Oxford Presbyterian Church

February 27, 2021

Good evening everyone,

A couple of announcements: 1) attached is a letter that went out Thursday via US Postal Service and so some of you will be getting this letter twice. Please take the time to read it as it relates to our stewardship for the year 2021; and 2) the OPC Annual Lenten Bible Study has been recorded and can be viewed on our Facebook page. If you are interested in catching up with our first session, just go here à  https://www.facebook.com/Oxford-Presbyterian-Church-152011345379561/.

Our live-streamed Sunday worship will once again be 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.

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! Another Faith 4 Five is on the way. 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.

Here is our schedule for the week:

2^nd Sunday in Lent, February 28, 2021:

Scripture readings: Psalm 22:21b-31 and Mark 9:14-29
Sermon title: “Have pity on us and help us!”
Thanks to Lindsay and Judy Miller and Kathy Webb for providing our music.

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. 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 – This is the last week of our annual blanket drive with Church World Service. These blankets are sent to populations and communities that have suffered natural disasters, and the need for them has not abated during our pandemic. Each blanket is $10. Just earmark your check to OPC and earmark it Blanket Drive. More information on this critical ministry can be found here: https://cwsblankets.org/.

Announcements:

• 3^rd – 10:30 a.m. – Morning Scripture and Prayer (and coffee!) on our parking patio behind the church
• 4^th – 5:30 p.m. – Annual Lenten Bible Study via Zoom

During the season of Lent, our Book Club is converting to the Oxford Presbyterian Church’s Annual Lenten Bible Study. We will convene at 5:30 p.m. for five Thursdays in Lent via Zoom. Our link will be recirculated every week. Everyone is welcome! If you cannot join us you can still catch up on our conversation by going to our Facebook page where you will find the video of our study. Just go here: https://www.facebook.com/Oxford-Presbyterian-Church-152011345379561/.

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, Donnie Messer, Ally Milton, Jason Parkin, Greg and Dottie Price, Mike Reavis, Lynn Stone, and Alice Evans Woodlief.

Happy Birthday to: Jane Boyd – 2^nd; Walter Gould – 3^rd; Julie Oakley – 6^th

??¹ How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!
² My soul longs, indeed it faints
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh sing for joy
to the living God.
³ Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God.
⁴ Happy are those who live in your house,
ever singing your praise.
Selah
⁵ Happy are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
⁶ As they go through the valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
⁷ They go from strength to strength;
the God of gods will be seen in Zion.
⁸ O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob!
Selah
⁹ Behold our shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed.
¹⁰ For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than live in the tents of wickedness.
¹¹ For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
he bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does the Lord withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
¹² O Lord of hosts,
happy is everyone who trusts in you. (Psalm 84 NRSV)

All blessings in Christ,

Alan

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