COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (BNC) by Jeremiah Tatum — Wow, what a crazy title to an article! The immediate answer to the question in this article has to obviously be, “Never!” We live and breathe and hope in Christ alone! And yet what I am about to say is going to shock you.
I am going to tell you that the answer to this question in some circumstances could be yes.
I was not intending on writing this article. I had another plan for another subject. But while preparing my lesson this week I thought about something and I felt it needed to be expressed.
I am not preaching this Sunday about “Easter” specifically or about the resurrection of Christ. I would like to think that I discuss the resurrection of Jesus in every article, lesson, or any form of Bible teaching. But I know that 99% of preachers out there are going to preach on the resurrection today. Just like 99% of preachers will preach on the birth of Jesus on the Sunday before Christmas.
But here is what I think. (I recognize that this is merely my opinion).
I have watched how the world responds to Easter and Christmas. We can look at it on one end and just be happy that these man-made holidays were created in the sense that both the birth of Jesus and his death and resurrection are recognized as historical events. We can rejoice that folks want to keep mindful of these things. And we can use these opportunities as ways to reach out to the lost about Christ.
But this is what I have observed in my short time here on earth. Whenever we have chosen one day to celebrate something with a huge amount of pomp, it often leads to the very neglect of that thing we are observing for the rest of the year.
For example, in reality, women can probably lament Valentine’s Day. How often will men treat women as special on all the other days as they do on February 14th?
What I see at Christmastime is a world enamored with the birth of Jesus for a month rather than a year. What I see with Easter is a religious community that is thankful for the resurrection for a weekend and not every single day.
I pause about taking one moment to celebrate something I should celebrate all the time. In the overemphasis of a humanly ordained holiday, I wonder if there is a danger in deemphasizing Christ in general.
And so today we have “Easter” in the larger sense … in that our country recognizes this day as a holiday. People dress a certain way. Spring is embraced. There are bunnies and Easter egg hunts and family traditions and more. That’s fine. It is a part of our culture we all enjoy.
But in the meantime, I hope I am never guilty of only loving my Lord for everything he did for me on Calvary for just one day. There is wisdom from God in that the Lord’s Supper was instituted by Christ himself and observed by the church as the first thing done every week. We are content to continue with what God has ordained.
“And when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me. In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me’” 1 Cor 11:24-15.
Jeremiah works with the Willow Avenue congregation in Cookesville. This article was published in “The Proclaimer” for Apr. 21.
2019-04-19 at 3:17 pm
I sure hope you’re wrong about the number of preachers who preach “Easter” and “Christmas” sermons, assuming of course that you ere referring to preachers in the Lord’s church.
2019-04-19 at 5:49 pm
Having preached for over forty years, what would be wrong about teaching the truth about the resurrection on “Easter Sunday?” This would include why we don’t observe this day in a special way and yet showing it to be one of the fundamental doctrines found in Scripture.
2019-04-20 at 10:49 am
The Lords church is dead in California. The Progressives have taken over. Whether you celebrate Easter and Christmas or not, it doesn’t matter. There are so many false teachers in the lords church today. They say we MUST change in order to be relevant for modern times. 🤷♂️
2019-04-24 at 11:35 am
I think Easter and Christmas is a time when we as christians can invite those who might be lost to join with us in celebration of our lord Jesus…..and maybe change the way they perceive Christians. Of course we as christians remember our lord Jesus throughout the year, but roughourbthe on these nationally acclaimed holidays it give us a chance to embrace those who may have been lost along the way. I think that, of course, you should preach of the resurrection of our savior Jeasus Christ on Easter and of His birth on Christmas for those that do not hear it throughout the year……who knows what one soul might be saved on just that one day.
2019-05-03 at 7:05 pm
I think your premise is incorrect from the beginning; Over emphasize the works of Christ? Is it even possible to over-emphasize the unlimited, eternal God?
I think many professing Christians today don’t really understand who Jesus is, to start with! We don’t really understand how horrible our own sin is to God. Put it this way; every sin we commit is done with energy from the Sun that God created and owns, we sin using the oxygen that God owns, replenished in the atmosphere by plants that Jesus created, designed and owns!
His first inclination is to destroy us when we sin, and that would be justice, but His love constrains Him to wait and witness to our souls. It is a testament to His love that He exercises such amazing restraint! Then it is even more amazing that He voluntarily came to earth and orchestrated His own death on the cross, to satisfy the Father’s Justice, for our sins! He did this so that we would not have to satisfy justice ourselves, by spending eternity in the Lake of Fire! What love, what amazing Love!
Thank You Jesus!