November 17, 2006
Dear Resurrection Family,
This weekend we begin a three-week series of sermons on Revelation and the Return of Christ. I'm really looking forward to this! I was just reviewing the clips of an interview we conducted with Dr. Warren Carter, Professor of New Testament at Saint Paul School of Theology - he is teaching a course on Revelation at the seminary right now. Though I have taught studies on Revelation in the past, I am learning things in preparation for this series that I had not known before. As a preacher part of the joy of preparing sermons is learning and hearing the scriptures in new ways, and this, in turn, I hope to share with you.
Here's what I'll be covering i
1. New Sermon Series This Weekend: Making Sense of Revelation
2. Resurrection Night at the Movies - Join Us for "The Nativity Story" Dec. 12
3. Join Me as a Sponsor for the Youth Ski Trip!
4. Stewardship Campaign Update - Thank You!
5. Tonight: The Messiah at The Church of the Resurrection
1. New Sermon Series This Weekend: Making Sense of Revelation
What are we to make of the Book of Revelation with its beasts, plagues, and promise of Armageddon? I hope you'll join me this weekend as we seek to understand this enigmatic but powerful book. I'm truly excited about this series. This week we'll look at how different Christians have understood this book andwhy it was written, and we'll learn how it's message speaks to our lives today. We'll examine chapters 1-3 this week and chapters 4-19 the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend, learning about the Mark of the Beast and Armageddon. Then, on the last weekend of the series we'll consider chapters 20-22 where we find the final triumph of God, the return of the king, and Revelation's glimpses of heaven. If you would like to invite a friend to join you for this series, you can do so by e-mail, sending a personal message as well as the series postcard and a link for your friends to watch the video promo for it. Click here to send an e-invite to a friend. If you missed the promo and would like to see it yourself, you can click here. If you have to miss this weekend, I would encourage you to watch the sermon online next week - the introductory material we'll cover this weekend is key to understanding the book.
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2. Resurrection Night at the Movies - Join Us for "The Nativity Story" Dec. 12
From time to time, when there are films that have strong Christian themes, we rent a theatre out for a fellowship event and invite Resurrection members and visitors to join us. A new film is being released by New Line Cinema in the next couple of weeks called "The Nativity Story" - it is the story of the birth of Christ. From what I can tell, it looks like it will be excellent (To find out more about the film or to see a trailer go to http://www.thenativitystory.com/). We have reserved a 400-seat theatre at the Palazzo 16 on Tuesday, December 12. Tickets are on a first-come basis and can be purchased at the Church oOffice beginning Tuesday, December 5. The show will begin sometimes between 6:30 and 7:30 pm. (We're waiting for the theatre to set the time). Tickets are $7.50 each. Bring your friends, family or small group and plan to join us!
3. Join Me as a Sponsor for the Youth Ski Trip February 16-19!
This last year I had the chance to teach youth group for several weeks and really enjoyed spending time with our youth. After this I expressed to Jason Gant, our Youth Director, that I really wanted to do something with the students each year. He suggested joining him in being a co-leader and teacher on the youth ski trip. I love the mountains and that sounded like a blast. Jason and I will be sharing in the worship and teaching times looking at "Stories from the Mountains" found in the Bible. Some pretty significant things happened on the mountains in the scripture (from the giving of the Ten Commandments to the Crucifixion of Jesus and a great deal in between). The RezLife Band will be there to lead worship as well. Of course, we know youth are going to sign up for the snowboarding and skiing which will be a blast as the Senior High ski Winterpark and the Middle School take to the runs at Sol Vista. We'll be staying at the YMCA's Snow Mountain Ranch. This will be awesome fun, fellowship and inspiration. If you want to sign your students up, or if you would like to join me as a sponsor on the trip (I'll be leading a morning devotional time for the sponsors), click on this link.
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4. Stewardship Campaign Update - Thank You!
I want to thank each of you who returned your commitment cards in the annual stewardship campaign last weekend. We received 40% more cards on the first weekend than we did last year - that is awesome! Thank you! Our aim is to hear from each of our members. Last year of our $12,000,000 budget for 2006 we had received commitments for $4,700,000 on the first weekend of the campaign. This year we received commitments of $7,577,000 on the first weekend. So far 38% of our members have returned their cards. Thank you to each of you whom we've already heard from. If you would like to fill out a commitment card online, you can do so by clicking here.
5. Tonight: The Messiah at The Church of the Resurrection
No plans for tonight? Consider coming to The Messiah at The Church of the Resurrection. The Kansas City Symphony along with our Chamber Singers and the Kansas City Chorus will be putting on this incredible event. Tickets are still available online or by calling the box office at the Kansas City Symphony.
That's a little of what's happening around here. I hope to see you this weekend!
In Christ's Love,
Adam Hamilton