In light of the three year anniversary of shooting Prodigal Sons in New York City, we’re posting it here in high definition for your viewing pleasure. It is my favorite film of the Modern Parables series for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the theology behind the parable itself. Since the film was released, Tim Keller (whose sermons influenced the script) has published his excellent Prodigal God. And, for more scholarly study, I still think Kenneth Bailey’s Poet & Peasant and Through Peasant Eyes is one of the most insightful books on the subject. I hope you enjoy the film. [To turn HD on or off, press pause and click the HD button in the upper right corner of the screen.]
One important aspect of Modern Parables is the individual study materials found in the Study Book. In an attempt to supplement personal study, we’re now offering a set of downloads of all six films designed specifically for participants who either are going through or have gone through the class. These downloads include: 1) all six MP films, 2) special chapters on understanding and living the parables, and 3) questions for use in family study. We’re pricing the films to make them affordable to individuals: $10 for all six films in SD quality and $6 for all six films in iPod quality. If you’ve been a part of an MP class (or you’re a regular follower of our site), you can go to our participant download page and use this code (2B6B8D) to purchase the films for your personal use.* We hope you enjoy them!
*These downloads are for personal or family use only, not for teaching a class. To purchase a set licensed for teaching, go to modernparable.com.
We are in the process of creating some additional study materials for people going through the Modern Parables class. In doing so, we updated two of our initial essays on “Understanding the Parables” and “Living the Parables” (currently only found in the Modern Parables’ Leaders’ Guide and at moderparable.com). If you are interested, you can download both essays here. These additional study materials provide an overview of the theology behind the parables as well our perspective on their intersection with the Kingdom of God.
When we first created our iPod/iPhone versions of the Modern Parables films, the iPod nano had just been released. To match that format, we encoded our films at 320×180 resolution. We recently decided it was time to update the quality of our iPod versions (available for free whenever you purchase a Modern Parables study indigital format). We increased the resolution to match the ubiquitous iPhone/iPod Touch screen size (480×270 in 16:9). To mark our update, we’re offering the complete iPod/iPhone version of our film Hidden Treasureas a free download. If you haven’t seen it yet, we hope you enjoy it: it’s a light comedy in the vein of Frank Capra. [Turn turn HD on or off, press pause and then click the HD button in the upper right of the screen.]
When we re-uploaded the trailers to Vimeo, we also re-encoded them at a higher resolution for the new iPod Touch and iPhone. If you’d like to carry the six MP trailers around with you to show them to people, you can download them for free.
This little film has continued to have a lot of personal connections for me. After shooting it, I continued to stay in touch with the lead actor, Josh Childs, a neat and talented guy who also has a desire to produce and write faith-based films. The other connection is the baby in the film: I [...]
When we first shot this film, I believe Tim Keller was still working on his book The Prodigal God. I heard through a close friend of mine who knows him that this was his favorite parable, so I listened to one of his sermons on it. Alongside the work of Kenneth Bailey, his view of the [...]
This is the only documentary in the Modern Parables series thus far, and in a sense it paved the way for our doing the Seek Social Justice series. Just the other day I was reading through Mark with my daughters and we came to this passage, and I realized how much my understanding of it [...]
It shows how unexpected Jesus was that He would use an old widow to teach the principle of persistence in prayer. And yet I find in my own life when I’m facing something particularly difficult, it’s encouraging to think about this particular parable. (Read the original in Luke 18:1-8 or watch the full film online [...]
I think this is the quirkiest of all our Modern Parables films. Since the original parable is a bit quirky, too – a lying farm manager is rewarded in the end – it probably fits. For some reason this one is the favorite of my 6 and 8 year old girls. I would have thought [...]
