Due to weather conditions, all in-person daytime and evening programs have been canceled across the church’s locations for Wednesday, except for the Recovery programs and Food Pantry at Overland Park. Decisions for Thursday daytime programs will correspond with local school district decisions and will be posted on the church’s website.
Scheduled programming has resumed for Thursday, February 13 at all Resurrection locations.
January 17, 2025
Dear Resurrection Family,
Can I just tell you once more how proud I am of you, Church of the Resurrection? Tomorrow and Monday morning we have our biggest serve days of the year in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. weekend – over 1,100 of you have already signed up to serve in various ways throughout the city. (We have a few openings left, if you would like to join us, sign up here). Moments ago, I just received the final total for the Christmas Eve offering. I’ll share that with you in my sermon this weekend. In so many ways, you live the mission and ministry of Jesus. Thank you.
We’re continuing our new sermon series looking at the gospel stories of The People Jesus Loved. I’ll focus this weekend on a story that appears in Matthew, Mark and Luke, of a man afflicted with leprosy who Jesus touches and heals. As we’ll see, there’s far more here than meets the eye. We’ll learn about leprosy, fear and compassion. We’ll talk about what Jesus said to the man, and what he DID NOT say to the man. And we’ll begin and end with a clip from episode 6, season 1 of The Chosen.
This would be a great weekend to invite a friend to join you for worship. I promise they will be grateful you did.
This last Wednesday night, in person and online, we had over 800 people join us to watch the entire first episode of The Chosen and to discuss it around tables. It was a terrific discussion! This week, at Leawood, join me for supper from 5:30 to 6:30 pm (we ran out of food last Wednesday, but we’ll order plenty this week). At 6:30 pm I’ll introduce Episode Six: Indescribable Compassion (from which this weekend’s sermon will draw), and we’ll watch it, and then discuss it. It’s got some beautiful portrayals of gospel stories that will speak to you. You can join us at 6:30 pm CST online and at some of our locations or the livestream of this presentation. To find out more, click here.
We have been in contact with the disaster relief coordinators of the United Methodist Church in Southern California. Later we’ll be looking at sending teams to help, but currently, the most helpful tangible thing we can offer are donations that will be used to provide for the immediate needs of displaced persons. If you would like to join LaVon and me in donating, you can do this through our Disaster Response Fund by clicking here. I’ll share more about this in worship this weekend.
I’m looking forward to a special event this Thursday from 6-7 pm. I’ll be joining Healing House founder Bobbi Jo Reed at Resurrection Recovery for A Conversation of Hope. Bobbi Jo is an amazing woman who I am privileged to call a friend. With over 29 years of sobriety and a powerful story of transformation, she has dedicated her life to helping others overcome addiction, establishing a network of recovery homes that have served more than 14,000 individuals in Kansas City. The event is open to everyone, and you can join us in person at our Leawood location where a meal will be served at 5:30 pm or join us at one of our other locations or online for the livestream. Details are here.
Have you been saying “Someday I’ll go on a serve trip”? This could be that year. We have many opportunities for you to travel and serve both domestically and globally. Resurrection has trips in 2025 to Honduras, Costa Rica, Malawi, South Africa, and Uganda, as well as domestic trips for students and families with young children. Check them out here. After worship this weekend, members of our mission team will be passing out cookies, and they would love to talk with you about any of the upcoming serve trips and answer your questions. And you don’t need to be a member of Resurrection to join us, you must simply have a heart to serve.
Resurrection Foundation is offering a free online Estate Planning Seminar on Tuesday, Jan. 28, from 6 to 8 pm CST. Experienced estate planning attorneys who are Resurrection members will share helpful information to prepare you to take the next step with your own professional advisor. You’ll learn about essential topics like wills, trusts, and asset protection strategies, with practical advice for every life stage. Learn more and register by clicking here.
Every four years, in a tradition that began with President Washington, the morning after the presidential inauguration the President and Vice President, cabinet and leaders in the government have gathered for prayer. In 2012, I was invited by President Obama to deliver the message. This week in my Making Sense of Faith podcast, I’ll share briefly about preaching to the president in 2012. Then I’ll share a few thoughts on what I might have preached if I’d been asked to deliver the message this Tuesday at the National Cathedral for President Trump and Vice President Vance. Making Sense of Faith can be downloaded on your favorite podcast app, or click here to watch or listen to this as well as earlier episodes and to sign up to be notified when a new episode is released.
As we inaugurate a new president on Monday and swear in new congressional leaders, I encourage you to spend time in prayer for our country and leaders, regardless of their party affiliation. In 1 Timothy 2, Paul writes, “I ask that requests, prayers, petitions, and thanksgiving be made for all people. Pray for kings and everyone who is in authority so that we can live a quiet and peaceful life in complete godliness and dignity.”
I will be praying for our new President, Vice President, members of Congress, cabinet members and staff on Monday. I hope you will join me. My prayer will be something like this:
Lord our God, Ruler of all that is, I thank you for this nation in which I live. You see its awesome potential; you know our lofty ideals. You also know our challenges, our shortcomings, and our sins. You hear the cries of the needy, hungry and hurting in our midst.
As President Trump and Vice President Vance assume office, please guide them, help them, and convict them so that they might lead justly, with kindness and humility (Micah 6:8) so that “justice might roll down like a river, and righteousness like an everflowing stream.” (Amos 5:24)
Lord may your Spirit be at work in the hearts of those in the new administration, and in the Congress and our courts, that they might have wisdom to discern right from wrong, good from evil. Together, may they seek to govern according to your will. And help us, the citizens of your kingdom, and of this country, so that we might not only pray but work to see that “your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” In the name of Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
If you are interested in joining with others, the Braver Angels Faith Engagement Team, which Resurrection supports, will share a national ecumenical gathering of hope and prayer on Inauguration Eve, Sunday, Jan. 19, a 7 pm EST. The one-hour program features three speakers, representing a diversity of religious and political perspectives who have each demonstrated a commitment to building bridges across political and religious differences. Prayers from various faith traditions (including the United Methodist Church) will also be offered during the gathering, and the Braver Angels Music Team will provide musical interludes, concluding with the singing “My Country ‘Tis of Thee.” You can register for this online Zoom event here. The event is free if you use the promo code BRAVER during registration, but donations are also appreciated by this non-profit organization.
Stay warm and Go Chiefs!
Adam
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.