EP 22: Celebrating a Christ-Centered Easter
Inside: Let’s make Easter more than baskets and candy. Join me as we focus on the resurrection of Jesus and share gospel-centered ways to celebrate with your family.
On today’s podcast episode, we’ll discuss how to have a Christ-centered Easter celebration. We’ll discuss the importance of the resurrection, walk through the gospel, and share some ideas to help us point our family to the risen Jesus and His gift of salvation.
We know that this time of year, the stores are filled with Easter baskets, chocolates, and egg-coloring kits, but as Christians, our celebration of Easter focuses on the truth that we serve a risen Lord. Our God is alive, and that truth is where our hope lies. He is Risen! Jesus is Alive!
As a mom and now grandmother, I desire our celebration of Easter, or as many of us call it, the Celebration of the Resurrection, to be Christ-focused. I’m not elaborate in our celebrations, but I desire to be intentional. I want to share more than just our traditional meal together; I want to point my family to the gift of Jesus.
Listen in to EP 22: Celebrating a Christ-Centered Easter:
Show Notes:
“The Resurrection is the ground of our assurance, it is the basis for all our future hopes, and it is the source of power in our daily lives here and now. It gives us courage in the midst of persecution, comfort in the midst of trials, and hope in the midst of this world’s darkness.” ~ John MacArthur
When the Bible says, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17), the point is not that the resurrection is the price paid for our sins. The point is that the resurrection proves that the death of Jesus is an all-sufficient price. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then his death was a failure, God did not vindicate his sin-bearing achievement, and we are still in our sins.
But in fact “Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father” (Romans 6:4). The success of his suffering and death was vindicated. And if we put our trust in Christ, we are not still in our sins. For “by the blood of the eternal covenant,” the Great Shepherd has been raised and lives forever.
~ John Piper
What are we doing, in the weeks leading up to Easter, to prepare for the celebration of the resurrection?
How do our homes look different on this Easter Sunday and the week leading up to the resurrection?
What are we doing, in the weeks leading up to Easter, to prepare for the celebration of the resurrection?What is the focus of our celebration together? “To the early Christians, Easter was not a holiday. It wasn’t even a holy day. It wasn’t even a day at all—to the early Christians. Instead, it was an accomplished fact that lived with them all year long. They did not celebrate His rising from the dead and then go back to their everyday lives and wait another year. They lived by the fact that Christ had risen from the dead and they had risen with Him.”
~ A. W. Tozer
“Very little is said in any of the Gospels about what happened on Saturday after Jesus died. It was the Sabbath day. Like every other Sabbath day, no work was done. People were in their homes, resting. Undoubtedly, they all were remembering what had happened the day before—the crucifixions, the earthquake, and the Temple curtain being torn. Certainly, nothing like this had ever happened before. The Light of the World was gone; darkness had returned.
Think about what the eleven disciples and the hundreds who had believed in Jesus were feeling that Sabbath Day—despair, depression, and grief unlike any other. What would you have thought?—that it was over?—that This was all in vain? Had you misunderstood?—that the miracles—what about the miracles? Jesus had said, “I am the true vine,” but now He was dead. They felt lifeless too. Their hearts were broken; their heads bewildered.
As a family, you might want to visualize the sadness and loss by covering all of your lights with black cloth or closing your window shades, blinds, or curtains for the day. You may choose not to turn on any lights this Saturday at all. Saturday was the day of waiting.”
~ The above excerpt taken from the Saturday night reading of Behold the Lamb from Ever Thine Home by Barabara Rainey
Upon a life I did not live, upon a death I did not die, I risk my whole eternity on the resurrection.
~ Charles Spurgeon
Scripture & Resources:
1 Corinthians 15:1-4
1 Corinthians 15:12-19
John 18-21
John 20
1 Corinthians 15:17
Romans 6:4
Colossians 3:1
Ephesians 2:5-6
Planning a Christ-Focused Easter – many of the resources mentioned in the podcast are in this post.
Passover song from the Storiez Album by Shai Linne
50 Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die by John Piper – free PDF download at Desiring God. You can purchase a printed copy here.
Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross: Experiencing the Passion and Power of Easter by Nancy Guthrie
The Donkey Who Carried a King by R.C. Sproul
He is Risen Banner – Etsy
The Case for Easter by Lee Strobel
90 Family Dinnertime Conversation Starters
Behold the Lamb from Ever Thine Home
Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd Jones
Smooth Stones: Bringing Down the Giant Questions of Apologetics by Joe Coffey
Books for my grandbabies this year: Princess of the Reformation: Jeanne D’Albret by Rebekah Dan, Lily the Girl Who Could See by Sally Oxley, The Life of Martin Luther: A Pop-Up Book by Agostino Traini
Your Turn:
What are some of your favorite family traditions to celebrate the Resurrection? Are there new traditions that you want to start this year with your family? Please share your ideas here in the comments or join in the discussion in our Thankful Homemaker Facebook Group.
Ending Prayer from the Podcast:
I want to share a part of a prayer that I think is appropriate to end our time together – It’s in the back of this book, by John Piper – Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die:
Father, I pray for us that the fog of our indifference to eternal things would be lifted. I pray that the reality of heaven and hell would become clear to us. I pray that the centrality of Christ in the history of the world would become plain and that His passion, His sacrifice, His death would be seen as the most important event that ever happened.
What an amazing truth you have revealed: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” (1 Timothy 1:15). He did it not mainly by his teaching, but by His dying. “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3). Is there any more wonderful message for people like us, who know we cannot measure up to the demands of our own conscience, let alone the demands for holiness?
Merciful Father would you grant all who have heard the message of the gospel, see their need and see your perfect provision in the death of Jesus – may they believe!
We pray this because of the promise of your Son: “For God so love the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16). In Jesus Merciful name I pray Amen.
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