We will be offering our Membership Class on April 7th during our first service, beginning at 9AM. This is a time for those interested in joining our church family to hear our vision and values as a church, meet some of the church leaders, and ask questions. Childcare will be provided as your children can join our OBF Kids classes during that hour. There will also be light breakfast items. Please register here.
This Saturday at 8:00PM Dr. Daniel Block, Professor of Old Testament Emeritus at Wheaton College, will be speaking on “Worship in the Hebrew Scriptures” in the annual Edwin M. Yamauchi lecture series. This will be held in the Shideler Auditorium (Room 152).
Join us this Sunday as we walk through John 15 and examine what it means to abide in Jesus. We encourage you to take time this week to read all of John 15, allowing Scripture to begin having its intended effect. If you are interested in discussion questions, they can be found here.
"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth." Psalm 127:3,4 On April 21, our church body will have the joy of coming alongside parents to celebrate the honor of raising children, through child dedication. Child dedication is also an opportunity for parents to express their commitment to raising their children in the knowledge of the Lord and reflect on their dependence on God and the church body for strength to do so. If you would like to have your child(ren) dedicated, please complete the child dedication registration form by Monday, April 15.
This year the annual Oxford Day of Prayer will be Thursday, May 2nd. Oxford Bible Fellowship, together with other local churches, is invited to participate in a 24-hour prayer event that will begin at 12AM and end at 11:59PM. Please sign up to pray here. For anyone interested, there will be a group of people praying at OBF on May 2nd from 2-4PM. There will also be both a lunchtime prayer gathering at the Presbyterian Seminary building on May 2nd from 12PM - 1PM and a prayer night gathering at the AP church from 7-8:30PM.
This Sunday we will be in John 17 looking at what is known as Jesus’ high priestly prayer. With the cross and death before him, Jesus bares his heart to his disciples and gives us access to know his heart and his thoughts. It is no wonder that many pastors and Bible commentators refer to John 17 as being the doorway to the "Holy of Holies". The Scottish reformer, John Knox, asked that this chapter be read to him every day in the days leading to his death and during his final moments on earth. Thomas Manton, chaplain to the English politician Oliver Cromwell, preached forty-five sermons on it. And Marcus Rainsford, an Irish pastor, wrote a commentary of over 500 pages on just John 17! What a privilege to hear and study what Jesus prayed for us! If you would like to meditate on this passage ahead of time, you can find study questions here.
We are hosting a study café for college students May 13-16th from 8am-4pm. There will be a mix of individual and group study spaces around the building, coffee, and snacks! This is a great opportunity to invite friends to study with you at the church and to enjoy some free snacks too! If you're NOT a college student and you'd like to contribute a snack item to bless their final's week, you can sign up here.
June 2 - June 8: Big Creek Missions Trip This Sunday our high school youth group students are departing for a week of service at Big Creek Missions in Kentucky! There will be no youth group this Wednesday, the 5th, as many students and leaders will be away. Please be in prayer for the students and leaders on this trip! Pray for effective preparation ahead of time and for safe travels to and from Kentucky. Also, pray for Christ to be glorified in the lives of those the team will reach and in the life of each member of the team as a result of the trip.
This week we will conclude our series through Habakkuk. Chapter three is not so much a summary as it is a response to the two previous chapters. Because of this, you are encouraged to take 15 minutes before Sunday to read back through Habakkuk as a whole. You may also begin to ponder, "How have I seen God show up in my own life? What are the times I was utterly overwhelmed and He came through?" Here are discussion questions for this week's passage. We encourage you to use them as you study the passage with others. The Kindergarten - 3rd graders will begin in service again this Sunday. If you haven't already, please read the why and how behind our shift to help your child be an engaged participant this week. To further help our children participate and sing along, we've also included the song list below. Consider listening to these songs ahead of time to help familiarize your kids with the words. How Great Thou Art Forever Reign Christ is Mine Forevermore - CityAlight King of my Heart I Surrender All
Following the service on June 9th, we invite everyone to stick around for a "Bring Your Own Lunch" churchwide picnic! Please bring enough food and drinks for your family. We also ask that you bring a blanket or camping chairs for a comfortable place to sit. We hope to see you for this fun time of fellowship!
Happy (early) Father’s Day to all the OBF dads! A godly father is a gift to his family. A godly father lives and leaves a legacy of faith to his children and grandchildren. We are so thankful for the fathers in our lives, physical and spiritual. May God continue to use you and strengthen you to imitate our Heavenly Father as you pray, provide, and protect your families. This Sunday Pastor Emanuel will be walking us through Ezra 1:1-11 in our summer sermon series. We encourage you to read Ezra 1:1-11 in preparation for Sunday’s message. Discussion questions are available here for this week’s passage. We have loved having our children participate in services with us! All children will continue participating in service this Sunday and for the remainder of June. When finding your seats, please move to the center or end of your row to make room for other families. We have enough space but might need to move closer together so everyone can find a seat! We look forward to gathering with you all again this Sunday.
We are looking for volunteers to help our First Impressions Team greet and prepare coffee throughout the summer. Volunteer here by clicking the checkbox next to the date you're able to serve and then click ‘SIGN UP’ in the upper righthand corner.
