The idea for That the World May Know films began in 1992 when Michigan entrepreneur Ed Prince became exposed to Ray Vander Laan's unique method of Bible teaching. Ray, or RVL as he is affectionately known, has always believed that to more greatly understand and appreciate the Bible, one had to have a sense of the land and the culture from which it sprang. Biblical analogies and examples, while meaningful and helpful even to this day, were first meant to convey God's truth to particular people in a particular time and place. So the more fully we can appreciate those times and places, the more fully we can respond to the power of the Word.
Travel to Israel and radically change your understanding of the Scriptures. Wet your feet in the Jordan River and impact the culture with life-giving water. Show your trust in the Lord's provision by offering up first fruits at Jericho. And cleanse the land by confronting evil and using the tools of society to redeem your world for God. In this first volume of the That the World May Know series, historian and teacher Ray Vander Laan will show you how God guided his people to a specific place - the Promised Land - to impact the world both in ancient times and today. Experience the Bible in historical context!
(formerly known as Faith Lessons)
Filmed on location in Israel, Faith Lessons is a unique video series that brings God's Word to life with astounding relevance. By weaving together the Bible's fascinating historical, cultural, religious, and geographical contexts, teacher and historian Ray Vander Laan reveals keen insights into the Scriptures' significance for modern believers. These illuminating "faith lessons" afford a new understanding of the Bible that will ground your convictions and transform your life. The Faith Lessons video series is ideal for use at home, especially in personal and family Bible studies. Individual believers and families will gain vital insights from long-ago times and cultures through this innovative approach to Bible study.
Pack your bags. We're going on a journey. A quest to uncover Scripture and its meaning across history. Filmed on location in Israel and throughout the Middle East, the Faith Lessons series is an adventure in biblical learning. You will discover why Jesus turned the world upside down with his compelling call to follow him.
Teacher and historian Ray Vander Laan brings together history, culture, and geography to illuminate the Gospels. Eight lessons with a Leader's Guide will let you, your family, or your small group walk with Jesus through the days of his ministry on this earth. The insights you gain will transform your reading of the Gospels and inspire a deeper faith commitment.
Being a follower of Jesus does not mean staying away from evil. It means confronting it – face to face – just like Jesus did every single day and through his resurrection. In this fourth set of Faith Lessons, learn how confronting evil can be loudly proclaiming the name of Jesus or quietly caring for someone in need.
Experience the Bible for yourself! This in-depth video Bible study-shot on location and featuring teacher and historian Ray Vander Laan-will help you understand the New Testament better by giving you abetter understanding of the Old Testament.
During his ministry in Israel, Jesus called and trained disciples, His "talmidim." Their job would eventually be to bring His message of redemption to all the nations, Jew and Gentile. What would happen when they began to make disciples of their own and the gospel began to spread to a Greek and Roman world, to cultures completely unfamiliar with the God of the Jews? Follow the rabbi through Israel and Turkey as you explore what it meant to be the message of Jesus to all nations.
Becoming a disciple of Jesus demands more than merely a deep commitment to the text and complete devotion to Christian community. The Messiah is king, and believers are called to pick up their crosses in daily pursuit after becoming like Him. Come rediscover the fierce passion of the apostle Paul and our early Christian brothers and sisters as the rabbi leads you through cities such as Aphrodisias, Antioch Pisidia, Lystra, and Cappadocia in ancient Asia Minor.
This five-session small group Bible study, God Heard Their Cry, by noted teacher and historian, Ray Vander Laan, is volume eight of the 12-part Faith Lessons series. In this volume, Vander Laan illustrates how God answered the cry of the Israelites as they were persecuted in Egypt, and made himself known to both them and their oppressors. Vander Laan illustrates how, in ancient times, nothing was bigger than Egypt - powerful pharaohs, strong armies, and a multitude of gods. God's people were no match against the Egyptians. In this volume of Faith Lessons, discover how God answers the cry of his persecuted people and proclaims himself Lord to them and their oppressors. Filmed on location in Luxor, Egypt; Deir al Medina, Ramesseum, and the Red Sea. Individual believers and families will gain vital insights from long-ago times and cultures through this innovative approach to Bible study.
When the Israelites left Egypt, they were finally free. Free from persecution, free from oppression, and free to worship their own God. But with that freedom comes a new challenge – learning how to live together the way God intends. In this ninth volume of Faith Lessons, discover how God teaches the Israelites what it means to be part of a community that loves him and the lessons we can begin to live out in our lives today.
Ray Vander Laan takes us on a journey through Sinai and Israel, a region that is still largely desert but at times filled with lush, bountiful places. We will discover how Jesus called people to live in the Promised land. What can we learn during times of abundance and in times of desert. God led his people back to the desert often to relearn the lessons they had forgotten. John the Baptist and Jesus had powerful encounters in the desert. We will learn that the desert is where we are closest to God. It is where our relationship with God is at peace.
God's story culminates with the intense devotion of his people in this 11th volume of the Faith Lessons series. Discover how their passionate faith prepares the way for Jesus and his ultimate act of obedience and sacrifice at the cross. Then, be challenged in your own life to live as they did-by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Throughout the Bible, the desert functions as an image of discord, of loss of control, and of separation from the safety of society. Barren and deadly, the wasteland places of the text meant certain death without access to resources. Many times God led His people through the desert, where they learned that they would have depend on His provision for all of their needs. What are the difficult places in your life, the moments of loss and pain that can seem impossible to survive? Find God in your deserts as you travel through Sinai, Paran, Zin, the Negev, and the wilderness of Judea.
As they stood at the foot of Mount Sinai, the Israelites not only agreed to partner with God by worshipping Him as king, they also took on a mission: become a kingdom of priests in a prodigal world. This had been God's plan for His people from the time He called Abraham out of Ur, a mission that would forever characterize Abraham's descendants and one which Jesus would renew with His own ministry. Follow the rabbi through Israel and Jordan, scaling mountains in the Sinai and exploring the ancient cities of the Decapolis as you unpack what it means to be a kingdom of priests today.
It’s easy to think of the Bible as a collection of short stories, but each one makes up a greater story – one story of a God who created the universe and entrusted it to His human partners to care for it. They were unfaithful, and it fell back into chaos and sin. But God didn’t give up on His creation. He decided to redeem it, preparing the way through His covenant with Israel and finally by sending His son, Jesus, to become the cornerstone of it all through His life, death, resurrection, and ascension. What would this mean for a people oppressed by the Roman Empire, and what does it mean for believers today? Follow the rabbi through the world of Jesus, hiking through the Galilee region, exploring the ruins of Rome, and kneeling on the stones of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem as you discover how the gospel of Jesus confronts the gospel of Imperial Rome.
Like the Roman Empire, today’s governments or organizations can become centered on power and believe their messages are the “good news.” As Christians, we’re called to proclaim God’s name in all the earth (1 Chronicles 16:8), but how do we to do that in the midst of false gospels?
In this fifteenth volume of That The World May Know®, discover how Paul communicated the Good News of Christ to Philippi, a Roman colony that worshipped false gods. Can you live the message as Paul did while he encouraged the church in Philippi to consider itself a colony of heaven, not Rome? Consider your citizenship— and the message you convey to the world—as Ray Vander Laan takes you deeper into the culture of ancient Philippi.
Experience the Bible in historical context as you walk in the footsteps of the second missionary tour of the Apostle Paul in Greece -- in locations like Philippi, Thessaloniki, and Delphi.
How do you live in a culture where the worldview conflicts with Christianity? Learn from Paul as he presents his beliefs to the most powerful court in Athens and settles among the Greco-Romans of Corinth, who valued wealth and class, worship of multiple gods, and decadent pleasure seeking above all else.
In this sixteenth volume of That The World May Know®, discover how to live in your own Athens or Corinth—an increasingly secular Western world—in a way that glorifies God. Experience the Bible in historical context as you walk in the footsteps of the second missionary tour of the Apostle Paul in Greece.
