Weekly Update from Pastor Adam - October 25, 2024
October 25, 2024
Dear Resurrection Family,
It’s going to be a magnificent weekend for those of you in Kansas City – sunny and beautiful – and some exciting things are happening at Resurrection this weekend!
Fall is my favorite time of year. I reminded folks on my Vespers Tuesday night that as the chlorophyll breaks down in the leaves on the trees, we begin to see the true colors that were always there in the leaves – yellows and oranges – and the sugars that remain in the leaves give us the beautiful reds. Some have speculated on an evolutionary advantage to having these hidden pigments in the leaves that are only revealed for a week or two in the fall. Maybe – I think God is just showing off – displaying his glory in a way that touches our hearts!
And, I think we’re meant to display God’s glory too – which is what Jesus was pointing to when he said, “Let your light so shine before others, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
Here’s what’s coming up this weekend…
THIS WEEKEND: KENNEDY, REAGAN, GOLF AND OREOS???
This weekend in worship, we’ll have moving music meaningful moments of prayer, and in my message, we’re going to consider how we decide what we believe, we’ll look at the difference between wise people and fools (as described in Proverbs), we’ll look at the importance in faith and politics of seeing gray in a world of black and white, and how both Jesus and Paul did this. I’ll give you an illustration from golf and Oreos in the hope of helping you remember the point, and we’ll end by hearing a clip from John F. Kennedy’s famous inaugural address of 1961 and one from Ronald Reagan’s second inaugural address. And all of this will help us practice the Golden Rule in politics!
Invite a friend. If you live in KC, join us at any of our seven area locations if you can, or on TV or online. By the way, did you know that we’re now on KSMO 62 at 9 am in addition to our normal KMCI 38 at 8 and 11 am? And the TV stations often replay our services in the middle of the night – I think they believe this is a public service to help people get to sleep with the help of my sermons 😊.
TRUNK OR TREAT SATURDAY, OCT. 26 AND SUNDAY, OCT. 27
Trunk or Treat this weekend is one of our biggest outreach opportunities for kids and families. Invite your family, friends and neighbors to join you for a day of fun, games, crafts and lots of candy! In the case of inclement weather, the events will move indoors at each location, so come on out rain or shine!
Here is the schedule at each of our locations:
• Oct. 26, 10 am to noon, West (Olathe)
• Oct. 26, 3 to 5 pm, Leawood, Blue Springs, Overland Park, & Brookside
• Oct. 27, After worship services at 9 and 11 am, Downtown
• Oct. 27, After worship service at 9 am, Spring Hill
FIND YOUR PURPOSE EVENT TOMORROW
It’s not too late to join us for Find Your Purpose, an amazing event tomorrow, Oct. 26 from 9 am-noon. This event features bestselling author Bob Goff, author of Love Does and Everybody Always, Neal Sharma a local CEO who will share personal insights and practical advice on how to find your purpose in any season of life, and Resurrection staff member Debi Nixon, our Executive Director of Generosity. Whatever your life stage, you don’t want to miss this one-of-a-kind opportunity to explore a deeper sense of purpose, meaning and connection as you move into new seasons of life. Register for either in-person attendance or online here.
LAST WEEKEND TO DONATE PROTEIN BARS FOR HUNGRY KIDS
Sunday is the last day to “Raise the Bar Against Hunger” by donating protein bars for our Backpacks for Hunger program that helps feed kids in our partner schools. You can drop your protein bars off at any Resurrection location. This week my sister, Jenifer, sent me a pic of some of the protein bars her neighbors donated during their annual fall picnic. I love that they decided to do this, and she noted, “I’m so proud of my fellow neighbors!” I find it blesses others to be invited to provide something like these protein bars for hungry kids here in KC! It’s not too late to bring protein bars for kids. Jen and Jason inviting people was a witness to their neighbors that they go to Resurrection, and Resurrection cares about children. Here’s a pic of the donations from Jen’s neighbors:
JOY IN SERVING FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON KICKS OFF THIS WEEKEND
RESURRECTION MEMBERS SERVING AS POLLING STATION VOLUNTEERS
SPREADING THE MESSAGE OF THE DO UNTO OTHERS KINDNESS CAMPAIGN
YARD SIGNS: Thank you to everyone who has taken Do Unto Others yard signs and displayed them on your property. I love driving across the metro and seeing this message. We are aware that there have been some issues with some municipalities not allowing our signs on public property. We’ll be looking into this and making some changes with the next campaign in 2026.
In the meantime, we hope to have a Do Unto Others sign at as many polling places as possible. In Kansas, campaign signs must be 250 ft from the entrance, and in Missouri, campaign signs must be 25 ft from the outer door closest to the polling place. Generally, there is a large collection of campaign signs placed at these distances, and we’d like to get a kindness campaign sign there, too. We’ll have signs available over the next two weekends at all locations if you’d like to take one to your polling place.
Week 2 – Dr. John Fletcher, The Braver Angels Way
Week 3 – The After Party, with Curtis Chang
REGISTRATION OPEN FOR 2025 FAMILY SERVE TRIPS
VESPERS THIS TUESDAY NIGHT
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.
