2. “And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.” Acts 12:4 KJV Found 29 other times in the New Testament Always translated “Passover” All other translations translate it as “Passover” Pascha

3. Recognize death, burial, resurrection of Jesus  What is the origin of Easter ?  Did the church in the first century observe it ?  Should we observe Easter in some way ?

4. Festivities Related to Easter Carnival Season Feast of Epiphany – Jan. 6 “Fat Tuesday” - “Mardi Gras” Lenten Season 40 days before Easter - fast Begins with Ash Wednesday Holy week - Passion week Post – Easter Season 40 days after – Ascension day 50 days after – Whitsuntide 61 days after – Corpus-Christie day

5. What about Easter Sunday ? Acts 12:4 “Easter” -- should be “Passover”  Herod kept Peter in Prison  He was a Jew  He would not have cared about “Easter” because it is not a Jewish holy day.  Would not have kept Peter in prison to honor a Christian holy day.  But he would have done this to honor a Jewish holy day = the Passover.

6. What about Easter Sunday ? Originated in the Catholic Religion - two sources Judaism Considered a continuation of Passover Ashes - repent in sackcloth & ashes Paganism “easter” - Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring Spring festival - celebrate new beginning Council of Nicea - 325 A.D. - celebrate on Sunday

7. Why we do not observe Easter Not because we do not believe in resurrection we are anti-social we want to be different. But because # 1 It is unscriptural - Col. 3:17 # 2 It is adding to the word - Rev. 22:18 “God is a spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth” Jn. 4:24

8. Why we do not observe Easter God has given us something better - Lord’s Supper “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.” Acts 20:7 Remember - Death, Burial & Resurrection 52 times a year Not just once a year

9. Why we do not observe Easter Worship on the Lord’s Day: Prayers - James 5:12-16 Acts 12:12 Preaching - Acts 2:42, 20:7 Singing - Eph. 5:19 - Col. 3:16 Giving - 1 Cor. 16:2 Lord’s Supper - Acts 20:7 Bread - represents body of Christ Fruit of the vine - represents the blood of Christ Matthew 26:26-28

10. Not something we can observe in a religious way Nothing wrong with some of the social activities Resurrection of Christ is remembered each Lord’s day when we partake of the communion.

11. Sermon by Arthur Pigman Evans Church of Christ 515 Gibbs Road Evans, Ga. 30809 706-855-1249arthurpigman@bellsouth.netwww.evansgachurchofchrist.org Sunday Morning March 31, 2013