Sunday, April 9 at 9:30am at the Great Passion Play Buffet with Coffee and Pastries.
Donations to benefit our non-profit with mission trips from groups in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Mississippi, and Nebraska. Praying for a great and safe riding season! Service Appreciation Night Returns on Opening Night
We are excited to announce our special service appreciation night happening on May 5, 2017. All military (active and vets), police, firefighter, first responders, and EMT can get FREE tickets to the Passion Play. Click here to get this offer! The rest of the family can get in for just $50 pass. A great savings for families and basically a buy one get one free if it's just you and your spouse! We are under $15,000 away from hitting our immediate $50,000 fundraising goal!
There are also other ways you can help! Consider donating the following for our summer mission trips: 1. Bunk beds 2. Bedding 3. Twin beds (13 is immediate need) If you are able to donate any of the items above or below, please call us at 479-253-9200. Any and all donations are appreciated and are tax-deductible! Our address is The Great Passion Play 935 Passion Play Rd. Eureka Springs, AR 72632
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. — John 3:16 (KJV) ![]() “The Passion Tree” tells the greatest story ever told. God’s Word never ends. His story never ends. And we are part of His story! There are a lot of hidden pictures and symbolism to find. See how many you can answer.
The story is told of a man who rejected God for years. His family followed Jesus, and one Christmas Eve while they were at church, something happened that changed his life forever. It was cold and snowy, and while he was sitting in his nice warm home, he heard a thump on his front window. Then there was another, and another. A flock of geese were lost and trying to find a safe place. They were worn out from wandering around in the cold and he wanted to help them, so he ran to his barn and turned on the lights so they would know where to go. But they wouldn’t go in where it was warm, so he tried putting seeds and food along the path to lead them to safety. He even tried to get behind them and shoo them in. But everything He did only scared them more. Finally he gave up, but he was so sad; he thought, “If only I could be like one of them. Then I could show them the way, and they wouldn’t be afraid of me.” Just then he heard the church bells ring, and understood what God had done for him. God came to earth as a tiny baby, Jesus. He became a man just like us to show all of us the Way. This Christmas Day as we give gifts to each other, we’ll offer Him our gifts of praise and honor, and thank Him for His wonderful gift to us. “For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes on Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 Today's Prayer God and Father, thank You for loving us and wanting us to know You. Thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to give us the way. What a gift! We give gifts to each other today because we want to show our love. How sad we would be if we went to all the trouble of giving a gift to someone and they wouldn’t even take it! Christmas Day shows You have given us the greatest gift of forgiveness and everlasting life. Thank You for Your gift, Jesus! Today's Activity: Each day of the calendar is a bigger picture of an ornament on “The Passion Tree.” Both tell the story of God’s plan for the world from Genesis to Revelation. Have the children locate their favorite event depicted on the Passion Tree and talk about one thing they learned about that story. Seek & Find Answer to the question above:#1 - The Tree - The tree represents the entire message. You’ll notice the tree is scaled much too large for the landscape. This is to illustrate the incomprehensible dimensions of God’s Word and His Plan for us. #2 - The Red Garland - The red garland that is woven throughout the tree never ends. It connects the ornaments and candles and represents what some have called “the crimson thread.” It symbolizes the blood of Christ. His life is woven through all history from eternity past to eternity future. #3 - The Story - The story begins in the paintings of the ornaments, starting at the lower left on the tree and chronologically follows the crimson garland coursing to the topper. There are 12 ornaments that show events in the Old Testament and 12 ornaments that illustrate events in the New Testament. #4 - The Crowns and Star - The red garland continues past the last ornament into the crown of thorns, which is now budding with life because Jesus is alive! At the top of the tree you’ll see a star representing the glory of God. The seven lights remind us of the perfection of God and His seven-fold nature. In the center of the crown of thorns there is a majestic crown that conveys the confident truth that Jesus is coming again and will reign, as KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS, forever and ever. #5 - Red Ornaments - Down the center of the tree, the red ornaments form a cross. Believing in Jesus and His sacrificial death on the cross is the only way to heaven. The Bible says, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12 NIV #6 - 33 Candles - There are 33 candles. Jesus was born and walked on earth for 33 years in the form of a man. You can see an image of Christ in each flame, which illustrates the fact that in this dark world, He is the only true Light. #7 - Map of the World - There are some people under the tree carrying the Light to others who are walking in darkness. The snow-covered landscape suggests a map of the entire globe because this Message is for every person on the face of the earth. #8 - John 3:16 - The reference is found in the stars next to the Baby Jesus ornament. God loves you and has prepared a way for you to live with Him in heaven! What do you see in the painting that can help us remember what Jesus has done for us? And I saw a great white throne, and I saw the one who was sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from His presence, but they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to the things written in the books, according to what they had done. — Revelation 20:11-12 (NLT)
God will finally have to deal with everyone who has chosen to disobey. He is the perfect Judge of right and wrong. He says the penalty for sin is death, but He doesn’t want anyone to die, so Jesus came to take our place. He is the only way we can escape Hell, the place where He will send the devil and his demons forever. Everyone who refuses God’s way will someday have to stand before the Great White Throne of God. (Revelation 20:11-12) Then they will not have any excuse for rejecting God’s Son, Jesus. If we believe in Jesus as God’s only way to Heaven, we will never have to stand at the Great White Throne. When we follow Him, we already have everlasting life, and our place will be at the Judgment Seat of Christ. He loves us and wants to be with us, so we never have any reason to fear His judgment, but II Corinthians 5: 9-10 says we should “…make it our goal to please Him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” Today's Prayer Thank You, God, for doing so much to keep us from having to die for our sins. Calvary’s cross, where You had to take on every sin of the world, must have been even more horrible than the lake of fire could be for us. Thank You for loving us so much. We give You our praise, Jesus, as our Christmas gift to You. Today's Activity: Tell the children you are going to have a time of praise and thanksgiving for God’s plan to save us. Ask each one to choose a song that praises Him. Then lead them in a time of prayer, encouraging each one to tell Him at least one thing for which they are thankful. Seek & Find Answer to the question in the painting above: The cross. Jesus sits on the Great White Throne with the cross behind Him. Do you see the red comets shooting out from the cross? There are there to remind us of His sacrifice for us. There is no "Seek and Find" in today's painting. What would you add if you were the artist? And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. — 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 (NLT)
God’s plan is still playing out. For many believers, life on earth will end and they will move on to Heaven. But for those who are alive when He comes, here is what will happen. God’s trumpet will sound, and Jesus Christ will come in the clouds. He will come with a shout and call Christians who have died to rise from their graves. Then, Christians who are alive will be raised up in the sky, right to where He is! Does that make you want to praise God? Do you want to say, “Thank You” to think that we will never be separated again when He comes? We will see Him face to face when He calls His children to be by His side. Then, in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, we will be changed. We will have new bodies that are made for eternity – never to sin or be sick or die. Are you His child? Do you belong to Him? Are you excited about spending eternity with the One who gave His life so we can live forever? Today's Prayer Lord, You tell us Jesus will come back when we aren’t expecting Him. When He comes, we’ll probably be living like any other day. Please help us to watch faithfully for You, so we aren’t taken by surprise. Please help us be ready to welcome You with great joy. Today's Activity: Ask the children what they think they will do on their first day in Heaven. Have them draw a picture of it. Seek & Find Answer to the question in the painting above: There is no “Seek & Find” in today’s painting. What would you add if you were the artist? |
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