Ithink I’m going to skip Easter next year (not the resurrection part). I’m already not a fan of the “holidays.” Thanksgiving and Christmas tend to let me down and if I hear, “Jesus is the reason for the season” one more time I might sit down and cry. If Jesus is the reason for the season, why are you buying me a gift, why are you putting up a tree and decorating with Santa Claus?
I like Toby Mac’s song, “’Til the Day I Die.” It’s about serving the Lord during all of his life. He sings, “You say you are doing work, but you’re asking where the couch is at? How are you doing work when you are asking where the couch is at, huh?”
We need to think about these things.
Maybe it’s because I’m an old, tired and sometimes too cynical pastor but I’m weary of the Easter hype. What I’m saying is I wonder if we perpetuate the problem with the “Christmas-Easter Christian”? You know the person that only attends a worship service twice a year.
What I’m saying is we make such a big deal out of going to church at Easter. We make it “extra special” but shouldn’t every Sunday be extra special, don’t we always go the extra mile for God and His people and those that are not His people yet?
I want to be committed to excellence every day, I recognize and celebrate the resurrection every day, I don’t need a cross draped with a piece of material to remind me of what Jesus did for me. The Spirit is good and active in my life— I wake up knowing it and choosing to be intentional about living out this “new creation life” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Okay, sorry for the sermon (it’s what I do).
I feel like, and I’m probably wrong, but I “feel” like we almost make it okay for people to get dressed up (do people still do that?) and attend a worship service once a year. I sense we encourage even the church to do extra things once a year, to only think about certain things once a year, when they should be a part of every day and every week. I hope that makes sense. I’m an Acts 2:42-47 guy—“devoted, committed,” “day by day.”
If flowers on the communion table are good on Easter, they are good every week is what I’m saying. So let’s go! If communion is good on Easter Sunday, it must be good to do every week! If it’s good to invite an unchurched neighbor to come and see that God is good on Easter Sunday, isn’t it good to do this every Sunday?
Okay, now that I’ve ticked y ou o ff l et m e s ay this. I’ve seen the fruit of Easter and I’m glad. Two people I love a lot, an old man named Jerry, came to our church a million years ago because a stranger (the Blonde) randomly gave him an invite card to come and worship.
Jerry is a chain smoking golfer that cusses when he hits a bad shot, but Jerry loves Jesus and he loves his church family.
The second person that came to our church a year ago this Easter is one of my all time favorites, she is on fire for Jesus, she loves her church and she loves her pastor too. I’m so glad for those that invited her on Easter, may God bless these obedient servants!
Here’s the deal. What if we invited people every week? If we did this how many other Jerrys and on-fire people would be sitting next to you next week. Do you see what I’m talking about?
Maybe most in the church are only Christmas- Easter Christians— only doing the minimum all year long and then doing “extra special” on these “Christian holidays” that we are not even instructed to celebrate.
Last time I checked, Jesus said pick up your cross daily (Luke 9:23). I want to be a “daily” Christian, how about you? It’s time t o g et o ff t he c ouch and go to work! He told me to tell you that.
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