19 Sep OPC Weekly September 19, 2020
September 19, 2020
He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his faithful, for the people of Israel who are close to him. Praise the Lord! (Psalms 148:14 NRSV)
The above verse comes from a song sung after a time of national humiliation for the people of God. The inhabitants of Zion were overrun by Babylonian armies, their leaders taken into exile, and their treasury plundered. It was as if the nation had been decapitated. But after seventy years, the exiles were allowed to return home to Zion and endeavor to become a people once again. Critical to their reconstitution was worship. The post-exilic residents of Jerusalem insisted on deriving their identity from their God and not their circumstances, and so they remembered God’s mighty acts of deliverance—likened to an ox using its horns to defeat an opponent. The people could have despaired at their circumstances and concluded that God stopped caring about them, but they did not. Rather, they trusted that their God was faithful, and that the covenant that God had made with them was for forever. Thus, they praised God’s faithfulness in their music.
Our predicament is not the same, but nevertheless we are in circumstances where we might be tempted to believe that God is not paying attention or God is upset. This is where our worship is as critical as it was for the returnees from exile. We need to be reminded that indeed God has raised up a horn for us, and that horn is none other than Jesus Christ. Our deliverance has already been guaranteed in and through him, and he gifts us with our daily bread.
The live-streamed worship will again be broadcast from the sanctuary on Sunday 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.
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.
The Sunday worship bulletin will appear in your email box 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/.
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:
16th Sunday after Pentecost, September 20, 2020:
Scripture readings: Philippians 1:12-30
Sermon title: “What team are we on?”
9:00 a.m. – Pennies for Hunger and ACIM contributions “drive-by” drop-off at the church
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 – Our September mission emphasis continues to be the collection of donations for Murdoch Center, especially for the celebration of Christmas at Murdoch with secret Santas for the residents.
There will be another drive-by drop off this week for Pennies for Hunger and for ACIM tomorrow morning, Sunday the 20th, at 9 a.m. Also ACIM is in very short supply of canned goods. They will not be receiving any donations this year from the State Fair due to its cancellation which normally helps stock their shelves during the fall. We still have a bin at our back door if you have any canned goods you would like to donate—we will make sure they get to ACIM.
Announcements:
- 20th – 9:00 a.m. – Pennies for Hunger and ACIM contributions “drive-by” drop-off at the church
- 24th –
- 12:00 p.m. – Nominating Committee meets via Zoom
- 5:30 p.m. – Book Club discussion of Between the World and Me via Zoom
The book club will meet on September 24th at 5:30 p.m. via Zoom. We are reading Ta-Nehisi Coates’s letter to his teenage son, Between the World and Me. Please let Alan know if you are interested in joining the group.
The drive-by drop off this week for Pennies for Hunger and for ACIM will be on Sunday the 20th at 9 a.m. Speaking of ACIM, they are in very short supply of canned goods. They will not be receiving any donations this year from the State Fair due to its cancellation which normally helps stock their shelves during the fall. We still have a bin at our back door if you have any canned goods you would like to donate—we will make sure they get to ACIM.
Happy Birthday to: None this week. Stay young everyone!
Prayers for: Becky and Isabella Baird, Betty Baynes, Michael Boyd, Cynthia Broaddrick, Ann Currin, Larry Delfs, Linda and Mike Diamond, Charlene Dickey, Randy Downey, Julie Gaydon, Marlene Grenier, Fred Heath, Hannah Hobgood, Terry Hobgood, Sue Huggins, Carole Jackson, Cotina Jones, Barbara Laurent, Carlis Laws, Donnie Messer, Ally Milton, Will Newcomb, Greg and Dottie Price, Mike Reavis, Lynn Stone, Kathy Webb, and Alice Evans Woodlief.
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights!
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his host!
3 Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars!
4 Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he commanded and they were created.
6 He established them forever and ever;
he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea monsters and all deeps,
8 fire and hail, snow and frost,
stormy wind fulfilling his command!
9 Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
10 Wild animals and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds!
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
12 Young men and women alike,
old and young together!
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his glory is above earth and heaven.
14 He has raised up a horn for his people,
praise for all his faithful,
for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Praise the Lord! (Psalms 148 NRSV)
All blessings in Christ,
Alan
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