Oxford Presbyterian Church

May 22, 2020

Dear sisters and brothers,

God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises. For God is the king of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm. (Psalms 47:5-7 NRSV)

Yesterday was Ascension of the Lord Day, a day that has never been met with much fanfare here in America. It goes by every year without much attention being paid to it, even in churches. And that is a great loss. Why? Because the ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven gives a larger perspective on the significance of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead and his consequent sending of his Holy Spirit to us. Through the lens of the ascension, Jesus’ victory over death that we celebrate on Easter is shown to be the defeat of all other powers in this world that would claim our allegiance. The ascension is the key witness that Jesus truly is “the king of all the earth,” and therefore the psalm above is the appropriate accompanying music for us to sing in response. Jesus has gone up with a shout so that he might rule us and this world through the power of his Holy Spirit. That Spirit of the living Jesus Christ is the power of God at work at all times, even during a pandemic. These are uncertain days, but they are framed by the certainty that Jesus has conquered and he rules, now and forever. Whatever this season brings us, we can be confident that by his Spirit, Jesus never leaves us or forsakes us. He continues minute by minute and day by day and week by week and month by month to be our and the world’s Lord. His will will be done!

The work of our ad hoc Committee for Reopening the Church continues on our behalf. Please be praying for them that they may lead us with the wisdom that comes from God. They are charged with the task of leading us towards reopening in a manner that is consistent with what we believe. For our gathering together in worship to be faithful, it needs to also be a loving of one another and a loving of our neighbor. A gathering together to celebrate the good news of Jesus Christ needs to ensure that it is not a poor witness to the good news of Jesus Christ. That is the challenge these days present us with, and we do not want good intent to end up as a spoiled witness by failing to be cautious and patient. That is why I ask for your prayers on behalf of their critical work.

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 virus. You have all done so well in this that I have nothing to add.

Your elders are always here for you. They lead and they shepherd us in the way of Jesus Christ for the sake of our faithfulness. If you have need of anything, please let your elders know so that we can share in whatever burdens you may be experiencing.

Live-streamed worship will again be broadcast on Sunday 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. 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.

Look for our Sunday worship bulletin in your mailbox late Saturday evening or early Sunday morning, 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:

Seventh Sunday of Easter, May 24, 2020:

Scripture reading: 1 John 4:1-21

Sermon Title:“This Is Love”

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 27th – 6:30 p.m. – Session meets via Zoom
• · May 28th – 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: George Yancey – 26th; Leeann Lequick – 27th; Anna Parham – 28th; Christian Juterbock – 30th.

Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with loud songs of joy.
For the Lord, the Most High, is awesome, a great king over all the earth.
He subdued peoples under us, and nations under our feet.
He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves.
God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.
For God is the king of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm.
God is king over the nations; God sits on his holy throne.
The princes of the peoples gather as the people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is highly exalted. (Psalms 47 NRSV)

All blessings in Christ,

Alan

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