The family of God here at Dowagiac Church of Christ wishes to extend to you a warm welcome. If you have questions about our worship services and why we do what we do, we will be glad to give you a biblical answer. The uniqueness of the Church of Christ is that we are trying to restore to the best of our ability those things that we see the first century Church doing. We are also working hard at building the spirit, unity, and love that Jesus taught and prayed for. We have no clergy, but are working together as equal co-workers trying to serve one another and the area in which we live. Come study with us, grow with us, and serve with us as we strive to do God’s will in all things.


Potluck and Easter Egg Hunt. There has been a lot going on since I last typed a family news. The potluck and Easter egg hunt was a happy time for everyone, and we thank the ladies who fixed the eggs and made it possible for us to enjoy our young ones and have a great meal together.

Illnesses. We have had some folks who have been very ill, and at this point it appears most are on the mend. Dave Pickens and his ruptured appendix certainly gave us some bad minutes, and our cancer treatment folks continue to battle to return to full health. Please keep all of these in your prayers.

Glynn Langston. This past Wednesday Glynn Langston was with us to report on his work which we have a part in. This man has been blind since birth, but he has been a missionary in France and Ireland, speaks five languages, is a licensed Ham General, and travels all over the world ministering to blind folks. What a tremendous encouragement this man is to all who come in contact with him. He shows that with God's help we can overcome any obstacle Satan brings upon us and make our lives count for God. It is a huge blessing to this congregation to be involved in him and in his ministry. Glynn is here to work with the Does God Exist? ministry to establish an interactive Web site for the blind on the Web--something no one else has done.

Food Bank. Another thing that has been happening is that several members have found people in need to help with groceries, and our Food Bank which we have operating now has been able to provide food to these folks. Our thanks to all of the workers who have been involved in this, for all the work done in getting this operational and finding people that need help. This is pure Christianity, and God is blessmg our efforts.

INTRODUCTION
THE CROSS OF REJECTION--verse 39
THE CROSS OF RECEPTION
THE CROSS OF REDEMPTION
WHAT KIND OF A CROSS ARE YOU ON TODAY?

Two weeks ago we mentioned that Easter is a holiday that came from pagan roots and was appropriated by early Christians to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. We also mentioned that the only time you will see "Easter" in the Bible is a mistranslation of the word for Passover. Another interesting tradition that came from ancient pagan traditions is Easter eggs.

The egg has been widely used as a symbol of the start of new life. Ancient Persians painted eggs for their celebration of the Spring Equinox called Nawrooz some 2500 years ago. Ancient Jews used hard boiled eggs dipped in salt water as a Passover sacrifice at the Passover Seder. The Saxons had a spring goddess called Eostre whose animal was the Hare (Easter bunny). Germans had a goddess called Ostara and had an Equinox celebration called Eostre, and our word Easter comes from that ancient German word. For Russian Orthodox believers the Easter egg is a celebration of the end of a fast, and they are dyed red to represent the blood of Christ shed on the cross. The hard shell of the egg symbolized the sealed tomb and the cracking of the egg the resurrection of Christ.

Many countries have had games associated with eggs. Egg rolling is a game in England and Germany. In most European countries there is a game which is like croquet where you try to hit an opponent's egg with your own so you crack theirs but not yours--called eggjarping. In Cajun areas of Louisiana this is called Pocking eggs.

There is a whole history of Easter traditions associated with Mary Magdalene, the Roman Catholic Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, the Russian Orthodox Church, and Germanic denominations like Lutheran Churches. These are interesting and involve a lot of culture. Some incredibly sophisticated and beautiful designs are drawn on eggs by some of these religious groups.

Christians are not discouraged from observing cultural events and traditions, even if they have religious significance. Romans 14 makes it clear that personal beliefs about special days and traditions should not be a detriment to our relationship to others as long as they are not used to denigrate others or cause division. Education in these matters is important, and we need to teach our children where some of these things come from. Parents and grandparents should use this season to teach. Our Easter egg hunt provided the opportune time to do that, and kids can grow to respect the influence that Christ has had on every aspect of life in the modern world if we do that. We need to be known for our love and good works, not for our crankyness on things like Easter.