Church of Christ Easter

Church of Christ came about in the early 1800’s. There was a father/son pair of Presbyterian ministers named Thomas and Alexander Campbell who were leaders in the Cane Ridge Revival, They left the Presbyterian Church because, "they believed that Christianity had become too institutionalized, divided, formalized, and denominational." They desired to bypass denominational differences and bring church worship back to basics of the New Testament and the teachings of Christ.  


What most people do not know is that Church of Christ is not actually a denomination. There is no central headquarters or national organization that serves as a form of leadership. Each congregation is autonomous, self-governed by a group of elders selected by the congregational members, "The only tie which binds the many congregations together is a common allegiance to Christ and the Bible." The churches do tend to be very similar in structure and core beliefs, with five basic principles of worship:

• Singing A Capella
• Praying
• Preaching
• Giving
• Weekly Partaking of The Lord's Supper

Easter is considered by most Christians, the most important observation of the religion and it is coincidentally also the most well attended service of the year for most churches. Easter is the commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus, 3 days after his death on the cross. In Western Christianity it is celebrated on the Sunday after the Paschal Moon and marks the end of Lent ~ the 40 day period of fasting & spiritual discipline that starts on Ash Wednesday. 

I visited Netherwood Church of Christ's 8:30am Easter service. They had a second service at 11am, followed by an egg hunt. In the bulletin, there were many social and service opportunities for members with different needs. 

They began with the group singing hymns. Then there was prayer and people greeted each other. In most churches, the greeting is quick, this however was a good 10 minutes where people actually got caught up with one another. I felt very welcomed.  

There was a prayer for the Lord's Supper - it represents the Freedom and Salvation that Jesus left to us, the bread was passed around to the congregants, another prayer as said before the juice was served. 

Minister Walter Lane gave the sermon. It was part of a 7 week series and an interpretive sermon of the resurrection of Christ based on Luke Chapter 24. Come Follow Me ---> Every one will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. ~ John 13:35 He spoke of the encouragement that we all had being Christians and to be assured that we can always return to the Lord, even after times we have turned away. 

FEAR AND FAILURE OF THE CROSS AND DOUBT OF THE TOMB ARE REPLACED BY THE JOY OF THE RESURRECTION. 

THANK YOU Netherwood Church of Christ for sharing your worship service with me. 

NOTE: Church of Christ churches typically do not have women in leadership roles.