Leading Beyond The Walls

Adam Hamilton is the Sr. Pastor of The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection

What will your congregation be doing to grow in their faith this Lenten season?  In twenty years as the senior pastor at the Church of the Resurrection the most impactful Lent we ever shared together as a church came as I led the congregation on a 40-day study of the final day of Jesus’ life.  We called this, “24 Hours That Changed the World.”

The idea was to retrace the events of the final day of Jesus’ life, beginning with the Last Supper and ending with his death and burial.  The first Sunday of Lent began with the Passover Seder set for the disciples.  The sermon helped our congregation understand what happened at the Last Supper and why.  We then ended the service with Holy Communion.

The following week we moved to the Garden of Gethsemane where we focused on Christ’s agony, his perseverance, as well as Judas’ betrayal and the disciples’ desertion.  Each week in the series I sought to help our congregation see themselves in the story.  We also prepared daily scripture readings so that our congregation could read through most of the material from the gospel accounts of the final day of Jesus’ life.

Subsequent weeks included the trial before the Sanhedrin, the trial before Pilate, the torture and humiliation of Jesus, and finally, his crucifixion.  All of this led up to Easter and the resurrection and victory of Christ.  During the series I also sought to help our congregation understand the significance of the death of Christ for us.  I unpacked four different theories of atonement, one each week during the final four weeks of the series.

The series had a significant impact on our congregation.  People invited their friends.  Sign-ups for missions activities and discipleship opportunities went up.  Attendance at our Maundy Thursday service and our Good Friday prayer vigil went up.  Easter attendance was up.  But more than that, there was a palpable sense that people were growing deeper in their faith during this series.

For the last three years I have been preparing a book, a 40-day devotional, and a small group video based upon this sermon series – the project and resources are, like the sermons they were based upon, entitled, 24 Hours that Changed the World. The book offers a biblical and historical examination of the events surrounding the death of Christ, a discussion of various theories of the atonement, and it attempts to help the reader find themselves in the story.  The daily devotional book includes 42 daily readings with a short scripture, a reflection and a prayer.  The video was filmed in the Holy Land and here at Resurrection and is designed to take small groups to Jerusalem to reflect upon the last 24 hours of Jesus’ life.  It is meant to supplement the book and comes with a leaders guide.

This year at Church of the Resurrection we’re going to reprise this sermon series.  We’re giving away copies of the devotional book (one per household) on the first weekend of Lent as an outreach tool and to invite everyone to join us for this Lenten journey.  Many of our small groups will use the video and book; and each week I’ll preach on these themes.  Abingdon has prepared a video promo that is meant to be shown in worship the weekend before Lent for those churches who are pursuing this study.  If you’d like to see the sermon series promo click here.

To find out more about the book, devotional and video, or for ideas on how you can use this emphasis in your congregation (sample letters, promotional materials and more), click on this link.  It will take you to my page at Abingdon Press.  Remember, Lent is early this year – Ash Wednesday is February 17.

Blessings!
Adam Hamilton