Easter Every Week
This month we are approaching Easter Sunday which we often call Resurrection Sunday, for it is a remembrance of that first Easter Sunday on which Jesus Christ our Lord rose from the grave. While it is good and right for us to celebrate Easter each year, perhaps we also need reminding that every Sunday is a resurrection Sunday. Indeed, each Sunday that we gather is a continued celebration of the Risen King and of our expectation of His return to rule and to reign forevermore.
Psalm 20 and the Victory of Christ
Recently on a Wednesday evening, I mentioned that our attendance at and engagement with the corporate worship of the church each Sunday might be transformed if we conceived of it less as a box to be checked and more as a victory party for the resurrected Christ. Let’s explore that a bit more.
When we come to church each Sunday, we proclaim the victory of the resurrected Christ. In Psalm 20:5 David says concerning Christ, “We will sing for joy over your [Jesus’] victory, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners.” Reflect on this: every time that you and I meet together on Sunday, we are doing this to proclaim to ourselves and to everyone else that Jesus has won over sin and death. Unfortunately, I don’t think that we conceive of church like this. We think about church like a burdensome task rather than a glorious celebration. How would thinking about the corporate gathering of the family of God as a celebration rather than a task transform how we attended and engaged at church?
Gathering for Celebration
If you were asked to attend a victory party for your favorite sports team or a graduation party for your kids or grandkids, nothing would stop you from going. Your attendance would be a given. Your experience with said party would likewise be similarly jubilant and joyous. You would go readily intending to enjoy the glory of the moment with excitement. If it’s true that the gathering of the saints is a celebration of our victorious and risen Lord, how much more should that animate our attendance and activity as we come to worship Him, sing and fellowship together, and learn from His enduring Word? Perhaps if we came to church service like that, we would be less worried over our parking spots and where we were going to sit. We would be less concerned about when we were going to get out for lunch. We would be less concerned over our preferences, comfort, and convenience, and more concerned over the weight of the moment in which we celebrate the Risen Lord. Let us approach the gathering of the saints as if we are coming to a victory celebration where we sing for joy at the triumph of our King.
Gathering for Mission
In addition to that, when we gather with the family of God each week, we are putting up a banner saying, “Jesus won.” Each Sunday when you pass all the houses in your neighborhood where people are sleeping in, remind yourself that you are preaching a message with your church attendance. You are telling those around you that something important happened on Resurrection Day. You got up, got dressed, and prepared your heart because Jesus matters. Adrian Warnock says that a Christian is “someone who believes in the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ and lives in light of the implications of that event.” Every week you have the chance to live in light of the reality of Christ’s resurrection by gathering with your spiritual family to proclaim his death and resurrection for the salvation of man. Take note of this fundamental truth: each Sunday that you come to church, you are preaching the message of the resurrected Christ. In the observance of the Lord’s Day, we are reminding ourselves and our neighbors that every Sunday is Resurrection Sunday. And hey, maybe instead of letting your neighbors sleep in next Sunday, you walk across the street and invite them to come with you.
Christianity is a Resurrection Religion
Living in light of Jesus’ resurrection transforms how we approach church attendance and how we approach living on mission for Him. In gathering with my fellow saints each week, I get the glorious opportunity to celebrate Jesus Christ risen from the dead and raise a banner for others to see His glory. I hope that thinking about church in this light will bring you with humility and happiness to the throne of grace.
