[The thought below was written by Gene Wilde III, a young youth minister of Dewey Christian Church, Dewey, OK]
I hope that you all are doing well this week. I wanted to share a thought with you all. Today it occurred to me that we do things backwards. Christmas is the holiday that we take the most time to celebrate, that we throw the biggest party for while Easter comes and goes with barely a blink of an eye. It does not seem like we look towards this day with eagerness to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is sad that this day does not receive much fan fare. The reason I say this is because to Paul, the resurrection of Christ meant everything.
You should read 1 Corinthians 15 because it has everything to do with this holiday. Paul makes the case that our faith is absolutely useless with out the resurrection of Christ. This is where we find our victory over sin. In his resurrection is where we find our life everlasting. If not for this one event, where Christ kicked down the doors of death and brought true life back to his creation, there would be no Christianity. It provides us with hope that we will one day be rid of our sinful flesh, that we will one day be able to know what it is like to walk with God in true peace. On Christmas hope came to the world but on Resurrection Sunday the hope of the world was sealed.
I can understand how Christmas gets all the good press. It is more appealing to the unbelievers because there are gifts involved. We, though, should make a bigger deal out of our celebration of Easter. I think feast should be involved, lots of worship, and a day that is totally given over to the Lord. Do the egg hunts on Saturday but on Sunday, let the whole world know that on this day, death lost it power and sin lost its sting.
May you all make room in your hearts to treat this Sunday as the greatest day of the year! Do not let it pass without taking time to be overjoyed about being freed from sin and having everlasting life in Christ Jesus. Do not let it pass without event. Celebrate the crap out of it! Next year, we should all have great feasts, worship gatherings, and dancing as David danced (though with our clothes on!). It could become a new tradition. I love you all and may you all have a blessed Resurrection Day.
A peek into my mind, to hear the thoughts of a 40-something single male as he walks this planet called Earth.
John M. Kirton II
DISCLAIMER: This is a personal weblog. The opinions expressed here represent my own solely and not those of The Village Church, her ministers, pastors, administrators, staff, covenant members, regular attenders or visitors; my parents; my alma mater, Dallas Christian College, her administration, faculty, Board, alumni, or students, past, present and future; or my employer and fellow employees.
My Story
- John M. Kirton II
- I attended public school for two years and private school for the remainder of my education. After graduation, I attended Bible college in Dallas, Texas, for four and one-half years consecutively. Unfortunately, I failed a class and was unable to graduate with my class but God enabled me to re-take the course and I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Bible and minors in Youth Ministry and Biblical Languages in 1994. After failing the aforementioned course, I had continued attending a church but began to falter in my faith. It was during my second year after my Bible college years that I was introduced to the International Churches of Christ (ICOC), where I became a member and was involved for twelve years. It was not until my twelfth year that, after much prayer from my parents and closest friends, Greg Faure and Wayne Stiles, I became convinced that the ICOC was a religious sect. In June, 2000, I left the ICOC and became a covenant member of The Village Church in Highland Village, TX, in April, 2004.
