Oxford Presbyterian Church

April 3, 2021

Good morning everyone,

Tomorrow we will celebrate the reason for the hope we share. Resurrection of the Lord Sunday (Easter) is the day that puts all other days into perspective. As up and down as life may be at times, we will never live a day where Jesus Christ is not the victor. He has triumphed over sin and evil and death as these enemies have no authority over him. As his people, we share in the victory of Jesus Christ, a victory where life has conquered death.

Therefore, tomorrow morning we will gather for worship as is our habit at sunrise on our back lawn with our friends from Timothy Darling Presbyterian Church. Our service will begin at 6:45 a.m. As we are still under pandemic conditions, we ask that you mask and keep distance of 6 ft from one another. Although we will not gather afterward in our Fellowship Hall for a pancake breakfast, still our friend Terry Hobgood is getting up to make us all pancakes to go that we can collect at the conclusion of our service. The weather forecast is for a clear, chilly morning so you might want to dress appropriately!

Our traditional Easter Sunday worship will be live-streamed, broadcast via Facebook Live. Worship begins at 10:00 a.m. If you have a computer or tablet or smartphone with an internet connection, you should be able to receive the stream. You do not need to have a Facebook account to participate. Our stream appears on the church’s Facebook page which is here à  https://www.facebook.com/Oxford-Presbyterian-Church-152011345379561/. If you miss the broadcast, the service will remain on our Facebook page for the next several days. If you have prayer requests or announcements, please email them to me (opcpastor@ncrrbiz.com) or text them to me (919-323-7192) and they will be included in the worship.

In our Easter Worship livestream, communion will be included in the service. You will need to furnish your own elements of bread and cup and then, at the appointed time in the liturgy, partake in the elements you have. For the sake of continuity it is recommended that you have bread and wine (or grape juice). If you find yourself without those elements simply use a reasonable substitute.

In worship, we will also have the joy of witnessing the baptism of Dellarose Faith Sharon, daughter of Joe and Jessica Sharon. Please watch so that we can take our congregational vows to love and care and witness to her and to support Joe and Jessica as she grows up and matures, so that Dellarose may know she is made and loved by God.

Please note, in certain web browsers sometimes our livestream does not appear due to bugs on the Facebook side (meaning they have to make repairs). So far, we have found Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari to be the most reliable browsers for our livestream (more than Microsoft Edge or Microsoft Internet Explorer). If our livestream does not appear on Sunday morning, try a different browser and see if that makes the difference. Thanks.

Our worship is also broadcast on WCBQ 1340 on the AM radio dial at 3 p.m. on Sundays, If you are not a computer hound, then the radio broadcast of our worship is an easy way to listen in and participate. If you know of someone in our community that does not do computers or finds them frustrating to use, please let them know of this alternative.

As always, the Sunday worship bulletin will appear in your emailbox late Saturday evening or early Sunday morning, complete with hymns and sermon so that you may have your own house-church worship. Worship is always critical, but especially at a time like this. Our faithful witness in this difficult time and world is nourished by lifting our hearts to the Lord. As always, you can listen to sermons through our website right here à https://oxfordpres.org/media/#sermons, and at The Oxford Exchange, found here à http://theoxfordexchange.blubrry.net/.

Hey kids! Be looking for another Faith 4 Five. The video will be posted Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. Continue to tune in every week and watch for five minutes of fun and learning about God’s love. The video can be viewed on the church’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Oxford-Presbyterian-Church-152011345379561/. You do not need to have a Facebook account to watch.

Our website, www.oxfordpres.org, has calendars, newsletters, the OPC WEEKLY, sermons, and even ways to give your offerings (right here à https://oxfordpres.org/give/). It is a great resource in times like these.

Oxford Presbyterian Church also has an offerings drop-box situated next to the door on the back side of the church at the top of the ramp if you want to drop off an offering. Or, you can mail offerings to Oxford Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 652, Oxford, NC 27565. They will be collected and deposited.

Resurrection of the Lord Sunday, April 4, 2021:

Scripture reading at sunrise: Acts 10:34-43

Scripture reading at 10 am: Mark 16:1-8

Sermon title: “Two Perspetives”

Thanks to Walter and Ellen Gould and Carolyn Steger for providing music at sunrise. Thanks to Lindsay and Judy Miller and Kathy Webb for providing music at 10 am.

6:45 a.m. – Easter Sunrise Worship with Timothy Darling

9:00 a.m. – Faith 4 Five video posted at https://www.facebook.com/Oxford-Presbyterian-Church-152011345379561/

10:00 a.m. – Worship via Facebook Live with Timothy Darling. The stream can be found at https://www.facebook.com/Oxford-Presbyterian-Church-152011345379561/

3:00 p.m. – Worship broadcast on WCBQ 1340 AM

Mission of the Month – In April, we will receive offerings on Easter Sunday and the 2^nd Sunday in Easter to support the PCUSA’s One Great Hour of Sharing. “A gift to One Great Hour of Sharing enables the church to share God’s love with our neighbors in need around the world by providing relief to those affected by natural disasters, providing food to the hungry, and helping to empower the poor and oppressed.” (from the PCUSA’s Presbyterian Mission Agency).

Announcements:

• 7^th – 12:30 p.m. – Midday Scripture and Prayer (and coffee!) on our parking patio behind the church
• 8^th – 5:30 p.m. – Book Club via Zoom

 Volunteer opportunity: ACIM (Area congregations in ministry) is in need of volunteers who can unpack boxes of food and place food items on shelves. Times to serve are Tuesday and Thursday at 6PM. Saturday mornings are also a possibility. If you would like to serve, please call ACIM at 919-690-0961.

Prayers for: Frank Anderson, Becky and Isabella Baird, Betty Baynes, Michael Boyd, Cynthia Broaddrick, Linda and Mike Diamond, Randy Downey, Julie Gaydon, Marlene Grenier, Fred Heath, Hannah Hobgood, Marie Hobgood, Terry Hobgood, Cotina Jones, Barbara Laurent, Abram Lyles, Donnie Messer, Ally Milton, Jason Parkin, Greg and Dottie Price, Mike Reavis, Lynn Stone, and Alice Evans Woodlief.

Happy Birthday to: Jessica Sharon – 6^th; Nick Jackson – 8^th

¹⁴ The Lord is my strength and my might;
he has become my salvation.
¹⁵ There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the Lord does valiantly;
¹⁶ the right hand of the Lord is exalted;
the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.”
¹⁷ I shall not die, but I shall live,
and recount the deeds of the Lord.
¹⁸ The Lord has punished me severely,
but he did not give me over to death.
¹⁹ Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord.
²⁰ This is the gate of the Lord;
the righteous shall enter through it.
²¹ I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
²² The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
²³ This is the Lord’s doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
²⁴ This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:14-24)

All blessings in Christ,

Alan

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