8 reasons to try group travel tours

As you are looking at your next vacation, you have two options: You can do it all yourself. Or you could sign up for one of many group travel tours with a travel company. While the DIY travel approach has some advantages, there are far more upsides to group travel than you might realize.

Here are eight reasons you should try traveling with a group:

1. The planning details won’t be so overwhelming.

Booking lodging, transportation, excursions and flights can be a lot of work, especially in foreign countries that you have never been to, where you don’t know the language and aren’t familiar with the currency. Even catching a cab can be a hassle. When you go in a tour group, those things are off your shoulders. All you have to do is pack and show up for your flight while someone else does the work for you.

2. Tried and tested tour stops.

If you’ve never been to your destination, it can be tricky to figure out where you should visit or even where you should eat. As a company that does group travel tours, we have been to these destinations over and over. That means we know the spots are worth a visit and which to skip. For the past two decades, we have been scouting out premier options, as we discussed in our blog about the 10 ultimate Biblical destinations.

3. Safety in numbers.

While we have found travel is safer than people perceive it, some inherent risk still exists. There is also a lot you can do to reduce the risk. One thing is to travel with a group, where there are others with you, watching out for you. You also have an experienced liaison and local guides with you who know the area, where to avoid and can alert you to anything potential safety issues.

4. You can relax more.

Similar to travel preparation, once you are in the country, you don’t have to worry about the details. With a group travel tour, someone is always there to do that for you. Someone else will deal with negotiating tips with the driver. Someone else will figure out an alternative plan if a scheduled event is delayed or canceled. Someone else will pay the bill, while you lounge on your hotel patio.

5. You might find love.

Are you single? For one, traveling alone isn’t for everyone. But there is always the chance you could find love on your trip. Hey, it’s happened before. While there is no guarantee, taking the risk and going on a tour opens you up to the possibility of meeting someone else with similar interests and values as you.

6. Group travel discounts.

As they say, it’s all in who you know. As a tour company, there are various vendors we have access to that the every-day traveler doesn’t. We work with airlines, hotels, restaurants, and other vendors to get the best deals for our travelers. We take advantage of group discounts and contracts to get you the best deal possible. While a solo trip might appear cheaper when you are planning, it’s easy to miss the nickel and dime expenses you will encounter along the way. Having done hundreds of trips, we know what to expect in terms of cost and factor it into your price or give you a heads up from the outset.

7. Experts travel with you on group travel tours.

So many destinations come alive when you have someone who knows a lot about them and can explain the history and context. On our group travel tours, our experts — such as apologetics speaker  Frank Turek or teacher and author Joel Richardson — travel with you, eat dinner with you, provide teaching sessions as you are standing at the sites, and answer your questions. While a self-guided tour through the City of David might sound nice, you might miss the fascinating explanation of all the tucked away biblical events, such as the Melchizedek standing stone or the Pool of Siloam. These are things you only get when you travel with the experts.

8. You’ll make friends for life.

One thing we hear again and again from our travelers is about the relationships they built with the people they met on their tours. These are priceless and often last a lifetime. One of our clients had the teaching pastor on the tour officiate her wedding. Many others have become long-term friends with their tour roommates. When you travel with like-minded people, you connect in ways you might not have expected.

Group travel tours may not be something you had considered in the past. Maybe you didn’t like the idea of not choosing your own itinerary or being with people you don’t know. But the advantages of this type of trip make group tours worth trying out as you are looking at your next vacation. You never know, you might not ever go back to the DIY approach.

 

Interested in looking at the options? Check out our available Christian tours and Christian cruises, or have one customized for your church or group.

The post 8 reasons to try group travel tours appeared first on Living Passages.

source https://livingpassages.com/2018/07/8-reasons-to-try-group-travel-tours/

The problem of evil with Dr. Lutzer

Below is a video from a previous Reformation Tour to Europe with Dr. Erwin Lutzer of Moody Bible Church. Here, Dr. Lutzer talks about what our response as Christians should be to why God allows evil in the world.

Video Transcript:

Rhonda: (I’m) with Dr. Erwin Lutzer in Prague and Dr. Lutzer gave a fantastic sermon two days ago regarding evil. And I’ve asked him to just repeat a couple of key points. Dr. Lutzer, would you repeat that for our audience?

Dr. Erwin Lutzer: I’m very glad to repeat what I said earlier. I need to say that we’re standing, actually, in Bethlehem Chapel in Prague, and behind me is the pulpit of John Huss, who died at the stake. And one of the things that we think about when we are here in Prague, as even in Germany, is the problem of evil, specifically, as it relates to Adolf Hitler. Because Hitler believed that he was carrying out the will of Providence and what we need to do, as theologians, is distinguish man’s role in evil and God’s role. And the Bible is very clear, first of all, that God rules in the kingdom of men. The scripture says clearly that He puts down some and raises up others … “Behold, I raise up the Chaldeans!” God says.

So, on the one hand, we have to recognize that God is totally under control and is, HAS, everything under control. We also have to recognize that man has responsibility and he is answerable to God. In other words, he’s answerable to God and yet clearly, God “signs-off” on the evil that takes place.

We have to admit that without blinking. Jesus, in the presence of Pilate, said, “You would have no power at all against me unless it was given to you from above.” Now, as Christians, we have to rest in the fact of God’s sovereignty. Rather than it being a stumbling block, we have to know that God knows what He’s doing. We don’t need to know the hidden details of His will and His purposes in order to trust Him.

Now, in conclusion, what do we say to atheists when they talk to us and they say if that’s the kind of God there is that He permits the Holocaust, I’m out of here!? Here’s what we need to say: First of all, that’s one option that many people take but it’s a very unwise option. If God is the kind of God who can permit the Holocaust, you had better prepare to meet Him, because the Bible says that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God!

So, here’s a better option: flee to CHRIST! Come to Him for refuge! The Bible says that He saves us from the wrath to come. So, rather than being angry at God, take advantage of what He has provided! We know that He cares because Jesus came to redeem us and, as a result of that Redemption, you and I can savingly believe and we not need not fear God’s judgment because Jesus bore it for us! You’re a skeptic? Come to Christ, and He’s the one that will receive you and welcome you into everlasting habitations. Thank God for Him!

Rhonda: Wow! thank you so much, Dr. Lutzer, for that concise and powerful message for our audience. I appreciate you being here. Thank you so much!

Dr. Erwin Lutzer’s next trip with Living Passages is a Reformation Tour to Germany and Obergrammergau in 2020. Interested in traveling with him? Sign up to receive email alerts when registration for this tour opens.

The post The problem of evil with Dr. Lutzer appeared first on Living Passages.

source https://livingpassages.com/2018/07/the-problem-of-evil-with-dr-erwin-lutzer/

Why now is the time to visit Jerusalem

As Christians, a pilgrimage to Jerusalem has always captured our collective imagination. It is a city rich with the foundations of our faith, where Bible figures walked and our Christ was crucified and rose from the dead. Going there is a profound experience for people who believe the Word of God is true. There is something powerful about walking the steps that Jesus did and seeing the sites mentioned in the Bible.

Jerusalem also has a central role in the future, literally and figuratively, according to Scripture. Jeremiah 3:17 says, “At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the Lord, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts.”

It’s tough to deny, God has big plans for this special city.

The city has long held an allure for visitors. From the Temple Mount to the Western Wall to the Citadel or Tower of David, there is so much to see. A vast array of intriguing sites lie at the city as well, and have long been magnets for guests. But in recent years, the draw seems to be that much stronger.

Here is why now is a great time to visit Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is not a static city. Because of the constant excavation taking place, there are always new finds to see.

The archaeological discoveries just keep coming. You can literally watch the City of David be unveiled as the excavation of this area continues. Historians long thought the City of David was the Old City. Discoveries first made about 150 years ago changes this thinking. We wrote more about this in a previous blog post here.

Our tour guide, Eli Shukron, an Israeli archaeologist who has worked with the Israel Antiquities Authority, discovered the Pool of Siloam, where the blind man was healed. He also discovered the Jerusalem Pilgrim Road from the Second Temple era. He made these finds only in the past 25 years.

Even small finds send excitement through the archaeological community. Just recently, a rare coin from the fourth Jewish revolt was found in an ancient Jerusalem drain. Eli told the Haartez, a news source in Israel, that it could have been dropped into the sewage system through the cracks in the road above. Or a Jewish rebel hiding in the sewage system could have lost the coin.

The coin has paleo-Hebrew inscribed on it and was minted in the year 69. That year, Jews had been hiding in the sewage system during their revolt. The coin bears the words, “For the Redemption of Zion.”

This is just one of many archaeological finds this year that breathes life into Scripture and gives insight into history. Year by year, we are learning more about what happened in Jerusalem over the past 2000 years.

Want to join in on a Christian tour to Jerusalem?

You never know, a find could reveal itself while you are visiting on one of our Christian, Old and New Testament tours. Interested in a trip? Go to our Israel tours.

The post Why now is the time to visit Jerusalem appeared first on Living Passages.

source https://livingpassages.com/2018/07/why-now-is-the-time-to-visit-jerusalem/