Oxford Presbyterian Church

April 24, 2020

Dear sisters and brothers,

I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up, and did not let my foes rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol, restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit. (Psalm 30:1-3)

Praying and singing are activities I find myself doing a lot these days, whether I am aware of it or not. When I am doing a devotional service of Daily Prayer, I am obviously cognizant of what I am partaking in—a liturgy of prayers and songs that help me to respond to God’s love in Jesus Christ. But more of my praying and singing during this season of pandemic and quarantine takes place unrehearsed. When I hear about COVID-19 outbreaks and hospitalizations and deaths, I find myself exclaiming, “My God!” News of cancellations and closures and unemployment claims are met with cries of “How long, O Lord?” The strife and anger and sadness I see on TV and social media make me plead “Help us, Jesus.” The reports that have snippets of hope for us—light at the end of the tunnel—are responded to with “Thank you, God!” Throughout the day, songs are on my tongue before I know it: The Lord’s my shepherd, I shall not want gets belted out in the shower. I waited patiently for the Lord…how long to sing this song? gets rehearsed daily at my makeshift desk (the dining room table that is finally proving its utility beyond just taking up space in a room that never gets used). You are my hiding place, you always fill my heart with songs of deliverance gets sung while I walk around the block.

Prayer and song are behaviors that are so central to who we are that we often engage in them without really even knowing it. And prayer and song are the actions that constitute the entirety of the Psalms, the most quoted and alluded to book from the Old Testament in the New Testament. It’s as if the apostles and other writers of the New Testament witnessed the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, and then apprehended that the true, deep longing of their prayers and songs had been realized. “After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.” (John 2:22) The true singing of Psalm 30 (the words at the top of this post), the true vindication and healing and restoration of life, was so much more profound than King David getting over a grave illness. The crowning performance of these lyrics was Jesus Christ as the true pray-er and singer in his resurrection from the dead.

O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol, restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit—this indeed is a song that Jesus Christ prays and sings. But he sings not only for himself. Rather, Jesus sings for you and for me and for a world that so often struggles (especially now) to find the right words to sing and then sing them in tune. This is the great Easter reality: Jesus Christ as the true living one has cried out for us in songs of desperation, and his prayers have been answered. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?… Save me from the mouth of the lion! has been met with From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued me…he did not hide his face from me, but heard when I cried to him. (Psalm 22) Whatever the circumstances of our lives or of the world, Jesus Christ ever lives to sing and pray for us. It is in his resurrection from the dead that we are held secure with the promise that we will share in it, a promise guaranteed by the sending of his Holy Spirit. Amid our continued pandemic and quarantine, may you hear the Easter song of hope that Jesus sings for you and me.

Our ministry of social distancing for the sake of loving one another and loving neighbor continues unabated. Small signs of hope are beginning to appear like the buds of spring, but we need to caution against jumping the gun. This is a novel virus, and therefore we cannot intuit the risk it presents to us and exactly how we should behave in response. People that have dedicated their lives to battling infectious disease are working around the clock across the globe for the sake of providing answers and preserving life, including yours and mine. Our ministry of distancing honors their work and the risks they undertake on our behalf.

Your elders pay close attention to the things that have material impact on our life together. Also, they continue to be our shepherds and hold all of us up to God in heart and prayer during these days. If you have need of anything, please let your elders know so that we can share in whatever burdens you may be experiencing.

Of necessity, our society has become more tech-savvy for the sake of communicating and gathering while being physically apart, and our church is no exception. This week the session approved our broadcasting of worship on Sunday mornings by means of live streaming. If you so desire, you will be able to participate in worship by watching our stream via Facebook Live. Our service will begin 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 will appear 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 a few days.

Oxford Presbyterian Church is not a television ministry, and therefore do not expect all the bells and whistles that accompany so much of the worship that is broadcast these days. Rather, our livestream this week will be broadcast from my home without professional lighting and sound, and will be captured by my iPhone. But it will nevertheless be the worship gathering of the Oxford Presbyterian Church, and it will consist of most of the gifts we have always shared when we are together: prayer, song, word. The sacraments by their very nature require our gathering in person, but rest assured those signs and gifts await us when we congregate one again. 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. I do solemnly promise that your minister will be wearing more than pajamas and bathrobe come Sunday morning!

If the technology and disposition of livestreaming are not your cup of tea, then rest assured that I will continue to be sending out our Sunday worship bulletin on Saturday evening complete with hymns and sermon so that you may have your own house-church worship. The important thing for all of us these days is not how we are worshiping but rather the fact that we are worshiping. God gift us whenever and wherever we meet with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 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/.

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.

Regarding offerings, Oxford Presbyterian Church 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.

Here is our schedule for the week:

Third Sunday of Easter, April 26, 2020:

Scripture reading: John 21:1-19

Sermon Title: “Overcoming the Shame”

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

Mission of the Month – Our monthly mission emphasis for April continues to be the One Great Hour of Sharing. The offerings are used for disaster assistance, hunger relief, and for the development of poverty-ridden communities. Online gifts can be made here à https://specialofferings.pcusa.org/make-a-gift/gift-info/oghs/.

Announcements:

• None

Prayers for: Becky and Isabella Baird, Michael Boyd, Ann Currin, Larry Delfs, Linda and Mike Diamond, Randy Downey, Julie Gaydon, Diane and Fred Heath, Hannah Hobgood, Sue Huggins, Cotina Jones, Barbara Laurent, Carlis Laws, Will Newcomb,  Greg and Kellie Price, Lynn Stone, Kathy Webb

Happy Birthday to: Terry Hobgood, Jr. – 26th; Blake Hightower – 27th; Mike McCarty – 28th; Lauren Parham – 30th

Happy Belated Birthday to: Sue Potter – 22nd. So sorry Sue that we missed including you last week! The minister is going to have a stern word with the person responsible.

I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up,
and did not let my foes rejoice over me.
O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol,
restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.
Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger is but for a moment;
his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may linger for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
As for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I shall never be moved.”
By your favor, O Lord,
you had established me as a strong mountain;
you hid your face;
I was dismayed.
To you, O Lord, I cried,
and to the Lord I made supplication:
“What profit is there in my death,
if I go down to the Pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?
Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me!
O Lord, be my helper!”
You have turned my mourning into dancing;
you have taken off my sackcloth
and clothed me with joy,
so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever. (Psalms 30 NRSV)

All blessings in Christ,

Alan

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