AFA Staff
AFA Journal staff reviews movies, books and other resources
October 2014 – Michael’s life has turned into a roller coaster with too many drops and too few peaks in writer/producer Kyle Prohaska’s second film, Love Covers All. With the due date of Michael and Sarah’s first child approaching, he calls his father to ask if he will be there to meet his grandson. Dad says he is too busy. Drop!
Michael has to leave their Atlanta home for a job review in Raleigh, North Carolina. Once there, he is told the company is downsizing, and he is fired. The company thanks him for his hard work by handing him a pamphlet with ways to find jobs in his area. Stomach-churning drop!
On the six-hour drive home, Michael’s car breaks down, his phone dies, and he discovers he had left the charger in the hotel. Drop! He is stranded late at night on a lonely country highway, and Sarah goes into labor. Drop! Heart-rending drop!
He walks to an old gas station looking for help, and he finds Bob. They establish a rather tense and testy dialog as Michael tries to find a way to get home to his wife before his son enters the world.
Love Covers All is honest. When Michael is having the worst night of his life, he thinks of his Christian faith, but refuses to look to God for help. This prompts Bob, an unbeliever with anger toward God, to question why Michael pretends to have faith. But as low as Michael has fallen, God has a peak coming that will change his life and his family forever.
This movie is a story of forgiveness, redemption, second chances, faith, love and trust. With credible characters that viewers are sure to connect with, the story is a wake up call for believers to do more than wear the nametag “Christian.” It is a clarion call for us to live our faith even in our worst nightmares.
Love Covers All will convict and encourage, inspire and motivate. It will be available on DVD October 7 at afastore.net or 877-927-4917. Learn more at here.
Review by Teddy James
23 Blast CAUTION
23 Blast is a high school football movie based on a true story in the mid 1990s. Travis Freeman was a gifted Kentucky athlete who goes blind at age 12, but is able to continue to play center on his high school team. He is portrayed as a young man of faith. The themes of perseverance, overcoming fear and clinging to faith are admirable.
Unfortunately, cautions include cleavage twice, one teen and one adult; a few scenes featuring football players shirtless; three uses of the d-word and two uses of hell as a profanity; and teen drinking in a few scenes.
Review by Randall Murphree
Slugs and bugs
Every parent has experienced the joy of a children’s CD playing on repeat in the car, whether it is the latest fad of “Let it Go” or one of the classics such as “Wheels on the Bus.” Randall Goodgame steps into that vein of music with Sing the Bible with Slugs and Bugs, an 18-track album that turns the Bible into songs children can and will want to sing.
The purpose of each song is to instill Scripture in the heart of the listener. While the repetition may drive parents to the brink, it will help children hide God’s Word in their hearts. Each song brings a rhythm and silliness that will attract children’s attention and encourage them to sing along. It might do the parents some good to sing along with their children.
Sing the Bible with Slugs and Bugs is available here.
Review by Teddy James
Documentary seeks to topple evolution
The main pillars of evolutionary science are challenged by a new documentary released by Creation Ministries International.
Directed by Gary Bates and Dr. Robert Carter, Evolution’s Achilles’ Heels: Exposing Evolution’s Fatal Flaws is a well-crafted and engaging exposé of some of the most glaring difficulties connected with the prevailing Darwinian worldview.
The film examines the issues of natural selection, genetics, the origin of life, the fossil record, the geologic record, radiometric dating, cosmology and the ethical implications of Darwinian materialism.
Fifteen experts are interviewed on the subject matter, and the superb use of graphics and animation help even the novice gain a basic understanding of complex matters.
God’s word is honored throughout, demonstrating a firm belief in the biblical accounts of Creation, the Fall, and the worldwide Flood. As the documentary begins to wind down, the gospel is interwoven into the film’s powerful message.
Evolution’s Achilles’ Heels will have its world premiere October 17 in Atlanta.
Click here for more information. DVDs will be available October 20.
Review by Ed Vitagliano
Women of the Word
Today our culture puts great emphasis on exercising the body for improvement of physical, mental and emotional health. Similarly, Jen Wilkin’s book Women of the Word: How to Study the Bible with Both Our Hearts and Our Minds is a woman’s biblical training guide for “the exercise of mind-before-heart, God-before-self.” In it she offers a plan that will help women study the Bible on their own, learn to see God more clearly and interpret and apply truth effectively in their lives.
In Women of the Word, Wilkin takes the reader through the “Five Ps of Sound Study” that will help develop a deeper knowledge of God and lead to an abiding love for Him. This book is a tool that will help women’s minds to be trained and hearts to be transformed.
Jen Wilkin is a writer, speaker and teacher of women’s Bible studies. Learn more about Women of the Word at crossway.org.
Review by Debbie Fischer
‘Left Behind’ returns to big screen
The Left Behind series of novels (16 titles published 1995-2007) sold more than 63 million copies and inspired a series of three films in the early 2000s. Few Christian titles have matched the reach of this popular series coauthored by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins.
Now, Left Behind: The End Begins, a new film based on the first book, will debut in theaters October 3. Paul Lalonde, who with his brother Peter produced the first Left Behind film in 2000, is a writer/producer of the new release. “This one is much more focused,” Lalonde told AFA Journal. “We have better character development, and we hope it will reach beyond the choir, [i.e., appeal to viewers beyond the Christian community].”
The story line lends itself well to the fast-paced, action-flick production, and it has a lot of edge-of-your-seat appeal. Lalonde said both LaHaye and Jenkins visited the set, and both have been very supportive. It is their hope that this independent production will again demonstrate to Hollywood that faith-based and family films can hold their own in the marketplace. The only cautions AFA would note are a couple of words we wouldn’t want to teach our children and some mildly immodest dress.
Review by Randall Murphree
Sing Over Me: The Dennis Jernigan Story
This documentary relates the gripping story of Christian singer and songwriter Dennis Jernigan, his coming to faith in Christ as a young boy, his fall into homosexual relationships as a young adult, and his eventual deliverance from that lifestyle by God’s grace. Jernigan’s journey is a dramatic and revealing illustration of how sin and the lies of the deceiver can overwhelm us and lead us down a path of utter destruction.
Jernigan is transparent and humble as he retraces the events in his life – frustrations, fears, loneliness. His references to homosexual relationships are not explicit. Still, parents should be advised to consider whether they want young children to hear this story. Fortunately, Jernigan was delivered from the power of sin, he married his wife Melissa in 1983, and they now have nine children.
Among his better known worship songs are “We Will Worship the Lamb of Glory,” “You Are My All in All,” and “When the Night is Falling.” For three decades now, through his testimony and his music, Jernigan has seen thousands leave a life of spiritual bondage and come to freedom in Christ. Sing Over Me is available at dennisjernigan.com.
Review by Randall Murphree
‘Gr8 Relationships’ video course
Life is filled with relationships that provide great fulfillment and joy. But even the best relationships require work and can be difficult at times because we are imperfect creatures in need of a Savior. Thankfully, God has given us, in His Word, a clear picture of the problem as well as the perfect solution.
Gr8 Relationships is a biblically based online video course with the purpose of honoring and glorifying God. Led by Hermann Eben and Paul Moore in a relaxed, talk radio format, it will inspire and equip viewers toward more satisfying relationships, free from selfishness and bitterness. Simply stated, “When God’s principles are applied, they work for any relationship.”
The course is offered in three options and is suitable for high school through adult age groups.
Eben and Moore’s Gr8Relationships radio show can be heard on AFR Talk, Sunday from 10:30-11:00 a.m. CT and on AFR Music, Saturday from 1:00-1:30 a.m. CT.
More information can be found at gr8relationships.com.
Review by Debbie Fischer
