Weekly Update from Pastor Adam - November 28, 2025

November 28, 2025

Dear Resurrection Family,

The older I get, the more I’m trying to notice the beauty and goodness and blessings around me, and want to savor them. Thanksgiving was a great day for that. As we do each year, we hosted both of our families for dinner. We prayed, then feasted and enjoyed each other’s company. We watched the Chiefs’ game together, then after our extended family left, our kids and granddaughter decorated the Christmas tree. Then our kids left, and LaVon and I prepared for bed. I sat down to write in my Advent Gratitude Journal – we gave them out last Sunday in worship – and I began to weep as I thought about how grateful I am; grateful for the beauty of the earth, for the blessing of family and friends, for the joy of being your pastor, and grateful to the One from whom all blessings flow. Whether you picked up one of the gratitude journals or not, take a few moments today to write down, or type up on your computer or phone, the blessings in your life, and express your gratitude to God. I’m encouraging you to do this every day through the season of Advent.

This weekend we begin the season of Advent – the four Sundays leading up to Christmas. It’s one of my favorite times of the year. Our worship spaces are beautifully decorated. Each weekend, we’ll sing familiar Christmas carols, and we’ll light the Advent candles as we prepare to celebrate Christmas. I hope you’ll plan to be in worship each week as we prepare our hearts for Christmas.

THIS WEEKEND – O HOLY NIGHT: THE NIGHT OF THE DEAR SAVIOR’S BIRTH

This month, we’ll look at Advent and the stories surrounding Christmas through the lens of one of the most loved Christmas carols, O Holy Night. We’ll learn a little history of the song – it was written in the 1840s when food shortages and economic disparity led to a growing frustration with the kings of Europe. This would climax in two years of revolutions across Europe. Charles Dickens and Victor Hugo were both writing some of their most famous works during this time. O Holy Night was written and performed in France just two months before the overthrow of the monarchy. It was a revolutionary song singing of a different kind of king.

In my message, I’ll share with you a bit of that history, then a bit of the history of Israel around the time the Book of Isaiah was written, and two of the passages in Isaiah pointing to the hope for a king whom God would send to bring light in the darkness. I’ll also share a bit of how you, as Christ’s followers, brought light into our city this week.

Here’s the promo video for the series that you can share with your friends.

CONGRATULATIONS RESURRECTION DOWNTOWN – 16 YEARS!

Congratulations to Resurrection Downtown which is celebrating their 16th anniversary this weekend! I’m grateful and proud of all of you at Resurrection Downtown and the amazing ways you share the light of Christ in the heart of our city!

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO BROUGHT THANKSGIVING TO OTHERS THIS WEEK

It was awesome to hear the reports of all the people you served, and the ways and places you served, this last week! Between the pop-up food drives, the food mobile, our food pantry and gifts to other pantries, the 2,500 Thanksgiving meals you donated, and the many places you served hot meals throughout this week, including many of you spending your Thanksgiving yesterday serving, I can’t even begin to calculate how many people you blessed. Thank you to all who donated food, and to all who gave their time to serve. I am so proud of you! I’ll share a few pics in my sermon (at the locations I filmed the sermon on Wednesday afternoon, so the pics are from all you did before Thanksgiving. At Leawood, I’ll have a few additional pics from Thanksgiving day). I am so proud of you.

HOLIDAY JOY IN SERVING – PARTNER SCHOOL TOY DRIVE

No sooner have we finished serving for Thanksgiving than we move into the Christmas season, kicking off our Partner School Toy Drive to benefit kids inside our 13 partner schools. For the next two weeks, we’re collecting new toys to supply the incentive stores and equip classrooms. There are three ways you can participate: 1) Pick up a toy list at any of our locations to see what’s most needed, shop for the toys and return to the church. (This is a great way to involve your children.) 2) You can shop directly from our Amazon Wish List and have everything shipped straight to the church. Here’s the link. Or 3) You can make a financial donation here that will benefit the schools throughout the year. This is a simple way to encourage and celebrate kids in our community and experience the Joy in Serving.

During the holiday season, we have a variety of ways you can share Christ’s love with our neighbors in need, experience the joy of being God’s hands and feet in action and discover how even small acts of kindness can create powerful ripples of positive change. Find your place to serve this holiday season here.

I AM GRATEFUL FOR YOUR ANNUAL COMMITMENTS

Commitments continue to come in for our 2026 Ministry Fund. Thank you! Your commitment is an expression of your faith, a statement of your values, and a way of helping the church plan ministry for the coming year. If you haven’t returned a commitment card, you can do so in worship this weekend or online here.Make sure you pick up your 2026 Resurrection Mug as a thank-you for returning your commitment card – one per household – but one for each child or teen who makes their own commitment. We encouraged you to consider increasing your commitment this year, and most of you have done that – thank you!!!

JOIN OUR DIGITAL ADVENT STUDY

Our 4-week digital study, Honest Advent, begins Monday, Dec. 1. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to connect with the Christmas story wherever, whenever you can, in the midst of this busy time of year. You can use the resources with a small group or on your own. If you haven’t registered yet, you can do so here.

BLUE CHRISTMAS SERVICE OFFERS COMFORT AND HOPE

For many of us, the holidays can be difficult, as grief, illness, or life changes make it hard to get through. Our Blue Christmas Service offers a place where you can come as you are and find some comfort and hope. The service is at 6 pm at our Leawood location in the Wesley Chapel and online. Here are the details and the link to the livestream. Share this with someone you know who would find it comforting.

YOU COULD LEAD A SMALL GROUP IN THE NEW YEAR

Starting in January, we’re going to be launching our next session of small groups and classes, but in order to do so, we are looking for a new group of leaders, people who want to sign up as hosts for our small groups. I wonder if God might be calling you? Leading a group doesn’t mean you have all the answers or that you need to be an expert. It really just means you’re creating space for 5 to 15 people to gather regularly, ask honest questions, and build real relationships. Our discipleship team will help you with the rest. If that sounds like something you might be interested in, I encourage you to respond here to learn more about what it looks like to host a small group, and I can assure you, it might just be the best thing you do all year.

SPECIAL EVENING FOR WOMEN AT LEAWOOD

On Friday, Dec. 5, our Leawood Women’s Ministry is hosting a special evening retreat called “Embracing the Pause.” This gathering from 6 – 8 pm in the Building B Foundry provides women with a chance to step away from the busyness of the holiday season and gather together with other Resurrection women for an evening intentionally designed to help you find rest. We’ll have guided meditation, a hands-on seed-saving workshop, and a tea blending bar where you can create your own seasonal blend. There will be winter charcuterie boards, good conversation, and plenty of space to connect with other women while finding rest and renewal. Bring a friend and enjoy an evening just for you. You can register here.

SAVING LIVES WITH BLOOD DONATIONS

I want to add my personal thanks to those we’ve received from the Community Blood Center and the community as a whole to all who stepped up to donate blood, roughly 3,000 units of blood in the past year. In our most recent drive, you donated a grand total of 795 units. This included 614 units from Leawood and 152 units from Overland Park, Blue Springs, Downtown, Spring Hill and West, and 29 units from Lee’s Summit’s inaugural blood drive. Resurrection’s drives are scheduled throughout the year to come at critical times to meet the needs of our community. Thank you to each of the donors, as well as the volunteers and staff at Resurrection, who help make our blood drives happen. Our first drives of 2026 will be in February. You can find the dates here to put on your calendar.

BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING TODAY?

If you’re looking for meaningful gifts, don’t forget the ideas I shared last week:

Give a gift in honor of your loved ones to our Candlelight Christmas Eve Offering, where 100% of this offering supports families and children in poverty, half locally and half globally. You can also download the gift card here.
Registration is open for our Student Serve Trips here. The gift of a serve trip could be a life-changing gift for that special student in your life.

THIS WEEK’S PODCAST: FAITH AND ORGAN DONATION

In my Making Sense of Faith podcast released Tuesday, I shared a life-changing story about organ donations. I interviewed Resurrection member Jeff Risinger, who became a living donor, donating half his liver to save a complete stranger, and the University of Kansas Health System Chief of Surgery and the director of the transplant program, Dr. Sean Kumer. Did you know there are over 100 people in the Kansas City area who are waiting for a liver transplant, who will die without it? Or that there are 150 people waiting for a kidney transplant. You can check out the podcast here.

As I write these words, I am giving thanks to God for you, Resurrection, and the privilege of being your senior pastor. I truly love you.

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.

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