Christian Review Magazine Issue 1 - Nov/Dec 2014 | Page 24

DVD
REVIEW
Picture © Christos Georghiou - Fotolia.com

Title:

GOD CAME NEAR
Rating:

Starring:

Max Lucado
Written by:

Max Lucado
Directed by:

Tom Newman
Genre:

Christmas
Running Time:

168 minutes

MPAA Rating:

NR

Released by:

Bridgestone Multimedia
Group
Reviewed by:

Christian St John

22 > CHRISTIAN REVIEW

C

hristmas. A time of year for family
to come together and exchange
gifts, eat and drink, sing carols ,
and snuggle up in front of a fire to watch
holiday movies.
But for believers, Christmas is so much
more… or at least it should be. It’s the time
when we celebrate the birth of our Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ. And as Max
Lucado reminds us in God Came Near, Jesus
is God’s greatest gift to us all!
Filmed at Blockley Church in England, God
Came Near is a six part series in which Max
Lucado shares stories and insights on the
season of Advent. Throughout the six
episodes, Max Lucado acts as narrator and
storyteller, and guides the viewer through
such topics as miracles, hope, love, joy, and
peace, as they pertain to The Nativity.
Anyone who knows the works of Max
Lucado will already know not to expect a
deep work of theology. Yes, this series is
theologically correct, but Max’s style is
more to gently remind the viewer of the
wonderful blessing and gift of Jesus, as

opposed to browbeating them with hard
facts, figures, and contextual arguments.
Max Lucado knows Christmas, and if
there’s anyone qualified to remind us about
the truth of Christmas, it’s Max - after all he
has written many best selling and beloved
Christmas books and stories. Max is a
natural storyteller, which more than helps,
given the fact that he is onscreen narrating
for most of the series’ running time.
God Came Near is well produced - The
picture, sound, visuals, and music are all
fine, so no worries in this department.
This six disc set comes with a discussion
guide/devotional book. Each episode r [