In today's society many people are seeking hope. Academy Awards® winners Jon Voight, Richard Dreyfuss, Marcia Gay Harden, Lou Gossett, Jr., and hundreds of other actors have joined together to create The Word of Promise® Audio Bible, a dramatic audio theater production that offers hope and inspiration to listeners. After three years of production, the 90+ hour project has just released through Thomas Nelson in a special 79 CD box set collection, or 11 MP3 CD offering, with a bonus features DVD. Stand-alone New Testament and Old Testament editions are also available.

"It could be the most important evangelical event of the 21st century," says John Rhys-Davies (Lord of the Rings trilogy), who portrays King Saul in the Old Testament. "This Bible project, I think, is going to be the most important thing that I have ever done, or have ever been associated with."

Producer Carl Amari, known by many for his popular The Twilight Zone™ Radio Dramas, led The Word of Promise® endeavor and approached Cannes Award-winning JoBe Cerny to join him in 2006 as the director of the project. After 6,000 hours each of studio time, eight recording studios, and over 175,000 takes, they have completed what is arguably the most ambitious dramatization of the Bible ever taken.

"It feels like my entire career has been preparation for this one project," says Cerny. "When Carl called me to do it, it felt like the kind of call you wait your whole life to get."

Both Cerny and Amari are confident that Christian listeners will find exciting uses for the audio project, such as listening to the Bible on family road trips, downloading individual sections onto their mobile listening devices, enhancing their Bible study time, and using it as an evangelistic gift.

"We wanted every single moment to be exciting for the listener, like they were really there experiencing the parting of the Red Sea, Jonah and the whale, and Jesus' teachings," says Amari. "Since Christians can now experience the Bible on the go, it was crucial that we create our own film-quality sound effects, and accompany the performances with original music."

For The Word of Promise®, Cerny directed Hollywood heavyweights including Gary Sinise as David, Jesse McCartney as young David and Daniel, Stacy Keach as Paul and Job, Malcolm McDowell as Solomon, Joan Allen as Deborah, Lou Diamond Phillips as Mark, Luke Perry as Judas, Ernie Hudson as Peter, Sean Astin as Elihu, Harry Hamlin as Nehemiah, Jim Caviezel as Jesus, Martin Jarvis as the voice of God, and many more. He also led top Foley artists in creating gripping sound effects using both high-tech equipment and everyday items, such as raw chicken breasts thrown onto a cement slab for the plague of the frogs in Exodus.

"I have never before composed and conducted so many hours of music for one project," notes Italian composer Stefano Mainetti, who scored over 100 hours of original music for The Word of Promise® in Bulgaria and Rome.

"Carl and JoBe are approaching it with a seriousness and a passion that I think is admirable. They are literally trying to bring alive the New Testament and the Old Testament in a way that is engaging, thoughtful, and truly professional," notes actor Jason Alexander (Seinfeld) who voices Joseph. "It's actually being done with an integrity that I rather admire. That's why I was delighted to be a part of it."

Now you can be a part of the story by immersing yourself in God's Word. Access free downloads, ringtones and more to help you stay inspired throughout the week at www.ThomasNelson.com/TheWordofPromise.

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