Easter - CEB Bible *Giveaway*

Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday (also Resurrection Day or Resurrection Sunday). The chronology of his death and resurrection is variously interpreted to have occurred between AD 26 and 36.

Easter marks the end of Lent, a forty-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance. The last week of the Lent is called Holy Week, and it contains Good Friday, commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus. Easter is followed by a fifty-day period called Eastertide or the Easter Season, ending with Pentecost Sunday.

Easter is a moveable feast, meaning it is not fixed in relation to the civil calendar. The First Council of Nicaea established the date of Easter as the first Sunday after the full moon (the Paschal Full Moon) following the northern hemisphere's vernal equinox. Ecclesiastically, the equinox is reckoned to be on March 21 (even though the equinox occurs, astronomically speaking, on March 20 in most years), and the "Full Moon" is not necessarily the astronomically correct date. The date of Easter therefore varies between March 22 and April 25. Eastern Christianity bases its calculations on the Julian Calendar whose March 21 corresponds, during the 21st century, to the 3rd of April in the Gregorian Calendar, in which calendar their celebration of Easter therefore varies between April 4 and May 8.

Matthew 28:1-10

"After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the tomb. Look, there was a great earthquake, for an angel from the Lord came down from heaven. Coming to the stone, he rolled it away and sat on it. Now his face was like lightning and his clothes as white as snow. The guards were so terrified of him that they shook with fear and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Don’t be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified.” He isn’t here, because he’s been raised from the dead, just as he said. Come, see the place where they laid him. Now hurry, go and tell his disciples, ‘He’s been raised from the dead. He’s going on ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there.’ I’ve given the message to you.” With great fear and excitement, they hurried away from the tomb and ran to tell his disciples. But Jesus met them and greeted them. They came and grabbed his feet and worshipped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Go and tell my brothers that I am going into Galilee. They will see me there.”

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Giveaway ends April 12th. Good luck!

Lady Day - CEB Bible *Giveaway*

Once cannot help noticing the proximity of the quarter days to significant solar events. The winter solstice, the spring equinox (Lady Day), the summer solstice and the autumnal equinox. However, the relationship is not precise because the quarter days are on fixed dates, 4 or 5 days after the more precise solar event. It's as though our ancient ancestors waited a few days to be sure, and then celebrated the solstice or equinox with a quarter day.

In myths described in the Mabinogion Welsh folk tales, Lady Day celebrates the union between the spring Virgin Goddess and the young solar God.

Luke 35-38

"The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come over you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the one who is to be born will be holy. He will be called God’s Son. 36 Look, even in her old age, your relative Elizabeth has conceived a son. This woman who was labeled ‘unable to conceive’ is now six months pregnant. 37 Nothing is impossible for God.” 38 Then Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant. Let it be with me just as you have said.” Then the angel left her."

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Giveaway ends April 5th. Good luck!

Conception - CEB Bible *Giveaway*

The purpose of the liturgical calendar is to relive the major events in Jesus’ life in real time, which is why Lent is forty days long. If Jesus were born on 25 December, then His conception - thus also His incarnation - would have been nine months earlier, on about 25 March. That is when the angel Gabriel would have announced Jesus’ birth to Mary. Thus 25 March is known in the historic church as The Annunciation.

Luke 1:35

"The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come over you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the one who is to be born will be holy. He will be called God’s Son."

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Giveaway ends March 29th. Good luck!

Fasting - CEB Bible *Giveaway*

The Fridays of Lent are days of required abstinence, meaning meat, and soups or gravies made of meat, are not permitted. Abstinence is required of those age 14 and older. Most Protestant churches that celebrate Lent do not have these official requirements. However, when we "give something up" for Lent, we are embracing a form of fasting, an excellent spiritual discipline. Eastern Christians have a more rigorous fast, abstaining from meat, wine, oil, dairy products, and even fish. Some people choose to give up sins (gossip, drunkenness, etc) for Lent. In this way, Lent represents a spiritual training time to overcome evil. Pope St. Leo, for example, emphasized that fasting from wrath is required along with food. Some give up things they have an inordinate desire for, e.g. sweets, caffeine, etc. By giving these up, the person fasting learns to control a particular part of his or her life, which leads to greater self-discipline even when Lent is over. As such in Lent we are able to learn, examine, and get under control our material excesses. Whatever you decide to fast from, remember, "Lent is more than a diet." Lent is about spiritual results, not material ones. So, while losing a few pounds may be a nice side benefit, all fasting should be done for God's glory and spiritual growth.

Joel 2:12

"Yet even now, says the LORD, return to me with all your hearts, with fasting, with weeping,

and with sorrow."

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Giveaway ends March 22nd. Good luck!

The Word Lent Not In Bible - CEB Bible *Giveaway*

But the Word “Lent” isn’t in the Bible! The word “Bible” isn't in the Bible, either! So what we're really asking is the origin of the name. Originally, “Lent” was nothing more than the English name of the season between winter and summer, the season when the snow melts and the flowers bloom. German and Dutch have the same word, but with slightly different spelling. In German, “Lenz” means “spring” in poetry. In Dutch, the word “lente” never changed its meaning. It is still the name of the season between winter and summer, and it is still used in everyday life.

The church observance took place during the season of lent. In England, “Lent” came to mean the observance rather than the season, leaving the season without a name. Instead of saying stupid things like “Lent happens during lent,” English-speaking people invented the word “spring.” Today, instead of calling the seasons winter, lent, and summer, we call them winter, spring, and summer. We use “Lent” instead of “spring” when we refer to the church season.

Sirach 24:25

"God supplies Wisdom comparable to the fullness of the Pishon River, even like the Tigris River in the springtime."

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Giveaway ends March 15th. Good luck!

The Color Purple - CEB Bible *Giveaway*

Purple is the name of a plant, a dye, and a color. The color comes from the dye that comes from the plant. In antiquity, purple dye was very expensive. Lydia in Acts 16:14 was a businesswoman who dealt in purple, so she must have been the first-century equivalent of a millionaire. Since purple was so expensive, only wealthy people could afford it, so it came to signify wealth, power, and royalty, much like caviar does today. Therefore purple is the color for the seasons of Advent and Lent, which celebrate the coming of the King. Since as Christians we prepare for our King through reflection and repentance, purple has also become a penitential color.

Exodus 28:15

"Make an embroidered chest pendant used for making decisions. Make it in the style of the vest, using gold, blue and purple and deep red yarns, and fine twisted linen."

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Giveaway ends March 8th. Good luck!

Lent Began Yesterday - CEB Bible *Giveaway*

Lent is a season of soul-searching and repentance. It is a season for reflection and taking stock. Lent originated in the very earliest days of the Church as a preparatory time for Easter, when the faithful rededicated themselves and when converts were instructed in the faith and prepared for baptism. By observing the forty days of Lent, the individual Christian imitates Jesus’ withdrawal into the wilderness for forty days. All churches that have a continuous history extending before AD 1500 observe Lent. The ancient church that wrote, collected, canonized, and propagated the New Testament also observed Lent, believing it to be a commandment from the apostles. Lent is a forty-day period before Easter. It begins on Ash Wednesday. We skip Sundays when we count the forty days, because Sundays commemorate the Resurrection. Lent begins on 22 February 2012 and ends on 7 April 2012, which is the day before Easter.

1 Corinthians 13:12

"Now we see a reflection in a mirror; then we will see face-to-face. Now I know partially, but then I will know completely in the same way that I have been completely known."

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Giveaway ends March 1st. Good luck!