Did the Easter Bunny show up at your church?

[ShoutToTheLord]

Let me start this thread by saying that my family will be leaving this church by the end of April. ( we have agreed to let son get confirmed with his friends before switching churches).

I don't know if its just me or if others will feel the way I do. Our church had another drama (a whole another rant thread) for Easter service. They had a person dressed as the Easter Bunny with another as a mall photograher. The skit was that no kids were visiting the Bunny. They see a young boy and have him approach. They say things like whats Easter without the bunny etc... but the kid doesn't want anything to do with it because he knows the reason behind Easter and he shouts "He is risen, allehulia! several times etc...
after their pleading they agree with the kid and decide to go to church etc...

I have no problem with the subject matter; everyone agrees that Easter is not about the bunny but what Christ did for each of us but this just made me so sad and sickened. First of all this was done on the alter area and the "bunny chair" was left there the entire church service with the sign "photos $10.00". Where is the sacredness of the altar? And the drama had no scripture included. Everyone was laughing and I just don't know I felt sad. ( something isn't right about all this ). The sermon later was so watered down and the pastor went off on so many different topics quoting people like LL Miller, and Strobel and telling what he said was a true story of a local girl who fell into a life of sexual sin . There was a group reading where we read aloud a quote from someone else too and a mention of the Easter Angel. You get the point.......

Needless to say I didn't leave church on Easter full of joy but a deep sadness.
Anyone else have a similar experience? :(:

[holyspiritvesse]

Yes. We also had our former church bring Santa Claus in to visit with the kids and bring them candy at CHristmas.

Not the place for such.

[His4ever]

I'd have to say I do have a problem with it. I don't think I'd be staying at any church that put on a skit about the Easter bunny. I would be complaining to someone asap.

[Chris4Christ]

Why is the altar sacred? :confused

[wsbsteven]

We had a drama where a man posing as Jesus was riding into the church on a real donkey while people waved branches. It was kinda cool.

[LeahIA]

Why is the altar sacred? :confused We don't even have an altar. We have a stage. Our Worship Center is like a gym.

[pilgrimian]

Very interesting, and sad, to read these posts. I have become increasingly happy to have left "church" as usual. I doubt I could ever go back since I so enjoy going to Messianic Congregation on Saturdays, and the fellowship and wonderful teaching that I receive there. I hope I don't sound arrogant, because I know that there are many wonderful chapels where the meat of the Word is preached and taught. I guess with my heart for Jewish evangelization this is the perfect fit for me and my wife.

We don't have anything connected to Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny...in fact we celebrated Purim on Saturday, and had a WONDERFUL play on that with Mordecai and Haman and Esther, of course. It was splendid. Passover, during which we will celebrate the resurrection is not until the 14th of Nisan...another month down the road. It's odd to me that Easter is not connected to Passover (since that's when Messiah went to the cross for us -- not the first Sunday after the full moon following the Spring equanox). I had always wondered why Easter moved around.

Why doesn't the church as a whole celebrate Purim? Hmmmmm... The Book of Esther is such a wonderful blessing to read, and the truths therein are ones that we should hold close. God loves His people Israel, and He loves His Bride.

I'll be praying that all who are searching for a new congregation would find one where they are fed the meat of the Word. And if they are in need of the milk, that they are blessed with that.

[ShoutToTheLord]

We don't even have an altar. We have a stage. Our Worship Center is like a gym.

To me that is sad . We have lost respect for God's house and don't enter into worship with the awe and respect that God demands and is worthy of. Worship shouldn't be about making us feel comfortable; it shouldn't be about us at all.....it should be about Him and His Holy Word.

I must just be old fashioned and old but for me a altar symbolizes communion with God. And the place where we worship ( church building) should be different than the secular world around us. If I want to see a movie I'll go to the theatre, if I want to go to a rock concert; I'll go to a arena or concert building, want to get a work out I'll go to a gym,see a play etc....All these places are of the "world" and only distract people from worship.

:tape I'll stop because I know that this will only cause discord amoung us. The church isn't about a building but if we have a building that we are going to use to worship God in then lets make it a place where He is truley honored.

[Hootmon]

NM

[Harley]

To me that is sad . We have lost respect for God's house and don't enter into worship with the awe and respect that God demands and is worthy of. Worship shouldn't be about making us feel comfortable; it shouldn't be about us at all.....it should be about Him and His Holy Word.

I must just be old fashioned and old but for me a altar symbolizes communion with God. And the place where we worship ( church building) should be different than the secular world around us. If I want to see a movie I'll go to the theatre, if I want to go to a rock concert; I'll go to a arena or concert building, want to get a work out I'll go to a gym,see a play etc....All these places are of the "world" and only distract people from worship.

:tape I'll stop because I know that this will only cause discord amoung us. The church isn't about a building but if we have a building that we are going to use to worship God in then lets make it a place where He is truley honored.
Interesting take - do you mean that only the secular can be dramatic, or humorous, or include video, or an up tempo beat? Can God only be "truley [sic.] honored" through organs playing four part harmony, and not honored through drama, video, or the arts?

[Harley]

Funny... there is so much complaining about the cultural overtones of holidays, then a church does a drama about the holiday's true meaning as oppossed to these overtones - and it is criticized.

[Harley]

I'd have to say I do have a problem with it. I don't think I'd be staying at any church that put on a skit about the Easter bunny. I would be complaining to someone asap.
As I interpret the discription of the drama, it was not about the Easter Bunny, it was about the true meaning of Easter as oppossed to the secular cultural trappings - the Easter Bunny was just a character used as a comparative foil.

[milkncookiesmom]

I didn't see any Easter Bunny at church, but they did have an egg hunt both last Sunday and yesterday during Junior Church. Granted it was with the Resurrection Eggs that have become so popular. I feel torn by this though. I understand the premise of them and it is a fun way to tell the events of Christ's death and resurrection.....especially for kids who think Easter is about the bunny and the eggs....

but....we don't do the bunny thing or the egg thing at our home. It is frustrating to have it done at the church and for the church to be the source of teaching on egg hunts etc. :doh Personally, I think the objects in the eggs could be used in some way, but without the eggs or the egg hunt.

I know we are in the minority though because I don't "personally" know anyone who doesn't do the egg hunt thing. I know there are others on RR who do not, but I don't know anyone "personally".

[ShoutToTheLord]

Interesting take - do you mean that only the secular can be dramatic, or humorous, or include video, or an up tempo beat? Can God only be "truley [sic.] honored" through organs playing four part harmony, and not honored through drama, video, or the arts?

God can be honored in different ways but there still must be that sense of "He is holy" and we are in awe of HIM.
I like praise music but I don't clap when the praise band is done playing because I do not honor the music nor the people who performed the music. A good drama in the right place ( not on the altar and not during church) would be a welcomed addition to fellowship. All this can be done with revence but my problem is when people come to church to feel like they have to be entertained and when these above things become MORE important than God's word being heard. There is a right place and a wrong place for everything. If it distracts from worshipping God then its the WRONG time and/ or place.

[ShoutToTheLord]

Funny... there is so much complaining about the cultural overtones of holidays, then a church does a drama about the holiday's true meaning as oppossed to these overtones - and it is criticized.

You can tell the true meaning of Easter with SCRIPTURE.

[pilgrimian]

I know we are in the minority though because I don't "personally" know anyone who doesn't do the egg hunt thing. I know there are others on RR who do not, but I don't know anyone "personally".

Personally? Well, hey...it's good to meet you, sister!

You've just met me, but I would sooner encourage children to be part of the Passover hunt for the afikomen than hunt for eggs. This is a symbol of Yeshua, which makes all the more sense to me than re-birth and new life with eggs.

For those interested (incidentally, I don't agree with everything at this particular site):

For centuries during the Passover seder in Jewish homes (http://www.chaim.org/afikomen.htm), one of three pieces of unleavened bread, matzah, is broken in half, wrapped in a napkin, hidden, and later retrieved to be served as the last morsel of food eaten at the end of the lengthy observance of this ancient Jewish feast. This bit of unleavened bread is called the "afikomen". It symbolizes the Passover lamb. For Jewish children, the afikomen is used to hold their attention until the end of the seder. In some families the children "steal" the matzah and are paid a ransom in order to get it back to the table. In other families it is hidden and the children search for it and are rewarded. Some Jews from Middle Eastern countries saw the afikomen as having special powers and kept a piece of it as a good luck charm. (Some of this information concerning the afikomen was found in "The Complete Family Guide to Jewish Holidays, by Dalia Hardof Renberg, Adama Books, New York, (c)1985, pages 152-153.)

Though the Passover lamb was central to the feast as described by Moses in the Torah, today there is no lamb eaten at Jewish Passover seders. Why? Because after the destruction of the Temple the Passover sacrifice could no longer be properly made, and so lamb was no longer eaten at the feast. This last piece of matzah, called the afikomen, is substituted for the lamb: it even has to be eaten before midnight, just as Moses commanded, "You shall let none of it remain until morning" (Ex. 12:10).

Three matzahs sit prominently on the Passover table. Why three? some see them as symbolic of the three divisions of the Jewish people: Priests, Levites, and Israelites. Others see them as a reminder of the three Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The middle matzah, the one broken, the one symbolizing the Passover Lamb, would correspond to Isaac. How interesting that Isaac, the miraculously born son of Abraham, was taken to what would become the Temple Mount to be offered as a sacrifice! (See Genesis 18:13-14, 21:1-2, 22:1-18 and 2 Chron. 3:1.)

Why is this final piece of matzah called the "afikomen"? It is curios to find a Greek work in the middle of a Hebrew feast. Its Greek meaning can be understood as "that which is coming", i.e. dessert, yet some have seen the possibility of taking it as "he who is coming." According to Jewish tradition, Messiah will come at Passover to bring a redemption like unto the redemption brought through Moses. This is why a place is left at the table for Elijah, the forerunner of Messiah (Malachi 4:5).

A generation before the Temple was destroyed, One who observed the feast in that upper room "took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, `this is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me'" (Luke 22:19). The ultimate redemption did come at Passover. It wasn't a redemption from an earthly oppressor and an earthly bondage, as was the first. Messiah brought a greater deliverance from bondage from Satan, sin, and death. "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:36). The seder mentions being brought "from darkness to light". So also, we can now give thanks "to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" (Col. 1:12-14).

Because of Messiah's body broken as the sacrificed lamb, the wrath of God "passes over" those who trust Him. His resurrection liberates His people to serve God in newness of life (Romans chapters 5 & 6). Let us remember these things as we partake of the Lord's supper. The perfect lamb has come. "Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth" (1 Cor. 5:7-8).

This Passover, why not ask your Jewish friends to tell you about their family traditions concerning the Afikomen? Let them know the matzah of Passover is central to your faith as well, because of the Jewish Messiah, "the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29).

[roadrunner570]

Reading these, I feel extremely fortunate.

Our church sang the contemporary praise and woship songs, all of which had the theme of "he's alive" "he's risen" "hail to our king who lives" those aren't the names, I don't know the names of them, we sang so many and all were joyous praises to our risen King. This was the loudest I think I've ever heard the congregation sing.

Then they did a reading with three people along with the congregation about how Jesus is risen and how God is still not finished with us. Then the pastor gave a great sermon called "Why Jesus Matters"

This was my first Easter after returning to church and to Jesus, and I have to say it was fantastic. :clap :thumb

[discovergrace]

We had a baptism, the sunday school kids performed and the sunday school choir sang with the worship team. The music was VERY loud but every song was to do with worshipping the risen King.
By the way, we have a stage/altar but our pastor speaks from the floor...on our level..

[Diane 1611]

We had a drama where a man posing as Jesus was riding into the church on a real donkey while people waved branches. It was kinda cool.

Our church had a Holy Week drama yesterday too and the guy playing Jesus was supposed to ride in on a donkey, but our church's donkey was being stubborn as a mule and wouldn't move, so Jesus just had to walk in with the disciples.

No Easter bunny at our church, not even an Easter egg hunt.

[Morningstarlet]

Reading these, I feel extremely fortunate.


Me too. I feel blessed more and more and am thankful to have a good church to go to. It's seems they are getting harder and harder to find.

[pilgrimian]

...our church's donkey was being stubborn as a mule and wouldn't move, so Jesus just had to walk in with the disciples.

Only Yeshua could have calmed him, I'm sure....

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king [ Or King ] comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

“Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

As the other gospels show, the colt had never been ridden before. But this was no obstacle for Yeshua.

[seachelle76]

I'm of two minds on all of this. One, I think that many of us who've grown up in church are more thirsty for a 'back to the basics' approach. I got kind of tired of all of the extra stuff. Actually, it seemed that there was so much extra that there wasn't any time for the vital things, like bible study. We have too many dramas, too many Christian versions of the secular celebrations, too much of the 'whoop dee doo'. Two, I think that to an extent, much of that extra business is done to attract non-Christians and to keep the older ones entertained. I suppose there's a place for it, but it turns me off. I got so sick of it that I stopped going to church. Now, I've started going again, but I haven't joined anywhere or have really gotten involved. I simply can't find a place that I'm comfortable.

[Harley]

God can be honored in different ways but there still must be that sense of "He is holy" and we are in awe of HIM.
I like praise music but I don't clap when the praise band is done playing because I do not honor the music nor the people who performed the music. A good drama in the right place ( not on the altar and not during church) would be a welcomed addition to fellowship. All this can be done with revence but my problem is when people come to church to feel like they have to be entertained and when these above things become MORE important than God's word being heard. There is a right place and a wrong place for everything. If it distracts from worshipping God then its the WRONG time and/ or place.
I agree on the issue of people's motivation - they should not come to church to be entertained. I also have mixed emotions about applause and therefore I usually do not... not that it is a regular occurance, but from time to time... But these are issues of the attendees, not the drama itself.

I believe drama can add to the worship experience and that there is nothing so sacred about the worship space that prohibits sets and props.

[Harley]

You can tell the true meaning of Easter with SCRIPTURE.
True - but there is nothing that says you are limited to just the use of Scripture. If that were the case then we should prohibit all songs with lyrics that are not Scripture, all readings that are nort Scripture, all prayers that are...

[Harley]

I'm of two minds on all of this. One, I think that many of us who've grown up in church are more thirsty for a 'back to the basics' approach. I got kind of tired of all of the extra stuff. Actually, it seemed that there was so much extra that there wasn't any time for the vital things, like bible study. We have too many dramas, too many Christian versions of the secular celebrations, too much of the 'whoop dee doo'. Two, I think that to an extent, much of that extra business is done to attract non-Christians and to keep the older ones entertained. I suppose there's a place for it, but it turns me off. I got so sick of it that I stopped going to church. Now, I've started going again, but I haven't joined anywhere or have really gotten involved. I simply can't find a place that I'm comfortable.

Here again, it's a matter of perspective and motivation.

For example: At our church we do everything in as execellent a many as possible - this is done for two reasons 1) God deserves it, and 2) as a witness to those who visit from outside the fellowship. We don't cater to non-Christians, but we do keep them in mind.

For example: We use things that may be viewed as "extra" - not sure if they are "whoop dee doo" or not :): such as, video, drama, candles, incense. This we do, not to attract or entertain, but to be creative and sensory. God gave us... God made us as sensory people so we try to engage all the senses.

Here is where the perspective comes in - we don't do any of these things every week. How much drama is too much? How many extra's are too many? In fact, what is "extra" - there are whole denominations built on the fact that any musical instrument is too "extra." I'd say they were too restrictive, they'd say say they were keeping to the basics.

Do we turn some people off - maybe... probably.

[bopeep1909]

There is no place for a "secular" Easter bunny in a church :doh <><