Oxford Presbyterian Church

May 15, 2020

Dear sisters and brothers,

Bless our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard, who has kept us among the living, and has not let our feet slip. (Psalms 66:8-9)

The above verse comes from a psalm of praise from Israel to God, a song that Israel sang because God had upheld the people’s existence. If the normal course of events in this world had held sway, the people Israel would have been erased from history. They as a group of tribes and clans in a foreign land would have disappeared, trampled underfoot by their slave masters and assimilated into the permanent slave work force of ancient Egypt under the Pharaohs. But their God intervened, rescuing them from slavery and giving them a future as a people in the event of the exodus. Their God had saved them, and Israel was preserved.

This is precisely what has taken place for us in Jesus Christ. If the normal course of events in this world had held sway, we too would have been erased from history. We would have been assimilated into the permanent slavery of death, done in by natural causes, by accident, by disaster, by disease, by something sooner or later. But in Jesus Christ, God has intervened and rescued and saved us and has secured a future for us as his people in and through the resurrection of the dead. We have been preserved. Amid this pandemic, let us too sing the same song, for regardless of what may come, we have hope: Bless our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard, who has kept us among the living, and has not let our feet slip.

I continue to ask for your patience to let our ad hoc Committee for Reopening the Church to fully prepare us for our return to congregating. The committee is making sure we leave no stone unturned with regards to safety, and that we have policies and procedures in place to govern us when we are in each other’s presence at the church. As the work of the committee progresses, we will continue to keep you updated. In the meanwhile, keep praying for the work of committee. Thank you.

So, for another week, our ministry of social distancing for the sake of loving one another and loving neighbor continues. Continue in your patience and perseverance. Continue to call and check on one another. Continue to be lifting up prayers for each other and all that are impacted by this dreaded virus. God has given us what we need to endure.

We have such a wonderful group of elders as our shepherds who 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.

This Sunday, we once again have live-streamed worship via Facebook Live. Our service 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.

Our worship will be broadcast from my home without professional lighting and sound, and will be captured by my iPhone. It isn’t necessarily high-tech, but it is the worship gathering of the Oxford Presbyterian Church, and it consists of most of the gifts we have always shared when we are together: prayer, song, word. 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 will 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.

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:

Sixth Sunday of Easter, May 17, 2020:

Scripture reading: 1 John 2:28-3:24

Sermon Title: “Shame, Condemnation, and God”

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 May is Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. The offerings are used for communities both near and far that have suffered natural disasters. Some of these funds are already being used to help marginalized communities that have been hard hit by COVID-19 outbreak. Online gifts can be made here à https://pma.pcusa.org/donate/make-a-gift/gift-info/DR000148/.

Announcements:

• · May 21th – 5:30 p.m. – Book Club discussion of Paul: An Apostle’s Journey via Zoom
• We have resumed our local book club via the easy-to-use (for the most part!) teleconferencing technology of Zoom. We are reading Douglas Campbell’s short and readable biography of one of the key witnesses in the New Testament, Paul: An Apostle’s Journey. If you wish to join us, please let Alan know.

Prayers for: Becky and Isabella Baird, Betty Baynes, 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, Allison Evans Woodlief

Happy Birthday to: None this week. We are all staying younger!

Bless our God, O peoples,
let the sound of his praise be heard,
who has kept us among the living,
and has not let our feet slip.
For you, O God, have tested us;
you have tried us as silver is tried.
You brought us into the net;
you laid burdens on our backs;
you let people ride over our heads;
we went through fire and through water;
yet you have brought us out to a spacious place. (Psalms 66:8-12)

All blessings in Christ,

Alan

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