Leawood, Kansas, United States - The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection enote from Pastor Adam Hamilton for Friday, 18 April 2014

Leawood, Kansas, United States - The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection enote from Pastor Adam Hamilton for Friday, 18 April 2014
Dear Resurrection Family,
As we prepare for Easter, I want to share a few things with you. This year, in the light of the deaths in our community, I feel a longing for Easter as we celebrate Christ's triumph over evil, sin and death. I hope you'll invite your friends and neighbors to share this message of hope and worship with us this weekend. More information about Easter worship services is below.
Before we get to Easter we must go through Good Friday. Today is Good Friday when Christians commemorate the suffering and death of Jesus. How can such a day be called "good"? Because, in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, God has a way of "wringing good out of evil." Christ's unjust suffering became the instrument of our reconciliation, forgiveness, and salvation. On it God demonstrated our need for mercy, and his willingness to extend it. Our King lays down his life for his subjects. The cross becomes a sign of God's love and, in the light of the resurrection, a sign of victory over evil, sin, despair and death. There are several ways you can observe Good Friday.
Read today's GPS account of the crucifixion. Here's the link.
Join us throughout the day for our Good Friday Prayer Vigil and/or Prayer Walk. The Prayer Vigil continues until 10 pm in the Wesley Covenant Chapel. During the vigil, we will pray for each member of our church family by name. The Prayer walk continues until 7 pm. Start in the Wesley Chapel and follow Christ's journey to the cross.
We will have a Tenebrae Service of guided prayer in the Wesley Chapel at 3 pm.
This afternoon at 3 pm we wil celebrate the lives of Dr. Bill Corporon and his 14-year-old grandson Reat Underwood (Losen) in our Sanctuary. Please continue to keep this family in your prayers. The service will be live streamed at www.rezonline.org.
Here's the information on our Easter services:
Leawood: Satuday at 5 and 7 pm in the Sanctuary, 5 pm in the Student Center; Sunday at 7, 9 and 11 am and 5 pm in the Sanctuary, 9 and 11 am in the Student Center, 9 and 11 am in Wesley Chapel and 9:45 at the Overland Park Convention Center.
West: Saturday at 5:30 pm and Sunday at 8 am, 9:30 am, 11:15 am and 5 pm.
Blue Springs: Sunday at 7:30 am, 9 am and 10:45 am.
Downtown: 9 am and 11 am at Kauffman Center.
Finally, we're expecting a larger than normal Easter crowd this weekend. Our community is longing for an Easter message of hope after the events of this last week. The message will remind us that Christ's resurrection promises that the "worst thing is never the last thing," and that evil and death will not have the final word.
For best seating and parking, and to make room for all of our guests this weekend, I'd like to encourage you to join us Saturday night at 7, Sunday morning "sunrise" at 7 am, 9:45 am at the Overland Park Convention Center, or Sunday night at 5 pm or at 9 or 11 in the East Building where you'll hear my same message via video and have awesome live music - traditional in the Wesley Chapel and modern in the Student Center. Know, of course, that if you need to come at 9 or 11 in the sanctuary, you can always do that. I'm only asking that if you have options, or you are not bringing friends, you might consider one of these other options.
Blessings!
Adam
-------