Weekly Update from Pastor Adam - December 19, 2025
December 19, 2025
Dear Resurrection Family,
Christmas Eve Candlelight is coming, and I can’t wait! This week, our pastors and staff began praying over every seat in every worship space. They are praying for you and your friends and neighbors in the community, whom you are inviting to worship with us. It’s going to be an amazing Christmas Eve! You can share all the Christmas Eve information with your friends by sharing this website: cor.org/Christmas.
Here’s what’s coming up this week.
THIS SUNDAY MORNING: O HOLY NIGHT: THE LOST SECOND VERSE
SNEAK PEEK: CANDLELIGHT CHRISTMAS EVE MESSAGE
Starting Sunday night and throughout the Christmas Eve services my sermon will be on the magnificent final verse of O Holy Night: “Surely He Taught Us to Love One Another.” Once more, we’ll look at the Christmas story and the Messianic hopes of Isaiah through the lens of O Holy Night. The sermon begins with a home video clip my parents shot of the first Christmas I remember, 1967, as Jim Nabors (Gomer Pyle) sings O Holy Night – Boomers will recognize the toys around the tree. Then we’ll examine how O Holy Night inspired abolitionists, the song’s connection to the development of Lawrence and Manhattan (as well as Baker, K-State, and KU) in 1855-1866, and what this means for us today. Finally, we’ll turn to the film Home Alone that came out the year of Resurrection’s first Christmas, 1990, and the powerful scene when O Holy Night draws eight-year-old Kevin into the church and he, in turn, encourages an older man, estranged from his son, to reach out to him – a picture of estrangement, love and reconciliation. Can you tell that I’m moved by this message? I know it will resonate with you and with your unchurched family and friends.
CANDLELIGHT CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICES START SUNDAY NIGHT!
If you are traveling for Christmas Eve, or want to get an early start and free up seats and your time on Christmas Eve, join us for our first candlelight service this Sunday night at Leawood at 5 pm. Music will be modern with our band and will include the same carols we’ll sing in the traditional service and the same sermon I’ll preach Christmas Eve (see above). We will conclude with O Holy Night before moving into the candle lighting. Invite a friend and join us Sunday night.
CHRISTMAS EVE CANDLELIGHT TIMES AND CROWDS
We’ll have candlelight services at all nine Kansas City area locations, as well as Mason, Ohio and on TV and online. For worship times at your location, please see your location pastor’s email from Tuesday or visit cor.org/Christmas. I’ll cover the Leawood location only here. After Sunday night, we’ll pick up the Christmas Eve services on Tuesday, Dec. 23 (Christmas Eve, Eve!) and Wednesday, Dec. 24 (Christmas Eve). Here are the Leawood, TV and Online times. The choir and orchestra lead in the Sanctuary at 3, 5 and 7 pm on Christmas Eve, modern worship leaders at 3 and 5 pm in our Foundry Hall. The other services are with our modern band or special ensembles – all will be leading traditional carols and include O Holy Night – and all will be BEAUTIFUL!
VOLUNTEERS STILL NEEDED ON CHRISTMAS EVE!
Speaking of welcoming, I don’t know of any better way to share the love of Christ and experience personal joy than by volunteering at Candlelight Christmas Eve worship services. Volunteers of all ages can help with everything from greeting and ushering to assisting with candles throughout the evening. We still have openings for volunteers at every location, but we especially need Parking Lot/Crosswalk/Shuttle volunteers on the 24th at Leawood. You can help create a welcoming experience for others by volunteering here.
CANDLELIGHT CHRISTMAS EVE OFFERING
As I shared last week, this will be the 17th year in which we give away our entire Christmas Eve offering to shine the light of Christ and offer hope to some of the most vulnerable people in our city and around the world. I invite you, our members, to consider giving an amount in this offering equal to what you spent on your entire family to benefit other families in Kansas City and around the world. LaVon and I do this each year, as do hundreds of others, some giving far more. The thing I love is that we can see the impact this has on people and communities.
Not everyone can give what they spend on their family, and that’s okay. I just want to encourage you to be as generous as possible. Last year, you gave $2.1 million in one night, and the impact provided clean drinking water, solar lights, preschool education, nutrition support for low-income children in Kansas City, and so much more. You can give on Christmas Eve, or you can give online in advance here. If you are giving in honor of a friend or loved one, we have a gift card that you can download here to share with them.
CHRISTMAS AT RESURRECTION – THANK YOU!
Over 10,000 people experienced an amazing Christmas at Resurrection this year – it was so beautiful. I want to thank Kevin Bogan, all of our staff, and all of our amazing volunteers – tech, sets, actors, ringers, children, youth, choir, orchestra, CART team, ushers, greeters, and parking lot folks. Thank you! It was such a special CAR this year!
PLEASE HELP – 5 MINUTES – JANUARY SERMON SERIES: FEARLESS
In January, I’ll be sharing a sermon series called Fearless, focused on common fears and how scripture and our faith play a part in helping us live fearlessly. I preached a series like this nine years ago and invited our congregation to take a survey on their fears – the sermons were built based upon their fears, not something I read in a book! Now, nine years later, I’d like you to take that survey again. I’d like to see how our fears have changed, which have remained the same, and how you cope with fear. The survey will only take five minutes. Could you please take a moment today to complete this survey? If you are in your teens, 20s, 30s and 40s, I would really like to encourage you to take the survey. I want this series of sermons to be helpful to you as well as the folks my age! You can take the survey HERE and help me as I prepare for this series, Fearless: Overcoming Fear with Faith that begins January 11.
HAVE YOU MADE YOUR PLEDGE FOR 2026 YET? WE NEED YOU!
As we are nailing down our ministry plans for 2026, we need your help! We’ve had a great response to the stewardship campaign – the average pledge is up, with many who have never pledged making pledges. Thank you!!! Now we’re hoping to hear from those who have not yet made your 2026 pledge. You can make your pledge today by clicking here.
YEAR-END GIVING
Please remember that the Christmas Eve offering is a special missions offering and does not go towards your ministry pledge for this year. Resurrection makes its budget thanks to our year-end giving – you help us catch up at this time and prepare for the new year. Yesterday, I took my check to our finance team to complete LaVon and my pledge for the year. Many of you have been doing the same. Thank you. You can also donate appreciated stock, which offers significant tax benefits. Click here to contact the Resurrection Development Team for assistance with year-end giving.
ALL IS CALM: THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE OF 1914 PRESENTED THIS WEEKEND
Several weeks ago, I shared the story of the Christmas Truce of 1914, when soldiers on both sides stopped fighting to celebrate Christmas together. Music Theater Kansas City is presenting a very special production of All is Calm that uses the real words of the soldiers who were part of the truce, through journal entries, letters, and reports, and integrates real images on the screen, courtesy of the WW1 Museum’s Digital Archives. It is an amazing show – I saw portions of another production several years ago, and it is well worth your time. The 70-minute show features eight men representing 36 soldiers – singing a cappella the whole time. You can see All is Calm at B&B Live, inside the B&B movie theater complex off 435 and Midland Drive (16301 Midland Drive, Shawnee, KS). Tickets can be purchased online (www.mtkc.org) or in person up to an hour before showtime. Four performances are remaining this weekend: Fri. Dec. 19, 7 pm; Sat. Dec. 20, 2 pm and 7 pm; and Sun. Dec. 21, 2 pm.
As we celebrate our 36th Christmas Eve, I am so profoundly grateful for you, Resurrection, and excited to celebrate together the “good news of great joy for all people!”
Blessed Christmas!
Adam
Adam Hamilton
Resurrection Senior Pastor
Reverend Adam Hamilton is the senior pastor of Church of the Resurrection and the author of 22 books. He has been married to LaVon since 1982, and she has been a critical partner in every dimension of Adam’s work. They have two daughters and one granddaughter.
Adam’s writings are known for helping readers make sense of challenging theological questions, exploring the significance of the biblical stories, and equipping Christian leaders to be more effective in their work. He earned his MDiv from Perkins School of Theology and graduated with honors from Oral Roberts University with a degree in Pastoral Ministry.
