I am always blown away by the number of folks who attend church services at Easter.  In some ways, it just confuses me.  Churches, like the one I pastor, have record attendances on Easter each and every year.  The week before it does not have the same kind of numbers and the week following does not either.  (Sure there are growth numbers around Easter, but Easter is just so unique).  Is church not a priority the other weekends and days of the lives of people?  Are there no sports tournaments either to watch or have your kid at on Easter weekend?  Do people go out of some tradition?  Is attending Easter stuff somehow part of living in the United States?  Why spend the money on little Susie’s dress and little Johnny’s suit for one day?  Do we feel the need to purchase some silly hats?  I know I am getting a little silly, but I really do not understand it.

It brings me to two major thoughts.  If you believe Jesus is God and that He rose from the dead, that is true every day and every weekend not just some random Sunday in the spring.  If the Easter thing is real, then we have some serious stuff on our hands.  We have to deal with the reality that the Bible is true and Jesus is alive and that there is a claim on my life from God.  It also is incredibly good news knowing that God’s grace is real and that I do not have to worry about being religious or good enough or knowing Bible trivia, because Jesus has paid for my sin and done it all for us.

Here is the second thought.  I wonder what kind of positive inertia the church at large would have if every person made attending weekend services as a big a priority each and every weekend as they do on Easter.  People find a way to get there.  They make it a priority on Easter.  What if every week people attended their small group, or house church or Sunday or Saturday services with the commitment to being there on Easter.  Think about what people would learn.  Think about the model to our families.  Think about the ministry we could accomplish.  Think about the training that could get done.  Think about the noise level of the singing in buildings and home across the world.  Think about power of seeing large numbers of people assembling together week in and week out.  If you are a part of church, start attending each week as though it is Easter.