#316 – Biblical Prom Themes

My Junior Prom

This past weekend a number of our group’s high school students attended prom. In spite of my nerdiness, I actually went to prom my junior and senior years of high school and even had a date both years. The themes for prom are always something mildly romantic like “A Night in Paris” or “An Evening Beneath the Stars”.

With that in mind, here are some biblical prom themes.

An Evening of Beauty (Esther)

The Bible is the world’s greatest love story. It tells how sin, death and darkness couldn’t defeat God’s great love for us. As great a love story as it is, though, it’s lacking a little in the romance department. Esther’s story is one of the most romantic even though the male lead essentially trades in his wife for a younger, more attractive model. A prom theme centered on Esther’s story, though, could be full of all the glitz and glamour of a beauty pageant. Girls could be given sashes to wear for the evening. A stage could be set up for all the guests to display their talents from singing to baton twirling. The nominees for prom court could give interviews with the winners selected by a group of teachers acting as judges. And the most popular part of the prom would be papier-mâché Haman impaled on a 75-foot pole.

A Celebration of Romance (Song of Songs)

People who think that God is opposed to sex haven’t read Song of Songs. I’m still a little shocked when the wisdom of Ecclesiastes gives way to the eroticism of Song of Songs. I really want some Bible publisher to add a page at the front of Song of Songs to make it look like a romance novel. Who wouldn’t want to see Fabio holding some woman with a flock of sheep descending Mount Gilead in the background? A Song of Songs prom could get shady pretty quickly so there would need to be some boundaries. The theme would need to use some parts as opposed to others. The décor could be very outdoorsy since there is so much talk of lilies, palm trees and gazelles. It would definitely be good to steer clear of all the breast talk, though, since high school boys don’t need any assistance thinking about that.

A Night in Sodom (Sodom and Gomorrah)

I can’t imagine anything good coming from a Sodom and Gomorrah prom theme. Unfortunately some aspects of prom celebrate the wickedness of those to cities. I’ve sadly heard that some parents pay for their children’s hotel room so their kids and their kids’ dates can make the most of prom night. I hope those parents are the small minority while the overwhelming majority of parents are helping their children make wise and godly decisions about sex. The prom venue, though, could be used to show the consequences of wickedness and sex outside of God’s intentions. The first room could be all pretty and spectacular. The second room could appear to be on fire with stuff falling from the sky. And the third room could be completely barren and devastated, with a salt sculpture in the corner.

I had a great time at prom. My dates and the friends we went with were interested in having fun and making wise, godly choices. I didn’t mind our generic, subtly romantic themes, but some biblical creativity would have made them far more memorable. Maybe I need to get a job at a Christian high school to make these themes a reality.

What other Bible stories would make good prom themes?