Weekly Update from Pastor Adam - March 6, 2026
THIS WEEKEND – THE FINAL WEEK: HOLY TUESDAY
As we continue to recount the Final Week of Jesus’ life during the Season of Lent, this weekend we come to Holy Tuesday. We’ll focus on Matthew 23, where we read of Jesus’ challenging words to the scribes and Pharisees. These words convict not only the religious leaders of Jesus’ day but also speak to us today. I’ll be returning from Dallas on Sunday, so I’m grateful Pastor Scott will be sharing the message this weekend.
STUDENT BAPTISMS IN NEW LEAWOOD STUDENT CENTER
On Wednesday night, 64 Resurrection students were baptized in the Leawood Student Center surrounded by family and friends – how cool is that??? I’m so proud of each of these students and the way they are following Jesus and growing in their faith. Our team shared with me how inspiring it was to see the joy and excitement on the students’ and their families’ faces. Thank you all for the many ways you support our students and children on their faith journeys. People of all ages can be baptized at Resurrection.
If you have never been baptized and would like to be, you can learn more on our website here.
RESURRECTION’S WORK TO STRENGTHEN CHURCHES
As I noted earlier, I have been in Dallas this week helping lead two cohorts of United Methodist pastors, about 150 in all. The aim is leadership development and peer learning focused on strengthening the congregations in our denomination and working together to draw people to Christ and transform our world. The first of these groups to gather was The Leading Edge, comprised of the pastors of the denomination’s largest churches. The second group, The Emerging Clergy Network, is composed of 80 young clergy from across the US, nominated by their bishops. Again and again, I heard from pastors how much these programs had positively impacted their lives, ministries and churches. Thank you for investing in these leaders!
DON’T MISS THIS YEAR’S EASTER EGG-VENTURE MARCH 28/29
Resurrection’s annual Easter Egg-Venture is one of our favorite ways to welcome our neighbors to our locations. This free, family-friendly event includes egg hunts, crafts and activities for kids of all ages. It’s a great opportunity to invite your friends and neighbors to join us. No registration is needed, just show up at one of our locations and join the fun! The Egg-Venture is Saturday, March 28, from 10 am-noon at Leawood, Downtown, Overland Park, Brookside and Lee’s Summit, and from 2-4 pm at West, Blue Springs and Spring Hill. Liberty’s Egg-Venture will be after 10 am worship on Sunday, March 29. We are also looking for volunteers, middle school age and older, to help make it a great experience for everyone. If you’d like to be part of this, you can sign up to volunteer here.
ARE YOU READING THE GPS DURING LENT?
I mentioned in my sermon last week that as we study Jesus’ final week, our daily GPS (Grow, Pray, Study Guide) offers additional scriptures and insights that we may not make it into the sermon. I hope that you are spending time reading scriptures each day during Lent, and the GPS is a simple way to do this. If you subscribe to the GPS here, you receive an email each morning to get your day started with scripture and prayer.
LENTEN CONCERT WEDNESDAY
Our midday concert on March 11 features the Resurrection Brass Quintet and Organ, comprised of members of the Resurrection Orchestra that leads the traditional worship at 11 am at Leawood. The concert starts at 12:15 pm in the Leawood Sanctuary and online here. Lunch is available for purchase before the concert in the Spring Café beginning at 11 am.
THANK YOU BLOOD DONORS – 866 UNITS OF BLOOD DONATED!
The final numbers from our February Blood drives are in, and again, Resurrection, I’m so proud of the way you show up to serve our community by saving lives. With donations at eight of our locations, you donated a total of 866 life-saving units of blood. This surpassed our last drive of 2025 in November, when we collected a grand total of 795 units of blood. Mark your calendars for the next blood drive in May. Dates, locations and information on donating are here. How awesome would it be for our Kansas City neighbors if we could hit 1,000 units in May!
SUPPORT “BRIGHT FUTURES” FOR TEENS AGING OUT OF FOSTER CARE
Each year, 500-700 teenagers age out of foster care in the Kansas City metropolitan area. These students leave the system without permanent families and support, facing high risks of homelessness and unemployment. Bright Futures is a community-wide effort, supported by Resurrection Women’s Ministries, that invites volunteers to guide Kansas and Missouri foster youth in developing critical financial skills. On Saturday, April 11, at 9 am at our Leawood location, we are hosting around 100 teenagers who are aging out of the foster care system — young people navigating the transition to independence, often without much support. Through this event, they’ll have the chance to connect with vendors, resources, and employers, take part in some breakout sessions, and then head out to Walmart with a personal shopper and $100 to spend. We need volunteers to help guide these students through the morning. This is a very tangible way to live out our vision of closing the opportunity gap for young people who need it most. To learn how you can be a part of this, go to cor.org/next to sign up and get all the details.
BEWARE “FAKE” ADAM HAMILTON E-MAIL OR SOCIAL MEDIA
“IRAN, YES OR NO?”
A family member recently sent me a text with these words, “Iran, Yes or No?” Like so many things, the answer is a bit complicated. Christians should always struggle with war, given Christ’s call to be peacemakers and to love our enemies. Yet St. Ambrose and St. Augustine in the 4th century addressed in their writings the reality that at times war may be the lesser of two evils. They noted that war may be justified in order to prevent greater harm and to bring about a just peace. They saw that inaction in the face of grave wrong or injustice that harmed, or could harm others, was itself a sin.
In the 13th century, St. Thomas Aquinas further developed Just War Theory, building on the work of many others. And his work has been further developed by moral thinkers since. As you may recall, there are two categories of questions about the morality of war: the first are just or moral causes and criteria for engaging in war, and the second are just or moral ways to wage war when it is deemed necessary.
What constitutes just causes for engaging in war? These include both stopping grave harm or evil that is occurring, or preventing it from occurring when there is an imminent threat to others. In addition to just causes, war must be a last resort.
Was there an imminent threat posed by Iran? Was the suppression of their own dissidents a sufficient justification? Did a plot to kill Presidents Biden and Trump in 2024, or Iran’s historic support of terrorist organizations in other countries, justify war? And, if so, had all other means of stopping them been exhausted? Another question might be added to these: What is the cost of this military action in human lives, and the long-term stability of the Middle East?
Christians and others may debate the answers, but at this point, we are at war, and the critical question is what happens next? In Just War Theory, when war is deemed justified, there are criteria for how to wage a just war. These include the principle of proportionality (the harm inflicted is proportionate to the harm that precipitated war), the importance of minimizing the deaths of non-combatants, and that the minimal force is used to achieve a just resolution.
My prayer is that there will be a quick cessation of war, that leaders in both countries will work for peace. And I pray that these actions will reset human rights in Iran, and its relations with other countries, and that there will be a minimal loss of life both in Iran and safekeeping for our troops. Please join me in praying for these things.
In Christ’s love,
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.
