Oxford Presbyterian Church

January 9, 2020

Some prayers borrowed from the Book of Common Prayer, the liturgical guide of millions of our brothers and sisters in Christ who are Anglicans, are perhaps most fitting for where we find ourselves in our nation and in our world right now:

Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance;
Govern and uphold us now and always.

Day by day we bless you;
We praise your name forever.

Lord, keep us from sin today;
Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.

Lord, show us your love and mercy;
For we put our trust in you.

In you, Lord, is our hope;
And we shall never hope in vain. Amen.

 Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all peoples may be gathered together under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one God and Creator of us all; to whom be dominion and glory, now and forever. Amen.

 Oh God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your son. Look now with compassion on the entire human family; and particularly this part of the family, in the United States, and those in our nation’s capital; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power and the glory,
forever.
Amen.

My brothers and sisters, God has given us everything (and I mean everything) we need in Jesus Christ for life, for faithfulness, for true witness, for love of one another, for love of our neighbor, and for love of our enemy. Jesus Christ is the one who is true, and his cross illuminates our lives and this world while also exposing all darkness for what it is. Tomorrow we celebrate his baptism into which we are all baptized.

After our Lord was baptized he was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tested, tested to see if he truly trusted in his baptism and everything that it entailed—a life that would culminate in his own execution. In the wilderness the devil gave Jesus every opportunity to opt out of his baptism, to deny the way of the cross, and instead take charge of his own life and be led by what he himself intuited. (And with what authority did the devil tempt Jesus? The scriptures! Let this be a warning to all of us who think we know what the Bible says and means. It means nothing without Jesus being its reader.) But Jesus stayed the course and resisted the test of appropriating God’s word for his own benefit and his own power over others and saving himself. In the wilderness of testing, our Lord lived his baptism, and endured the whole way to the cross.

Will you and I live our baptisms as well? The authenticity of our witness is as stake. What powers do we place our confidence in? Is “Prince of Peace” a sentimental slogan, or is it a true title reflecting who Jesus Christ the Lord is and what he is really like? May we not be found ourselves putting the Lord God to the test by agreeing with the devil about the nature of power and authority.

Our live-streamed worship will again be broadcast from the sanctuary 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 livestream, communion will be included in the liturgy. 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. The liturgy for communion will also be sent out with the bulletin later today.

Our worship is also being 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 video of 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:

Baptism of the Lord, January 10, 2021:

Scripture readings: Genesis 3:1-6 and Mark 1:4-11

Sermon title: “Jesus Christ: the Music of Life”

Thanks to Woody and Adrienne Morton 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 and Communion 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 January and February mission emphasis will be our annual blanket drive with Church World Service. As the below image shows, the blanket ministry of CWS continues amid pandemic conditions. More information on this critical ministry can be found here: https://cwsblankets.org/.

Announcements:

• 13^th – 10:30 a.m. – Morning Scripture and Prayer (and coffee!) on our parking patio behind the church
• 14^th – 5:30 p.m. – Book Club meets via Zoom to determine our next book

On Wednesday mornings, we will continue gathering for a brief time to read scripture and to pray. If you would like to join your brothers and sisters, we ask that we each bring a chair if possible (if not you can use a folding chair from the church), that we observe our distance (6ft from each other), and that we mask. Please come and take the opportunity to safely fellowship, and to lift up one another and our world to God in prayer.

 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.

Happy Birthday to:  Chandler Hobgood – 11th; Carol Barnes – 11th; Faye Newell – 15th

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

¹ Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
² Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name;
worship the Lord in holy splendor.
³ The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord, over mighty waters.
⁴ The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
⁵ The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
⁶ He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.
⁷ The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
⁸ The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
⁹ The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl,
and strips the forest bare;
and in his temple all say, “Glory!”
¹⁰ The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
¹¹ May the Lord give strength to his people!
May the Lord bless his people with peace! (Psalms 29 NRSV)

All blessings in Christ,

Alan

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