Got Easter Plans?

If we have called on the name of the Lord and accepted Jesus as our Savior, we have died to our old lives and have been raised up to new life in Him. Ephesians 2 says:
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus...

The promise of Easter is the promise of new life.  Jesus gave His life - He endured the suffering and the shame, the humiliation and the pain, so that He might pay the price for your sins, paving the way for us to experience redemption through a personal relationship with Himself.  He wants to walk into that saving knowledge of Himself and experience the new life, a life of love, peace, and freedom in Christ, a life of victory over sin.  We have forgiveness through the blood shed on the cross and we can walk in newness of life because of the power and presence of the risen Christ in our hearts.

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A central theme of the message of the gospel is that Christ died for us to pay the penalty for sin - in accepting Him as our Savior, we die to the power of sin and death and are raised up to new life - it's a message of hope and redemption! Romans 6 says:
4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection...


This weekend, it is generally thought that people who do not attend church on a regular basis will either be going to church with family or at least they will be seeking out a place to worship.  I mentioned yesterday how I believe that there is a higher level of spiritual sensitivity during this time of year, as well as Christmas, than any other season.  I would think that the awareness of spiritual concepts would be greater, even though both Easter and Christmas are treated throughout the culture as being secular holidays.



There's a very interesting piece on the Religion News Service website that reveals data that is consistent with my contention.  Writer Tobin Grant says:

Using Google Correlate, I tracked weekly Google searches for the word “church” for every week from 2004 through the end of 2013 (the entire 2014 is not available at this time). While searches for church remains steady during most of the year, searches spike during three weeks.

• Easter (and the rest of Holy Week). This is the week with the highest level of searches
• Christmas
• Ash Wednesday

He relates that, "Each of these weeks is important, particularly for churches that follow the Western liturgical calendar."  

He highlighted that the search for churches during these weeks is correlated with searches for “Lutheran church” and “Catholic church,” both of which emphasize these holidays. He said there are similar spikes around Easter for searches for “Methodist” and “Presbyterian.” People search for these churches also around Christmas but not for Ash Wednesday.

But, Grant says that the pattern is different for evangelicals and other churches that do not follow a liturgical calendar. He points out that Baptist-focused searches increase a bit around Easter, less so near Christmas. Interestingly enough, searches also increase at the end of August, perhaps because this is when many Baptist churches have “Promotion Sunday,” the day indicating that children move up to the next grade level in their Sunday School classes. The day is often seen as the beginning of the “year” in many churches.

People indeed may be considering attending church this Easter.  A LifeWay Research survey from 2 years ago, taken two weeks before Easter that year, indicated that similar numbers of Americans planned on attending as were not planning to attend an Easter worship service.  The breakdown is that 41 percent were planning to attend, while 39 percent were not, with 20 percent undecided.  

Thirty-nine percent of those who rarely attend religious services and 19 percent of those who only attend on religious holidays had not decided if they would attend an Easter service.

So, there you have it - an indicator that people are in that decision-making process.  And, there is the evidence that searches are being conducted for a church to attend on Easter.

A couple of thoughts about the opportunities that are awaiting us this week and this weekend:

Holy Week does provide an opportunity to renew our faith.  I trust that you will take a few moments on Good Friday to reflect on what Jesus did for you in dying on the cross for your sins. And, go into Easter morning with a sense of exhilaration about what it means that Christ raised from the dead.  Easter morning can be a bit harried, especially if your arising early to meet fellow believers at a sunrise service, and the clothing distractions could also prove to be a challenge.   But, seek to walk in the peace of Christ - plan ahead, get a good night's sleep, minimize distractions, and prepare your heart for worship as you celebrate the risen Lord!

This survey data that I shared can provide a challenge to share the excitement and anticipation of meeting with God on Easter morning.  The LifeWay Research website quotes director Scott McConnell as saying, "Christians who automatically attend church on Easter should be mindful of their many friends, neighbors and family members who haven't ruled out the idea of attending," adding, "It may be that a personal invitation is what would make a difference to them."  There may be even those that I would think maybe feel they "ought" to be in church on Easter.  Christians who are regular church attendees can be receptive to open doors with which they are provided in order to openly invite people to come.