Easter Sunday 2017 is nearly here. As believers, there is not a more important day of worship for us. It is the day we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior. Here are some things you can do to ready yourself for Easter:
- PAUSE. Take some time this week to be still. All of us are busy with many important things, but this week of passion is a week to reflect. We should pause to reflect on our sinfulness, the sacrifice of our Savior, and the certainty of our redemption in Christ. Don’t let this week be like every other week. Make time to pause and consider the weight of holy week.
- PRAY. When you pause, pray. Pray for the broken world in which we live. Sadness and heartbreak haunts persecuted and suffering believers across our world. Pray that the grace offered by the Savior who was broken and bruised for our salvation would comfort others. Lift up especially the Christians targeted by heinous and evil worldviews like ISIS and the church bombings that left more than 40 dead and more than 100 wounded in Egypt on Palm Sunday. Pray for God to give internal and external peace. Pray knowing that Jesus died not only for us, but even so that the men who carry out these attacks could experience forgiveness if they will but receive the Risen Lord.
- PREPARE. Don’t just show up at church this week. Arrive ready to worship. Be thoughtful and intentional this week to pray for the salvation of a neighbor, co-worker, family member. Invite someone to church on Easter Sunday. Prepare for your worship by seeking out others to worship the Risen Savior.
- PONDER. Consider the Crucified Savior. Ponder his suffering, his shed blood, his sacrifice, his death. Realize that because he suffered, he offers grace to others who suffer. Jesus’ victory on the cross and out of the tomb assures us of victory over our sins, our sufferings, and our situations. Ponder the victory won for us during this Passion week.
- PRAISE. Easter Sunday is a day for corporate celebration. We gather as the church on Easter Sunday to celebrate the Risen Savior, to bask in the glory of God’s vindicated Son, to live in the blessing of the saving work of Christ, and to anticipate our eternal home in heaven. But don’t wait until Easter Sunday to praise. Offer praise and thanks to the Risen Savior throughout the week.
- PROCLAIM. Easter Sunday is the day that everything changed for Jesus’ followers. Men who cowered in hiding and fear became bold proclaimers of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Christianity is the largest religion on planet earth not because of intimidation, fear, or political power. Rather, Christianity spread and still spreads because believers proclaim the penultimate event in the history of the world–the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. He is Risen. Will you tell someone?
If you do not already have plans for Easter, we have two services at Wilkesboro Baptist Church this Sunday. Both services will meet in our newly renovated sanctuary. Our first service is contemporary and meets at 8:50 am and our second service is traditional and meets at 11:00 am. We would love to have you join us as we proclaim the Risen Christ!
I get the privilege to serve as a professor of Western Civilization and Apologetics at Fruitland Baptist Bible College. One of the more fascinating observations in history is the rise of Christianity. Christian and secular historians alike concede that by the time Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in A.D. 313 granting freedom to Christians in the Roman Empire there could have been as many as 9 million Christians empire-wide. That would be 15% of the empire’s population! These numbers are even more amazing when we consider that during these early years Christianity was not granted freedom of religion and under many emperors suffered direct persecution. How could Christianity, a small religious offshoot of Judaism (a religion that had never spread evangelistically), possibly advance under such dire conditions? Observing early Christianity reveals that these believers shared the victory they had received through Jesus Christ. Michael Green in his book Evangelism in the Early Church describes the vibrant witness of early believers: “Whenever one looks in the literature of these two centuries it is the same story. Doctrinal imprecision, even imbalance, abounds; heresy is common; antinomianism is an ever-present danger; but there is no denying the zeal and the sense of discovery which marked the witness of the early Church in both their public and their private testimony, in both their written and their spoken word. It was this utter assurance of the Christians that they were right about God and Christ and salvation which in the end succeeded in convincing the pagan world that it was in error” (p. 317). Vibrant Christianity includes sharing the gospel as many believers are doing across the world. For example, see the explosive church growth in China. Here in the United States we must return to the pattern of the early church. We must preach and teach the gospel as the exclusive means to forgiveness and redemption. We must share the victory we’ve received through Jesus Christ.
chrishefner.org 