Weekly Updates from Pastor Adam - July 29, 2022

Dear Resurrection Family,

Last Sunday we concluded our Summer Revival series on God and Tractors by focusing on the purpose of farm tractors and how they teach us about God’s purpose and mission for our lives. You can watch the message here. As a part of that we learned how our children at Vacation Bible Camp had raised over $11,000 to provide solar lighting kits for families in Malawi in villages where we have provided wells, churches, schools and clinics. Only 11 to 15% of people in Malawi have electricity. $100 buys a light kit with a solar panel, battery and four LED lights. I invited you to consider joining our VBC kids in bringing light to children and families in Malawi. Here’s where we are so far…

$191,603.52 DONATED LAST WEEKEND TO PROVIDE LIGHTS IN MALAWI!!!

You and our VBC kids have given $191,603 to provide 1,916 families in Malawi with solar light kits! The average household has seven people living in it, so you have brought light to the homes of 13,412 people. I’m so proud of you and grateful for your generosity. If you didn’t get a chance to contribute to the fund, you can do so by clicking here (you may need to scroll to the giving type: VBC Missions – Lights for Malawi). I’d love to get us over $200,000! If you’d like to see a one-minute video with our staff person in Malawi describing this project, please click here.

THIS WEEKEND IN WORSHIP: REMEMBERING ACTS

Pastor Scott Chrostek is going to be preaching a series of sermons that revisit what it looks like to live an authentic life of faith by examining the example of the early Christians and their communities as described in the book of Acts. He’ll be talking about the power of the Holy Spirit, the role and power of Christian community, and the importance of passing our faith from generation to generation.

It’s easy for us to become complacent in our faith. Even Jesus’ disciples, found themselves getting too comfortable, stuck in fear, making up excuses or thinking they weren’t up to the task. This weekend, in a sermon titled It’s Never Too Late, we’ll explore how the power of the Holy Spirit provides a reminder and a renewed passion – for the disciples and for us. I’m looking forward to Scott’s message, and I hope you’ll join us.

BRING YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY TO WORSHIP THIS WEEKEND

Join us in person at one of our five locations, or online or television.

• Leawood location at 7:30 am in Wesley Chapel, 9 am in Sanctuary, and 11 am traditional in Sanctuary and modern in Foundry, or 5 pm in Sanctuary
• Downtown location Saturday at 5 pm or Sunday at 9 or 11 am
• Blue Springs, Olathe (West) and Overland Park locations Sunday at 9 or 11 am
• Online at cor.org/live on Saturday at 5 pm or Sunday at 7:30, 9 and 11 am or 5 pm
• On KMCI Channel 38 television on Sunday at 8 am or 11 am
• On demand on YouTube throughout the week

TRACTORS, POWER AND RESURRECTION RECOVERY

During the sermon series on God and Tractors, I shared something each week from the Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step program as an additional illustration of how a higher power can help us live the life for which we were created. Resurrection has an incredible Recovery Ministry where more than 1,000 people are tapping into the power of God and a supportive community to find hope, healing and recovery from substance abuse and addiction. We have recovery groups at all five of our Resurrection locations meeting on Thursday nights and at some of the locations on other days throughout the week – everyone is welcome. You can check it out here.

We produced a video about Resurrection Recovery that I had planned to share with you last weekend, but ran out of time. Please take a minute and watch it here. If this is for you, join us on Thursday nights. If it’s not for you, who do you know that you can share it with? This is an amazing ministry that is transforming lives everyday!

Learn more about Resurrection Recovery. →

PARTNER SCHOOL SUPPLY DRIVE WRAPS UP THIS WEEKEND

This month we’ve been collecting school supplies for our partner schools and foster children and youth. If you picked up a bag to fill with the supplies, don’t forget to return it to church. If you still want to purchase supplies, you can also find the list of what’s needed on the website here. If you’d prefer, you can also donate toward the purchase of supplies and school uniforms. $40 purchases basic supplies for one student. Use this link to donate.

At Resurrection, we support 10 elementary schools, one after-school tutoring program, four pre-K programs and three global partner schools. As we prepare for a new school year, we have several ways you can help support our partner schools, children and families. If you are interested in getting more involved in this life-changing ministry, join us for informational meetings in August and September, and learn more about our Partner School and Pre-K initiatives.

Learn more about serving our Partner Schools. →

THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO ATTENDED THE FAITH AND ABORTION CONVERSATION

We had 5,200 people attend, 700 in person and 4,500 online for our Conversation on Faith and Abortion. Thank you to all who attended. If you were not able to participate Wednesday, you can view it online here.

I am grateful to our speakers who shared information from their areas of expertise – medical, judicial and legislative – and for our guests by video representing Kansans for Life, Planned Parenthood and Advice and Aid Crisis Pregnancy Center. Additionally, thank you to the 4,400 of you who shared your views in our faith and abortion survey. Most who attended, on either side of the issue, reported how grateful they were for the event and how it helped them understand the issue better, to see its complexity, to find ways to work towards common goals to reduce the number of abortions and to love their neighbor of an opposing view.

THE IMPORTANCE OF YOUR VOTE – PLEASE VOTE TUESDAY

If you live in Kansas or Missouri, your primary election is this coming Tuesday, August 2. If you haven’t already voted, I encourage you to do so Tuesday. Your vote matters. If you live in Kansas, you’ll be voting on the amendment to the Kansas Constitution related to abortion. You’ll need to decide if Value Them Both aligns with your views.

Typically a small number of people vote in a primary like this, which means, that a small number of people will decide the issue unless you show up. In addition to the Kansas constitutional amendment, both Kansans and Missourians will be voting on their party’s candidates for local and statewide office who will then go on to run in the general election. Again, because of the small number of people who vote in these primaries, a candidate need only get a small number of very committed people to show up to get elected.

If you care about your community, take thirty minutes to read about the candidates running in your election. You’ll have to look for a fair and balanced election guide – ideally one that has candidate profiles the candidates themselves filled out to understand their views. If you live in Johnson County, go to votejoco.com/candidates and then choose the Candidate Profiles tab to see your local, state and congressional candidate profiles. Two of the candidates for the non-partisan Johnson County Commission Chair are members of Resurrection, and I am praying for them, and for all the candidates, as I type this note. I am hand delivering my ballot today. Join me in voting.

GLOBAL LEADERSHIP SUMMIT THIS THURSDAY AND FRIDAY

Resurrection is a host site for the Global Leadership Summit Thursday and Friday, August 4-5, at our Leawood location. The annual leadership event offers the opportunity to join people from around the world for two days of high-impact, inspiring sessions on leadership development led by nationally recognized leaders. Every year I come away with dozens of new ideas. Check out the speakers, and register on the website. Purchase your ticket now, because the price increases for walk-ins.

CLOSING THE KINDNESS AND JUSTICE GAP – MICAH 6:8 CAMPAIGN LAUNCHES THIS FALL

One of our Vision 2030 goals is to make Kansas City look more like the Kingdom of God, and one way we hope to do that is to inspire our community with a city-wide kindness campaign during each national election year. In 2020, we launched our Love Your Neighbor campaign, spreading the message of love and kindness. This fall, we’re launching an even bigger campaign based on Micah 6:8, a scripture that challenges us to pursue justice, practice kindness, and act with humility (walking humbly with God).

Resurrection will be joined in this campaign by United Methodist churches across the country and churches in three Episcopal Diocese. Over then next few months, you’ll start seeing this campaign logo around the city. I thought you might like to see a fun video of the first sign going up outside Resurrection Downtown. Here’s the link.

We’ll officially kick off what we’re calling the BE Campaign at our Fall kickoff August 20/21. Throughout the fall, we’ll engage in acts of kindness and share the message that God expects us to do justice, act with kindness and walk humbly with God through T-shirts, yard signs, advertising, and social media. Throughout the month of October, I’ll be preaching on what it looks like to live out the Micah 6:8 scripture, and each week we will offer challenges for intentional acts of justice, humility and kindness.

TUESDAY NIGHT VESPERS THIS WEEK

Join me for Tuesday Night Vespers on Tuesday, August 3, at 7:30 pm central time on my Facebook page: Pastor Adam Hamilton on Facebook. If you follow my page, you can get an alert when I go live. After Tuesday, you can watch a replay on the Vespers YouTube page. In a survey we did on sermons a few weeks ago, I asked you if you could ask God three questions, what would you ask? I’ll be offering answers from scripture to a couple of the top questions this coming Tuesday.

I’LL BE SPEAKING IN HOUSTON AND LUFKIN TEXAS THIS WEEKEND

Finally, I’m heading to Texas tomorrow where I’ll be preaching and speaking this weekend. I appreciate your prayers as I share these messages. On Sunday, July 31, I’ll be preaching at Chapelwood UMC in Houston, Texas on The Power of the Lord’s Prayer – I’ll be preaching at their Greenbay Campus at 8:30, 9:45 and 11:15 a.m.

On Sunday night at Chapelwood, I’ll be speaking to 600 to 700 clergy and laity on A Future with Hope: The Future of the UMC. Then on Monday night I’ll be speaking at First UMC in Lufkin, Texas once more on the topic of A Future with Hope: The Future of the UMC. If you have friends who are United Methodists in the Houston or Lufkin area, more information and registration can be found here. I’d really appreciate your prayers as I speak at these events. While in Kansas and Nebraska, and most UMC annual conferences, the number of churches looking to leave and join a new Methodist denomination is 10 to 15 percent, in the southeast part of Texas that number is much higher. My hope is to encourage these leaders to remain UMC.

Church of the Resurrection, I am so proud of you and the remarkable ways you serve Christ and seek to embody His love and light in the world.

In Christ’s Love,
Adam