*mark ( a solo performance of the Gospel of Mark.)

I just discovered a prayer of mine from 1994 was answered! 

Tonight we saw George Drance of Magis Theatre Company perform *mark ( a solo performance of the Gospel of Mark.) at the Salvation Army's Theatre 315. It was brilliantly directed by our friend, Luann Purcell Jennings, and marvelously brought to life by George. I've been to Israel three times, and Joyce has been five times. Luann directed George to draw First Century Israel on the entire floor of the theatre in chalk as the play moves along. It was a very simple method of giving us another tour of Israel, this time with Jesus and his disciples!

So now to the miracle: We were told that George was the pastor of Ellen Stewart who ran La MaMa, a downtown theatre space known for its avant-guarde work, not as a haven for Christians. I interviewed Ellen for a paper in grad school, and I told George I was delighted to hear he was her pastor! He indicated it wasn't really an official pastoral role, but I got the idea that he had an ongoing witness to her in some way. My interview was in 1994, and I'm certain that I prayed for her. Two years later George was able to speak into her soul. Glory to God! 

Yesterday Joyce had an epiphany while we were in a small group prayer meeting: Corey ten Boom said life looks like the back of a tapestry. It's messy and certainly not a thing of beauty. It's not until we're with the Lord in the New Jerusalem that we'll see the beauty of what the Lord was weaving together. Joyce observed that sometimes on earth the tapestry is turned over a bit, so we get a glimpse of the work in progress. I feel like that happened for me a bit tonight! Glory to God!

*mark is running through April 29. Don't miss it if you're in the area!

And pray that your prayers from decades ago are answered, too!

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I was performing I Dreamed I Was Free in 1994 for the first time. It tells the story of Quaker abolitionist John Woolman, who spoke against slavery a century before our Civil War.

The Power of On-Site Intercession

Intercessors for America ran this piece today:

Lord, direct us to pray with Your authority where You place us, and where we gather to pray, multiply the effectiveness of our prayers!

The importance of traveling to key sites to pray was reinforced the other night when we saw a solo performance in New York City called *mark ( a solo performance of the Gospel of Mark.). The actor, George Drance, draws a map of first century Israel on the stage floor in chalk, and takes us on the journey with Jesus and his disciples. It struck me that Jesus went out of his way to take his disciples to Caesarea Philippi. We’ve been there several times, and there are ancient altars to one pagan god after the next. The biggie is a tribute to the god Pan in a massive cave known as the Gates of Hell. That was where Peter declared, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God!”

[Click to read the whole article...]

Here's the video they posted:

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I performed a scene from my one-man play, The Acts at Caesarea Philippi.

Joyce in Frankfurt

During EuroTour18 Joyce was invited to speak in Frankfurt. She's translated to German by our friend Thorsten M.

Here's a film in which one of Rich's colleagues was translated to German: www.RichDrama.com/YourLanguage.

The photo is of a trip to the Rhine Valley we took after Joyce's message.

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I play a lead in Providence, which I like to call a feature-length music video.

Songs of Revival

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Springing to Action

On today's Headline Prayer Live we covered a great number of topics facing America and the world today, including two articles Joyce and I wrote.

Here's Joyce's:

Prayer for the Lost

Lord, point those who need salvation toward the mercies of the Savior. Let them mourn their sin and turn to Jesus for forgiveness and restoration. In His Name. 

As we move from the blessed Holy Week, I am more acutely aware that millions do not yet know the love of God and the grace of Jesus. Millions passed through this past week unaware of the precipice upon which their souls teeter. For me, the joy of Resurrection Sunday is tinged with sadness for these many whose eyes are blinded to the horror of sin and its effects.

[Click for the whole article...]

And here's mine:

Film Inspires Prayers for Persecuted Christians
Lord, use this film about some who were killed in A.D. 203 for being Christians, to target our prayers for those persecuted today.
A film about Perpetua — who was martyred for her faith about 1,820 years ago — is now available to watch online and with your church. Not only does it bring to life the first book we know was written by a woman, but it also shines a spotlight on the 360 million people being persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ today.

[Click for the whole article...]

My article is mostly an introduction to two videos of interviews. The first is with some of the creatives behind The Diary of Perpetua:

Nooshig Luz Salvador, whose grandparents survived the Armenian Genocide, is glad the film is giving her a platform to talk about today’s Armenian Genocide in Azerbaijan. She and Father Andreas Garabedian did an interview to talk about the siege of an Armenian village that has lasted more than 120 days:

Nooshig sent a link to an organization that empowers you to send letters to our leaders urging them to stop the genocide. 

Here's the program: 

And here's the entire film followed by a discussion with the cast and crew: 

You can also order a DVD with extras from Still Small Theatre's Store, and also set up a screening in your area with a representative of Open Doors International, to help connect the dots to modern persecution.

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I Dreamed I Was Free tells the story of Quaker abolitionist John Woolman, who spoke against slavery a century before our Civil War.

Armenian Genocide Today

I recently did an interview with Nooshig Salvador -- who plays a key role in The Diary of Perpetua -- and her priest Father Andreas Garabedian about today’s Armenian Genocide in Azerbaijan.

Appreciate your prayers for the cessation of this atrocity. 

You can watch The Diary of Perpetua in its entirety and a video of interviews with Salvador and other creatives now on www.HeadlinePrayer.org. On April 11 Joyce and I led Intercessors for America in praying for this and other articles, including one Joyce wrote. You can watch it now.

You can share this page using www.RichDrama.com/ArmenianGenocideToday.

Screenshot from an interview filmed by Laura Mae.

A Blessed Resurrection Day!

A blessed Resurrection Day to all!!!

The same One who delivered the people of Israel out of bondage delivers all who receive the blood He shed on the cross as the perfect Lamb of God on the lintels of their heart!

On Good Friday Joyce and I focused on the words of the Passion, so last night we focused on the imagery and watched The Passion of the Christ by Mel Gibson without the subtitles. Only hearing Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin helped us really see what the Lord did for us, so that we might be set free!

I find it easiest to understand the Christian doctrine that "Heaven" is a state in which angels now, and men hereafter, are perpetually employed in praising God . . . . To see what the doctrine really means, we must suppose ourselves to be in perfect love with God—drunk with, drowned in, dissolved by, the delight which, far from remaining pent up within ourselves as incommunicable, hence hardly tolerable, bliss, flows out from us incessantly again in effortless and perfect expression, our joy no more separable from the praise in which it liberates and utters itself than the brightness a mirror receives is separable from the brightness it sheds.
—C.S. Lewis from Reflections on the Psalms
The C.S. Lewis Bible

The Lord has been speaking to me through the time that He wakes me in the night. Last night I saw it was 12:46, and I felt like He was directing me to a chapter and verse, but what Book? He let me go back to sleep but as soon as I woke He reminded me, and I knew it was Isaiah, but there aren’t 46 verses in that chapter. Immediately I saw it was verses 4 to 6. What a perfect passage to encourage us to make known his deeds at Passover and Resurrection Day!

Pray that many will step into Eternal Life today! 

 

Joyce and I will be on Headline Prayer Live on Tuesday at 12:15 p.m. Eastern. To get an email reminder that morning sign up at www.RichDrama.com/Prayer.
 

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I released “Pentecost: Beyond the Imagination,” a scene from my one-man play, The Acts (which includes the Resurrection) at www.RichDrama.com/Pentecost.

Good Friday

Joyce pulled together artwork from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and we gave voice to the images to tell the story of Good Friday to Westchester Chapel: 

Pray that many are moved closer to the Lord and into relationship with Him if they don't know Him yet.

Images from The Metropolitan Museum of Art used with Open Access permission. Scripture adapted from the King James Version.

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I released “Pentecost: Beyond the Imagination,” a scene from my one-man play, The Acts, at www.RichDrama.com/Pentecost.

Ambassador Theatre Plus All the Rest!

We recently gathered to pray over all 40 of the Broadway Theatres on one day! Here's one of them:

Plans are in the works to do it again. If you're in the NYC area and are interested in joining us, sign up for an invitation by joining our NYC list at www.RichDrama.com/Updates.

www.RichDrama.com/PrayOverBroadwayLive

 

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See the rest of Olympic champion Eric Liddell's Chariots of Fire story in Beyond the Chariots. Watch it online and book a live performance. 

Filtering News Through a Biblical Lens

Joyce wrote this article, about the founder of one of the few news sources we trust these days. It ran on www.HeadlinePrayer.org recently:

Lord, thank You for Floyd Brown and The Western Journal. Please prosper his efforts to provide news with a Christian worldview. Amen.

Floyd Brown, founder and former publisher of The Western Journal and author of several books, joined Kris Kubal, IFA’s chief program officer; and Camille Solberg, IFA’s former director of government and media, on Pray with America’s Leaders on Feb. 2, 2023. They discussed the topic of presenting news from a Christian worldview.

[Click to read the entire article...]

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I play a lead in Providence, a feature-length music video about the intricate ways the Lord is involved in our lives.

The Call of God Upon the IFA Call Team, Part 2

Part 1 of this article explains what the Call Team is. Here's the rest of the story:

Lord, thank You for our wonderful IFA Call Team and all the ways You’re answering their prayers for our intercessors! We thank You for all the praise reports and prayers posted on Part 1 of this article. Breathe into those and our prayers prompted today, Lord.

IFA’s Call Team reaches out to our intercessors to thank them for their support and offer to pray for them. Read how the team was formed and about two other Call Team members in Part 1 of this article.

[Click to read the whole article...]

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I Dreamed I Was Free tells the story of Quaker abolitionist John Woolman, who spoke against slavery a century before our Civil War.