN deals with the issue of “Where is God when we are suffering?” Rob Bell suggests that God is closer to us than we think and that our times of pain give God an opportunity to remind us of how much God loves us. 11 min.

.2 FLAME- God created love and wants us to feel it, all in the way it’s meant to be felt. 11 min.

.3 TREES- Rob Bell discusses ways in which religion is relevant to our lives. God wants our lives to have meaning today and forever. Rob shows how all the choices we make now will shape our world and lives for eternity. 13 min.

.4 SUNDAY- This DVD shows how God doesn’t want meaningless rituals, but wants our hearts. 12 min.

.6 KICKBALL- Sometimes we ask God for things and if He doesn’t deliver right away, we start questioning whether God really understands or even cares. We must trust that God is good and sees a bigger picture than we ever could. 11 min.

.8 DUST- Believing in God is important, but it is also important that we live so that God believes in us. If we have more insight into the culture that Jesus grew up in and some of the radical things He did, maybe we can understand the faith that God has in all of us. 14 min.

.9 BULLHORN- Maybe the best way to show our love for God is actually by loving other people no matter how hard it sometimes is. Jesus doesn’t separate loving God and loving others. 12 min.

.10 LUMP- All of us carry around with us some personal “junk.” No matter how big our junk is, no matter how much what we’ve done has impacted the way other people feel about us or how we feel about ourselves, it hasn’t changed how God feels about us. God loves us. He always has and He always will. 12 min.

.11 RHYTHM- What does it mean to have a relationship with God? Jesus said He came to give life in its fullest to everyone. Rob Bell suggest that it’s through trusting Jesus and living the life He taught us to live, that we can have a relationship with God. 12 min.

.12 MATTHEW- Suffering the loss of someone we love can be the most difficult thing in life we face. All kinds of expressions of grief are acceptable to God. Sometimes all the reasoning and comforting words in the world just aren’t what we need. What might help us, however, is to understand how Jesus dealt with this kind of loss. 14 min.

.13 RICH- There’s a popular bumper sticker that reads, “God Bless America,” but hasn’t America already been blessed? It’s easy for us to fall into the mindset of “our” world as “the” world. How does what we have compare to what most people in the world have? Maybe God has blessed us so we can bless and give to others. 12 min..

.14 BREATHE- For thousands of years, people have understood that our physical breath is a picture of a deeper spiritual reality. The inherent dilemma at the core of what makes us human is that God has created us and that we possess great power and strength, and yet our lives are incredibly vulnerable and fragile. Perhaps if we had more insight into the meaning of breathing, we would better understand how God created us as human beings. 14 min..

.15 YOU -Many people often debate the central claims of the Christian Faith, but maybe a better understanding of the history of the                            early Christian movement would give new perspective to these discussions. Perhaps some of the claims of the Christian faith that
                we typically perceive to be unique aren’t really that special. Maybe we don’t put enough emphasis on the things that really matter
                in our lives. (13 min.)

.16 STORE -We all get angry from time to time. What is really the root of our anger? Maybe, if we learn where our anger comes from, we can channel it toward something constructive—something bigger than ourselves. (14 min.)

.17 TODAY -How much time and energy do we spend wishing things were how they used to be? Some of us believe our best days may actually be behind us. If we’re hung up on the past, what does that mean for our lives now? Maybe we need to learn to embrace our past for what it is in order to live our lives to the fullest right here, right now. -

.18 NAME -Why are we so concerned with what other people think, say, or look like? What does it say about us if we are unable to accept who we are? Maybe if we really knew our true selves, we wouldn’t give so much attention to other people's lives and live more in tune with the life God wants for us. 11 min.

.19 OPEN -Does God answer prayer? Sometimes, but not all the time—or does God always answer prayer and it’s just that sometimes God says, “No!”

.20 SHELLS- We’re doing so many things, a little bit of everything, and yet it doesn’t feel like much of a life. Most of us find it hard to say, “No.” There are so many good things to do, but while we’re busy doing all these good things, we may be missing out on something great! Maybe saying, “No,” would be easier if we knew what it meant to say, “Yes.

.21 SHE- We didn’t have anything to do with our birth. We are here because some woman somewhere gave us life. Her pain, her effort,                 for our life. When a mother gives like that to a child, she is showing us what God is like. A lot of us are comfortable with male                     imagery for God, but what about female imagery for God. Is God limited to a gender? Or does God transcend and yet include
            what we know as male and female? Maybe if we were more aware of the feminine imagery for God, we would have a better
                understanding of who God is and what God is like. 13 min.

.22 TOMATO - We can all get consumed with ourselves. We feel that our worth and value come from how good, how smart, and how skilled we are. Jesus invites us to let these false ideas die, that our worth comes from the things we say and do Maybe it’s only when we let these things die, that we truly begin to live. 13 min..

.23 CORNER - Why is it that often when we get what we want, we still feel empty? We work so hard to succeed, but our lives just end up becoming more about us. Can success turn on us? Can we get caught up in a smaller world where our lives are all about the things that we want? Or is there another way to live where we see people in need and we do something about it. And maybe in attempting to save someone else from suffering, we find out that we are actually the ones being saved.

.24 WHIRLWIND- There aren’t nice, neat answers for why certain things happen to certain people. Often the perspective of a friend can help, but when there is nothing more to say, where do we turn? Maybe that’s when God finally speaks..

VCG-513 A PLACE PREPARED: HELPING CHILDREN UNDERSTAND DEATH AND HEAVEN - (A); 40 min. Paraclete Press, 2000.

This video is divided into four segments: 1. Being honest with ourselves, as adults, about death 2. Understanding death and children’s

emotional response to it 3. Talking with children about funerals 4. Talking with children about heaven.

DVG-514 LIFE STORIES: AGING AND THE HUMAN SPIRIT - (A); 57 min.; No guide; National Film Network, 2002.

Two university professors bring together a group of senior citizens to form a writing group. Many of the participants are new to the notion of

writing about their lives, and the experience proves unexpectedly rewarding. There are some tense moments in some of the sessions as the

participants open old wounds. The result is that they become a “beloved community.”

DVG-515 GROW OLD ALONG WITH ME: THE POETRY OF AGING - (A); 57 min.; No guide; National Film Network,

Artists Frederick and Claske Franck, opera singer Shirley Verrett, ninety-year-old photographer Leni Sonnenfeld, and Buddhist nun Pema

Chodron see aging as a creative process that carries with it an opportunity for giving birth in later years to one’s full humanity. With spirit and

insight, they show us how to adapt to the changes taking place in our bodies, in our relationships, and in the circumstances of our lives.

A History of God investigates humankind’s timeless and unrelenting struggle for faith, comfort and understanding. In this illuminating program

based on theologian Karen Armstrong’s bestselling book, take a fascinating look at the countless ways human beings have experienced the idea of God throughout the ages: from the days of before Abraham to today. Explore the evolution from the practice of sacrificial paganism to a more serene and compassionate religious way of life. Interviews with representatives from today’s key monotheistic religions reveal how

DVG-517 THE CASE FOR A CREATOR with Lee Strobel - (Y/A); 60 min. plus 40 min. of bonus material; No guide; Illustra Media, 2006.

Based on a New York Times best-seller, this DVD is a remarkable film about Lee Strobel’s journey from spiritual skepticism to a profound

faith in the God who has etched His indelible signature upon every galaxy and living cell. The Creator is now revealed by 21st century science.

DVG-518 DIGITAL DIARY - (Y/A); 3 DVDs, 1 session ea.; 10-12 min. each DVD; Guide; God Films, (Gift), 2009/10

        Each short video features an individual on a mysterious and introspective journey to understand where God is in his or her life. Each journey features a digital diary that causes individuals to reexamine their faith.
    .1    LAURA- Laura looks at the question, “Where is God on your priority List?” She must look inside herself, amidst her complicated and busy life, to discover what it means to let go. (10 min.)
    .2    ROBBY-Robby deals with the fact that what is happening in the world around us is not always what’s happening on the inside with our relationship to God. Sometimes, when we’re feeling trapped, we have the best chance of catching glimpses of God in our lives. Robby learns to accept his family and gain strength from his relationship with God. (12 min.)
    .3    CHRISTINE- Christine deals with the question of whether we can trust God to heal our broken relationships. Are we imprisoned by past choices? Christine is the story of a young woman struggling to understand her past while trying to save her marriage. This film will spark the audience to explore the difficult subjects of trust, forgiveness, and grace. (12 min.)