NEW SERMON SERIES BEGINS - STUDY OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

Dear Resurrection Family,

[I’m adding this at the last minute: As I was finishing this eNote I learned of a school shooting at Olathe East High School. We have many students from Resurrection who attend Olathe East including some of our staff and pastor’s kids. My nephew, Brett, is a student there as well. One of the students called me a moment ago from his classroom – the students, as I write this, are on lockdown but there is no active shooter present now. We know a school administrator and security officer were shot. I have limited information as I write, but I’ve heard that the two staff who were shot are in stable condition – you’ll know more by the time you receive this note. In response to this tragedy at Olathe East, our Resurrection Leawood Student Center (Building C) and West (Olathe) location (24000 West Valley Parkway, Olathe) will be open today (Friday, March 4) to any students, families and faculty members who need someone to talk to from 1 – 6 pm. Please be in prayer for those who were shot and their families, for the students, faculty and staff of Olathe East and their families.]

The Lenten season has begun and I’d like to encourage you, if you live in the Kansas City area and you are able, to join us in person for worship during Lent.

We began the season of Lent at Resurrection with beautiful Ash Wednesday services this week at all of our locations and online. We were reminded that no matter what we’ve done, or how we’ve fallen short, God loves us, forgives us, and yearns to have a relationship with us. Lent is an intentional time to repent for the ways we’ve drifted from God, to recommit to Christ as we take on new spiritual practices and in the process, to find our faith renewed and deepened as we move towards Good Friday and Easter.

This weekend we’ll have communion with both bread and wine (unfermented) at each communion station for the first time since the week before the pandemic began (most recently we’ve been having bread only). Worshipers can choose to receive both bread and wine, or only bread, or to remain in their seats, but we wanted to return to the full experience of the Eucharist. Our 7:30 and 11 am services at Leawood will return to pastors wearing robes for Lent, adding back another tradition in these services.

As a congregation we’re going to be reading the Gospel of Luke during Lent. We’re just finishing Luke chapter 1 today. If you haven’t read it yet, take ten minutes to read Luke 1 tonight. And if you don’t receive our daily devotional via email, you can find out more about that below. I encourage you to sign up today.

THIS WEEKEND IN WORSHIP – JESUS AND THE OUTSIDERS, OUTCASTS AND OUTLAWS

I’m excited to be back in the pulpit this weekend as we begin our Lenten study of the Gospel of Luke. I’ll be preaching on the stories of Jesus’ ministry with Outsiders, Outcasts and Outlaws. We begin this week with the stories in Luke 1 and 2 with a message titled “Lifting Up the Lowly.” This weekend we’ll see the unlikely people God chooses to use, and we’ll hear the powerful words of Mary when she speaks of God’s concern for the poor and the powerless – words that seem particularly meaningful as we consider what’s happening in Ukraine right now, yet words that apply to each of us. Join us this weekend as we begin our study of Luke: Jesus and the Outsiders, Outcasts and Outlaws.

Invite a friend to join you for worship!

IN PERSON at one of our five locations:

—Leawood location at 7:30, 9, 11 am (traditional at 11 in the Sanctuary, modern at 11 in the Foundry) or 5 pm
—Downtown location Saturday at 5 pm or Sunday at 9 or 11 am
—Blue Springs, West (Olathe) and Overland Park locations Sunday at 9 or 11 am.ONLINE at cor.org on Saturday at 5 pm or Sunday at 7:30, 9 and 11 am or 5 pm
TELEVISION on KMCI Channel 38 at 8 am or 11 am
ON DEMAND on YouTube throughout the week

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR CONFIRMANDS

This Sunday afternoon, we will confirm 195 students from our Leawood, Overland Park and Blue Springs locations. (Downtown and West will have confirmation later in the month.) In confirmation, these young people are publicly accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior and saying they want to follow Jesus as a member of Church of the Resurrection. The ceremony will be at the Leawood location at 1:30 pm and you are invited to celebrate with these students. Here is the list of students, click to open, print it if you’d like, and then pray for these students as they take this important step in their spiritual lives. We baptized most of these children. You gave them their third grade Bibles, formed them in the nurseries, Sunday School and Vacation Bible Camp. And now we celebrate their confirmation!

STUDYING LUKE TOGETHER DURING LENT – GPS

We’re also reading and studying Luke churchwide – adults, students and children. Using the daily GPS (Grow, Pray and Study guide) you can read through the gospel during Lent by reading a short passage every day. For Lent we’ve “beefed up” the GPS with very short videos with reflections from our staff (each has been terrific so far!) and we’ve added a link with original music from Resurrection’s COR Worship Collective. If you are not already receiving the GPS, go to cor.org/next and make sure you sign up to receive the email with these resources each day. For Lent we’ve added a Sunday discussion guide to talk about Luke with family or friends over your Sunday meal.

In addition to individual study, we have an online study to “Go Deeper,” as well as some small groups starting at the end of the month. You can find these on our website: cor.org/Lent.

RESURRECTION RECOVERY HOSTS SPECIAL SPEAKER THIS WEEK

Resurrection Recovery groups welcome anyone who has been affected by substance, drug or alcohol abuse or addictions of any kind. Groups meet on Thursday nights at every Resurrection location and online. Programs include a testimony and opportunity to share fellowship and support. This coming Thursday, March 10, we will have a special speaker in person at Leawood and streamed to the other locations and online.

Laura Moritz, KMBC Channel 9 reporter and anchor, will share her personal story at 6:15 pm on Thursday in the Leawood Foundry. A three-time Emmy award winner and two-time Edward R Murrow award winner, Laura considers it a privilege to give people a voice in Kansas City. Her deep faith in Jesus Christ has guided her through many personal challenges including a life of sobriety since February 23, 2011. Laura will be speaking at 6:15, but all are welcome to come at 5:30 for pizza and fellowship in the Leawood Foundry.

Learn more about Resurrection Recovery and Support Groups →

LENTEN CONCERTS BEGIN WEDNESDAY

I’m excited that a wonderful Resurrection tradition is returning after a COVID hiatus. Every Wednesday during Lent, beginning March 9, and continuing through April 13, we will have a lunch hour concert in the Leawood Sanctuary. The concerts will also be streamed online. If you want to come early, you can purchase food from the Spring Café in building B or bring your own lunch and enjoy fellowship prior to the concert in the Sanctuary. Here’s the link to check out the weekly concert lineup or to get the online link.

Lenten Concert Schedule →

UPDATE ON ASSISTANCE TO UKRAINE

This week we were able to send funds to support two United Methodist Churches in western Ukraine who had become shelters for refugees fleeing eastern Ukraine. We’re in conversation with others who are ministering in the region and will be providing additional aid. This weekend our communion offering will be going to support this effort. Here’s the link to donate to our disaster response fund that makes it possible for Resurrection to respond to emergencies around the world.

Disaster Response Online Donations →

JOIN ME THIS WEDNESDAY FOR AN INSPIRING NIGHT

Wednesday night we’ll be hosting The Unlikely Conference, in an event that brings together unlikely friends – Muslims, Jews and Christians. We’ll be asking, is it possible for Christians and Jews and Muslims to hold deep convictions, to disagree on some important matters of faith, but yet to love one another and focus on what we share in common? You likely have Jewish and Muslim neighbors or co-workers. Your kids and grandkids go to school with people of other faiths. I’d like to invite you to join me for this gathering as we talk about one of the critical issues of our time – can people of different faiths find common ground and be peacemakers, loving their neighbor as they love themselves? I don’t want you to miss out on this unique opportunity as we listen and learn from one another, building bridges between faith communities in our city. Here’s the website to register.

Please join me in praying, right now, for all involved in the shooting at Olathe East High School and for those in Ukraine.

In Christ’s love,

Adam