Register for Sunday – 6 December

We are now meeting in person, Sundays at 10am.

Registering is easy!
Go to this link

This Sunday is the 2nd Sunday of Advent we will be exploring the Wonder That Changes Everything.

follow along on this page for our…

  • advent calendar
  • advent readings
  • & other advent & Christmas focused posts as we prepare to celebrate the birth of our SaviorLord and King.

 

You can also register for OCCKids in Theatre 1 (K-Grade 5) at the same link

Right now, because of COVID-19, everything is different at OCC.
To help us adhere to the 30% maximum capacity requirementwe ask those who are coming to our in-person service to register either online through the link below, or by calling OCC. 

Registration will close Friday morning at 9 am, to give us time to set up properly. If we reach capacity, we will have a waiting list. Those on the waiting list will be given first chance at registering for the next Sunday (and will be contacted if there are any cancellations). Please plan to come a bit early to facilitate the seating process.
The doors will open on Sundays, at 9:30 am for our 10am service.

Advent 1 | Peace | 29 November

welcome

We are glad you are here. We trust and pray that as you read and listen that you will be blessed.
Today we start our Advent series: THIS [Peace, Wonder, King, Hope, Invitation, Presence] Changes Everything.

We encourage you to take a few minutes as you prepare to watch the video

  • sit still,
  • breathe in, breath out a couple of times
  • invite the Lord to make himself present with you as you watch – he is with you – it’s just that sometimes we are not aware that he is.
  • prepare your heart to listen and receive
  • Read Isaiah 9:1-7 as you enter into our time together.

teaching

Here is the service for Sunday 29 November. Brooke & Steve Nicholls lead us in worship today

prayer

Here is the link to our Zoom Prayer tonight @ 6:30pm

OCCKids & Youth

OCCkids are meeting in Theatre 1 @ 10am (during our morning service). Additional resources for those who cannot be present are available from pastor Brent.

  • OCCYouth are meeting every 2nd Friday nights (6:30-8:00pm). They are next meeting on: December 4.
  • Jr High meets every 2nd Thursday night (6:30-8:00pm). They are meeting on: December 11
  • More details are available here.

giving

In this new way of being the church, we don’t practice giving by placing our offering in a basket as it is passed.
OCCers are generous people. Thank you for your gifts.

  • Some of you give when you attend a service (there is an offering box)
  • Many give online – etransfer or paypal
  • Others mail or drop off cheques

You can find all the ways you can give here.

We are partnering with the Lighthouse to host the distribution of winter clothing. We are looking for donations of clothing, especially children and youth sizes. There is also an opportunity to greet and help people find what they need. Distribution will be on Monday and Tuesday afternoons. Contact Judi Page for all the details.

 

Grace and Peace

The Apostle Paul knew he needed to write a difficult letter to his friends in Corinth. The church in Corinth was having a difficult time. They were arguing a lot. They were deeply divided. Their members came from different backgrounds, with different gifts and beliefs. They argued about justice and worship. They were experiencing a lot of uncertainty. Paul wanted to remind them that even though they were experiencing these arguments and division: they were one community, one body in Jesus. He wanted to remind them that their diversity is what made them good and beautiful and holy in the eyes of God. But he knew it might be a difficult thing for them to hear. So he chose to begin his letter with these beautiful words: “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:3).

This Advent, many of us are also experiencing uncertainty, division, and worry. Living in our world in 2020 feels, in many ways, a lot like living in ancient Corinth. But advent is the yearly reminder that God looked at the world exactly as it is and fell deeply, madly in love with us. Every single one of us. God fell so recklessly in love with us that God decided to “tear open the heavens and come down” as the Prophet Isaiah sang (Isaiah 64:1–9). God sent God’s only son to take on flesh and blood in Jesus, to live and die rise again for us. Jesus, again and again, shows us God’s grace, peace, and love. No matter how messy, imperfect, or broken you might feel — that God loves you with a deep, reckless, powerful love. God’s love can transform our lives, our communities, our world.

So, this Advent: may you know the grace and peace of God, revealed to us in Jesus. And may God rekindle your hope for a better, even more beautiful world.

Register – Sunday – 29 November

We are now meeting in person, Sundays at 10am.

Registering is easy!
Go to this link

Advent begins on Sunday, 29 November.

follow along on this page for our…

  • advent calendar
  • advent readings
  • & other advent & Christmas focused posts as we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Lord and King.

 

You can also register for OCCKids in Theatre 1 (K-Grade 5) at the same link

Right now, because of COVID-19, everything is different at OCC.
To help us adhere to the 30% maximum capacity requirementwe ask those who are coming to our in-person service to register either online through the link below, or by calling OCC. 

Registration will close Friday morning at 9 am, to give us time to set up properly. If we reach capacity, we will have a waiting list. Those on the waiting list will be given first chance at registering for the next Sunday (and will be contacted if there are any cancellations). Please plan to come a bit early to facilitate the seating process.
The doors will open on Sundays, at 9:30 am for our 10am service.

Praying the Lord’s | Disciples | Kingdom Prayer

This week we are praying the Lord’s | disciples | kingdom prayer of Matthew 6:9-13
We are encouraging you to pray this prayer in the morning, midday and afternoon or evening.

  • I am praying at 8:10am, 12noon, and 4pm
  • Pick times which are convenient for you
  • Pray this prayer, reflect on the words, share in the comments what is standing out to you, what the Spirit is showing you.
  •  Use whatever translation you like. I will be using a different version each day. A link to the BibleGateway site is in the link:

Pray, intentionally and reflectively. Let’s see what God says and does in and through us

 

 

November 22 – kingdom prayer

welcome – we are glad you are here…

We trust and pray that as you read and listen that you will be blessed.
Today we are continuing in our series looking at Faithful Practices

  • last month we focused on the Table of the Lord | Communion | Eucharist
  • 2 weeks ago we looked at Reconciliation
  • last Sunday we reflected on Proclamation

We encourage you to take a few minutes as you prepare to watch the video

  • sit still,
  • breathe in, breath out a couple of times
  • invite the Lord to make himself present with you as you watch – he is with you – it’s just that sometimes we are not aware that he is.
  • prepare your heart to listen and receive
  • Read the Lord’s Prayer | Disciple’s Prayer | Kingdom Prayer Matthew 6:9-13 as you enter into our time together.

giving

In this new way of being the church, we don’t practice giving by placing our offering in a basket as it is passed.
OCCers are generous people. Thank you for your gifts.

  • Some of you give when you attend a service (there is an offering box)
  • Many give online – etransfer or paypal
  • Others mail or drop off cheques

You can find all the ways you can give here.

We are partnering with the Lighthouse to host the distribution of winter clothing. We are looking for donations of clothing, especially children and youth sizes. There is also an opportunity to greet and help people find what they need. Distribution will be on Monday and Tuesday afternoons. Contact Judi Page for all the details.

worship & teaching

 

prayer

Here is the link to our Zoom Prayer tonight @ 6:30pm

OCCKids & Youth

OCCkids are meeting in Theatre 1 @ 10am (during our morning service). Additional resources for those who cannot be present are available from pastor Brent.

  • OCCYouth are meeting every 2nd Friday nights (6:30-8:00pm). They are next meeting on: December 4.
  • Jr High meets every 2nd Thursday night (6:30-8:00pm). They are meeting: November 26
  • More details are available here.

connecting

One of the best ways to learn how to live out the text is to be part of a LIFEGroup.
Over the next few weeks, our LIFEGroups are going to be unpacking these practices we are exploring on Sunday morning.

It’s not too late to get connected. You can get all the information to get connected here.

Discussion questions, the PowerPoint show and other resources are posted on the sermon page.

reading the Gospel of John

During the month of November, we want to read through the Gospel of John together. We have designed this reading plan so that we have a couple of days to catch up each week – i.e. we will read 21 chapters in 30 days.

We encourage you to share what stands out to you, what God’s Spirit makes come alive to you as you read. Share what you are learning or being reminded of in the comments on the post on this page.

You can download a copy of the reading plan here. It’s never too late to start.

 

Advent is coming soon

Next Sunday [29 November] is the first Sunday of Advent.

Advent is about…

  • waiting,
  • getting ready
  • preparing

All of these things are not easy in a rush, rush world.
All of these things are necessary in a rush, rush world.

Watch for some resources to help us on this journey.

enough

I think – I hope – we are all learning that enough is enough and that we need to develop a theology of enough. We are learning that we need to respect the planet and not to be so consumerist and extravagant. In 1972, nearly fifty years ago, John Taylor wrote

“our Western way of life is marked by excess whichever aspect of our situation one looks at – our consumption of food and our accumulation of goods, our wage claims and price rises, our waste and pollution, the concentration and congestion of our cities, our destruction of living creatures and our plunder of fuels and minerals, our expenditure on armaments and the wanton disproportion of the way we use them – excess is the word that comes continually to mind. Ruthless, unbridled, unthinking excess.”

I pray that we learn to respect the planet, to live simply so that others may simply live and to take delight and joy in simple pleasures.

hope

hope

As COVID-19 drags on,

  • and the daylight hours get shorter,
  • and the temperature gets colder,
  • and we are told to keep on keeping physical distance,
  • and we are to wear masks,
  • and we can’t eat in restaurants,
  • and the list of restrictions seem to increase weekly,

there are many who are beginning to feel those feelings:

  • anxiety
  • depression
  • loneliness
  • anger
  • fear
  • hopelessness

So what do we do? What can we do?

Paul writes to the church in Rome. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12

Hope.

It’s something we long for.

  • But our hope is not simply wishful thinking that this COVID-19 pandemic will come to an end,
  • that things will get back to whatever we think of as “normal“,
  • that a vaccine will fix everything.

Hope has a name, and His name is Jesus!

Jesus said:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light
~Matthew 11:28-30.

My prayer for all of us is that we will remind ourselves of Romans 8:37-39

For I am convinced that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers,
nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

That we will use this time

  • to set our eyes forward,
  • to focus on what God is doing and wants to do in and through us
  • to proclaim hope in our words and our actions