Feature/Faith
By George Miller, 3-28-24
Much of the public view Christmas as the most important Christian holiday, not to mention the biggest secular and commercial day as well. But the big one is really Easter, which celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and his Ascension to heaven- the biggest miracle of all.
Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ”- Luke 24:5-7 NKJV
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit… 1 Peter 3:18
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.- John 3:16-17
Just about every Christian church around is having some sort of celebrations/services to mark that blessed event. Stop by if the spirit motivates you. You have your pick of dozens of area churches. Non-Christians welcome, too, in most of them. Ditto even for those who may have beliefs/practices that Christians may disagree with.
Celebration example: last year, hundreds attended two sessions put on by the Amelia Baptist Church. They put on a stunning production summary of George Handel’s “Messiah,” a three hour symphony which consists of about 250,000 notes, composed in only 24 days. Pat Rudd Helton, who is Pastor Neil Helton’s wife, conducted the event. They skillfully edited it down to a little over an hour, plus some commentary and communion and used their “65 voice community choir and seven instrumentalists from 10 churches and community organizations.” They played very well- major concert hall quality to my ears.
“Messiah” includes a musical version of the prophecy of the Messiah coming, his birth (Christmas), spreading the Gospel, faith in redemption and worship of the Lord, crucifixion, then finally Redemption.
In case you missed that event, here’s another production of Messiah in Grace Cathedral that you can watch:
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On Easter Sunday, march 31, various churches are conducting services at their own facilities. Some will even have beach services.
George Miller is Publisher and Co-Founder of Citizens Journal Florida, based in Fernandina Beach. He is a “retired” operations management consultant, software and publishing executive and manufacturing management professional.
