Oxford Presbyterian Church

December 10, 2021

Good morning everyone.

Sunday is the Third Sunday of Advent. In addition to the sanctuary beautifully decorated with greenery, the lovely poinsettias we have all ordered will be on display for the next couple of weeks. Come and celebrate the advent of our Lord Jesus with friends old and new!

We invite you to participate in one or more of the following worship opportunities:

At 8:08 a.m. on Sundays, we have our early worship service that now meets in the sanctuary. If you want to come and remain in your automobile, you may park on Gilliam Street and turn your FM radio dial to 89.50 and you will be able to listen to the worship service.

At 11:00 a.m. we gather together in our sanctuary for our Service for the Lord’s Day.

 Our 11:00 a.m. service is also be broadcast via Facebook Live if you are unable to join us. Our livestream experienced something of a technological hiccup last Sunday, but the problem has been rectified. 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.

At 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 à https://oxfordpres.org/media/#sermons, and at The Oxford Exchange, found here à http://theoxfordexchange.blubrry.net/. Sermons are posted the Tuesday following the Sunday they were preached.

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/).

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.

Third Sunday of Advent, December 12, 2021:

Scripture readings: Zephaniah 3:14-20 and Luke 3:7-20

Sermon title: “Is this really a song of joy?”

Liturgist: Michelle Koeneke

Lighter of the Advent Candles: Brad Jackson, Cobb Huggins, Rett Jackson, Nick Jackson

Thanks to Carolyn Steger, Franz and Chris Koeneke, and Kathy Webb for leading our music.

7:00 a.m. – Faith 4 Five available for viewing on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Oxford-Presbyterian-Church-152011345379561/

8:08 a.m. – Worship in sanctuary with shortrange broadcast on 89.50 FM

11:00 a.m. – Worship in sanctuary with communion 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 – Our December mission emphasis is the annual Christmas Joy Offering that supports retired Presbyterian ministers here and current Presbyterian ministers abroad. For more information go here à https://specialofferings.pcusa.org/offering/christmas-joy/.

Announcements:

• 14^th – 7:00  p.m. – Choir meets in Sanctuary
• 15^th – 10:30  a.m. – Book club meets at Strong Arm Baking Company to discuss The Man Who Invented Christmas by Les Standiford
• 16^th – 5:30  p.m. – Book club meets via Zoom to discuss The Man Who Invented Christmas by Les Standiford

Hey Kids! Advent is here! Don’t you want to know “Who is on the way?” There is an Advent Activity Packet made just for you. You can learn about some symbols of Advent and have a little fun along the way. Some activities are on paper and some will show up each Sunday morning on Facebook Live’s Faith 4 Five! (You can watch here: https://www.facebook.com/Oxford-Presbyterian-Church-152011345379561/.) Request your Advent Activity Packet by calling or emailing Ellen Gould. Copies will also be available for pick up at the church. Activities are appropriate for school-age kids and all former kids. Don’t miss out on the Advent fun!

Book Club – Meets Wednesday at Strong Arm Baking Company and Thursday via Zoom. We are reading The Man Who Invented Christmas by Les Standiford. This is the story of how a debt-ridden Charles Dickens wrote a little novella for Christmas one year in hopes of making a little money, only to discover that no one wanted to publish it! Scrooges and sentimentalist alike are both invited to join us.

Midday Prayer – Will not meet this week but will meet the following week on Tuesday, December 21^st.

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, Wiley Leonard, BK McCloud, Donnie Messer, Laura Messer, Jeanette Owen, Jason Parkin, Greg and Dottie Price, Mike Reavis, Kelly Ann Sterner, Lynn Stone, Melvin Weaver, and Alice Evans Woodlief.

Happy Birthday to: Tay Anderson – 15^th; Margaret Harris – 15^th; Betsy Sanders – 16^th; Sue Bryant – 17^th; Ajayla Hester – 18^th

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

Also, if you are on Facebook, please friend us here:

And if you are on Twitter, please follow us here:

² Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid,
for the Lord God is my strength and my might;
he has become my salvation.
³ With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
⁴ And you will say in that day:
Give thanks to the Lord,
call on his name;
make known his deeds among the nations;
proclaim that his name is exalted.
⁵ Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;
let this be known in all the earth.
⁶ Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 12:2-6 NRSV)

All blessings in Christ,

Alan