Weekly Updates from Pastor Adam - July 1, 2022

Dear Resurrection Family,

I’m looking forward to being back in the pulpit this weekend as we kick off a new sermon series I’m calling God and Tractors: Summer Revival. Revivals are deeply rooted in our Methodist heritage. Methodism began as a revival movement within the Church of England, led by John Wesley and his brother Charles, in the 18^th Century, that spread through the British Empire and the United States. In the 19th Century, circuit-riding preachers held revivals and camp meetings throughout the United States. These revivals represented a spiritual renewal for both individuals and churches.

This month we’ll focus on foundational truths of the spiritual life. I’ll be using the tractor as a metaphor for both the Christian spiritual life and for God and God’s work in our lives. Each sermon will include stories about tractors as a way to illustrate spiritual truths. And, you’ll get to see some really cool tractors when you come to worship!

THIS WEEKEND IN WORSHIP: STUCK AND NEEDING A SAVIOR

I would guess every person with a tractor has gotten his or her tractor stuck. Recently I was driving my 58 year old John Deere 3020 where I should not have been driving – through some very soft and wet soil – and I got good and stuck (see the picture below). No matter what I did, I just kept digging it deeper and deeper in the mud. This weekend I’ll show you how I got it out, and what that teaches us about salvation. We’ll learn about salvation and being saved – words that are often bantered about but less often fully understood – and we’ll see how our faith in Christ, and Christ himself, has the power to deliver us when we find ourselves in the stuck places of life. I’ll have my 3020 tractor in worship this weekend. Invite a friend and join us for worship. If you are out of town, plan to join us online or on television! Click here to see the promo I filmed last week and please post to social media – you each have friends who love tractors but aren’t sure about God (the reason I’m using tractors in the sermons!).

INVITE A FRIEND TO JOIN US FOR WORSHIP THIS WEEKEND

Invite your family and friends to join you in person at one of our five locations:

• Leawood location at 7:30 am in Wesley Chapel, 9 am in Sanctuary, and 11 am traditional in Sanctuary and modern in Foundry, or 5 pm in Sanctuary
• Downtown location Saturday at 5 pm or Sunday at 9 or 11 am
• Blue Springs, Olathe (West) and Overland Park locations Sunday at 9 or 11 am
• Online at cor.org on Saturday at 5 pm or Sunday at 7:30, 9 and 11 am or 5 pm
• On KMCI Channel 38 television on Sunday at 8 am or 11 am
• On demand on YouTube throughout the week

BRING YOUR TRACTOR TO CHURCH!

On Sundays in July, if you have a tractor that you would like to display at one of our locations, during worship, for kids and grownups to enjoy, please reach out my assistant, Stephanie, at stephanie.hubers@cor.org and let her know the make and model of your tractor and the date you could bring it to one of our locations.

NEW PASTORS JOIN THE TEAM AT LEAWOOD THIS WEEKEND

As I shared a couple of weeks ago, two new pastors will be joining us this weekend at our Leawood location. If you worship at Leawood, be sure to welcome Rev. Heymi Lee Jones and Rev. Valerie Vogt. We are excited to have these amazing women serving our congregation. If you are worshipping at our Leawood location, please welcome them in person. These are two exceptional pastors and I’m so excited they are joining our team!

RUMMAGE SALE IS BACK!

One of my favorite annual events is back – our annual Rummage Sale sponsored by Resurrection’s United Women in Faith. This annual event offers an opportunity to donate, volunteer and shop – all to support grants to organizations benefiting women, children and youth both locally and globally. We had a scaled down sale last year due to COVID, but this year, the Rummage Sale is accepting furniture, children’s clothing, patio furniture, bicycles and lamps. Please note that only these items can be donated and sold. Here’s the schedule to participate:

• Donate – July 10-11 (Register for furniture pick up)
• Volunteer – July 10-16 (Register here)
• Shop – July 14-15 (Details here)

GLOBAL LEADERSHIP SUMMIT AUGUST 4-5

Resurrection will be a host site for the annual Global Leadership Summit, August 4-5, at our Leawood location and online. This is an opportunity to join people from around the world for two days of high-impact, inspiring sessions on leadership development. Check out the speakers, and register on the website. This is a great opportunity to invite your work team to join you! The speakers, this year, are a remarkable group of leaders including former Disney CEO Bob Iger, Lynsi Snyder, owner and president of In-Out-Burger, Andy Stanley of Northpoint Church and many outstanding leaders in the business, academic and church world.

DON’T MISS THE FUN AT RESURRECTION THIS SUMMER

Check out the events at all our locations at cor.org/summer, including:

• Vacation Bible Camp for K-5th graders – July 18-22. Visit cor.org/vbc to sign up!
• Resurrection at Sporting KC – July 30, 7:30 pm. Tickets are $29.
• Resurrection at The Royals – Aug. 5, 7:10 pm. Tickets are $19.

NEW: RESURRECTION MEN’S RETREAT AUGUST 26-28

Could you use a weekend on the lake? A weekend without work, chores or kids? Resurrection has a great get-away opportunity coming up just for men. Plan to join us August 26-28 at Table Rock Lake’s Clearwater Cove. This weekend at a resort-quality camp will be a chance to get away, decompress, connect with other guys and come back refreshed. Invite a friend to join you, and register online today, as spaces will be limited. Guys, I know many of you need to connect with others – this will be a very good time for your heart, mind and soul!

TUESDAY NIGHT VESPERS: QUESTIONS YOU WOULD ASK GOD

This week, I’ll be leading Vespers once again from the Lake of the Ozarks. Last week I invited you to submit ideas you would like me to consider preaching about over the next two years. We had thousands of ideas submitted. We’ve been collating these, and then categorizing and looking for trends. One of the questions I asked was, “If you could ask God anything, what would you ask?” I think we had 1,900 questions. I’m planning a sermon series on the top 5 or 6 in January, but I thought I’d use the opportunity over the next few weeks to answer some of the other 1,895! I’ll be looking for ones I’m interested in and looking to the Bible to see what we can learn about what God’s responses might be to your questions.

Join me Tuesday night at 7:30 pm central time on my Facebook page: Pastor Adam Hamilton on Facebook for Tuesday Vespers. If you “follow” you’ll be notified when I go live. You’ll also be able to view Vespers after it is over on my Facebook page or on the Vespers YouTube page after Tuesday night.

UPDATE ON CENTRAL UNITED METHODIST SEEKING TO BECOME RESURRECTION LOCATION

We’ve spent the last few months meeting with leaders and members of Central United Methodist Church, Kansas City’s oldest Protestant Church, as they explored becoming a location of Resurrection. They are located at 5144 Oak, right around the corner from the Plaza and have an amazing location and a beautiful building, but the church has struggled with a declining membership. Central played a pivotal role in the birth of Resurrection and was my first appointment as an associate pastor right out of seminary. Last night, the congregation at Central voted to officially seek to become a location of Resurrection. This will involve formally closing the church this fall, and then reopening as a location of Resurrection.

Now, it’s our turn to vote. Our team and Church Council have been doing our homework, by meeting with Central’s leaders, carefully evaluating the costs for any repairs or updating to the facilities, and meeting with Central’s staff and seeking to discern if this is the next right step for Resurrection. Our 2030 Vision includes 3 to 5 additional locations around the greater Kansas City area and our team feels that this is God’s will; but the next step for us is to invite you, as a congregation, to ask questions and to vote at an official Church Conference. All church members will have a vote, but any visitors are welcome to attend. We’ll gather in the Wesley Chapel on Saturday, July 16 at 9 am. We’ll share more information and answer your questions, and then invite you to pray and finally to vote. In addition to this vote, we will also be seeking approval of a candidate for ministry and the establishment of a framework for committees that will start working this fall to oversee building projects. Watch for more information in my e-note next week. In the meantime, more information about the upcoming meeting can be found here. [link coming, Kari Burgess is setting up the event page now]

I’m looking forward to being back in the pulpit the next four weeks. I’ll be preaching live at 7:30, 9 and 11 am at Leawood each of these weeks, and Sunday night at 5 pm at one of them. I’m excited to share with you the connection between God, the Spiritual Life and Tractors!

I love you Resurrection!

Adam