Why do you think there are so many more songs about Christmas than there are for Easter?
Both celebrate Jesus.
Want my opinion?
Christmas
celebrates the birth of Jesus. Everybody likes babies. Babies are
cute. Babies aren't controversial. Babies are safe. Babies are born
all the time. Jesus' birth is a warm fuzzy feeling.
But
Easter. Jesus grew up. Jesus preached things that weren't (and still
aren't) popular. Jesus was killed, but He rose on the third day.
That's not normal; that's not natural. Jesus demands a choice. Jesus'
resurrection requires faith.
When I was preparing the
lesson, I wanted to find songs that spoke of Jesus' resurrection from
the grave. I didn't have as many choices as I thought I would.
You can find lots of songs about the cross. Old hymns and new music abound for the cross. The resurrection, not so much.
In a blog interview with Adrian Warnock, Adrian said, "There seems little doubt to me that preaching in the average church
today tends to stress the cross and assume the resurrection. The exact
opposite is true of the preaching of the Apostles in the book of
Acts--they stressed the resurrection and assumed that their hearers
already knew about Jesus' death." www.edstetzer.com January 19, 2010
My search for the right song took a while, but it was worth it. I found this video for "Alive" by Natalie Grant.
So what do we do about the Easter story?
Does it fill us with joy like it did for those who lived it? Or do we say "ho-hum", pass the ham?
Does it give us hope? Or is it just the same old story we hear every year?
Do we tell others about what Jesus did for us? Or do we think we shouldn't 'rock the boat' by forcing our beliefs on other people?
Scott did a wonderful job in his Easter sermon on Romans 6:3-4. But we closed our lesson with a short sermon by someone whose voice you'll recognize.
Make it a great week!
Loyally yours,
Darren Bayne
“It is better to be hated for what you are, than to be loved for what you are not.” Andre Gide
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