Leawood, Kansas, United States - enote from Reverend Adam Hamilton for Friday, 7 March 2014

Leawood, Kansas, United States - enote from Reverend Adam Hamilton for Friday, 7 March 2014  
Dear Resurrection Family,
I've been back and forth to Lawrence several times this week thinking our granddaughter was on the way, but as I write this eNote, she's not been born yet. Man do I hate waiting, and I'm just the grandpa! I'd be grateful for your prayers for my daughter, Danielle, her husband JT and our granddaughter awaiting birth, Stella. I'll keep you posted!
This weekend is the first weekend of Lent. I'm beginning a new sermon series called The Gospel of the Nobodies: Jesus as Luke Saw Him. We are asking our entire congregation to read through the Gospel of Luke during Lent, and our GPS will help you to do this. Luke is a powerful and deeply moving gospel. The sermons will help you focus on key themes in the gospel. We'll also have a midweek Bible study on Luke; and there are a host of other terrific things we'll do to help you grow in your faith as we walk together on this 40-day journey towards Good Friday and Easter. I'd like to invite you to be in worship every weekend during this holy season, either in person or online. Click here to see the video promo for the series. Would you consider posting this video on Facebook or Twitter and inviting your friends to view it and to join you for worship?
Don't forget, this weekend Daylight Savings Time begins - that means on Saturday night you'll want to move your clock ahead by one hour, otherwise you will be an hour late for worship.
We're renting out two showings of the film, The Son of God next Tuesday at Studio 30 in Olathe. We've got a 6:30 and a 7 pm showing. After watching the trailer I thought this would be a good film for us to see and discuss as a part of our Lenten journey. You can buy your tickets after worship in the narthex throughout the weekend. Click here to see the trailer and then plan to join me at Studio 30 in Olathe. I thought it was interesting that Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times panned the movie and encouraged readers to read the gospel of Luke instead. I've not seen the film, but the trailer intrigued me and looked better than I had anticipated and left me wanting to see the movie. But I'm also grateful that we're inviting you to read the Gospel of Luke this Lent as well! No film about Jesus can ever be, I believe, as powerful as "reading the book."
Now for a 10,000 Reasons campaign update! Last weekend, despite -15 degree wind chills, sleet and snow, and half of the churches in Kansas City closing due to the weather, we still had 3,749 people attend our Leawood campus for commitment weekend and a whopping 5,940 attend online! With only half of our normal crowd in person at Leawood, I was expecting under 1,500 commitments to be returned. I was shocked when I learned that 2,252 commitment cards were returned last weekend. That is amazing and I'm so proud of, and grateful for, all who mailed, e-mailed, or physically turned in their commitments last weekend. Your generosity was astounding and deeply moving.
We have not yet hit our goal, but we anticipate another 1,200 cards coming in over the next three weeks. If these are returned and we all do what we can, we'll meet our goal. If you've yet to turn in your card, know that we need you. Every commitment matters at this point. I believe we'll meet our goal, we could even surpass it, if those who have yet to commit give as those who returned their cards last weekend have done. I am really excited. We'll announce the total pledged on the weekend of March 31. 
Over the next four years there will be a host of milestones and really cool things happening as we break ground and watch the building go up, write our names inside the walls, watch the stained glass installed, move into the building for the first time, renovate the current sanctuary, open the fellowship hall, adult classrooms and Vibe, missions space, kitchen and Matthew's Ministry space. As this happens, you'll want to know that you were a part of making these spaces a reality. There is a joy and satisfaction in that, regardless of the amount of your commitment.
If you would like to fill out your commitment card online for the building campaign, click here or bring your commitment card to church this weekend. These pledges are over and above our regular giving over a three-year period. We have a small gift to thank you for returning your commitment, a 2,100 year old "widow's mite" that circulated during the time of Christ. In Mark and Luke's gospel the story of the widow giving her two "mites" - in essence, pennies, was lifted up by Jesus as an example of great generosity. You'll be able to get your coins this weekend.
On March 18 my new book, Making Sense of the Bible comes out. On Monday night, March 24, I will speak on the book at Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village. Rainy Day Books is sponsoring this event and it is co-hosted by Village Presbyterian and Country Club Christian churches. I'll spend 20 minutes talking about what the Bible is and is not, what is meant by inspiration, who decided what books would be included in the Bible and why. Then I'll spend 40 minutes addressing the most frequently asked questions I receive about the Bible: The Bible and science, The violence attributed to God in the Old Testament, suffering in the Bible, the Bible and people of other faiths, the Bible and sexuality, and whether Revelation is a guide to the end times. We'll then spend 30 minutes in Q and A. I'd love for Resurrection members to join me for this. To register, click on this link. The ticket price includes one copy of the book and admittance for two people. I don't make anything off of the ticket sales and have given away the book royalties for this event. If you'd like to read the Table of Contents, Introduction and chapter one, click here.
You would be proud of Resurrection staff member Jennifer Ross who oversees our Matthew's Ministry. She was in D.C. this last week meeting with members of Congress along with others in special needs ministries as congress has been considering legislation related to persons with special nees. Thank you, Jennifer, for representing special needs persons in Washington!
Finally, I'd like to invite your prayers for Resurrection staff member Darrell Holtz who oversees our GPS and is a part of our Discipleship team. His wife Patricia passed away last week. Her service is tomorrow in the Wesley Covenant Chapel at 11.
Don't miss worship this first weekend of Lent as we begin our study of the Gospel of the Nobodies!
Adam Hamilton
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Making Sense of the Bible by Adam Hamilton (excerpt)
In Making Sense of the Bible, Adam Hamilton invites us into an honest conversation about the Bible. The book begins with foundational questions such as, How and when was the Bible written? Who decided which books made it into the scriptures and why? How literally must we read it? And, Is the Bible ever wrong?
From there, Hamilton considers the real questions people frequently ask that continue to divide Christians and denominations alike, including:
Were Adam and Eve real people?
Why is God so violent in the Old Testament?
Why would Paul command women to "keep silent in the church"?
Is Jesus the only way to salvation?
How does God view homosexual people?
Is the Book of Revelation a guide to the End Times?
In approachable and inviting language, Hamilton addresses these often misunderstood biblical themes leading readers to a deeper appreciation of the Bible so that we might hear God speak through it and find its words to be life-changing and life-giving.
Visit Adam's blog at www.adamhamilton.org
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The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, KS 66224 United States
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