December 15, 2006
Dear Resurrection Family,
Sorry this is late getting to you. Today we had a funeral at the church for Mandy Haskin, a 28 year old young woman who passed away this last Sunday morning. The last thing she did before going to the hospital was to attend Christmas at Resurrection. Part way through she began to feel ill and went to the ER. Mandy was a remarkable young woman - born with a congenital heart defect, scoliosis and a cleft pallet, she went on to ride horses at the American Royal and volunteered in our Matthew's Ministry in years past. Six years ago she had an accident while jumping on a trampoline that left her paralyzed. Her passing was both a tragedy, and a victory. It was unexpected and a tremendous loss. At the same time she belonged to Christ, and we have a tremendous hope in him - that he has raised her up with him, and that today she is made completely well. Please pause for a moment and pray for the family and friends of Mandy Haskin.
Here's what I'll cover in today's e-mail:
1. This Weekend's Sermon and Will Smith's New Film, "The Pursuit of Happyness"
2. A Possible Christmas Gift: 2007 Alaskan Cruise
3. Looking for Sponsors of the Pocket New Testament Program
4. Which Christmas Eve Service Will You Attend? Pastor's Picks
1. This Weekend's Sermon and Will Smith's New Film, "The Pursuit of Happyness"
Today Will Smith's new film, "The Pursuit of Happyness" opens in Kansas City. It is based upon the book of the same name by a man named Chris Gardner (played by Will Smith) - a man who was homeless in San Francisco with his son (played by Smith's son), who found shelter at Glide Memorial United Methodist Church, and a mentor in Glide's pastor. Chris went on to become a stock broker and eventually opened his own firm achieving tremendous success. It is a touching story and months ago I had noted in my file to look at this story for its tie-in to Mary's Magnificat. As a part of my work on this sermon, I had the opportunity to interview Chris Gardner this week. I'll share part of that interview in my sermon this weekend. I think you'll find this Christmas message quite powerful. Invite a friend!
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2. A Possible Christmas Gift? 2007 Alaskan Cruise Still Has Openings
There are still cabins available for the 2007 Alaskan cruise. LaVon and I will lead a session each day on "Making Love Last a Lifetime" and we'll enjoy great fellowship as we see the great glaciers (they are retreating each year) and enjoy some of the most beautiful scenery on our planet. Join 150 other Resurrection members for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. For more information or to sign-up click on this web link: http://www.deidrestravel.com/index_files/Page311.htm.
3. Looking for Sponsors of the Pocket New Testament Program
As you know, one of the things we do that I really am grateful for is we give away Bibles and pocket New Testaments to all of our members. We have a family in the church that purchases the complete Bible to give away. They give these in memory of their daughter. We give away several hundred of these each year. We also encourage every person at Resurrection to carry a pocket Testament and Psalms, and to give these away to unchurched friends if the friend would like to have one. We will give away about 4,000 of these each year. The pocket Testament and Psalms cost about $1.50 each so the cost of the program is about $6,000 per year. We don't build this into the budget - we have been able to fund this by special grants and gifts given to the church each year. We're about out of funds for this program. If you would like to be a sponsor of this program and give a special gift, over and above your tithes and offerings - to make it possible for us to give New Testament's away to our new members and to those who are unchurched, would you please e-mail my assistant, Sue Thompson, and let her know. LaVon and I recently underwrote the Bible program of another church that needed help getting their program off the ground - it was a great blessing for us to know we had made it possible for others to have their own Bible. You can e-mail Sue at sue.thompson@cor.org if you would like to help.
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4. Which Christmas Eve Service Will You Attend? Pastor's Picks
Next weekend is candlelight Christmas Eve. We'll have nine services here at the Leawood Campus and two more services at Resurrection West. Rez West will worship at 10:00 am or 6:30 pm at Prairie Trail Junior High School located at, 21600 W. 107th Street, in Olathe. The sermon will be from our central campus, everything else will be live. For those attending at our Central Campus I'd like to offer some suggestions for when you might consider worshiping:
Saturday, December 23rd:
5:00 pm Led by Lance and the Band
7:00 pm Led by Lance and the Band with Holy Communion
Both of these are candlelight services and they will be beautiful. These are best for those who have plans on Christmas Eve, but also for all of our members who are willing to give up your seats on Christmas Eve night for those who are unchurched, that they might find "room in the inn" and the opportunity to know Christ. Last year almost 6,000 of our members attended the December 23rd services. Same sermon, same candle lighting as Christmas Eve night. Please note the 7:00 pm service will include Holy Communion.
Sunday, December 24th:
9:00 am Traditional Adult Choir and Orchestra
10:45 am Traditional Youth Choir and Orchestra
These will be candlelight services - avoid the crowds of the evening services and join us in the morning - beautiful worship - same message as the evening services. These will be the best services to attend relative to parking and seating.
3:00 pm Traditional with Children's Choir and family emphasis
5:00 pm Traditional with Children's Choir and family emphasis
Great for families, there will be lots of children at these services - 5:00 pm is one of our most crowded services. Same sermon and candlelight - we'll have battery operated candles for children.
7:00 pm Traditional Adult Choir and Orchestra
9:00 pm Traditional Adult Choir and Orchestra
7:00 pm is our most crowded service - we'll have overflow set-up in the Wesley Chapel. 9:00 pm will be the less crowded of these two - arrive at 8:30 - 8:45 pm. Both are beautiful services with the full choir and orchestra and candlelight. These will be identical to our 9:00 am service.
11:00 pm Traditional Youth Choir and Orchestra with Holy Communion
One of only two services including Holy Communion, this service ends just after midnight on Christmas morning - it is perhaps my favorite for that very reason. It is also the least crowded of the Christmas Eve services. I love knowing that as we sing Silent Night and pass the candles we have moved into Christmas morning. It is nearly identical with the 10:45 am service in the morning.
Child care will be offered at the following services:
Saturday, December 23 5:00 and 7:00 pm
Sunday, December 24 9:00 and 10:45 am, and 3:00, 5:00, and 7:00 pm
Communion will be served in the Firestone Chapel after all services.
Overflow will be set-up in the Wesley Chapel at 5:00 pm, 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm.
I hope this helps as you are making your plans. Christmas Eve services at Resurrection are one of the most inspiring services of the year. There is something remarkable about them. If you have a friend who is not actively involved in church, consider inviting them to join you.
Okay, that's the news for today - I look forward to seeing you in worship this weekend as we see the connection between Mary's Magnificat and Hollywood's "The Pursuit of Happyness."
Adam Hamilton