zoom group training

OCCweb online is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Zoom training
Time: Apr 30, 2020 10:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/92215435098?pwd=dUZCVlBQNEpVc0FUSktqd0lCWTVrdz09

Meeting ID: 922 1543 5098
Password: 837207

April 26 service

Welcome to OCC online

Welcome to the online version of our Sunday gathering at OCC. Thankful for pastor Brent teaching this morning. As most of you have heard I have had a very rough week. Fever, coughing, headaches, and some difficulty breathing. I was tested for COVID-19 on Monday – that came back negative on Tuesday and I had a phone appointment with my DR. She put me on an antibiotic for a bronchial infection. It has seemed to do the job and I am starting to feel a little better.

Prayer

Psalm 23 This beautiful Psalm reminds us that God is our constant, caring Shepherd and faithful Guide. In Him alone do we have hope, both in this life and through eternity:

The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Dear God,
Thank you that you are our good Shepherd and we can trust you with our lives. We’re so grateful for your leadership, your guidance and care in all our days. Thank you that you restore our souls, give us peace, and bring us hope in all our tomorrows. Your protection and strength surround us like a shield, and we never have to fear. Thank you for your goodness and love that follows after us, chases us, even when we’re unaware. In you alone is true rest and peace. We praise you for the assurance that we will dwell with you forever.

In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.

Worship by the Adams & Message by pastor Brent

This Sunday, Pastor Brent will be sharing a video message titled, “Not of This World” based on 1 John 2.

Offerings

Head to Online Giving for various ways to give. Thank you for all who are faithful in giving.

Praying

Join us Sunday night @ 6:30pm to pray together on zoom

Zoom Groups

Don’t forget to sign up for a Zoom Group or on our OCCweb Facebook page.

Benediction

Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope! Romans 15:13

zoom groups

In a world of physical distancing, we still need connection.

One of the strengths of the technology we have in our world is the ability to remain connected even when separated.

Beginning the first week of May, we are going to be offering Zoom Groups – an opportunity to connect with others. These initial Groups will run for 4 weeks.

Let me encourage you to get connected.

  • we will offer them at 3 different times (or more if needed)
    • Mornings (10am)
    • Afternoon (1:30pm)
    • Evenings (8pm)
  • we will offer equipping session for those who act as hosts / facilitators
  • no preparation or homework required

If you have never used zoom before, send us a message and we will set up a training session for you.

 

Zoom Prayer

Join us Sunday nights @ 6:30pm for prayer

You can join the Zoom Meeting by going here.

If you are joining on your phone or tablet you need to download the app.

Meeting ID: 995 4454 1247
Password: 4LKzLR

April 19 service

welcome

Welcome OCCer’s and others who have found us online. We are glad you joined us. It’s not the same as meeting face-to-face, but we can connect.

prayer

As you pray today, prayer for…

  • front line care-givers and workers
  • adequate supplies of PPE
  • those who are working in essential services
  • those who have lost loved ones during this time and have not been able to say goodbye
  • those who are weary, anxious, feeling depressed
  • the vulnerable who need assistance getting what they need from stores.
  • for our leaders, that they would make wise decisions

But also, as you pray, acknowledge God’s presence, walking with us, in this season.

worship songs

You can find some worship songs for today at this link

message

Pastor Mike continues in this series we are calling normal… in abnormal times.
What does it look like for us to be God’s people in this season.

  • How are you connecting, supporting others?
    • at OCC
    • on your street
    • family
    • others
  • What is God teaching you about himself and about yourself in this season?

scriptures

Here are the key passages that pastor Mike referenced:

  • Acts 2:42-47
  • Colossians 3:1-14
  • 1 John
  • John 17
  • 2 Corinthians 5:17
  • Deuteronomy 15, 23
  • Leviticus 19

benediction

Jude 1:24 To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

Reaching Out

We are reading and reflecting on Jude 17-25.

Jude gets also tells us how to respond to false teachers and those who are being led astray by them. He’s spoken honestly and directly about the danger. Having been reminded to expect that false teachers will come, and having been encouraged to keep ourselves in God’s love, Jude now tells us what we are to do with the false teachers. He divides them into three groups and says:

And have mercy on those who doubt;
save others by snatching them out of the fire; t
o others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.
Jude 1:22-23

Jude is addressing three groups of people:

  • First, he addresses those who doubt.
    He’s probably talking about some who have started to be swayed by the false teaching. They’re wavering in their commitment to Jesus. They have doubts about the Bible, about the Christian faith. They have questions. They want to know if the Bible is true, if they can trust what they’ve heard.
    Jude says: have mercy on these people. Be helpful to them. Build relationships with them. Your relationship with them should be characterized by mercy. I’m sure you can think of people who fit into this category. You have the opportunity to invest in their lives if you have mercy on those who doubt.
  • Second, he says, “save others by snatching them out of the fire.” These people, it would seem, have gone further down the road with the false teachers. They’re in danger of judgment, characterized by fire. Some have been so influenced by false teaching, Jude is saying, that they are teetering on the edge of falling away. We need to snatch them before it’s too late. When we encounter someone who has departed the faith, we can’t just give up on them. God does restore people. Contend for them. Save them by snatching them out of the fire.
  • Then there’s a third group. He says, “to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.” I think Jude is talking about the false teachers themselves here. They’ve abandoned themselves to false teaching, but they’re not beyond redemption. Jude says to show mercy to them. Pray for them. Treat them kindly. But also be cautious. Be on guard. He talks about the garment stained by flesh. He’s talking about the clothing worn closest to the body. This is pretty graphic. He’s talking, in essence, about clothing that’s been stained with human waste. Show mercy to them, he says, but be cautious.

Jude’s an important little letter. It addresses an ongoing problem. We face the same issue that Jude addresses. We need to be able to recognize false teaching, and to know how to respond.

  • Don’t be surprised.
  • Secure your own position by keeping yourselves in God’s love.
  • And then reach out to those who are going astray.
    This, Jude says, is how we’re to respond when we encounter false teaching.

We can’t afford the luxury of fake seatbelts. Remember: when tested, what’s fake won’t save you. We need what’s real. We need the real gospel, but we also need to know what to do when we encounter what’s false.

Jude concludes his little letter by rooting us to God. At the end of the book he reminds us that, although we have a role to play, our hope is not in our ability to hold on to God, but in God’s ability to hold on to us.

24 To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

There are real dangers, there are false teachers. But what’s fake won’t save you. But there is someone who’s real, and when he grabs on to you you’re safe forever.

Jude 17-25 Keep Yourself in God’s Love

We are reading and reflecting on Jude 17-25.

  • How should we respond when the false teachers come? We know they’re coming.
  • Do we go on the defensive, building moats and walls so that the false teachers can’t get in?
  • Do you go on the offensive, attacking at the first sign of false teaching?

There is a time and a place for this, but the first thing Jude says is: keep yourselves in God love. Secure your own spiritual position. Before you can address the false teachers or the false teaching, make sure that you are secure. Jude writes:

20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

I want us to notice a few things here.

First, there’s only one command here: “keep yourselves in God’s love.” Jude describes some steps we can take in order to keep ourselves in the love of God:

  • building ourselves up in our most holy faith;
  • praying in the Holy Spirit;
  • waiting for Christ’s return.

We do these things in order to keep ourselves in God’s love. It’s a good description of some of the things that we need to build into our lives if we’re going to keep ourselves in God’s love. This week, how are you…

  • devoting yourself to growth in the faith,
  • to prayer,
  • and to living in light of Christ’s return.

Second, this is not a command to individuals; it’s a command to a church. He doesn’t say to keep yourself in the love of God; he says to keep yourselves. I need this reminder. We don’t do this alone. We are responsible to do this together. One of our main purposes as a church is to keep ourselves in the love of Christ.

Third, Jude addresses his letter in verse 1 to “To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for [by, in] Jesus Christ.”

  • If you are a follower of Jesus, you are someone who is called, and who’s kept for and by and in Jesus Christ.
  • You’re being guarded and kept by and for and in Jesus Christ.

But here in verse 21 he says, “keep yourselves in God’s love.”

  • Which is it? Are we kept, or do we keep ourselves?
  • Yes. God has done everything we need in the Christian life;
  • But we need to respond.
  • God keeps us; we keep ourselves in what God has done for us in Christ.

It’s a beautiful picture of the Christian life. God has done it all: we need to keep ourselves firmly planted in what God has done.

What Jude is saying, essentially, is to keep yourself anchored to how God has loved you in Jesus Christ.

“Moving ahead in the Christian life often involves looking to the past… The foundation must be secure before the building can go up. We can never grow away from our roots; we can only grow through them” (Douglas Moo).

One of the best things we can do in a world of fakes is to make sure that we have what is real.

The best antidote to false teaching is for us to continually be keeping ourselves in God’s love, to continually be growing into the truth. So don’t be surprised; keep yourselves in God’s love.

Jude 17-25 Don’t Be Surprised

Throughout this short letter, you get the impression that Jude is not conveying new information. He’s reminding us of something. For instance, in verse 5 we read: “I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it…”. Then in verses 17-19 he writes:

17 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18 They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” 19 These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

What Jude is saying is that we need to remember that this is to be expected. Don’t be surprised. We have been adequately warned. Other places in the New Testament, we read:

  • I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. (Acts 20:29-30)
  • Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons… (1 Timothy 4:1)
  • But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. (2 Timothy 3:1)
  • I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. (2 Peter 3:3)

Throughout the New Testament, we are warned that in the last days – the days between Jesus’ death and resurrection and his coming again – false teachers and scoffers will appear. It is expected. Not only that, but they won’t come from out there. They will arise from within the church. Scripture consistently warns us to expect this and to guard against it, because it’s going to happen. Jude says: don’t let it surprise you.

Jude is saying: False teaching is coming whether you’re prepared for it or not. You can get comfortable and be unprepared when it comes. But if you’re smart, you’ll remember that you’ve been told to expect it, and you’ll be prepared to deal with it when it comes. Don’t be surprised, he says, by false teaching.

When we get bombarded by all the stuff that comes across the news and our facebook feeds, it wears us down. This week a former neighbour of our died of COVID-19, the sister-in-law of a family member, who is a nurse, has COVID-19. This is real. It is not fake news.

We need to make choices if we are to remain healthy.

  • emotionally
  • physically
  • mentally
  • socially
  • spiritually

Ask yourself, on a scale of 1(poorly) to 5(great)  how are you doing?

  • Be honest.
  • What is one thing you will do today that will move you in a positive direction in anyone of those 5 areas?

it could be as simple as:

  • emotionally: go to bed 1/2 earlier than you usually do.
  • physically: do some gentle exercise.
  • mentally: write a short poem expressing how you are feeling.
  • socially: if you go for a walk, greet everyone you see.
  • spiritually: read and reflect on Psalm 18.

Make the decision to do that one thing