Celebrating Easter Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a difficult time getting in the mood for a holiday. I was recently shopping in a big-box department store and strolled by multiple racks of girls’ Easter dresses and boys’ suits all virtually untouched. I’m sure many don’t see the point of buying fancy clothes when they won’t be able to attend church services on Easter Sunday (not to mention that many are also facing financial difficulties). There won’t be many Easter egg hunts or large family and friend gatherings around the table for Easter dinner. Many of those traditions we may associate with the holiday are not going to be a reality this year.

As we’ve been reminded in recent days, the church is not a building.

But as we’ve been reminded in recent days, the church is not a building. It’s not a place we go to wear fancy, new clothes. The church is people—and more than that, the church is Christ’s body (1 Corinthians 12:27). In 1 Corinthians 12 we see the church body compared to the human body. Just as the human body has different parts for different functions, so the church is composed of people who perform different functions. Some of those are more visible, like preaching and teaching, and some are “invisible,” like cleaning or running sound. Paul makes the point that all are important, and all are necessary.

In the absence of assembling together, we may wonder what our role is if we aren’t teaching Sunday school or making copies of the bulletin. What are ways that we can serve our church even when we can’t all be together?

• Make sure you are staying in contact with each other. Maybe that’s a text or message on social media or maybe a phone call. I’ve never been a huge fan of calling people (I like to meet in person!) but the times necessitate it, and hearing a human voice is comforting and more personal.
• Contact your pastor or other leaders in your church and find out if anyone in the church is in need of assistance. Maybe it’s grocery shopping for the elderly, helping someone pay their bills, watching children so parents can work, or tutoring children who are now homeschooling. Maybe it’s just calling someone or even sending a letter (yes, snail mail still exists!) so they don’t feel so isolated.
• Encourage your pastor. It is so challenging to preach/teach to a camera! Since we’ve been livestreaming our daily presentations at the museum during the pandemic, I’ve come to appreciate just how challenging this is! Pastors are also extremely busy trying to meet people’s needs and stay healthy.
• Be sure to tune into the services that are being provided by your church, and if they’re not, find a solid bible-based church that is. I’m finding more than ever how much I need that weekly refreshment of being taught the Word and encouraged by it.
• Don’t forget to keep giving your offerings to support the work of the church. It’s easy to do when the offering plate isn’t be passed directly in front of us. But the church still has bills to pay, missionaries to support, and people to help (maybe now more than ever!). Contact your church to find out how you can still give regularly.

We also need to remember that though our traditions are not doable, the truths of Easter remain the same.

We also need to remember that though our traditions are not doable, the truths of Easter remain the same. Paul said, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3–4). This is the gospel in a nutshell. Christ died for our sins and rose again. And this truth is so important that Paul said, “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain . . . And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:14, 17). The resurrection of Christ that we celebrate at Easter is an essential part of the gospel and only by repenting of our sins and believing in Christ’s death and resurrection can we be saved.

But why are we all sinners in need of salvation? Paul talks about this also when he says, “For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:21–22). Because of Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3) and because we all descend from Adam, we all are dead in our sins and we all need the salvation offered through the death and resurrection of Christ. And for this we give thanks to God and say with Paul, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57).

Although the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter may be closed for now, Answers in Genesis is still diligently working to share the gospel with people around the globe. Thankfully we live in a time when technology is readily available and easy to use so we can keep proclaiming the truth of God’s Word on the Internet and through our many other resources like books and DVDs. We even have some special offerings for you and your family this Easter.

Check out our free ABC Sunday school lessons! There are two chronological lessons that share the account of Easter and two topical lessons that teach Christians how to defend (apologetics) the death and resurrection of Christ in a skeptical world. I encourage you to use these in the time leading up to Easter.

April 10–12 we will be offering an online Answers Easter Event on Facebook and YouTube. This unique event will feature presentations by dymanic speakers who will equip and encourage believers and be a powerful witness to unbelievers. These presentations will also be available on Facebook and YouTube later if you miss them.

April 10 (Good Friday)

• 8 a.m.: Devotional with Ken Ham—What is the Gospel?
• 10 a.m.: Science Experiment
• 12 p.m.: Tracing the Gospel through History Beginning in Genesis—Bryan Osborne
• 3 p.m.: Animal Encounter
• 7 p.m.: Anatomy and Physiology of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ—Georgia Purdom

April 11

• 12 p.m.: Refuting Modern Myths about Jesus Christ—Tim Chaffey
• 3 p.m.: Devotional for Kids—Bryan Osborne
• 7 p.m.: Southern Salvation concert—Classic Easter Hymns

April 12 (Easter)

• 8 a.m.: Devotional with Ken Ham and Ray Comfort
• 12 p.m.: He Is Risen: Evidences of the Resurrection—Tim Chaffey
• 3 p.m.: Devotional for Kids—Bryan Osborne
• 7 p.m.: Jesus is the God of the Old Testament—Bodie Hodge

All times are Eastern.

Even as you faithfully give to your church, we ask that you prayerfully consider donating to AiG. We want to keep these wonderful programming and resources coming your way, but that is challenging to do during this time. For more information on donating to AiG, please visit our donate page.

Let us take as our command what Paul commanded the church at Corinth, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58).