Month: January 2021

Jan 10 service | Philippians 1

welcome

It is hard to believe that this is only the 2nd Sunday of 2021. It’s been quite a week. Last Sunday I wrote:

As we [launch into a new year], we look back at the unexpected events of 2020. I suspect that 2021 will have its share of unexpected events. 

I guess we have. But as I also reminded us…

All of which give us opportunities as followers of Jesus to think and live differently because of Jesus. And because of him we can offer real hope.

And that hasn’t changed. As you read and watch, we trust and pray that you will be drawn deeper into your walk with Jesus.

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 a lot of the time we are not aware that he is.
  • prepare your heart to listen and receive
  • Read Philippians 1 as you enter into our time together.

teaching

Here is the service for Sunday 10 January.
Ray & Brenda Scriver lead us in worship today.
Pastor Mike’s message focuses on Philippians 1.

Link to notes

OCCkids have moved to being online again. The zoom link and other resources are present are available from pastor Brent.

prayer

tonight @ 6:30pm
zoom prayer https://zoom.us/j/99544541247?pwd=cU9idG1RNzB3bjdZS3RUdThOalQydz09
Meeting ID: 995 4454 1247
Passcode: 4LKzLR

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.

Jan 10

Pray that God will protect his children from developing 

an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words 1 Timothy 6:4

It’s easy for this to spill over into

envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between people 1 Timothy 6:4-5

LIFEGroups

LIFEGroups at OCC are about doing life together – creatively during this time of COVID-19.

LIFEGroups study the Bible, but they are more than Bible studies.

LIFEGroups pray, but they are more than prayer meetings.

In the past LIFEGroups

  • ate together, but we can’t do that in this time of COVID-19.
  • served together, but this takes on a new form in this season.

LIFEGroups encourage one another, but they are more than “pat on the back” groups – we don’t give pats on the back or high 5’s during COVID-19.

LIFEGroups are about doing life together.

Over the next few weeks we are going to be exploring Philippians.

 

One of the best ways to be connected to one another & to grow in Christ is to be part of LIFEGroup. Current LIFEGroups meet online via zoom

  • Wednesday, 8pm – pastor Brent
  • Wednesday, 8pm – pastor Mike
  • Thursday, 7pm – pastor Mike

Get Connected

  • Send us an email telling us which LIFEGroup you would like to be part of & we’ll send you the details
  • If you are not sure how to use zoom, let us know & we will walk you through the how-to’s
  • If those days & times don’t work for you, let us know & we will try to launch a new group

Jan 9

We live in a world where many (including those who call themselves Christians) allow enmities to develop between them. James reminds us that we can become enemies of God by our friendship with the world. Pray that as God’s people we will not become hostile with God or each other, but that we would walk in the depths of his love.

You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. James 4:4

OCC online only

OCC and just about every other church in Ontario are meeting online only for the next few weeks.

This is not an easy decision for churches. Worship services are like our family meals. It is the centre of the dynamic of our family life, when we connect horizontally with one another and vertically with God.

When Jesus called his disciples he said,

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”

Self-denial is at the centre of our faith. Jesus himself denied himself.

  • As the King of the Universe, he made himself a baby in a manger,
  • a servant with a towel washing his disciples’ feet,
  • riding into Jerusalem on a donkey
  • and dying on a cross of wood for all of humankind.
  • That is the self-denial and cross-carrying that Jesus tells us marks the church.

So when not just Ontario, but the world is struggling through a pandemic, hospitals are at close to capacity, long-term care staff are being pushed to their limits and neighbours fighting for their lives and dying, then it is the right and proper Jesus way to deny ourselves for the common good.

Families can survive without the family meals for a time.
Churches can survive without gathering for a time.
That we only meet on-line for our

  • worship and teaching time,
  • OCCKids,
  • OCCYouth,
  • prayer gatherings,
  • LIFEGroups
  • and other virtual connections

is not perfect, but it is a huge resource to see us through these difficult days. I keep reminding us that OCC is not closed, we are just meeting in different ways.

Let us be those on the frontlines of setting the best example in these times.
Let us be those who do what it takes to minimise the impact of this virus.
Let OCC be a shining example.
We don’t have to do anything new or different.
We just need to do what we are – cross-carrying self-deniers and the light of the world.

May God grace and imagination flood us for all the decisions we will face in the days ahead.

Jan 8

Throughout the ages, Christians have been lured away from a Spirit-filled and Spirit-shaped walk by a focus on witchcraft, divination and sorcery. Pray that those who practice this will not be able to entice Christians – this includes many Facebook quizzes that say they will tell you something about your personality or your strength or your future.

“Let no one be found among you who… practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.” Deuteronomy 18:10-11

Jan 7

The word idolatry can be defined as “extreme admiration, love, or reverence for something or someone“. Pray that followers of Jesus would flee from idolatry (of people, country, or ideologies) and set their affection on the one true God.

“Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.” 1 Corinthians 10:14

Jan 6

The way a person thinks and lives out their life influences others. Pray that God’s people will not bring the way of truth into disrepute.

Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 2 Peter 2:2

Jan 5

The Scriptures call us not to impurity but to holy living. Pray that all of God’s people would think and act in ways that reflect the of God’s Spirit in us.

For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 1 Thessalonians 4:7

Jan 4

Paul told the church at Thessalonica that it was God’s will for them that they should be free from sexual immorality.

Pray that God’s people would live in light of who we are in Christ.

It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality 1Thessalonians 4:3