URL: https://thepromiseglenrose.com/
Discount code: SCORECARD50
Faith, we are told in Scripture, “is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Yet, somewhat paradoxically, faith has, for many of us, become an intellectual pursuit. To grow in faith, we have Bible “studies.” We attend weekly lectures (er, sermons). We read commentaries on the variations of translations.
That is all well and good. But our faith is also experiential because it is grounded in real events, real people experiencing real life.
St. Paul explained in his first letter to the Corinthians that our faith is meaningless if the events of the Bible did not actually happen in real life. “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.”
As Easter approaches, I frankly grow weary of the obligatory dialogues on the medical realities of the horror of crucifixion. There will be podcasts galore marking the events of the Holy Week, putting them in the cultural, religious, political, and economic contexts of the First Century.
Our intellectual faith can get a little … tiring.
There is a yearning to simply experience the events leading up to and following Jesus’ crucifixion. It is why I like taking groups to Israel (check out our 2025 trip). I like seeing the Judean Hill Country teeming with wildflowers the way Jesus would have seen it in those days. I like walking people through the ancient cities and along the banks of Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee).
Not everyone can visit Israel or even wants to, but that doesn’t mean the stories cannot be brought to life.
That is why I so dearly appreciate that for nearly four decades, “The Promise” in Glen Rose has faithfully tried to bring the stories to life. While most known for their annual fall performances, spring brings The Promise of Passover to the purpose-built outdoor amphitheater.
Frankly, I am inclined not to like such things. For a long time, the thought of religious-based musicals would send me scrambling for a commentary written by a long-dead theologian.
Yet, their faithful effort to joyfully tell the stories we usually read … and boldly proclaim that these things really happened … is immensely rewarding. The musical moves through the Gospel’s best-known stories, bringing into focus the uncomfortable necessity of Jesus’ crucifixion … and the joy of His resurrection.
The promise of “The Promise” is not that you will be transported to Broadway but rather that your joy at Easter will be renewed. (Get 50% off the ticket price with the code SCORECARD50.)
In that letter to the Corinthians noted above, Paul encourages them in their faith by stringing together the promises of Isaiah and Hosea: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
If we believe that promise, we should each do more to proclaim His story everywhere we go.
