TV and film director Dallas Jenkins has forever etched a name for himself in Hollywood history with his record-breaking creation of “The Chosen,” the Jesus-themed series that has taken the world by storm.

But Jenkins recently recognized another dream of his: bringing author Barbara Robinson’s 1972 novel “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” to the big screen. The film by the same name, which released Nov. 8 in theaters nationwide, was very literally an answer to Jenkins’ long-uttered prayers.

The director recently appeared on “Higher Ground With Billy Hallowell” to share how his faith and the power of prayer led to some truly incredible events and, ultimately, the making of that film.

According to Jenkins, he simply felt called by God to make the movie.

“The difference between my own desire and God’s desire … one of the best tests of that is … when you first have an idea or … something God puts on your heart, and if it just doesn’t let go of you … I think that’s one of the best signs that it could be a calling from God,” Jenkins said. “And there’s others as well.”

He said he immediately knew after reading the novel that he was “born to make this movie.”

Hear Jenkins share the powerful story:

“I just said, ‘I believe this is a movie that I was born to make,'” Jenkins said.

He immediately began reaching out to the rights holders to share his vision and heart for the movie, but he soon discovered they were already working with another studio.

Jenkins was saddened but undissuaded.

“Every year, I would check in,” he said. “Every year, I would bug them, and every year the answer was the same.”

During that time, Jenkins also did something else: he created a recurring calendar reminder on his phone and laptop that included just three words: “Pray for Pageant.” It was a reminder for him to take time each and every week to pray for God to open a pathway to make the movie.

“I’d love to tell you that I prayed the holy prayer of, ‘Whatever God’s will is, I’ll be happy with,'” he quipped. “I was praying against this movie being made by anyone else. I was praying that God would let me have it, and I’m being a little lighthearted, but, ultimately, I really did believe God was putting this on my heart.”

After five years, Jenkins found out the studio looking to make “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” wasn’t working out. Sadly, though, yet another big studio jumped into the mix, once again axing his ability to get the rights to the film.

“I went and told my wife, and we were so upset, and we had tears in our eyes,” Jenkins recapped. “And I really felt like it was over, and I went to my computer to sit down and get some work done and, ‘ping,’ [the calendar invite pops up] taunting me, ‘Pray for Pageant.'”

He continued, “And what are the odds? What are the odds? … I grabbed the mouse, I moved the cursor up to the delete button, and I was gonna delete this prayer prompt, because I said, ‘I can’t do it anymore. I can’t keep getting my hopes up. If this isn’t for me, I need to stop.'”

But Jenkins said he felt God telling him not to click the delete button and to keep hoping.

“I wanted to delete it and God just wouldn’t let me,” he said, noting that he opted to once again pray.

Jenkins was already working on “The Chosen” at that time, with the series quickly blowing up into a phenomenon. Still, his thirst to make “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” progressed.

Eventually, he reached back out to the rights owners and learned the film was again stalled. And that’s when the story truly gets interesting.

“He says, ‘You know what, Dallas? It’s kind of a funny coincidence you reached out, ’cause just last week, the studio forgot to renew the rights. We got them back. They’re asking us to renew, but we haven’t been happy. They’ve been taking too long. And just a couple of days ago, my mom reached out to me and said, ‘Have you seen this show called ‘The Chosen?’ and I said, ‘Oh, that’s funny, the creator of the show is always bugging me to watch it, and always bugging me for the rights to this movie.'”

The rights holder’s mother, upon hearing this, told her son to give Jenkins the rights and the rest is, well, history. Jenkins was granted the rights, the film was made, and it has now grossed more than $25 million at the box office.

Jenkins believes it’s a remarkable testament to the power of prayer, trust, and God’s timing.
Sources:BREAKING CHRISTIAN NEWS

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A school in Finland has cancelled a concert of Handel’s “Messiah” performed by the Finnish Baroque Orchestra and the Helsinki Chamber Choir over concerns the recital’s Christian themes might offend some students.

Officials with the school hosting the concert in question made the decision after learning about a case in Hämeenlinna, a Finnish city, where a child objected to songs about the life of Jesus performed at an undisclosed school. Ultimately, the National Non-Discrimination and Equality Tribunal decided the non-Christian pupils should be compensated 1,500 euros (or $1,562) for their offense, local outlets reported.

However, on Nov. 19, the city’s Education and Welfare Committee voted 6-5 no payment was due to the offended school students.

The show in Hämeenlinna was one of three performances based on faith-filled themes. The first recital was held in 2022, with subsequent recitals in 2023 and 2024. At least one non-religious student watching the 2022 show was purportedly offended.

Finnish news outlet Helsingin Sanomat reported the “religiosity of the concert was not announced in advance, but [the school] apologized after the concert.” It was only the first show accused of being “discriminatory.”

A hymn was removed from the second performance in 2023 and some apparently voiced concerns about a parish choir at the third event.

“The board also found that the educational institution had neglected its obligation to promote equality,” Helsingin Sanomat reported of the choir singing at the performance. “It held this view, inter alia, because the educational institution did not inform that the choir’s performance had been organized jointly with the congregation.”

Given the experience in Hämeenlinna, the organizers of the yet-to-be performed concert cancelled the event, citing issues with the religious overtones in the music.

“The atmosphere in the chamber choir and baroque orchestra has been shocked by the decision,” Laura Kajander, executive director of the Baroque Orchestra, reportedly said, noting it was the first time she was aware such a cancellation happened. “If concerts are cancelled, it is the children who suffer.”

It’s worth noting some 65% of Finns still identify as Christians, belonging to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, one of two national churches in the country, Christian Network Europe reported. Additionally, 32% said they don’t identify with any religious group, per the U.S. Department of State.

All of this comes as former Finnish PM Päivi Räsänen is embroiled in what has become a years-long legal battle after she shared a Bible verse on social media.

She weighed in on the compensation conflict in Hämeenlinna and the recent concert cancellation, arguing the decision to remove the performance from the schedule defied common sense.

“Compensation payment of 1,500 euros for discrimination when a non-religious child accidentally heard a song about Jesus,” she wrote in an X post on Oct. 31. “Has the use of common sense disappeared? At the same time, schools celebrate Halloween with witches and zombie characters. How can a song about Jesus be perceived as so dangerous?”
Sources:faithwire

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ന്യൂയോര്‍ക്ക്: യേശു ക്രിസ്തുവിൻ്റെ പരസ്യജീവിതത്തെ കേന്ദ്രമാക്കിയുള്ള ഹിറ്റ് സീരീസായ ദി ചോസണിൻ്റെ ‘അന്ത്യ അത്താഴ’ ഭാഗത്തിന്റെ ഷൂട്ടിംഗ് പൂര്‍ത്തിയായി. സീസൺ 5 ൻ്റെ ചിത്രീകരണം ഔദ്യോഗികമായി അവസാനിച്ചതായും പ്രൊഡക്ഷൻ ടീം എഡിറ്റിംഗ് ഘട്ടത്തിലേക്ക് കടന്നിരിക്കുകയാണെന്നും ചോസണ്‍ ടീം പറയുന്നു. 2025-ന്റെ തുടക്കത്തിൽ റിലീസ് ഉണ്ടാകുമെന്നാണ് നിലവില്‍ പുറത്തുവരുന്ന വിവരങ്ങള്‍. ദി ചോസണിലെ അഭിനേതാക്കൾ അന്ത്യ അത്താഴ ചിത്രീകരണത്തിനായി ഒരു നീണ്ട മേശയ്ക്ക് ചുറ്റും ഒത്തുകൂടുന്നത് ഉള്‍പ്പെടെയുള്ള ദൃശ്യങ്ങളുമായി ഷൂട്ടിംഗിന്റെ ദൃശ്യങ്ങള്‍ ചോസണ്‍ ടീം നേരത്തെ പുറത്തുവിട്ടിരിന്നു.

ദി ചോസണിൻ്റെ സീസൺ 5-ൻ്റെ റിലീസ് തീയതി ഇതുവരെ പ്രഖ്യാപിച്ചിട്ടില്ലെങ്കിലും, അത് 2025 വസന്തകാലത്ത് പുറത്തിറക്കുമെന്നാണ് സൂചന. എന്നാല്‍ ഇക്കാര്യം പൂര്‍ണ്ണമായി സ്ഥിരീകരിച്ചിട്ടില്ല. കഴിഞ്ഞ സീസണുകൾക്കു സമാനമാണെങ്കില്‍ എട്ട് എപ്പിസോഡുകളും ഉൾക്കൊള്ളുന്ന വിധത്തില്‍ വിവിധ തവണകളായിട്ടായിരിക്കും സീരീസ് തിയേറ്ററുകളിൽ റിലീസ് ചെയ്യുക. പൊതുജനങ്ങളില്‍ നിന്നും ധനസമാഹരണം നടത്തി (ക്രൌഡ് ഫണ്ടിംഗ്) നിര്‍മ്മിച്ച ദി ചോസണ്‍ ലോകത്ത് ഏറ്റവുമധികം ആളുകള്‍ കണ്ടിട്ടുള്ള പരമ്പരകളില്‍ ഒന്നാണ്.

ഏതാണ്ട് 60 കോടി ആളുകളാണ് ഈ പരമ്പരയ്ക്കു പ്രേക്ഷകരായിട്ടുള്ളത്. ലോക ചരിത്രത്തില്‍ ഏറ്റവുമധികം തര്‍ജ്ജമ ചെയ്യപ്പെട്ട പരമ്പര എന്ന പദവിക്ക് അരികിലാണ് ‘ദി ചോസണ്‍’ ഇപ്പോള്‍. അറുനൂറിലധികം ഭാഷകളില്‍ സീരീസ് എത്തിക്കുവാനുള്ള ശ്രമത്തിലാണ് അണിയറ പ്രവര്‍ത്തകര്‍. ചോസണ്‍ സീരീസിന്റെ സബ്ടൈറ്റില്‍ മലയാളത്തിലും പുറത്തിറക്കിയിരിന്നു. ആദ്യത്തെ മൂന്നു സീരീസിന്റെ മലയാളം സബ്ടൈറ്റിലാണ് നിലവില്‍ ലഭ്യമായിട്ടുള്ളത്. നാലാമത്തെ സീരീസിന്റെ സബ്ടൈറ്റില്‍ ഒരുക്കങ്ങള്‍ പുരോഗമിക്കുകയാണ്.
കടപ്പാട് :പ്രവാചക ശബ്ദം

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