Oxford Presbyterian Church

April 14, 2022

Good afternoon, everyone.

O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever! When is the best time to give thanks to God? Thanksgiving? Christmas? Our birthdays? Here we are in the middle of Holy Week. We are officially reminded that God loves us in the most perfect way and assures us that His love will never end. We have the solemn opportunity to remember and reflect the ultimate act of love that Jesus undertook on our behalf. He took the blame for all our follies and did so in love. Perhaps our Hosannas are expressions of thanks. On Easter Morning, our Halleluias will sound a lot like “Thank you.” 

We have several opportunities for worship this Holy Week:

Maundy Thursday worship tonight at 6:30 p.m. in the sanctuary. “Maundy” comes from the Latin word mandatum. You could probably guess it means “mandate”. We celebrate tonight with our sisters and brothers from Timothy Darling the mandate of our Lord with the Lord’s Supper when he says, “Do this in remembrance of me”. We hear the mandate of our Lord when his words will be read to us, “Love one another as I have loved you.” The service will be livestreamed on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Oxford-Presbyterian-Church-152011345379561/. The bulletin and liturgy for the Eucharist are attached.

Good Friday Tenebrae worship tomorrow evening at 6:30 p.m. in the sanctuary with Timothy Darling. Tenebrae is Latin for “darkness”, and the service is one where we alternate between readings of the passion narrative and the singing of hymns—all while the sanctuary grows dimmer. The darkness is to remind of us the darkness that fell over the land at midday when our Lord Jesus was crucified. But darkness is not our mood. Good Friday is not a tragedy. Instead, it is day when Jesus Christ bore the darkness of the world for the sake of its salvation. The day is called Good Friday because the cross is indeed good news. The service will be livestreamed on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Oxford-Presbyterian-Church-152011345379561/. The bulletin is attached.

 Easter Sunrise worship on Sunday morning at 6:30 a.m. on the church’s back lawn with Timothy Darling. It was just before dawn that followers of Jesus became aware that the stone to his grave was rolled away and that his tomb was empty. Our brief yet jovial service when the darkness gives way to light reminds us of the glorified and risen Jesus Christ illuminating our dark world with his light. Following worship there will be “to-go” breakfasts for you to take with you. Yum!

Resurrection of the Lord worship on Sunday morning at 11:00 a.m. in the sanctuary. This service is also broadcast via Facebook Live if you are unable to join us. 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:  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.

3:00 p.m. our worship is also broadcast on WCBQ 1340 on the AM radio dial. 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. Please note that as we have returned to in-person congregational worship, the radio broadcast of each service is aired the following Sunday.

The Sunday worship bulletin for those who are unable to join us 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. As always, you can listen to sermons through our website right here: https://oxfordpres.org/media/#sermons, and at The Oxford Exchange, found here: http://theoxfordexchange.blubrry.net/. Sermons are posted the Tuesday following the Sunday they were preached.

Please note there will not be worship at 8:08 this Sunday but will resume the following Sunday.

Our website, www.oxfordpres.org, has calendars, newsletters, the OPC WEEKLY, sermons, and even ways to give your offerings (right here: https://oxfordpres.org/give/).

We also have 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 17, 2022

Scripture readings: Isaiah 65: 17-25:and  Luke 24:13-35

Sermon title: “Having Our Eyes Opened”

Liturgist: Paul Hesse

6:30 a.m. – Worship on our back lawn

11:00 a.m. – Worship in sanctuary also broadcast via Facebook Live. 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).

Attention! Oxford Presbyterian Church is hiring! We are looking for an Administrative Assistant to work about ten hours per week. Duties include providing clerical support to the pastor and general administrative duties. If you or someone you know would be a good candidate for this position, please apply by sending cover letter and resume to info@oxfordpres.org no later than April 30^th. A job description can be found on the church’s website: https://oxfordpres.org/admin-job-description/.

Announcements:

• 14^th – 6:30 p.m. – Maundy Thursday worship with communion
• 15^th – 6:30 p.m. – Good Friday Tenebrae worship
• 19^th – 7:00 p.m. – Choir rehearses in sanctuary
• 20^th – 10:30 a.m. – Book Club meets at Strong Arm Baking Company
• 20^th – 12:30 p.m. – Midweek Prayer in Sanctuary
• 21^st – 6:30  p.m. – Book Club meets at Tobacco Wood Brewing Company and via Zoom
• 23^rd – 9:30 a.m. – Midweek Prayer in Sanctuary

Book Club – Our Book Club resumes the week after Easter at its normal times and places with a new book.

Midday Prayer – Meets Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. in the sanctuary.

Prayers for: Frank Anderson, Becky and Isabella Baird, Betty Baynes, Michael Boyd, Cynthia Broaddrick, Linda and Mike Diamond, Randy Downey, Julie Gaydon, Marlene Grenier, Millie Hartford, Heather Hightower, Randall Hightower, Hannah Hobgood, Cotina Jones, Barbara Laurent, BK McCloud, Donnie Messer, Laura Messer, Jeanette Owen, Rufus Owen, Jason Parkin, Greg and Dottie Price, Mike Reavis, Donald Rogers, Kelly Ann Sterner, Lynn Stone, Ed Street, Keith Street, Melvin Weaver, Alice Evans Woodlief and Cathy Yancey.

Happy Birthday to: Carolyn Steger – 18^th, Mya Yarborough – 20^th, Jane Reeder – 21^st, Julian Laurent – 22^nd, Sue Potter – 22^nd, Calvin Yancey – 23^rd

Remember to utilize our website! – www.oxfordpres.org.

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¹ O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his steadfast love endures forever!
² Let Israel say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”

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. (Psalms 118:1-2, 14-24 NRSV)

Blessings in Christ,

Alan