Dear Resurrection Family,
It's great being back home. I'm grateful for your prayers while we were away and for all of you who were in worship and joined me via video in Africa. I was also so moved to hear that so many of you came on our mission serve day – over 1,400 of you packed the narthex at Leawood to help prepare emergency packs for Heart to Heart and to participate in other mission activities.
On Wednesday we began the season of Lent, the 40 days of spiritual growth and preparation, leading to the commemoration of Jesus' death and the celebration of his resurrection. I want to encourage you tomake a commitment to be in worship each weekend of Lent, either in person or online.
This weekend at the Leawood campus we'll unveil the stained glass window that will be an important feature of our new sanctuary. If you are a part of the Leawood congregation, you won't want to miss this!
Christians have, from the second century on, used art in their places of worship to draw people to God and to tell the Gospel story. The earliest church buildings had walls that were covered with art meant to draw people to God while proclaiming the gospel. In the 8th century churches began using colored or stained glass to accomplish this purpose. The oldest stained glass windows still in their original location in a church date to the year 1065 (I'll show you these windows this weekend).
The window in our new sanctuary seeks to tell the sweeping story of the Bible from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22. Its aim is to draw people to God, to invite worshipers to find themselves in God's story, and to proclaim the gospel for generations to come. This weekend we'll project the rendering of the window, actual size, upon the large cyc (screen) that we pull across the choir loft during our evening services. You'll see exactly what the window will look like and you'll hear what the various parts of the window mean.
Judson Studios has completed the first of the 161 panels that make up this window. We just received it this week. We'll raise up this 4' by 5' foot panel above the chancel during worship and then light it to give you a glimpse of exactly what the window will look like. We did this yesterday to test it – you won't want to miss this reveal. It was dramatic and moving to catch a glimpse of what the window will be like.
My sermon this weekend will summarize the message of the entire Bible, and in essence the message of the Christian gospel, in 30 minutes using images from the window to illustrate. We'll also show a three-minute video about the making of the window. I thought you might enjoy a sneak peak of this video.Click here to view it. At our other campuses our campus pastors will preach, focusing on their own locations, but those of you at other campuses will want to watch the video to get a sense of what's happening at Leawood.
Next weekend is groundbreaking at Leawood. It will be a historic weekend for us. Following an abbreviated sermon we'll walk outside and complete worship outdoors with a prayer of commitment, a song and turning over the dirt. Everyone is welcome to bring a shovel. Our contractor will have a bulldozer on site to join in breaking ground.
For the rest of the season of Lent my sermon series is entitled, Witnesses of the Crucifixion. We'll study the people who were standing at or near the cross to learn something of the meaning of Jesus' death and resurrection, but also to learn something about ourselves. Each week I'll focus on two people standing near the cross.
I just received a report from the Souper Bowl Food Drive. At all of our campuses you gave a total of 38 tons of food for distribution to area food pantries (30 tons of food given plus donations that enabled us to buy 5 more tons of soup, canned goods, etc. for a total of 38 tons). Once again I'm proud of you and the generosity you show in serving others. Your gifts will supply many of Kansas City's food pantries for months and provide meals for struggling families in our community.
We will have a few spots on our Wesley Tour of England coming up this July. We'll retrace John Wesley's life for eight days. Kevin Bogan is joining me leading worship using Charles Wesley's hymns. This will be a remarkable trip for those who love history, for those who love Methodism, and for those who would like to see England. If you are a pastor or lay leader from another church reading my e-note and you'd like to join me on this trip, you are welcome as well. Here's the website where you can get more information and sign up. The tour will follow the order and themes of my book, Revival which several thousand churches are using with their small groups.
I am really excited about this weekend in worship and I look forward to seeing you!
Adam
PS. Don't forget to take a look at the video about the window by clicking here.
The Church of the Resurrection
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224 United States
____________________________
____________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment