Where to Find Passover and Unleavened Bread Gatherings for Believers in Messiah (Bible Holidays 2025)

Are you looking for a Passover or Unleavened Bread event happening near you? I'm excited to share this year's directory for 2025 to help you find a Biblical holiday event in your area that celebrates the Messiah. It features Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits events happening all across the US!

If you're looking for an opportunity to celebrate the upcoming Biblical holidays with other believers hopefully you can find a site that's celebrating in your area! Passover is a one day holiday but immediately after is Unleavened Bread, which is a week long.

When is Passover in 2025?

As you'll see below, different denominations and ministries go by different calendars, but most commonly the dates to celebrate Passover and Unleavened Bread this year start around April 12, but there is a wide range in dates. I would encourage you to pray about what dates you should keep.

Please note: I am not familiar with each ministry or all the people responsible for these Passover events. People celebrate the Biblical holidays in a variety of ways, so reach out and contact the organizers ahead of time if you have specific questions about what that will look like. I simply want to give people the option of connecting with others through this list.

While many of these events are free, some do require purchasing tickets and/or registering ahead of time, so make note of that when you are making plans! 

Passover and Unleavened Bread 2025 Event Directory:

Messiah in the Passover
March 9 - 23
Oakville, Ontario Canada

Messiah in the Passover Visual Presentation
March 19
Eaton Rapids, Michigan

Zadok Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread
April 6-17
Lebanon, Missouri

Do Good Ministry Passover Dinner
April 8
Osgood, Ohio

Brazos Bereans Passover
April 8
Glen Rose Texas

Christ in the Passover Presentation
April 9
Walled Lake, Michigan

Spring Feast Festival
April 10-14
Canton, Texas

Wilderness Tabernacle Passover Seder
April 11
Culpepper, Virginia

Temple Beyth El Passover
April 11
La Vergne, Tennessee

Passover and Unleavened Bread Services
April 11, 13, 19
Ritzville, Washington

Messianic Torah Observant Passover
April 11-20
Cleveland, Tennessee

Feast Meetup Pesach
April 11-21
Duffield, Virginia

Wellspring Passover Seder
April 12
Anchorage, Arkansas

Passover 2025 Kannapolis
April 12
Kannapolis, North Carolina

Lighthouse Messianic Passover
April 12
Monroe, Louisiana

Rock of Israel Seder
April 12
Hickory, North Carolina

Cliffview Church Passover Seder
April 12
Galax, Virginia

Logos Church Passover
April 12
Chatsworth, Georgia

Beth Ariel Messianic Passover
April 12
West Hills, California

Passover ATL
April 12
Atlanta, Georgia

Passover Festival of Freedom
April 12
Shepherdsville, Kentucky

Faith Baptist Passover
April 12
Champaign, Illinois

Uplift Passover
April 12
Halifax, Pennsylvania

Shalom Yeshua Seder
April 12
Evansville, Indiana

Grafted Church Passover
April 12-13
Hinton, Oklahoma

Jacob's Tent Passover
April 12-13
Cleveland, Tennessee

Yahweh's Assembly in Messiah Passover Memorial
April 12-20
Rocheport, Missouri

Messiah's New Life Tabernacle Feast of Unleavened Bread
April 12-20
Avila, Indiana

Philadelphia Christian Church Passover and Unleavened Bread
April 12-20
Lafayette, Louisiana

Beth Yeshua Passover
April 13
Macon, Georgia

Messiah in the Passover
April 13
Danville, Virginia

Hope of Israel Messianic Passover
April 13
Salem, Virginia

Passover Feast Let's Thrive
April 13
Aline, Oklahoma

Christ Centered Passover
April 13
Atkinson, Illinois

Messiah in the Passover
April 16
Staunton, Virginia

Behold the King Passover
April 17-19
Kissimmee, Florida

Last Day of Unleavened Bread Weekend
April 18-19
Tyler, Texas

House of Aaron Pesach Weekend
April 18-20
Eskdale, Utah

Passover Conference
April 18-20
Fort Lee, New Jersey

CBE Annual Passover Dinner
April 19
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Promise of Passover
April 25
Glen Rose, Texas

Passover and Unleavened Bread
April 26 - May 5
Farmerville, Louisiana

Harvest Revival Passover
April 27
Brookville, Ohio

Do you know of an event that I don't have listed? Let me know so it can be added!

Related posts:
Six Things You Can Do to Get Ready for the Spring Feasts
The Beginner's Guide to Passover
The Beginner's Guide to Unleavened Bread

Keeping the Biblical Holidays is Worship (The Best Reason to Celebrate the Biblical Holidays)

In this post we will talk about the primary reason that Bible believers today are called to keep the Biblical holidays such as Passover, Shavuot, and Tabernacles. These are holidays that were created by God and given to his people in Scripture passages such as Deuteronomy 16, and Leviticus 23. Christians should take part in these for one very compelling reason.

In the past we have talked about many reasons to take part in the feasts and holidays. Reasons like the Bible says so, Jesus did, the Disciples did, and that they can be very spiritually enriching are all legitimate and worthy reasons to stop and remember and celebrate these special times...but they are not the full story. There is more.

What is the best reason to celebrate the Biblical holidays?

It's because keeping the Biblical holidays is worshipping the Living God.

There is no better reason to take part in them. Each holiday is a time when we are collectively called, as the community of God's people, to join together in worship, as we remember the faithfulness of YHWH. We are called to remember his mighty acts that took place on the Bible holidays.

At Passover, the Messiah laid his life down for us. And thousands of years earlier, God freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Taking part in the Bible holidays is about remembering these saving acts (along with many others!) and giving thanks for them. We take part in the holidays to remind ourselves that YHWH does miracles and cares for us. We worship at these times, because he is worthy.

Yes, worship is something we should do daily. But Scripture specifically calls - even commands - us to do so especially during the Biblical holidays. By taking part in Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Shavuot, Trumpets, Yom Kippur, and the Feast of Tabernacles we show our allegiance and obedience to God. This is worship.

It's worship to center our lives around the times YHWH says to.

It's worship to take time off work and to step back from household duties to have time to remember the miracles God has done throughout history.

It's worship to gather with others in honor of the Messiah, to give thanks for what he has done in our lives.

It's worship to make plans and prepare a special meal when the Bible says to.

It's worship to read Scripture and to bless God and to sing praises on the Biblical holidays.

Part of what it means to bear God's image is to celebrate the things that he does, and he celebrates these holidays!

Bible holidays are for Bible believers...because Bible believers are called to lives of worship.

More about the Biblical holidays:

Why the Biblical Holidays are for All Believers
Why I Started Celebrating the Biblical Feasts
The Beginner's Guide to the Biblical Holidays
Why You Should Keep the Biblical Holidays

Are There Holidays in the Bible? Yes, and They Tell the Gospel Story

Did you know that there are holidays in the Bible? This post will delve into what those holidays are, which we are told by the Creator to keep, which are manmade, and where we see those in Scripture. We will also examine how the Biblical holidays tell of the work of the Messiah and the Gospel story.

Are there holidays in the Bible? I grew up in a Christian community and I had a vague notion that the holidays our world was centered around were somewhere in the Bible. Easter, Christmas, Lent, Advent...they were all in there somewhere, right? It took me a long time to realize that while there are holidays in the Bible, the ones I was used to were manmade.

What holidays are in the Bible?

There are many holidays in Scripture. They are special times that God created and expressly told his people to celebrate for all generations. YHWH made these holidays to be gifts for us that we would benefit from.

These holidays are:

-The weekly Sabbath.

-Passover.

-The Feast of Unleavened Bread (one week)

-First Fruits (which is during Unleavened Bread)

-Shavuot/Pentecost

-The Feast of Trumpets

-The Day of Cleansing

-The Feast of Tabernacles (eight days)

We should also note that while the Bible commands the above holidays to be kept and remembered, other holidays are mentioned anecdotally, without any such directive. 

What other holidays are mentioned in the Bible?

-Purim. The book of Esther talks about the events of the story being commemorated as an annual holiday.

-Hanukkah. There is some debate if what is called the "Feast of Dedication" in John 10 actually meant Hanukkah or if that indicated the final day of Tabernacles. If John 10 is about Hanukkah, it is the only reference to it we see in Scripture.

Again, it's important to distinguish that holidays like Passover were first described to the Israelites by YHWH himself. He expressly told people to take part in them, and keeping Sabbath days is one of the ten commandments. Whereas Purim, Hanukkah, and so forth came along years and years later, as man's way of remembering special events. 

Are birthdays in the Bible?

The Bible does mention a couple of birthday celebrations...rather ominously. In Genesis 40:20, Pharaoh hosts a birthday feast for himself and he ends up executing the chief baker - just as Joseph had interpreted from a dream while in prison. 

The next birthday party we see in Scripture is for King Herod in Matthew 14:6, and Mark 6:21. This time it was John the Baptist who was beheaded, as requested by Herodias, the stepdaughter of Herod.

It's also possible that when Job's children were killed they had been gathered together to celebrate a birthday. (Job 1:4, 1:18-19)

What does the Bible say about celebrating holidays?

Scripture talks repeatedly about taking part in the feasts and remembering the holidays the Creator gave us. Moreover, it records YHWH himself as commanding his people to keep celebrating them throughout their generations. Notably, the Bible refers to the Creator's holidays as times of joy.

When it comes to other holidays, ones that are manmade or part of our culture, Scripture does not record a blanket ban or acceptance of them. Before taking in part in a holiday, even when our intent is to honor YHWH, we should examine if the customs and origins of that celebration fit with what the Bible tells us about how we behave and specifically, that we shouldn't mix in cultural customs into our worship of God.

Here's an easy example:

In our culture, it's common have bachelor/bachelorette parties before someone gets married. While there is nothing unbiblical about celebrating a bride or groom to be, will the events of that party be godly or not? If a group of friends wants to go out to dinner, catch a baseball game, hang out on the beach, take a cooking class or so forth...there's nothing inherently wrong with doing so to celebrate their friend. But obviously, there are plenty parties where drunkenness and other poor choices run rampant and there's nothing godly or Biblical about those sorts of actions.

Here's a less easy example:

There is nothing in the Bible that says we can't remember the birth of Jesus and be thankful that it happened. There's nothing in the Bible against gathering with loved ones, having a festive meal, and giving gifts. But there is a problem if our festivities turn into an excuse for greed and gluttony, or involve customs that Scripture warns against (in the case of Christmas, decorating trees indoors, the traditional Christmas ham, or lying about things like Santa Claus or when the Messiah was actually born).

There are plenty of things worth celebrating that don't violate the commandments we are given in Scripture. But we need to be careful that it's not just our intentions that honor God - but that our actions do so as well.

What's special about the Bible holidays?

Each Bible holiday has a purpose behind it! Every single one has a deep amount of spiritual depth...and the most significant events that the Bible records are connected to these holidays in some way. Want proof?

Jesus was resurrected on First Fruits, during Unleavened Bread.

Jesus was crucified on Passover.

The Holy Spirit was poured out on believers on Shavuot.

The Jubilee years were announced on the Day of Cleansing.

The Red Sea was parted during Unleavened Bread.

The Israelites were freed from slavery on Passover.

It goes on.

When you celebrate these holidays, you are remembering the amazing things that God did on these days. And in these holidays we can see the Gospel story...that Jesus died for our freedom, rose again, that we are empowered by the Holy Spirit, and one day he will return and dwell among his people! The holidays are opportunities to praise YHWH and worship him for the miracles he has done. 

Want to learn more about the Bible holidays?

Check out these posts:
The Beginner's Guide to the Biblical Holidays
Why You Should Keep the Biblical Holidays
The Beginner's Guide to Passover

Covenant of Vocation vs Works Contract - N.T. Wright's Biblical Perspective Explained

This post provides a brief explanation of the concept of a "covenant of vocation" as contrasted against the typical "works contract" perspective of Scripture, as explained by N.T. Wright in his wonderful book, The Day the Revolution Began. Both the 'works contract' and 'covenant of vocation' are powerful lenses through which we see not only the Bible, but also God's plan for salvation through the Messiah. It's a distinction that will affect who we believe YHWH is, and what we believe about who he has called us to be, and our purpose here and now!

Most people today are familiar with the ‘works contract’ formula for faith - even if they don’t necessarily use that term. This is the basic understanding of the Gospel that most people have. This lens of looking at the work of Jesus is prevalent in most Christian denominations, as well as with people of different faith backgrounds. Most people believe (or have been told) something close to the following. 

How does the “works contract” model work? Here’s how N.T. Wright puts it:

a. All humans sinned, causing God to be angry and to want to kill them, to burn them forever in “hell.”

b. Jesus somehow got in the way and took the punishment (it helped, it seems, that he was innocent - and God’s own son).

c. We are in the clear after all, heading for “heaven” instead of hell (provided, of course, we believe it).

And when you look at relationship with God this way, it raises some questions. Why would God give us laws we can’t keep, causing us to be guilty, and then punish us with death? This perspective makes it sound like God laid a trap for people. That doesn’t sound like good news at all. Wright says, “The danger with this kind of popular teaching is that we end up rewriting John 3:16 - ‘God so hated the world, that he killed his son.’”

Under the ‘works contract’ perspective, Adam and Eve failed to keep the instructions God gave and because of that they were not only evicted from Eden, but they were also subject to the punishment of death.

This same story was then repeated…more laws were given to Israel through Moses. God’s people once again failed to keep these instructions, and the results was the same…they deserved death, and were heading to hell.

But finally Jesus arrived and managed to perfectly keep the law. His death as perfect and innocent somehow paid the penalty on behalf of the human race.

Wright says that this “view of the relationship between God and humans is a travesty. It is unbiblical and takes us to a goal very different from the one held out in Scripture.”

Wright believes the Bible offers us is not this “works contract” but a covenant of vocation.

What is a covenant of vocation?

“The vocation is that of being a genuine human being.”

It is being part of the royal priesthood. The Melchizedek order that the Messiah is high priest over.

It’s bearing God’s image…reflecting who he is into the world, caring for and stewarding fellow humans and creation.

To be clear, Wright is not saying that those who aren’t living this way aren’t actual humans or that they are somehow lesser than or anything like that. He's also not speaking against the Messiah's work or negating the promise of eternal life. He believes there is more to the Gospel story than what we have been told. He is saying that each of us has more potential we can fulfill through God’s plan for us, and living how he intends.

Wright believes that the main task of the covenant of vocation is being an image-bearer of God. That means that we are reflecting the Creator’s nature, love, truth, and faithfulness into the world, and also “reflecting the praises of all creation back to its maker.” Bearing God’s image means you are part of the royal priesthood, “and are called to the point where heaven and earth meet.” Humans are placed in a unique position where they are part of creation but also reflect the ‘life and love of heaven.’

In the covenant of vocation, humans were created to worship God, and to steward creation on his behalf. 

Under the covenant of vocation, the problem of sin is not just about what happens after we die. Sin keeps us from bearing God’s image and being part of his royal priesthood here and now.

Wright says, “The diagnosis of the human plight is not simply that humans have broken God’s moral law.” Keeping God’s laws and commandments are important…they are the ultimate guide to how we worship God, love our neighbors, and steward creation. But morality isn’t the whole story. Keeping Biblical law is a significant part of our vocation. When we break the law it is a “symptom of a much more serious disease.”

That disease is idolatry. 

Scripture tells us that God created humans to have “responsibility and authority with and over creation.” When we sin we give up that authority and are “giving worship and allegiance to forces and powers within creation itself” - whether or not that’s what we intend to do or believe is happening. 

Sin is a problem, not just because it demonstrates our shortcomings and leads us away from eternal life, but because it is idolatry, and idolatry keeps us from the covenant of vocation. “When we worship and serve forces within creation, we hand over our power to other forces that usurp our position.” And then we are no longer taking part in the royal priesthood or bearing the authentic image of YHWH back to creation.

Idolatry leads to slavery, which leads to death.

When Jesus died, he didn’t just take our punishment, and the sole goal wasn’t just to grant us eternal life…even though those are important truths worth celebrating. Wright says, “The New Testament insists, in book after book, that when Jesus died on the cross, something happened as a result of which the world is a different place.” When Jesus died, he freed us from idolatry and the horrible power of the forces behind it. Through his death, the Messiah enabled us to once again take part in the covenant of vocation, to worship him through the royal priesthood of Melchizedek, and to bear his image.

Scripture shows that humans are called to be part of the royal priesthood:

“You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood…that you may declare the praises of him who called you out.” 1 Peter 2:9

“You have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” -Revelation 5:10

In the works contract model, sin is the breaking of arbitrary commandments, which stops us from going to heaven.

But in the covenant of vocation model, idolatry (whose symptoms are seen in the Biblical definition of sin - breaking the commandments) stops us from being the humans YHWH created us to be.

This means that the Savior's death did not simply release people to go to heaven, but it frees us from the grips of idols, so that we can worship the Living God!

If we look at the Bible through the lens of the works contract, then it seems like:

-God set impossible standards for us that he knew we would fail at.

-All God wants from us is moral perfection.

-He's angry with us.

-The only thing Jesus's death accomplished was for us to go to heaven.

-It doesn't matter how I live or what I do because I am covered by the Messiah's blood.

But if we see Scripture through the covenant of vocation perspective, then:

-God gave us instructions so that we could achieve our ultimate purpose...showing the world who he is.

-God desires our worship and allegiance.

-God is not mad at us, but angry with the powers that have enslaved his people.

-The Savior's death freed us from those powers, so we can bring God's kingdom to earth here and now, and not just wait for heaven after death.

-Because I am freed by the Messiah, I can live how God called me to...as a priest and bearer of his image.

This is a simplified understanding of the explanation that N.T. Wright gives, but what a perspective shift! The covenant of vocation shows so much about the character of YHWH, and our role as his image-bearers. I highly recommend the book The Day the Revolution Began, to dive deeper into this topic.

More fresh perspective:

Did Jesus Speak Against Commandments or Traditions?
Misconceptions that Keep Us From Understanding the Bible
The Three Types of Laws in Scripture