Why Easter is the Most Important Christian Holiday
Rabbits don’t lay eggs, they bear live young. Someone told me the story of a pagan holiday combined with Christianity. Something about a fertility celebration? It wasn’t Christian, but it got mixed in. However, I found family movies of my first Easter. My brother and I had Easter baskets, chocolate eggs, and fancy outfits. Watching my parents follow me around while I wore my pretty dress almost makes tears come to my eyes. (They are both in heaven.) In later years, I do remember picking out my fancy clothes and dying eggs for Easter egg hunts. We always went to church to sing and praise God for the resurrection. However, despite the fact what we celebrated every year, I didn’t”t realize how important Easter was until I got older. It may have been my fault for not listening, but I didn’t get it. Now I do.
My guest is my husband, Ray Simmons. He’s a Bible teacher and elder at Grace Community Church. We chose a different tradition raising our children, and he will explain why Easter is so important.
Ray Simmons leading Passover
1:00 Why is Easter so important?
2:10 What evidence do we have that Christ rose?
[tweetthis]He is risen. He is risen indeed![/tweetthis]
[tweetthis]Because Jesus lives, we have eternal life[/tweetthis]
Learn more about doing a Messianic Passover here or here.
It’s important to learn to think and discern for yourself, especially for young people. Jim Wallace, Cold Case Detective does that.
I grew up in the church. My family attended several times a week plus we attended all the special services which our congregation offered throughout the year.
By the time I got in my teens, I had questions. I’d seen the imperfections in the people around me and naturally, I became skeptical
How can we know for sure what we believe is true? What if someone has just tricked us? I believe those sorts of doubts are normal.
About that time, the Francis Shaffer movies came out. He compared Ch to the little stone bridges the Romans built. He said those bridges could handle the weight of the horse and buggies of their day, and even the wagons, but they couldn’t hold the weight of the semi. Well, unlike those bridges, Christianity is strong. It can withstand our doubts because it’s true.
I became interested in apologetics.
Of course, I read Josh McDowell, Gary Habermas, C.S. Lewis, Lee Strobel. And my husband and I are particularly fond of William Lane Craig. But I still had a few questions about the gospels. Until one day I came across a book called Cold Case Christianity. I loved it. I understand that a book is coming out for kids also. Author Jim Wallace will soon even be offering an online course for kids to earn badges as a detective.
Today I have the author, J Warner Wallace.
1:55 How did you come to faith in Christ?
3:30 How does a detective look at eyewitness testimony?
4:20 The book of John was different because he came later. Can you explain how that works?
6:25 The three synoptic gospels are similar yet they have differences. Can you explain how you reconcile that?
8:20 Reconciling different stories about the same event.
13:05 What did you see in the Gospels that made you come to faith in Christ?
Learn more here about the book for adults. Click here for the book for kids.
[tweetthis]Christianity is strong and can stand up under our questions[/tweetthis]
When I was a little girl, I played with several chums in my neighborhood. If one of us did something inappropriate, the mothers talked and meted out punishment. In school, I recall hearing the Bible read. Everyone understood they should work hard in school and treat others with kindness. We shared a consensus on right and wrong.
Our country changed.
I saw billboards that said, “God is Dead.”
I recall a political campaign a number of years ago. The press kept saying character doesn’t matter.
Then there was: What is the meaning of the word ‘is’?
The new atheists today ridicule Christians. Believing in God is equivalent to believing in the Easter bunny.
I’m saddened when I see Christians portrayed with disdain and disgust on movies and the media.
Freedom of speech is not subject to Political correctness.
The Bible says, “Be ready to give an answer to anyone who asked the reason for the hope within you.”
Leslie Williams is my guest. She’s going to talk about living with wisdom and savvy in a crazy world anything goes. When Anything Goes is the name of her newest book.
1:55 What is post-Christian?
3:30 The difference between those who wear the label ‘Christian’ and those who are.
5:00 What is faith?
6:25 What is the god of the gaps?
9:05 How can we live as a Christian, and why is that still a good choice?
13:20 Are we addicted to meaning? What do you mean by that statement?
[tweetthis]Faith in Jesus isn’t a leap in the dark[/tweetthis]
The Real Easter Story is about hope, and with the world in upheaval, we need lots of hope.
Easter stands alone as the most important holiday we celebrate.
Jesus predicted his death and resurrection, and according to his own words, it proved the validity of his claims to be the son of God, who came to die for our sins. Note:
Matthew 12:40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
John 2:19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
If Christ has not been risen “…our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.” I Corinthians 15
Jesus”…was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
I remember during the time of the Reformation, they worshipped bits of the cross and even the nails. In fact, at one point Martin Luther joked about the number of nails that must have been used because at that time people claimed to have far too many bits of nails and fragments of the cross. While I’m not ready to say the Shroud of Turin is the burial garment of Christ, there are interesting bits of evidence that drop us back into the first century when we study the microscopic evidence.
The shroud is a long narrow piece of cloth. At that time, they folded a long piece of cloth over a body and tied at the feet, waist and head prior to burial. On this piece of cloth is a faint image of a crucified man. However, if you take a photograph, you have an incredible image of a man with details that wow the scholars and PhDs.
Crucifixion stopped in about 326 A.D. The shroud was dated with carbon 14 to be about the 1500s, but at that time, they would not know the details that appear to ring true regarding this burial cloth.
These details surrounding the shroud are worth studying because they give a picture of the historical events of the crucifixion and help us understand the suffering Christ endured.
Evidence for the Exodus? The Bible says God led Moses to free his people from Egypt and used the ten plagues to convince a reluctant Pharaoh. Scripture links the Passover with redemption, a key theme in the Bible. that makes this a key issue for Christians. But where’s the archaeological record? Today some Jewish people have abandoned their heritage because those facts appeared to be missing. But now, researcher Timothy P. Mahoney believes he found it. Listen and learn!
Can we trust the Bible? Many skeptics today say we can’t because the words have been translated too many times.
The cry of the Reformation was solo scriptura, which means scripture alone. Dr. Martin Luther refuted the writings of the popes and councils, relying only on the text of the Bible as the authority in life, morals, and salvation.
For those who base their eternal destiny on the words in the Bible, this is a huge issue. I Corinthians fifteen says that if Jesus has not been raised from the dead, then our faith is in vain.
But what if the very words of the Bible came from shysters who wanted to fool innocent people? How horrible to learn we’d been duped for years. If the Bible wasn’t accurately translated, we have no hope.
Apologist Josh McDowell offers answers. Josh has conducted life-long extensive research and now has released a book, God Breathed, on the power and accuracy of the Word of God. Listen and enjoy hearing Josh share his testimony and work.
* At 1:30 Learn what trauma Josh endured that made him want to disprove Christianity
* At 2:40 listen to how scrolls were preserved in history.
* At 3:20 learn how Josh’s life changed
* 5:40 Josh tells about what he found
* At 6:35 Josh says what we have now
Evidences that the manuscripts are accurate 7:30
Learn what changed Josh’s life 9:30
Josh talks about what brought pain 10:00
Tweetables:
[tweetthis display_mode=”box”]Historical evidence shows the Bible can be trusted[/tweetthis]
[tweetthis]Scripture brings healing to our souls[/tweetthis]
Learn more about Josh here. Find God Breathedhere.
