Weekly Updates from Pastor Adam - Nov. 25, 2022

Dear Resurrection Family,

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving! I’m grateful for the many ways you, as a church, helped others to experience Thanksgiving this year.

This weekend is the first Sunday of Advent! The greenery, trees and lights have been hung in all of our sanctuaries. We’ll light the first Advent candle – the candle of Hope. We’ll be singing your favorite Advent and Christmas Carols. And we’ll have times of fellowship and study in addition to meaningful worship.

The season of Advent, the four weeks leading up to Christmas, is a time to prepare both to celebrate the birth of Christ as well as preparing spiritually so that we are ready to meet Christ at our death, or his second coming. We’ll sing both the great Advent carols (O Come, O Come Emmanuel, Come Thou Long Expected Jesus and others) and your favorite Christmas Carols. We’ll also be serving others as we find the Joy of Serving. This eNote has several suggestions for ways you can make this Advent more meaningful for you and your family.

Our Advent sermon series is called The REAL Christmas Story. Each week we will look at the story of Christmas through the lens of a classic or modern Christmas movie (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, It’s a Wonderful Life, Elf, Home Alone and a Christmas Carol). These will point us to the real Christmas story and its meaning for us today. Here’s the promo, please share it with your friends on social media or by email.

THIS WEEKEND IN WORSHIP: “RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER: A MISFIT CHRISTMAS”

This weekend, as I’m away outlining our January sermon series, Pastor Scott Chrostek will be looking at the Christmas story through the lens of the classic animated Christmas film many of us grew up watching: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It has run every year on TV since it first came out in 1964, making it the longest continuously running Christmas TV show in the US, seen by nearly every generation. We’ll see what this simple children’s movie teaches us about redemption, Jesus’ love for the outcasts and outsiders, and how he often chooses the most unlikely of people to fulfill his mission. This will be both a fun and meaningful message for all ages. Again, check out our promo for the sermon series HERE and invite your friends to join us this weekend!

THANK YOU FOR TURNING IN YOUR STEWARDSHIP COMMITMENTS

To those who turned in commitment cards for 2023 this past week, thank you! Your giving to God through the church for the coming year will help fulfill our mission of transforming lives, strengthening churches and changing the world. If haven’t returned a commitment yet, you can do so anytime online at cor.org/commitment or in the offering in worship this weekend. If you turn in a card, don’t forget to pick up your mug after worship! You can learn more about stewardship and generosity on our website. This site includes information about the impact of your generosity, some financial planning tools and resources, and examples of ways to give to Resurrection.

CANDLELIGHT CHRISTMAS EVE OFFERING

Today is “Black Friday,” one of the busiest shopping days of the year. As you shop for Christmas gifts, what if you could give your loved ones a gift that can change a life? Each year we give away our entire Christmas Eve Offering to projects that help children and families living in poverty – half in the Kansas City area and half globally. You’ll be hearing more about this offering in the weeks leading up to Candlelight Christmas Eve, and I encourage you to consider giving a gift in honor of friends and family as part of your Christmas.

ADVENT OPPORTUNITIES

Making Spirits Bright Women’s Event November 29

All Resurrection women are invited to take an evening to relax and renew your spirit before jumping into Christmas! On Tuesday, November 29, at 6:30 pm, share an evening at our Leawood location to connect with friends, enjoy holiday treats, book a massage, write your Christmas cards (and some for others!), and leave with a gift that will help you feel ready to tackle whatever this season may bring your way! Register here.

Merry ‘Little’ Christmas with Santa December 3 or 4

Kick off the Christmas season at Resurrection’s Merry ‘Little’ Christmas Event on December 3 & 4! All are welcome at this event where you’ll enjoy a visit with Santa, photo ops, service projects, treats and a meaningful craft. Learn more and sign up to help with this event using the location links below!

• Blue Springs | Saturday, Dec. 3 | 9 – 11 am
• Brookside at Historic Central | Sunday, Dec. 4 | 9 – 11 am (Open House)
• Downtown | Saturday, Dec. 3 | 9 – 11 am
• Leawood | Saturday, Dec. 3 | 9 – 11 am
• Overland Park | Saturday, Dec. 3 | 9 – 11 am
• West | Saturday, Dec. 3 | 5:30 – 7:30 pm

Advent Bible Study Begins December 5

Sign up today for a three-week study of the book Prepare the Way for the Lord: Advent and the Message of John the Baptist. We are offering a three-week Advent Study online on Mondays, December 5, 12 and 19, from 6:30 – 8 pm CT. Pastors Ashley Morgan Kirk and Matt Bisel will be leading you through this online study. Here’s the link to learn more and register.

Longest Night Service December 7

Sometimes Christmas doesn’t feel like the most wonderful time of the year. For some, it intensifies our loneliness, magnifies our grief, increases our insecurity of unemployment, and aggravates our weariness of ill health. We want you to know that you are not alone. Join others on Wednesday, December 7, at 7:30 pm, in the Wesley Chapel at the Leawood location or join online for a gathering of connection, support, and care. Details online.

BLOOD DRIVE RESULTS: 901 UNITS COLLECTED IN NOVEMBER!

Thank you to everyone who donated blood at our recent Blood Drives. Your generosity resulted in 901 units of blood collected at our Leawood, Overland Park, Blue Springs and West locations, and helped replenish critically low supplies in our community.

NO VESPERS THIS TUESDAY

This coming Tuesday night, I will be at an event for the American Public Square and hence will be out for Vespers, but you can check out the replays of past Vespers on YouTube and I will see you again on Tuesday, Dec. 6.

FAITH IN A DIGITAL AGE

As you read this, I’m taking two days retreat to pray, read and study in preparation for the January sermon series on Living Faithfully in a Digital Age. Since Adam and Eve, humans have known the battle between good and evil – in our hearts and minds, and in our society and world. The digital revolution has created a new field for this battle. Like past technological revolutions, it is filled with so much that is positive, but it also comes with perils and the potential to bring harm. We’ll look to see how scripture might guide us in living faithfully in a digital age. I’m taking a dozen articles and several excellent books on the topic, and my Bible, as I prepare to outline these messages. I’d be grateful for your prayers. I’ll be back on Monday.

Don’t miss this first weekend of Advent!

Adam