Articles for tag: Easter

January 15, 2016

Christian Standard

Let Us Celebrate

By Rick Chromey Every culture has holidays, but few sanctify more special days than Americans. Perhaps it”s because we embrace our past as good and godly. Perhaps it”s because we hunger for any reason to party or get a day off. Or perhaps it”s because we need another special day to capitalize on our consumerism. Regardless of the reason, Americans celebrate famous people like Martin Luther King Jr., St. Patrick, and Columbus. We memorialize Mondays into three-day weekends to rest from our labor. We throw parties on July 4, October 31, and December 31. We love to give thanks around

January 13, 2016

Christian Standard

The Burned Bits

By Jim Tune I love candles. That may seem like an unusual confession from a middle-aged, conservative, nonliturgical male. I like them at home and at church. I buy pure beeswax candles and love to light up our house with them during the dark winter months. They do nothing for my wife. Claudia just prays I don”t burn the house down. The flickering glow of a candle flame warms my heart. Unlike the electric lights in our home, candles protest the end of their life with a silent gasp of smoke when they are extinguished. Usually a remnant of melted

June 19, 2015

Christian Standard

Ordinary Sacredness

By Mandy Smith We know Jesus instituted the Lord”s Supper during the Passover feast, which Jews have celebrated for generations. Passover is an annual festival remembering God”s salvation of his people from slavery in Egypt. Like all celebrations of annual holidays, it takes much preparation and is a turning point of the calendar. So, as good Jews, Jesus and his disciples prepared and celebrated this feast together. But Jesus knew this Passover would be different from all he”d celebrated before, because he knew his death was imminent. The food is a central part of the Passover feast, but so are

April 11, 2015

Christian Standard

Way Better

By Steve Wyatt You probably wouldn”t have liked the man I once was””though you might”ve been impressed by my résumé. I certainly was! I sang my first solo at 6, taught a seventh-grade Bible class at 15, preached my first sermon at 16, and was a youth pastor at 19. I served as senior pastor of a multistaff church at 23, and wrote two books by my early 30s while leading a church of 200 to more than 3,500! And all God”s people said . . . ? Big whoop. Back in my former life, I was on most short

April 10, 2015

Christian Standard

Remember Your Baptism

By Robert F. Hull Jr. Sometimes we do not see the wealth of our own church practices until we worship with people whose practices differ from ours. From Easter to Pentecost you will hear in many churches, especially those in the Anglican, Lutheran, and Catholic traditions, the words “remember your baptism.” If you were to worship in some of these churches, you would even see a large vessel of water brought in as a visual reminder of baptism. It is especially during the season when we focus on the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus that the baptistery and the table

April 5, 2015

Christian Standard

How Much Do You Know About Easter?

By Victor Knowles   Faith in the resurrection of Christ has been called the keystone of the arch of Christianity. How much do you know about the resurrection of Jesus?   1.  Who prophesied the following in regard to the resurrection of Christ? “Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; . . . because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.” a.  Moses b.  David c.  Isaiah d.  Daniel   2.  Jesus predicted he would be raised on: a.  The first day of the week

April 4, 2015

Christian Standard

Risen Indeed

By David Faust I once had the opportunity to share the gospel with a young Hindu woman. A native of India, she was a university medical student preparing to become a physician. She was unfamiliar with the Bible and curious about what Christians believe. In response to her questions, I explained about Jesus” life and teachings, and how he was crucified. “A few days after that,” I continued, “Jesus came back to life again.” Stunned, she stopped me and said, “You know, that”s medically impossible.” I don”t remember my exact response. I wish I had said, “Yes, but without God,

April 3, 2015

Christian Standard

Resurrection Resources

By Richard A. Knopp William Lane Craig relates that a high school friend once said to him, “There ain”t gonna be no Easter this year.” When Craig asked, “Why not,” his cantankerous friend replied, “They found the body.”1 The questionable humor unintentionally reveals a fundamental truth: without the resurrection of Jesus, there is no Easter””or as Paul put it, “Your faith is futile” (1 Corinthians 15:17). But in spite of the bellows of unbelievers and the screams of secularists to make Easter an exclusive experience with the bunny, a multitude of valuable materials are available to sustain our faith and

March 31, 2015

Mark A. Taylor

Resurrection Promise, Hope in Our Pain

By Mark A. Taylor Some preachers choose Mary as the subject for a Christmas sermon, but I”m guessing we”ve never heard an Easter sermon about the mother of Jesus. There”s good reason for this, I suppose, because Scripture barely mentions her in one crucifixion account, and omits her by name altogether in the resurrection stories. But the certain fact that she was there when Jesus died (John 19:25-27) is enough for painters and storytellers and moviemakers to include her, watching and weeping, in their crucifixion portrayals. The Scripture doesn”t describe her anguish or her tears, but we have no trouble

March 30, 2015

Christian Standard

Lesson for April 5, 2015: Believe in the Resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-22)

This treatment of the International Sunday School Lesson is written by Sam E. Stone, former editor of CHRISTIAN STANDARD. It is published in the March 29 issue of The Lookout magazine, and is also available online at www.lookoutmag.com. ______ By Sam E. Stone  Often 1 Corinthians 15 is described as the “resurrection chapter” of the Bible. Tom Friskney wrote, “There is no other chapter like this in the whole Bible; the hope of Christianity resides within it. . . . We may wonder why Paul has waited until now to discuss it. . . . It is not last because it is least,

March 10, 2015

Mark A. Taylor

Ideas for Easter””or Anytime

By Mark A. Taylor At our annual contributing editor January retreat, someone asked, “Why do churches always make such a big thing of Christmas?” She was reflecting on the fact that Christian Standard almost always puts “Christmas” on a December cover, but sometimes we hardly mention Easter at all. Maybe we”re giving in to the culture on this. For many people, Christmas preparations begin in the summer, and we see Christmas everywhere by the end of October. Christmas concerts, Christmas parties, Christmas gift-buying””they fill the month of December. Indeed, sometimes by Christmas Day, we”re too tired to celebrate. Churches follow

March 9, 2015

Christian Standard

A New Ancient Rhythm

By Jason Yeatts “Yes, we do have one, and it starts at 7 p.m. in the south worship center.” Our receptionist must have repeated that statement 20 times that day. The calls started early and went through the afternoon. The weekend before, Gary Johnson, our senior minister, had announced that The Creek would observe the season of Lent, starting with a worship service on Ash Wednesday. The announcement spread quickly, and on that first day of Lent we received a barrage of calls from people wanting to confirm that we, indeed, were having an Ash Wednesday service. The idea to

March 8, 2015

Christian Standard

Redeeming Lent

By T.R. Robertson Some ignore it. Some condemn it. But others have found ways to redeem this 40-day observance with values both biblical and missional. I didn”t grow up with Lent as part of my life. My church, as well as most other congregations in the Restoration Movement of the 1960s and “70s, didn”t observe Lent at all. It was considered a nonbiblical invention of the Catholic Church. We not only looked down on Lent, we mostly ignored it. I don”t remember Lent ever being mentioned in Sunday school or in sermons. My first exposure to Lent came when I was a safety patrol guard

March 7, 2015

Christian Standard

Building Easter Expectation with Our Church

By Ethan Magness People tend to prepare for what”s important to them. And they tend to experience what they expect. This is why our church invests so much energy in a variety of ways to help people get ready for a meaningful Easter celebration. I am writing this article by the glow of a Christmas tree. It is barely December, and already I am seeing stockings and lights, candles and manger scenes. Our shopping is not done, our travel plans are uncertain, but we have begun to prepare. If you visited our home you would see that Christmas matters to

March 6, 2015

Christian Standard

Getting Ready for Easter: Compass Christian Church, Colleyville, TX

Baptism Weekend, a New Tradition By Drew Sherman, lead pastor, Compass Christian Church, Colleyville, Texas We started a new tradition last Easter by having a baptism weekend. It was awesome. We had a large pool just outside the front of the church. One hundred eighteen people were baptized that weekend, including a biker dude named Fred who was watching online in the area. He got so excited he jumped on his Harley and came down to get baptized!

March 6, 2015

Christian Standard

Getting Ready for Easter: Northside Christian Church, Yorktown, VA

Focusing on Friday By Shawn Cartwright, worship arts pastor, Northside Christian Church, Yorktown, Virginia From my perspective, an investment in Good Friday needs as much attention as Easter worship services or special productions. After all, you don”t have the resurrection without the cross. There are two specific services we”ve done that have been especially meaningful for two churches I”ve served. The first is “Song Stories Victory.” The premise of a “Song Stories” event is emphasizing the stories that songs tell and the stories behind why they were written, as well as how their stories impact our lives. One year we

March 6, 2015

Christian Standard

Getting Ready for Easter: Madison Park Christian Church, Quincy, IL

Good Friday Prayer Walk By Chuck Sackett, preaching minister, Madison Park Christian Church, Quincy, Illinois A few years ago we decided to do something completely different for Good Friday. Instead of a traditional service, we did a prayer walk. It started in the lobby, moved down the hall to the next large space, into the fellowship hall, through the worship space (we have removable seating), and ended in a large classroom. Each room was a new prayer station. It started with a place for prayer and symbolic washing, then an opportunity to take the Lord”s Supper. The fellowship hall was

March 5, 2015

Christian Standard

Getting Ready for Easter: West Side Christian Church, Springfield, IL

Jesus Is for Everyone By Melissa Sandel, director of ministries, West Side Christian Church, Springfield, Illinois In early 2014, West Side”s leaders began to sense our community needed a refreshing message from the church””that Jesus is, in fact, for EVERYONE””without qualifiers. We launched a six-week emphasis entitled “EVERYONE,” based on Jesus” words in John 11:25, 26, with renewed conviction that Jesus offers new life and hope to everyone who chooses to follow him. The first step was a Sunday morning message describing what it would mean to extend the hope of Jesus to everyone in our community. Next, we equipped

March 5, 2015

Christian Standard

Getting Ready for Easter: First Christian Church, Albuquerque, NM

The Table, the Throne, and the Cross By Tim Neuenschwander, worship minister, First Christian Church, Albuquerque, New Mexico The theme was “The Table.” The four weeks leading up to Easter highlighted the table that transformed into a throne, and to a mess, and to the cross, and then, on Easter, back into the table. Senior minister Tom Caffery and I went to our Christian camp here in New Mexico and cut down a tree, split it into lumber, and hauled it back to our church. We videotaped all this with the theme song, “There”s a Table in the Wilderness.” We

March 5, 2015

Christian Standard

Getting Ready for Easter: Camarillo (CA) Christian Church

Preparation, Pictures, and Prayer Stations By Charles Maloney, senior pastor, Camarillo (California) Christian Church Our student ministries department put together a guided Good Friday prayer walk involving “prayer stations” covering the events of the final week of Jesus” life, ending at the crucifixion. The prayer stations included pictures and prayer ideas, complete with drawings for children to color, for each of the days leading up to the events of Good Friday. The prayer walk was from noon to 7 p.m., so people could come during the day or after work. We encouraged families to participate together. The last prayer station

Help Keep Christian Standard Free & Accessible with a Tax Deductible Donation

We can do more together!

Every gift makes a difference!

No, thank you.
100% secure transactions - receipts provided.
Does Your Church Want to Support Christian Standard?

Would your church consider including support for Christian Standard in its annual missions budget? Your support would help us not only continue the 160-year legacy of this unifying ministry, but also expand the free resources, cooperative opportunities, and practical guidance we provide to strengthen churches in the U.S. and around the world.

We can do more together!

Every gift makes a difference!

No, thank you.
100% secure transactions - receipts provided.
Secret Link