Instead of the Confusing Messages about Easter, Focus on Jesus Rising from the Dead On Resurrection Sunday—more commonly known as Easter—let’s place our emphasis completely on Jesus. After he died as the ultimate sin sacrifice for all humanity, he proved his power over death by rising from the dead. He is alive! Though dead for […]
A Devotional Celebrating Easter, the Ascension, and Pentecost Jesus’s death wasn’t the end. In fact, it was just the beginning. THE VICTORY OF JESUS is a 50-day Bible study for Christians looking to skip the fluff of a typical devotional without getting bogged down by a lot of academic pomp. If you’re looking for a […]
Celebrating the New Year Just as I often make a post for Christmas, I do the same for New Year’s Day. These posts usually address making New Year’s resolutions. But instead of resolutions, why not work to make this year your best year yet. With God’s help, you can. Here are some of my past […]
Make Jesus the Focus of Your Celebration With Christmas falling on Sunday this year, I planned to wish you a blessed Christmas on my weekly Sunday post. Alas, I’ve already wished you a merry Christmas in the past—three times. So, instead of repeating what I’ve already written or reprising an old post, I’ll give you […]
Early each spring our Jewish friends celebrate Purim. The origin of Purim is found in the book of Esther, which is a beautiful and moving story. In a rags to riches manner, Esther was whisked from obscurity to become queen. From her new position of access and influence, she was able to stop a plot […]
It’s Easter and we’re returning home to our church, the people we love and miss. This marks our first Sunday here since last Easter. It’s great to be back for Holy Week. Consider these four discussion questions about Church #53: 1. There’s nothing special about the building, except that it’s 150 years old. Even with […]
Celebrating Holy Spirit Power In another post we talked about the four main Christian holidays. In succession, they celebrate that Jesus came to earth (Christmas), died so we could live (Good Friday), overcame death to prove his mastery of it (Easter), and having completed his mission, he gave us a gift (Pentecost). Pentecost is the […]
Remember to Celebrate Jesus this Easter According to those who track public thought and opinion, the majority of people don’t realize that Easter is a religious holiday—or at least a holiday with a religious origin. Given this, we must reclaim Easter for what it means. The commercialization of Easter is strange. To start, we have […]
Should Christians Focus on Worshiping Jesus Who Suffered or Jesus Who Rose from the Dead? As we moved through Lent to approach Holy Week we anticipate four significant days: Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter (which some call Resurrection Sunday). The last two, Good Friday and Easter, stand as momentous occasions for all […]
Like other holidays with historical religious meaning, Easter has been significantly skewed by both custom and commercialization. Over time, the risen savior has been superseded by bunnies and eggs (reportedly symbols of fertility). Notwithstanding, Easter egg hunts and chocolate candies of all variations are delightful traditions—as long as the true focus of Easter is retained. […]