Wednesday, February 5, Childcare at Leawood, West, Overland Park will not be open during morning due to local public school systems announcing late arrival schedules. All church buildings will operate on regular schedule. However, at Leawood, West and Overland Park, programs requiring childcare will not be held prior to noon Wednesday.
On Sunday, February 9, we’re moving our regular 5 pm worship service to 4 pm so everyone can get home in time to watch the Chiefs play in the Super Bowl.
Dear Resurrection Family,
My ears are still ringing, and my voice is a bit raspy after last night’s Kansas City Chiefs’ game! There was one HUGE play last night involving a rookie player, second string, drafted in the last round of the NFL draft, 243rd out of 262 players drafted this year. I’ll share a bit of his story in my sermon this weekend as it perfectly illustrates something James teaches us. Jaylen Watson’s story is remarkable and inspiring.
I’ve got a lot of interesting and important things to share with you in this note, so let’s jump in.
We’ll continue our study of the letter of James in the New Testament as James shares practical wisdom for imperfect Christians. This weekend we turn to what James has to say about true or pure religion, compared with what he calls “worthless religion.” He calls his readers to care for widows and orphans, not to show favoritism or partiality to the rich, and he calls the rich to treat their workers fairly. All of which points to our memory verse for this weekend: God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble (James 4:6).
In the message, I’ll tell you about a 6-year-old in our congregation who has been living this out. Then, we will take a look at a car dealer that relates to this message in James. Next, we’ll see the Chiefs’ Jaylen Watson’s amazing interception and 99-yard return for a touchdown. This is a young man who, not long ago, was working at Wendy’s. And lastly, we’ll hear about a serious mistake a teller, at the bank, made that James doesn’t want us to make. All of this illustrates the important truths of a theme James devotes over 30% of his letter addressing.
I wanted to say a word about when and where I preach live. When COVID began I started preaching my sermon on Fridays for online and television – this is necessary to give the TV station time to closed caption the sermon; but, it is also pivotal in making sure the worship services are ready to upload in time for Saturday night.
Pre-COVID, I was preaching five times over the weekend. I’m now preaching twice on Fridays and then three times on Sundays; still five times, but spread out over Friday and Sunday. At Leawood, on Sunday, I am always preaching at 9 and 11 and then I go back and forth preaching 7:30 am live one week, and Sunday night at 5 pm the next week. On the week’s I am not preaching live at 7:30 am or 5 pm the sermon is on video as it is at all of our locations and at the Foundry service. Over the next year my plan is to preach live at each of our locations at least once and on those Sunday’s my sermon will be on video at Leawood as it typically is each Sunday at the locations.
My hope in doing this, is to maintain my voice and my energy to keep doing this for another eight years. I love preaching and sharing the scriptures with you. It is a joy; but also, after four or five times, a bit tiring as well. Last weekend I preached live Sunday at 9, 11 am and 5 pm, and this weekend I’ll be preaching live at 7:30, 9 and 11 am. We’ll have Coffee with the Pastor after that, and then at 5 pm I’ll be heading down to Central UMC to update them on our plans for Central to become Resurrection’s newest location.
If you have been worshiping with us in person or online and are interested in joining the church and becoming a member at Resurrection, our process for joining is to attend Coffee with the Pastors. Coffee with the Pastors is an inspiring gathering in which you’ll learn more about Resurrection, what it means to be a Christian, and then how to officially join the church. You’ll also meet others who are new to the church. We will be hosting Coffee with the Pastors at all of our locations on Sunday, September 18 from 2-4 pm or online on Thursday, September 22 from 6:30-8:30 pm via Zoom. At Leawood we’ll gather in the Foundry in Building B. You can learn more and register for the in-person sessions here or the online session here.
Plan to join us for our monthly, family-friendly, Serve Saturday event tomorrow. Registration is open right up to the day before the event, and we still have opportunities to serve. Just go to the website, find where you want to serve and reserve your spot. Then go directly to your selected serve site on that day. Here’s the link to see the opportunities to serve and reserve your spot.
Leadership Institute is our annual conference when we invite ministry leaders from across the country to come together to learn, be inspired, and build relationships. If you are a pastor or leader from another church or a Resurrection leader, we want to invite you to join us. There’s still time to register! You won’t want to miss out on the chance to hear from the Keynote speakers we are bringing in — Nona Jones, Tod Bolsinger, Jenni Catron, Jo Saxton, and a special message from Mark Matlock. We’ll also hear from local leaders Tammy Peterman and Bob Page of the University of Kansas Health System. On Thursday evening, September 29, I will host a meeting focused on A Future with Hope for the United Methodist Church where the case will be made for churches to remain United Methodist, and we’ll consider what that future might be like for the UMC. Thursday evening’s event will be open to everyone (even online), no registration required. To join us for Leadership Institute, church leaders can visit li.cor.org for more information or to register. Resurrection congregants, please go to our website to register.
This week, Abingdon Press released a new book and small group study I’ve written on John the Baptist called, Prepare the Way for the Lord. There are very few books that have been written about John, yet he was of pivotal importance to Jesus and the early church. Each gospel begins with his story. Decades after his death Paul was still encountering John’s followers on his journeys through the Roman Empire. His focus was on preparing the way for the Lord, which is why two weekends of Advent every year, the church remembers John’s message and ministry. I preached a series of Advent sermons two years ago focused on John the Baptist, and that was the seed of the idea for writing a book on him. There’s a small group video, leader’s guides and children and youth study guides for churches to use for a church-wide emphasis on John and his message calling people to Prepare the Way of the Lord. Here’s a :56 video about the book and study. Our bookstore, The Well, has the book available, or you can find it on Amazon, Cokesbury and others.
Each Tuesday for the next month, we’ll be digging a bit deeper in our study of James. You can join me Tuesday night at 7:30 pm CT live on Facebook or catch the replay on YouTube. There’s a ton that I’m having to leave out of each weekend’s sermon. This week, we’ll pick up some verses in James we’ll not get to in this sermon series
Christmas at Resurrection, our Christmas Musical program is back this year, and bigger and better than ever! Performances are December 8-11, and are available now. This year’s program is called “Lights! Camera! Christmas!” and will feature music from favorite Christmas movies. Purchase tickets online at ChristmasAtResurrection.org
As part of our campaign to BE Just, Kind, and Humble (as we approach the upcoming elections), I encourage you to put your faith into action and join a Common Ground group. In this six-week series, groups will learn to better see and hear one another and find deeper self-understanding. You can go to the website to find a time and day of the week that will allow you to attend all six sessions, learn more, and sign up.
For those of you in the KC area, if you pre-ordered BE Campaign t-shirts and yard signs, you can pick those up after any worship service at your location this weekend. Starting Monday, 9/19, you may pick up your orders during regular business hours of your location (at The Well Bookstore for Leawood, during The Well’s business hours Monday-Thursday 9 am-4 pm). Check your location’s hours at cor.org.
For those outside of KC who pre-ordered BE Campaign t-shirts, those will start being mailed out this week.
If you have not yet ordered your BE Campaign t-shirts, we’ve opened a second round of orders today. Click here to order. Order deadline is Sunday, September 25. Please note, second round orders will be available mid-October. You will NOT be able to pick up shirts ordered through this link this weekend.
I am preparing to get my new COVID booster, and my flu shot in the next week (and a shingles shot later in October). Are you are looking for a convenient way to get your flu or COVID shot? Join Resurrection Downtown in worship on Oct 1 or 2. On Saturday evening, Oct 1, you can get your shot from 4-5:30 pm, then on Sunday, Oct. 2 starting at 10 am – 1 pm. We are teaming up with Nurture KC to offer you a healthy body and spirit
Our annual fall retreat for students in grades 7 and 8 will be October 7-9 at Youthfront West. Students will share a weekend of great speakers, inspiring worship, and fun fall outdoor activities! Learn more here and get registered today! We’re also planning a special retreat just for high school students. Watch for more details!
Overdose is now the leading cause of death for adults ages 18-55. In the last several years, Resurrection has seen a substantial increase in the need for support for parents whose son or daughter passed away as a direct result of substance use. To address this need, a few of our members, each with personal experience in this type of loss, have developed the curriculum for a six-week discussion-based support class.
This will complement (not replace) professional counseling or involvement with more general grief support groups. The focus of the six weeks is on the unique aspects of grief related to a substance use death. A few of the topics include anger, guilt, shame, isolation, trauma and how to find meaning going forward, and exploring how our faith in Christ can guide us through this difficult journey. After hearing a presentation on the topic, group members will have time to discuss what was presented.
This class will meet weekly October 6 – November 10 (in person) at Resurrection’s Leawood campus on Thursday nights from 6:30-8:15 pm. If you are interested, you can register by contacting Lesa.kleinmann@cor.org. We do ask is that you commit to attending each week’s session.
Whew! That’s a lot of to cover in one e-note, but it just scratches the surface of all that you are doing to have an impact on the world! I hope to see you in worship this weekend!
In Christ’s love,
Adam
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.