Easter

Pastor Harry Richard grieved as he watched flames consume Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Just two weeks earlier, his church in Louisiana was set ablaze. It was one of three predominantly black churches in his area that were intentionally burned down, according to police.

There has been considerable controversy over the differences between Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and their respective descriptions of what happened on Easter Sunday morning. But the differences are not discrepancies. In other words, all four accounts, in my opinion, are complementary and perfectly compatible with one another. When we compare and align the four gospel accounts of the resurrection of Jesus, we derive the following ten truths.

1. The women who witnessed the crucifixion were committed to caring for Jesus

The first thing of importance for us to note is the commitment of several women who had witnessed the crucifixion and had helped in the burial of Jesus. They agreed to return on Sunday morning, after the Sabbath, to finish preparation of his body. Two women in particular, Joanna and Susanna, already had in their possession the spices needed to anoint Jesus (Luke 23:55-24:1). Early on Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene, the other Mary, and Salome went to the market to purchase additional spices with which to anoint and prepare Jesus’ body. These spices were used to offset odors that resulted from decomposition.

The fact that they agreed to return to the tomb on Sunday indicates that they had no expectations of an immediate resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

Get your FREE Easter Prayer and Scripture Guide here. Print and share hese beautiful prayers and Scripture as you celebrate Easter Sunday!

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Tomorrow is Good Friday. Hundreds of millions of Christians around the world will observe the day Jesus was nailed to the cross to save us from our sins. For many, it is a day of fasting. Of silence. Of prayer and contemplation. And that is as it should be.

Just in time for Easter, the newly restored Scala Sancta or Holy Stairs – which were said to be walked by Jesus just before Pontius Pilate sentenced him to death – were revealed in Rome on Thursday.

Easter egg shaped treats reading “Aborto Ya” which is Spanish for “Abortion Now” were distributed by teachers to children in Argentina.

If you attend a church that observes the liturgical calendar, this past weekend you may have noticed the sanctuary decorated with flowers, clergy clad in pink vestments, and the organist may have been allowed her chance at that instrumental solo she has been longing to launch into.

Pop star Justin Bieber’s Easter post proclaimed the truth of Scripture and received over three and a quarter million likes on Instagram, according to Relevant Magazine.

Easter this year was a time of mixed emotions for the Christians who live under pressure for their faith. While political and religious leaders called for peace, reconciliation and brotherhood, Christians in countries like Syria and the Philippines continued to face violence and its consequences.

Below, World Watch Monitor gives a snapshot of what Easter 2018 looked like in some of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.

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Islamist extremist groups suspected.

Now we can add China’s Tiangong-1 space station to the growing list of spacecraft that have returned unceremoniously to our planet.