Noah Has a Message for Us

Just last week, I was startled to spot a local retail store’s oversized outdoor displays enticing shoppers to make the store their Halloween Headquarters. It featured the predictable, grotesque cast of characters. I sometimes resent how capitalism seems to urge retailers to begin pushing seasons earlier and earlier.

Fortunately for me, this time, the bizarre Halloween display stunned me into realizing how soon we’ll be in the middle of my favorite holiday season – Christmas! Which brings me to begin anticipating it, even though the temperature reached 90 degrees today. Never mind. Christmas is coming.

One of my most meaningful Christmas traditions in recent years has been to travel with family or friends to Branson, Missouri, and attend SIGHT& SOUND Theatre’s (S&S) epic Bible extravaganzas live onstage. My first encounter with S&S was seeing their portrayal of Noah and his Ark. It was nothing short of amazing.

But first, there’s an opportunity for all of us to meet Noah in the coming days. Yes, for seven days only beginning Thursday, September 18, S&S’s NOAH is sailing to the big screen for a limited run.

It is a phenomenal telling of this familiar Bible story filmed in front of a live audience. You’ll feel as if you’re traveling inside the Ark with Noah and his family and two of every kind of animal you can imagine.

Of course, Noah’s real-life experience occurred against the backdrop of a culture in which men had turned away from God and embraced pure evil. Isn’t Noah trying to tell us something? Something that should shake our nation awake today? Our nation … and God’s church!

FYI, be confident that S&S sticks to the Bible. SIGHT & SOUND was founded by a Christian couple, Glenn and Shirley Eshelman, almost 50 years ago, and the same family still directs the ministry with firm commitment to maintaining biblical truths.

Back to a bit more of the history of S&S: Glenn Eshelman grew up on a dairy farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and S&S’s home base is in Lancaster. S&S’s Branson stage is an exact replica of their home stage in Rooks, Pennsylvania.

Speaking of an S&S stage, it’s a challenge to describe. It’s 300 feet long. Stop and think about that for a moment … 300 feet equals how many yards? You’re right! An S&S stage is the length of a football field! Yet it remarkably serves guests by using angled wrap-around wings to move the stage closer to the audience.

The stage has 40-foot-high sets and accommodates a cast of 45 actors, numerous live animals, elaborate costumes, and absolutely stunning special effects.

You’ll get a sense of that grand stage even in the theater this week. And you’ll get a sober reminder of Noah's message. (To see a trailer, find a theater, and order tickets, visit noahevent.com.)

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