Last Sunday was such a powerful reminder of why God has placed Oxford Bible Fellowship on the Maple, Chestnut corner! Our building could barely fit the number of students and families that attended the second service! Praise God! Thank you to those of you who willingly gave up your seat so a student could have a place to sit. Thank you to everyone who contributed towards Sunday's church picnic. Thank you to those who helped set up and those who stayed until everything was cleaned up. Thank you for being a church family that demonstrates there is always room for one more at the family table! To Christ be the glory in the church throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. This Sunday we will continue our study of the letter of 1 Peter and also celebrate the Lord’s table. Our passage of study will be 1 Peter 1:3-12. We encourage you to read ahead in preparation for Sunday morning. The study guide for Sunday’s passage can be found here.

If you are interested in singing in a worship choir for both services this Sunday, Sept. 8, please email Tim Cary at [email protected] to get a copy of the songs and instructions. Singers (middle school and up) should plan to arrive at 8 a.m. this Sunday the 8th for rehearsal and will be done before the sermon in second service. No experience necessary - if you would like to help lead worship that day, you are welcome to join!

Our middle school students will set off for our Fall Retreat to Camp Otyokwah in Butler, OH on November 8th for a weekend of fellowship and focus on God's Word (and of course some fun along the way)! If you sign up for the retreat before October 15th, the price is $125 per student. After the 15th, the price increases to $150. You can register here.

Now through December 1: Christmas Gift Drive The Christmas Gift Drive is Oxford Bible Fellowship's ministry to help local children who are in need by partnering with Talawanda School District. Our goal is to provide 100 children with Christmas giftsthis year. WHY PARTICIPATE This ministry gives us an opportunity to share Christ’s love by helping meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of local children. HOW YOU CAN HELP  Select a child's info packet on November 10th or 17th and receive a gift tag. Purchase and wrap the child’s desired Christmas gift(s). Affix gift tag to the wrapped Christmas gift(s). Return wrapped Christmas gift(s) to the church by December 1st. It is important that Christmas gifts are returned on time! If you would like to help deliver the gifts, please contact Ellen at [email protected].

We hope you can join us for this year's women’s Christmas Blitz on December 6th from 6-8:30PM! The gathering will be a festive time of food, fun, and frenzied activity as we deck the halls of the church! This is a great opportunity to kick off the Christmas season in fellowship over dinner and decorating. We can’t wait to see you there! Please RSVP here.

We are excited to enter the season of Advent with you beginning this Sunday! The word advent comes from the Latin word adventus meaning arrival. Our Advent series this year is titled “Unto Us” as we take the next four weeks to walk through Isaiah 9 celebrating that unto us Light, Joy, a King, and Salvation has came! This Sunday we have the pleasure of hearing from Steve Hricko as he preaches from Isaiah 9:1-2. We encourage you to consider reading all of Isaiah 9 ahead of time to better follow along. To help us better reflect and celebrate Advent, Pastor Emanuel will once again this year be emailing a short devotional put together by Every Moment Holy. Each devotional comes with a fun Scripture memorization activity and discussion questions. This week’s devotional can be found here.

Coffee, snacks, quiet individual & group study spaces available

December 24: Christmas Eve Service On December 24th from 5-6pm, we invite you, your families, and friends to participate in this year's Christmas Eve service! Celebrate Jesus' first coming with us through song and scripture reading. Afterwards, there will be a time to enjoy Christmas cookies together.

December 24: Midnight Carols Join us (much later) on Christmas Eve from 11:30pm - midnight to usher in Christmas morning with candlelight and carols! This gathering, in the blackness of night, will give a beautiful picture of Jesus, the light of the world, breaking into darkness. As John 1:4-5 tells us, "In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (ESV; emphasis added).

Happy New Year! This Sunday Pastor Emanuel will be starting our sermon series through the book of Micah. We encourage you to read all seven chapters of Micah this week. Discussion questions are also available here. We will be having communion at the beginning of service this Sunday. Families with children (including Club 45 students), please check-in your nursery-age through 5th grade students and begin service with them in the sanctuary. They will be dismissed to their classes after we take communion.