Overlook Presbyterian Church

🗓️ MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!! ✅

There will be a 🎶 CONGREGATIONAL HYMN SING 🎶 (11am) and 🍽️ POTLUCK LUNCH 🍽️ (NOON) *next* Sunday, August 18th!

➡️ Make plans to attend, and remember to extend the invitation to your family, coworkers, or anyone who may be interested in this time of worship, food and fellowship!

Prepare your favorite dish to share... beverages will be provided.

❤️ If you have specific dietary needs,
or are unable to provide a "covered dish," feel free to pack your own sack - or come for some sweet tea and great company!

Join Overlook Presbyterian Church for a Potluck Lunch TOMORROW (7/14), immediately following the service. Make plans to attend, and remember to extend the invitation to your family, coworkers, or anyone who may be interested in this time of food and fellowship! Prepare your favorite dish to share (FUN FACT - Sunday is National Mac & Cheese Day!)... beverages will be provided. If you have specific dietary needs, or are unable to provide a "covered dish," feel free to pack your own sack - or come for some sweet tea and great company!

"Taste and see that the Lord is good!" (Psalm 34:8)

In the midst of barbecues, picnics, one-day-sales and sand volleyball games, we are called to remember.

We are called to recognize, acknowledge, appreciate, and show respect for the men and women who have lost their lives fighting for our country.

We are called to pause, pray, and express our gratitude.

We are called to be Americans.

Remember to remember.

"O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life!

America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood,
From sea to shining sea."
[America the Beautiful]

•••••••••••
📸 ©amandaelizabethphotography

Please join us in praying for the family and friends of our precious sister in Christ, Mary Sellers. While she is now healed and whole, Mary is already greatly missed by the countless lives she changed and the endless hearts she touched.

Visitation will be held at her home church, Overlook Presbyterian, this Monday, May 6th, from 10am until 12pm. A Memorial Service will follow, at noon.
Overlook Presbyterian is located at:
5311 Overlook Road • Mobile • 36618

In lieu of flowers, Mary’s family has asked that you consider contributing to Overlook Presbyterian Church or the American Cancer Society.

If you have questions, please contact the church office via email at:
[email protected]

💐 Join Overlook Presbyterian Church for LUNCH BUNCH this Wednesday, MAY 1st @ NOON!

📢 Spread the word and bring a dish to share! Beverages and entertainment will be provided.

❤️ If you have specific dietary needs, feel free to pack your own sack and enjoy a special midweek meal with your brothers and sisters in Christ!

🍽️ There's always a place at the table for you!!

🚨 This week’s LUNCH BUNCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED, due to the threat of severe weather tomorrow (Wed, April 10th). Please share this with anyone who was planning to attend, and remain safe! 🌧️

4/9/24 UPDATE: This week’s LUNCH BUNCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED, due to the threat of severe weather tomorrow (Wednesday, April 10th).

🚫🚫🚫🚫🚫🚫🚫🚫🚫

Overlook Presbyterian Church is excited to announce this Wednesday, April 10th, LUNCH BUNCH will be held at noon at OPC! Spread the word and bring a dish to share! Beverages and entertainment will be provided. 🍽️

♥️ If you have specific dietary needs, feel free to pack your own sack and enjoy a special midweek meal with your brothers and sisters in Christ!

There's always a place at the table for you!!

🎶"He is here, Hallelujah!
He is here, Amen.
He is here, Holy, Holy;
I will bless His Name again.
He is here, listen closely,
hear Him calling out your name.
He is here, you can touch Him,
You will never be the same!"🎶
(Lyrics: Kirk Talley)

☀️ Christ is Risen! ✝️
He is Risen, indeed!!

Black Saturday, or Holy Saturday, is the day between the crucifixion and the resurrection of our Lord.

It is the semicolon in the sentence…
– the grand pause of the music –
the space between breathing in...
and breathing out.

The air is still, but not calm.
The silence is deafeningly loud.
The cross stands alone and the tomb has been sealed.

In the midst of desolation, we find a crown without a King, and a world without Light. That which was visible can no longer be seen… And yet, as God, The Creator of Heaven and Earth, stood in the gap between Friday’s desolation and Sunday’s celebration… He called us to wait.

As modern day Christians, we KNOW what (is)was coming, for we have seen the grandeur of His glory, and we live under the gift of His Mercy.

Christ was pierced by our sin, abandoned and betrayed. The One who came to save exhaled - “Tetelestai!” [It • is • finished!] to bring us new life!

The gap, the deep divide, the incomprehensible separation would soon turn to salvation… Grace… born upon a cross once fashioned for death. An air of expectancy is emerging, a growing anticipation...

"So be alert, servants of the Master - cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder..."
(from Romans 12:11-13a)

Today we wait for tomorrow’s Son Rise.

Breathe and believe; JOY comes in the morning!

Please join Overlook tomorrow, as Pastor John Culp leads OPC’s Easter Service at 11am, using text from Mark 16:1-8, in his sermon entitled, "Shhh... Shhh... Shhh... Shout!"

For those gathering with us online, simply click the following link to view Overlook’s designated livestream page:https://www.facebook.com/Overlookpresbyterianlive-Stream2-104735727967421/

This Holy Saturday, "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess,
for He who promised is faithful!" (Hebrews 10:23)

☀️

"Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
or thorns compose so rich a crown?"
(Watts)

"Tetelestai" - It • is • finished.

Good Friday 2024

As we enter the final days of Holy Week, we pause.

We are called to a place of preparation, expectation, and - ultimately - of Christ’s Resurrection. "For God took the sinless Christ and poured into Him our sins. Then, in exchange, He poured God’s goodness into us!" (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Maundy Thursday ("Maundy" from the Latin "Mandatum," is translated "commandment") marks the beginning of the Holy Triduum, the three days preceding Easter. This is a dedicated time of reflection... an opportunity for revival… as we embrace and employ - through word and deed - the New Commandment Christ gave us. "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34-35)

In the Upper Room, we see our Savior as a servant, washing the feet of His disciples, and with them, we celebrate the Lord’s Supper - the meal Christ shared with these same men as He faced His own imminent death.

We feel the agony that blanketed our Lord in the garden, and the piercing pain of our own betrayal upon His innocent flesh.

Our loud Hosannas have turned to cursing and condemnation.

Our palm fronds of praise now pollute the very streets we paraded, only 4 days ago.

"The way of the Lamb is cobbled and cold and lined with the faces and lies that were told. Withered Palm branches lay dusty and dry as Jesus, the Savior, is led out to die." (lyrics by John Parker)

This evening, Overlook is holding a Maundy Thursday Tenebrae Service at 7:30 (to ensure complete darkness within the Sanctuary for this "Service of Shadows"). Please join us for Scripture readings, meditation and prayer, as we partake in the Sacrament of Communion and observe the traditional "Stripping of the Church." This ceremonial removal of all adornments within the Sanctuary provides a dramatic depiction of Christ’s desolation and abandonment during His night in Gethsemane. Through the visual aspects of a transformed worship space and the progressive extinguishing of each candle's flame, we see the black fog of our sin flood the room, engulfing all signs of life and light.

We hear the haunting echo of death.

Our final rejection of The King of Kings is suffocating, as the Light of the World is extinguished and replaced by a crown of thorns.

In order to know the fullness of His glory and grace this Resurrection Sunday, we must first remember the depth of Christ’s suffering and sacrifice.
"God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

This, THIS IS Love.

This is the NEW Commandment.

"THIS do in Remembrance of Me." - Jesus

(aeb)

It’s not about who’s right, but what’s right.

It’s not about the work we’ve done, but how Christ has worked - and is continuing to work - through us.

It’s not about who we are, but Whose we are.

It’s ALL about The Great I Am.

Today’s Lenten message is brief, but not simple. It’s a reminder to remember.

It’s a call to action - an invitation to draw nearer to the Father... and give Him the glory.

The popular 1998 Contemporary Christian song entitled, "The Heart of Worship," was written by Matt Redman, following a moving church service he attended in Watford, England. The lyrics are beautifully poignant and remain relevant, as we move through Holy Week together, and draw closer to Overlook’s Maundy Thursday service (March 28th @ 7:30pm). This service will include the traditional and ceremonial "stripping of the church," as well as the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper.

Please join us for a powerful evening of remembrance.

"When the music fades
All is stripped away
And I simply come
Longing just to bring
Something that's of worth
That will bless Your heart
I'll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart

I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You, it's all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
When it's all about You, it's all about You, Jesus

King of endless worth
No one could express
How much you deserve
Though I'm weak and poor
All I have is Yours
Every single breath!
I'll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart

I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You, it's all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
When it's all about You, it's all about You, Jesus."
(Lyrics by Matt Redman)

"Preach the Gospel at all times.
Use words if necessary."
(undetermined source)

As we enter these final days of Lent, the holiest of weeks on the Christian calendar, the above-mentioned reminder feels increasingly applicable, poignant and piercing.

Yesterday, we heard the Palm Sunday crowd cry, "Hosanna!"
A chorus of "Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord!" echoed across the land, as the King of Kings arrived in Jerusalem on the back of a donkey... a c**t... purposely chosen, quiet and unassuming.

When we reflect on Christ’s time on earth, we can easily recall red letter stories, parables, and miracles… loud exclamations of His Love. Yet, as we stand at the beginning of Holy Week and look toward the completion of our Savior’s mortal mission, we find a stark contrast between Monday and Friday. Through His death and resurrection our Messiah delivered His greatest message of mercy and grace in the midst of deafening silence.

For hundreds of thousands of believers, this is an unparalleled Lenten Season. Global upheaval and widespread violence have become the norm on the 6:00 news.

As the church universal, we are now (more than ever) equipped with resources and opportunities to connect with our brothers and sisters across the globe. Technological advances necessitated by the pandemic are literally at our fingertips.

The world is watching - seeking assurance and peace.

Side by side, hand in hand, let’s use this Holy Week to show them Love, to bring them Truth, to spread the Good News of the Gospel... and if necessary, use words.

(Amanda Barfield @ Overlook Presbyterian Church)

This Palm Sunday (March 24th), the Choir will lead Overlook Presbyterian Church in worship through the gift of song, as they present their 2024 Easter Cantata - directed by Drew Plash, accompanied by pianist Vicki James, and narrated by Dennis James. Invite your family and friends, and join us at 11am - or attend virtually at https://www.facebook.com/Overlookpresbyterianlive-Stream2-104735727967421/. We are exceedingly grateful to every member of the Choir for their tireless dedication and their willingness to share their time and talents with the congregation. This year's musical offering, "We Remember Calvary," is a Tenebrae Service, designed to lead us directly into Holy Week. With each extinguished flame, we pause to remember the love, the sacrifice, and the Passion of our Lord, Jesus Christ. In the bleak shadows we sit, in our brokenness we reflect, and by God's great Grace, we await the Resurrection of our Savior - and the glorious Light of the Rising Son.
✝️
There’s always a place on the pew for you!

Lent 2024 🍀

The well known hymn, "Be Thou My Vision," is a traditional Christian hymn of ancient Irish origin. It was translated and versified in 1912.

As we continue our Lenten journey this St. Patrick’s Day, and always, may our eyes remained fixed on our High King of Heaven and Ruler of all.

"Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; naught be all else to me, save that Thou art. Thou my best thought, by day or by night; waking or sleeping, Thy Presence my Light.

Be Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true word; I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord; Thou my great Father, I Thy true son; Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle shield, sword for the fight; be Thou my dignity, Thou my delight; Thou my soul’s shelter, Thou my high tower: Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise, Thou mine inheritance, now and always: Thou and Thou only, first in my heart, High King of Heaven, my treasure Thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won, may I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s sun! Heart of my own heart, whatever befall, Still be my vision, O ruler of all.

Still be our Vision, O Ruler of all."

☕️ Join OPC *this* Saturday! 🎨🖍️🧵✂️🧶
*contact Terri for details

The Fellowship Commission is THRILLED to announce the long-awaited return of one of OPC's favorite monthly gatherings...
LUNCH BUNCH!!! Join us at Overlook TOMORROW (Wednesday), March 6th @ NOON!

Spread the word and bring a dish to share! Beverages and entertainment will be provided. If you have specific dietary needs, feel free to pack your own sack and enjoy a special midweek meal with your brothers and sisters in Christ! There's always a place at the table for you!!

Taste and see that the Lord is good!
(Psalm 34:8a)

Tomorrow - Saturday, December 16th - Overlook will hold a second “Portable Projects Day” from 1:30 to 3:30.
Please see the flier (below) from Terri Rice for details!

Please join us for "A Time of Christmas Music" presented by the Choir of Overlook Presbyterian Church - this Sunday, December 17th @ 11am!

Invite your family, friends, and neighbors to worship with OPC through the gift of song.

Oh, come let us adore him... together!

[A reception will follow]

🎵 Drew Plash
🎹 Vicky James

Overlook Presbyterian Church’s Annual Table of Plenty! 🥕🌽🍠🦃🍊🍇🥖

✅ Just a quick reminder… THIS Sunday, August 27th, Overlook is holding a Potluck Lunch, immediately following the Worship Service! 🍽️

📢 Invite your family, neighbors and friends... and bring a dish to share! If you have specific dietary needs, or are unable to provide a "covered dish," feel free to pack your own sack - or simply join us for a time of fun, fellowship, and a cup of sweet tea! ♥️

🎉Today our MCPSS students, teachers, and faculty returned to the classroom for a brand new school year! 🎉
Remember to keep them ALL in your thoughts and prayers! 🙏🏼📚🍎✏️🙏🏼

A beautiful tribute written by Anita Soileau, in loving memory of Mr. Bill Crowe. Please join Overlook as we celebrate a life so beautifully lived (details below).

•••••

Dad: “Do you know what I want people to say about me when my toes are sticking straight up?”
Us: “What?”
Dad: “There lies a happy man!”

He was the most joy-filled soul we’ve ever known and definitely one of God’s favorites. ❤️ His parting is a bittersweet blessing. He is healed. Eternally. We are rejoicing in that. Our precious daddy is now singing, “Holy, Holy, Holy" in heaven. 🎵

We are overwhelmed with kind messages, deliveries of delicious food and humbled by the immediate outpouring of love and support. Bill Crowe would be loving it! We will miss him mightily and cherish the memories of a life well lived.

Oh! How he loved Jesus… and how he loved to sing about it. 🎶.

He loved his family. My sister Susie once said, “When it comes to parents, we landed in high cotton!” I agreed. His 6 grandchildren (Derek, Jason, John, Elizabeth, Michael, and Sarah Frances) adored him. His 9 great-grandchildren (Emma, Ryan, Cooper, Grace, Ellie, Luke, Sofia, Whit and Wade) inherit an amazing legacy. Stories about their great-grandaddy will be told for years.

So, it is with hope and rejoicing that we will say goodbye to this unforgettable man on Saturday, February 25. He loved his church, so it is fitting to celebrate his life there.

Overlook Presbyterian Church
5311 Overlook Road
Mobile, Alabama, 36618
Visitation -10am
Service of Witness to The Resurrection -11am

We are grateful for his 88 beautiful years of immovable faith. He passed away peacefully yesterday beside our mom, his sweet bride of 64 years. God’s kindness and compassion! Our hearts are heavy, but we grieve with hope and the sustaining grace that will strengthen us in the days ahead.

Bring your family to this Sunday’s cantata at OPC, led by Drew Plash and Vicki James! Color pages, crayons and candy canes will be available for your little ones! Let us worship, together! You are also invited to join Overlook online @
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063737794545&mibextid=LQQJ4d
🎄✨♥️

[Directed by Drew Plash, and accompanied by Vicki James]

Praying for peace and joy this school year!

🙏🏼 The following was offered today by South Highland Presbyterian Church (located near St. Stephen’s Episcopal in Vestavia Hills, AL) •••

Let us join in prayer:

"Almighty and everlasting God, the comfort of the saddened, the support of those who grieve, the strength of those who suffer, let the prayers of your children who cry out in this tragedy come to you. Be close to our friends at Saint Stephen’s, stand alongside and strengthen our law enforcement officials, bring justice to those who have violated the peace, give courage to decision makers that our community may be healed and our nation and world transformed, Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

Good Friday evening,

We pray you and your loved ones are doing well and staying well!

This Sunday at 11:00am, Overlook will welcome the Reverend Phillip Snodgrass back to the pulpit. As always, we are grateful for his willingness to give of his time and talent with OPC! If you are worshipping with us from home, the service is live-streamed weekly, and can be viewed via Overlook’s dedicated livestream page: Overlookpresbyterianlive Stream2 (where you can also access previous weeks' recordings). Whether in person or online, we urge you to join your brothers and sisters in Christ, as we glorify the Lord and exalt His Name, together.

I recently overheard a story shared by a young mother who was caught in an unexpected downpour during her walk home from work. With no rain jacket or umbrella in sight, she quickly found herself aggravated and drenched from head to toe. With feelings of frustration growing like the puddles on the pavement, she hurriedly rushed through her backdoor, only to be met with 3 enthusiastic smiles running to greet her. Upon noticing she was soaked to the bone, her young children began squealing with excitement – “Mommy! Mommy! You got to play in the rain?!?”

While children often have the advantage of fewer life experiences to tant their perceptions, there are still countless lessons we, as grown-ups, can learn - under the overarching theme of “looking for the good.” It's as easy as being *caught* in the rain or *playing* in the rain.

Over the past 2 years, our world has faced (and continues to face) challenges we never could have imagined, as recently as 2019. The loss, the grief, the long-term consequences of Covid19 have seemed overwhelming and endless. We have learned to shop differently, socialize differently, go to school and work differently, and - ultimately - attend church differently. The pandemic forced societies across the globe to think outside the proverbial box - and while those mandatory transitions were often accompanied by trials, many unexpected outcomes have proven to be extraordinarily "good."

The availability of online church services may have emerged out of necessity, but today, Christian leaders (world-wide) now have the opportunity, the capacity and capability of sharing the Good News of the Gospel with populations that were previously underserved. From the acutely ill to those with chronic illness, the aging or those lacking transportation, new parents or simply a family on vacation… corporate worship has expanded and become increasingly more inclusive! A “New Sunday Morning” has risen from the ashes of a ruinous virus.

This present day era of worship is no longer differentiated or divided into those in the pews vs. those in their living rooms… we have simply evolved as the body of Christ, in its entirety, lifting our prayers and praise to an audience of One.

Thanks be to God!

“Bind us together, Lord, bind us together with cords that cannot be broken. Bind us together, Lord, bind us together; bind us together in Love.” (Gillman)

With joy,

The Office of Overlook Presbyterian Church

"O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life!

America! America!
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood,
From sea to shining sea."

(America the Beautiful)

🇺🇸 Remember to Remember 🇺🇸

Dear friends,

We pray you are doing well and staying well - in the wake of a week that brought unthinkable tragedy and devastation. We urge you to join your brothers and sisters in Christ at Overlook this Sunday, as we worship - in person and online - at 11:00am. The Service will be led by the Reverend Charles Fail, and will be livestreamed and saved to OPC's secondary page: https://www.facebook.com/Overlookpresbyterianlive-Stream2-104735727967421/ , where you can also access and view previous weeks' recordings.

As we continue to mourn the lives lost in the Texas school massacre, and attempt to understand that which truly cannot be understood, a familiar cacophonous chorus of questions has - once again - emerged, with one unmistakable refrain, “What has this country come to??”

As I knelt in prayer the afternoon of the 24th, overwhelmed by a steady stream of haunting news alerts and updates, I suddenly experienced an unexpected, all encompassing sense of connection. I felt profoundly connected to our Savior, Emmanuel, God with us… and I felt an intensely sacred connection to each and every American joining me on their knees in that very moment. We were collectively flooding the gates of Heaven with tears, uncertainty, fear, anger, despair...
Tuesday's trauma, and its agonous aftermath, are beyond what we can fathom - so much more than we can fully process... And while there are countless decisions to be made, changes to implement and policies to enforce, we ache for answers.

Our country – every country – will always have individuals who are disconnected. This week, one of those disconnected individuals chose to cast pure evil upon the most precious, most innocent of all Americans. Yet, what HAS our country come to?

Our country has come TOgether.
TOgether we kneel. TOgether, we cry. TOgether, we hurt. TOgether, we provide comfort. TOgether, we find hope. TOgether, we seek peace. TOgether, we will live with purpose, knowing that life is unpredictable, and our time here is not guaranteed. This Memorial Day weekend, as we pause to remember those who sacrificed their last breaths for our freedom, we are and will remain… One Nation, under God, indivisible. We have - and will - persevere TOgether.
TOgether we grieve, TOgether we pray. TOgether we stand.

"When the night
Seems to say
All hope is lost
Gone away
But I know
I'm not alone
By the light
She stands

There she waves
Faithful friend
Shimmering stars
Westward wind
Show the way
Carry me
To the place
She stands

Just when you think it might be over
Just when you think the fight is gone
Someone will risk his life to raise her
There she stands

There she flies
Clear blue skies
Reminds us with red
Of those that died
Washed in white
By the brave
In their strength
She stands

When evil calls itself a martyr
When all your hopes come crashing down
Someone will pull her from the rubble
There she stands

We've seen her flying torn and tattered
We've seen her stand the test of time
And through it all the fools have fallen
There she stands

By the dawn's
Early light
And through the fight
She stands."

- "There She Stands" lyrics by Michael W. Smith

Video: https://youtu.be/ffyw-DLd1kw?list=RDffyw-DLd1kw

Michael W Smith There She Stands All copyrights belong to owner. Originally broadcast as part of Songs of Praise. A tribute to those who gave the ultimate gift on Sept 11, 2001.