What exactly is Easter, and what does it mean for you and me? A recent commercial from a big retailer depicts Easter as a day where kids pull out all the stops in order to find Easter eggs, even if it means diving to the bottom of a swimming pool. For many, Easter Sunday is nothing more than a day filled with egg hunts, Easter bunnies, and pastel colors, and although all these things are fun, they miss the reason we actually celebrate Easter. While there are some who will dismiss Easter as an old pagan holiday that celebrated the Anglo-Saxon spring goddess ‘Eostre’, in reality, Easter actually has deep historical Christian roots.

Easter is the oldest Christian festival and was most likely well established in the majority of Christian churches by A.D. 100, and “by about A.D. 300 most churches divided the original observance, devoting Good Friday to the crucifixion and Easter Sunday to the resurrection.”^[1]

With that in mind, Easter is not a new observance nor is it an American observance; it is a historical Christian observance celebrated everywhere the name of Jesus Christ is proclaimed.

So, if you’re wondering what to do this coming Easter, find a good church that proclaims the name of Jesus Christ and learn what the Christian religion is all about. Easter Sunday emphasizes the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, which is central to Christian faith and practice. After all, if there was no resurrection, then the Christian faith is pointless. The Apostle Paul, one of the earliest Christian missionaries, wrote, “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that He raised Christ… and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins… But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead” (1 Cor. 15:14-20).

This is the reason we gather, and on Easter Sunday you will learn about this central teaching of the Christian faith.

Another reason to go to church this Easter is so you can walk in step with the many witnesses who have gone before us. While I certainly agree with those who say the U.S. is not a Christian nation, our country’s strong Christian heritage cannot be denied. It is estimated that 75 percent or more of 18^th-century Americans attended church worship services regularly. If you don’t go to church this Easter for any other reason, go so that you can learn about our nation’s rich Christian heritage.

No matter your reason for going, go to church this Easter and celebrate the risen Christ! This is at the center of the Christian faith, and Easter Sunday should be a day of rejoicing. In fact, every Sunday should be a day of rejoicing, but on this particular Sunday each year, we think specifically and attentively about the resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord.

If you are looking for a church to attend this Sunday, I invite you to come join us at Providence Baptist Church in Pasadena, TX (http://www.providence-bc.com) or to find any solid, Gospel-preaching church and listen to the message of the cross and the resurrection of Christ that is at the heart of the Christian faith.

Click here to find a good church in your area: 9Marks Church Finder

~Corey

^[1] Fred A. Grissom, “Easter,” ed. Chad Brand et al., Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 451.