Affiliate Disclosure: I am grateful to be of service and bring you content free of charge. In order to do this, please note that when you click links and purchase items, in most (not all) cases I will receive a referral commission. In addition, many of the books reviewed on this site were received free from the publisher through various book review bloggers programs. I am never required to write a positive review. On ocassion I will review a book that was not provided by the publisher. If that is the case I will note it on that particular post. Otherwise, assume that it was. All opinions I have expressed are always my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Desiring God dvd study review


Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God
Description:
In this DVD version of Desiring God—the classic description of Christian hedonism—John Piper explains how the supreme calling of life is to "glorify God by enjoying Him forever."
Drawing upon Scripture after Scripture, Piper shows why pursuing maximum joy is essential to glorifying God and, in what may be surprising to some, how God is ready to pursue with all His might our pleasure in Him! The implications of this truth are discussed in regard to conversion, worship, love, Scripture, prayer, money, marriage, missions, and suffering.

   In ten sessions Piper teaches on:

• One Great Mission and Motivation
• A Summary of Christian Hedonism
• The Foundation of Christian Hedonism
• The Essence of Christian Hedonism
• The Grand Obligation
• How Then Shall We Fight for Joy?


Recorded in HD with subtitles in English, these video sessions are ideal for use in adult and youth Sunday-school classes, small groups, retreats, classrooms, and families. To get the most from this resource, use it along with the Desiring God DVD Study Guide.

My Review:
Let me begin with this, I AM college educated.  I am 2 semesters away from a BA in education.  I am an avid reader and I have a pretty extensive vocabulary.  That being said, I found this study to be entirely to intellectual, taking for granted that the everyday person viewing has an understanding, or at least knowledge of, many things I did not.  This made parts of the study difficult to follow.

I at first thought that perhaps it was just me, however I had my husband, who is also a pretty intelligent guy, view several sessions with me.  He quit watching them becuase he just couldn't follow them.  My 11 and 13 year old children watched the first session and asked to be excused because they had no idea what was going on or being said.

The sessions appear to be recorded classes and reminded me of college lectures.  Piper stands at the front, uses an overhead projector as a visual aid, and proceeds to talk, sometimes rambling, and at the end I really wasn't sure what his point had been.  I was also reminded of the Truth Project only this wasn't as visually appealing, didn't include as much as far as online resources goes, and wasn't as appealing.

I did not have the companin study guide, which may have helped me to better grasp or identify the point of each session.  However, if I need a study guide to understand the DVD I would rather just buy the study guide and save the money for the DVD.  I would hope that the book this study is based upon is better than this.


No comments: