Welfare of the City
Hello Oxford Vineyard!
There are a few resources that I want to pass along to you all, but first I want to take a look at a scripture that seems especially relevant right now.
“Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”
Let me give you a little context. Israel was taken into captivity by the Babylonian Empire who conquered the city of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. The prophet Jeremiah, on behalf of God, is writing to the Jews who were living in Babylon - a city whose values, to put it lightly, starkly opposed the Law of Moses. What were the instructions of God to the people living in this corrupt city? To seek the welfare (or peace) of that city! I ask then, how much more will we seek the welfare of a city we love? Our church bears the name of that city. We have a responsibility to be kingdom ambassadors of welfare and peace to Oxford!
One of the ways we have done so is by suspending our Sunday gatherings. I don’t want to exacerbate this point, but I do want to make you all aware that churches all over the world who have continued to meet are being identified as major epicenters for the spread of COVID-19. Rich Nathan, the Senior Pastor of Vineyard Columbus, said earlier this week, “God forbid that our long-term witness is that we contributed to sickness and death rather than healing and life!” I couldn’t agree more.
We can’t afford to cite the efforts of the first century Church as a reason to keep our doors open during this pandemic. I believe we are commissioned and called to pray for the sick, so don’t hear what I’m not saying. However, the early Church was providing medical care for the sick. The first recorded general hospital opened in Baghdad in the 800s CE. That means for 800 years (generally speaking) the Church was one of the only places where sick people could receive medical care! The Church wasn’t simply insisting on their right to meet regardless of health consequences to others, they were providing a service that hospitals now provide.
This has caused me to ask myself; outside of suspending our meetings, how can we seek the welfare of Oxford? Two answers come immediately to mind.
1. Pray
Jeremiah instructs the people to pray to the Lord on behalf of their city. 1 John 5:14-15 assures us that God hears our prayers and answers them! You, as a believer in Jesus, have authority over spiritual strongholds, powers, and principalities. Use your authority! Pray for the healthcare workers you know, your neighbors, and your leaders.
2. Sign up to volunteer
The City of Oxford has initiated a program to gather volunteers to assist during this time. Join me in filling out this form to offer help to those who need it most during this unprecedented season.
*If you are healthy and not in a high risk demographic
Finally, I want to highlight something that I’ve had to come to terms with over these past few weeks. Although it is disappointing, the crisis of COVID-19 is not that we must meet online for a little while. The real crisis is in our community and our world as it affects people who are at risk, fearful, panicked, alone, anxious, and depressed.
Click here for a great interview between Putty Putman and Phil Chorlian, two Vineyard leaders from whom I’ve learned much and I respect dearly.
Phil’s church, North Jersey Vineyard, is in the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak on the East Coast. It might give you some deeper insight and understanding about what’s really going on where this sickness is widest-spread.
I will be on Zoom calls on Monday and Wednesday mornings at 7:30 am for about an hour to talk, pray, and get into the scriptures together. We will also be continuing our Life Groups through Zoom. For more information checkout our website here. They’re open to anyone, not just OV attendees. I hope to see you there!
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All the best,
Parker
Fire From the Altar
Connections Pastor Parker Frey tells us about his new blog post Fire From The Altar and how we can learn to bring the presence of God into our lives.
Hello, Church!
Over the last number of days and weeks, many of us have been considering our role as believers in Jesus to see this global pandemic come to an end. In the Vineyard, we frequently use the phrase, “everyone gets to play”. I love that sentiment! This work is not reserved for the experts, the experienced or the confident. It’s a partnership that is available to all of us.
We have a spiritual authority that we need to learn how to access! Something that has been challenging me is this idea of praying “against the virus”. I found myself praying a few times in the past few weeks, “God, bring an end to this virus. Stop this pandemic!” There’s nothing wrong with that, but if I can be honest with you, those prayers sometimes feel a little powerless. I’m here to suggest that there might actually be more powerful, precise prayers that we can pray during this time.
What’s our role supposed to be?
Many of us look up to prominent individuals who have wide-reaching ministries. These folks have a reach that extends across millions of people and many nations. We are supposed to learn from them. The part we sometimes miss is that we aren’t supposed to imitate them, we’re supposed to learn from them and apply their lessons to our own context as we imitate Christ.
In 2 Corinthians 10, Paul introduces an idea that I think we would all do well to consider. He talks about what we sometimes call a “sphere of influence”. He says that in his ministry, he’s sticking to the limits God has set for him. I think when we pray and do life, it’s profoundly important to consider the limits God has set for us. These are the areas God wants us to be most active - it’s where He has placed us!
Go and get some fire from the altar.
There’s a story in Numbers 16 about a plague that breaks out among the rebellious people of Israel. I will not make any bones about it - this is a weird Old Testament story. This is a story where people are dealt with in ways that Jesus no longer deals with his people. Hopefully, we know under the New Covenant, God isn’t sending plagues of judgment. We hold on to the truth that when we find ourselves confused about something in the Old Testament, we remember that Jesus is the measure of God’s character, not a confusing Old Testament story (John 1:18). All this considered, there is an important lesson to be learned.
Near the end of the story, a compelling thing happens. Moses and Aaron, being leaders who cared deeply for the people, threw themselves facedown on the ground and began to pray. They took some fire from the altar in their place of worship. Aaron ran into the middle of the congregation, stood between the living and the dead for the love of his people, and the plague stopped.
Reach out to your “sphere of influence”!
The encouragement I want to leave you with is this. In the face of what’s going on in the world today, take some “fire” from your place of worship, go out among your people (six feet apart), and see the plague stop. Maybe the plague is fear. Maybe it’s apathy or indifference. It could be anger or judgment. It could also be physical sickness! Your people could be in the hospital where you do battle every day. They could be your kids, your parents, your church, your company or your city.
I propose that we start focusing our efforts on the “sphere of influence” God has given us. I’m planning on reaching out to my neighborhood and the neighborhood around the church building this week. Pray and ask God who your people are! Of course, it’s still important to pray big prayers for our country and our world, but when we focus on our “sphere of influence”, we very well could see things change faster, spiritually and physically.
Hope everyone is doing well!
-Parker
COVID-19 Update
Hello everyone,
We wanted to bring you some updates in regards to the recent coronavirus situation.
The CDC (Center for Disease Control) and President Trump have asked us to limit our gatherings to 10 people or less. After praying collectively as a staff we have made the decision to not have church services for the next two weeks. We are encouraging everyone to meet in their Victorious Life Groups as we make this modification for the upcoming weeks.
Please continue to ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom and direction about attending church events, especially if you are at high risk for contracting COVID-19. According to the CDC, individuals who are at high risk are over 60 years old, and/or have chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or lung disease. If you are at risk or feel as though you may be, we encourage you to use wisdom and stay home. If you decide to stay home, we love you and bless you.
Our staff team is always here to support you, but especially during this time. Please let us know if you have any prayer requests or needs.
Sunday Morning Plan:
Gather in life groups at 10:30am.
If you cannot meet in a life group, we will start a live stream of the message at 10:30am. Parker will be speaking on the “Test of Crushing.”
After the message concludes, there will be worship and ministry held at each house.
Regular Weekly Plans:
Victorious Life Groups will continue to meet as normal.
Prophetic Intercession is still meeting this Tuesday at 7pm
A Time to Advance the Kingdom
To be honest, I have been struggling with the idea of modifying church. I was feeling as though we were giving in to the enemy in some way. But in prayer, I was given a word picture of an approaching tsunami. I feel like God was showing me that the best course of action is for our community to come together and work hand in hand to get everyone to safety so that no one is left behind.
A similar attack occurred in the Book of Acts when the first church was persecuted in Jerusalem and believers were being arrested and killed.
Acts 8:1, 4 At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria...Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.
The storm of COVID-19 is coming and this attack of the enemy is causing the Church to scatter. Just like in the days of the Apostles, the demonically influenced persecution appeared to be unstoppable and winning the battle.
However, the Holy Spirit could not be stopped because of His presence in each believer. The scattering of the saints actually served to advance the Kingdom of God exponentially because the scattered believers preached the Word everywhere they went!
It is time to share the Word everywhere we go! It is time to reach our lost family members whom some of us have forgotten about. It is time to share Jesus with those we love. It is time to serve our neighbors like Jesus would. It is time to pray for the sick like Jesus--”heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons.”
We will continue to post updates on the Oxford Vineyard Facebook page, OV GroupMe, and OV email list. If you would like to be added to the OV email and OV Group Chat, please send your cell number or email to oxford.vineyard@gmail.com. We will be working hard to keep you informed on upcoming outreaches and events.
John & Kim Richter & OV Staff
Lynne Jones | Executive Pastor
Oxford Vineyard Church
lynnemjones7@gmail.com