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We spend weeks getting ready for Christmas, but have we built a tradition around getting our families ready to celebrate the Resurrection? 

“Christmas kind of steals the spotlight,” says Birmingham, Alabama pastor, father of four, and pediatric physician Scott James. “But Christmas points to Easter. Without Easter, Christmas loses its glimmer.” 

James has written the new Easter family devotional book The Risen One. It’s meant to help families spend time connecting the baby of Christmas with the Savior who conquered death. 

“Easter really is the linchpin of the whole story,” he says.  

Taking time to help our families understand Easter not only builds a love for Jesus, James believes, but it can also open up conversation about the turbulent times we are living through.  

“We watch the news and we see trouble and turmoil and war and pandemic, and the list goes on,” he says. “We see a lot of things that don’t look like they’re going well. And I think this Resurrection story is one that we need to hear over and over and over again.”  

God defeated death, and it is good news that we will someday live with Him. Eternally.   

“We’ve got that light shining in our hearts and we then get to take that light into a dark world,” he says. “We get to shine that light for everyone, and be messengers of that hope. The whole world is dealing with the turmoil that’s going on right now and we get to bring a message of hope into it.” 

Listen in on our conversation about Easter and how to begin a regular time of Bible study with your family. The conversation lasts just shy of 13 minutes. 

Learn more about Scott James’s book The Risen One here.