PRELUDE
We Gather Together
Led by Cynthia

WELCOME , COMMUNITY LIFE & GREETING

WORSHIP SONG: Every Promise of your Word
Led by Dana and Leah

From the breaking of the dawn
To the setting of the sun,
I will stand on ev’ry promise of Your Word.
Words of power strong to save,
That will never pass away,
I will stand on ev’ry promise of Your Word.
And your covenant is sure
And on this I am secure,
I can stand on ev’ry promise of Your Word.
When I stumble and I sin,
Condemnation pressing in,
I will stand on ev’ry promise of your Word.
You are faithful to forgive
That in freedom I might live,
So I stand on ev’ry promise of Your Word.
Guilt to innocence restored,
You remember sins no more,
So I’ll stand on ev’ry promise of Your Word.

Guilt to innocence restored,
You remember sins no more,
So I’ll stand on ev’ry promise of Your Word.

When I’m faced with anguished choice
I will listen for Your voice
And I’ll stand on ev’ry promise of Your Word.
Through this dark and troubled land
You will guide me with your hand
As I stand on ev’ry promise of Your Word.
And You’ve promised to complete
Ev’ry work begun in me,
So I’ll stand on ev’ry promise of Your Word.

Hope that lifts me from despair,
Love that casts out ev’ry fear
As I stand on ev’ry promise of Your Word.
Not forsaken, not alone,
For the Comforter has come
And I stand on ev’ry promise of Your Word.
Grace sufficient, grace for me,
Grace for all who will believe
We will stand on ev’ry promise of Your Word.

CCLI Song # 4642105
Keith Getty, Stuart Townend
2005 Thankyou Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

OLD TESTAMENT READING
Psalm 138

I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
    before the gods I sing your praise;
I bow down toward your holy temple
    and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness;
    for you have exalted your name and your word
    above everything.
On the day I called, you answered me,
    you increased my strength of soul.

All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O Lord,
    for they have heard the words of your mouth.
They shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
    for great is the glory of the Lord.
For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly;
    but the haughty he perceives from far away.

Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
    you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies;
you stretch out your hand,
    and your right hand delivers me.
The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;
    your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.
    Do not forsake the work of your hands.

HYMN: The Steadfast Love

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
his mercies never come to an end.
They are new every morning, new every morning,
Great is thy faithfulness O Lord, great is thy faithfulness.

GOSPEL LESSON
Matthew 16:13-20

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Leader: The Word of the Lord
People: Thanks be to God

GLORY BE TO THE FATHER
Glory be to the Father
And to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost
As it was in the beginning
Is now and ever shall be
World with out end
Amen, Amen

REFLECTING ON THE WORD
Who do you say that I am?
Pastor Denise

HYMN OF RESPONSE
My Hope is Built on Nothing Less

My hope is built on nothing less
then Jesus’ blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

Refrain: On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand:
all other ground is sinking sand;
all other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness veils his lovely face,
I rest on his unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
my anchor holds within the veil.
Refrain

His oath, his covenant, his blood
support me in the whelming flood;
when all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.
Refrain

When he shall come with trumpet sound,
O may I then in him be found.
dressed in his righteousness alone,
faultless to stand before the throne.
Refrain

PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH & THE LORD’S PRAYER
Folks We Are Praying For:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever.  Amen.

Church family who work in and around hospitals & nursing homes:
Alex A, Kyra A, Hannah A, Sam A, Linda C, Carl G, Katie G, Eric H, Rachel H, Chona I, Abby H, Dana J, Bryan J, Kari J, Neal J, Eric S, Don T.

(If we missed any people’s names above please let us know.)

We continue to pray for: Nikolas Arden, Katie Collier, Dan Erickson, Art and Rosa Hamilton, Shirley Nicholas, the Morales/Randall family.

Ministries & Mission
Alejandro & Amanda Velasco, serving in Mexico
Carlos & Karen Feijoo, serving in Ecuador

GIVING OF OUR TITHES & OFFERINGS
& PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

SPECIAL MUSIC
Prelude in C by J.S. Bach
Led by Cynthia

DOXOLOGY & PRAYER
Praise God from whom all blessings flow 
Praise Him all creatures here below;
Praise Him above ye heav’nly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen. 

BENEDICTION
Pastor: Go in peace to love and serve the Lord!
People: Thanks be to God!

SENDING SONG
May God’s Love Be Fixed Upon You.
Maxeltoft.com

POSTLUDE
Praeambulum Terth Toni
by Franz Xaver Anton Murschhauser (1663-1738)

INVITATION
We’ll be back here next Sunday
We hope you can join us. Information on ravenscov.org.

A SONG FOR THIS WEEK
As we go out to love and serve the Lord:
Great is Thy Faithfulness

led by our friends from AxiomBrass.
Trumpeter Dorival Puccini, Jr., Trumpeter and Bass-Baritone singer Michael Hawes, French Horn player Matthew Bronstein, Trombonist Corey Sansolo, Tuba player Kevin Harrison.

Music lessons
Cynthia Arden will offer piano and violin lessons to students of all ages on Wednesdays during farmers market hours. Thirty-minute lessons are available each week. Fees apply. Contact Cynthia at 847-912-0992 or email violincynthia@yahoo,com.

Book discussion
You are invited to join us for a book discussion on the book The Color of Compromise by Jemar Tisby. In his book, Tisby describes the history of the American Christian church in relation to race in the United States.  Please contact Pastor Denise for more information if you’d like to be part of the discussion or if you need help to get a copy of the book. Our next zoom gathering is Tuesday Sept. 1 at 7:00pm when we will discuss chapters 4-6.

Zoom Bible Study
Our Thursday night Bible study has resumed meeting. For the next few weeks we will be going through the book of Ruth. The Bible study meets every Thursday at 6:30 pm via Zoom, and if you are not conversant with Zoom, don’t let that stop you! We can teach you how to activate Zoom so that you can take part. There are also a limited number of spaces available for those who wish to attend the Bible study in person in the lounge using social-distancing protocols. If you’re interested, please contact Gregory Sager in the church office at office@ravenscov.org or at 773-784-7091.

Farmers market update
Our farmers market continues to meet every Wednesday afternoon in our church’s parking lot. Although the city’s social-distancing and food-handling restrictions during the pandemic are limiting what the market can offer in terms of crowd size, vendors, and programming, we nevertheless continue to welcome our community back into our space for what has become a tradition for many of our neighbors. Right now, our object is to continue re-establishing our presence as a farmers market and to welcome people back into the routine of frequenting our vendors every Wednesday afternoon and early evening. The turnout is improving from week to week, and we have re-introduced food trucks as part of our market for the first time this summer. It’s good to welcome our neighbors and vendors back for another summer, restrictions or not!

Thursday night dinners
While the coronavirus pandemic continues to prevent us from hosting our weekly community dinners on Thursday night, we are now offering those Thursday night meals on a pre-order, takeout-only basis. Chef Bobby is back to making his delicious meals, which are offered for now on an every-other-Thursday schedule. Bobby and his team are currently taking a break, but the dinners will start up again in September. Contact the church office for more details.

Prayer requests
A group of women in our church are meeting every night at 7 pm via phone calls and texts in order to keep our various needs before God in prayer. They are asking the congregation to bring their needs to them to be lifted up in prayer as part of this evening prayer time. If you have any needs that you would like to have added to their prayer list, please contact the church office.

Free masks available
The church is offering free masks to anyone in the congregation who is in need of one. If you would like, you may make a donation to our benevolence fund when you come to the church building to pick yours up. Please contact the church office at office@ravenscov.org or 773-396-6175 for more information.

We need your (in worship) videos and pictures
As part of our ongoing efforts to stay connected with each other during this time of physical separation, we’re asking members and friends of the church to send us pictures of themselves as they take part in online worship. You can, if you choose, accompany the picture with a short (one or two sentences) greeting, or a brief video of no more than ten seconds, so that we can share them as a part of Sunday morning worship. Please be aware that they may have to be edited for space reasons. You can send them as downloadable files to office@ravenscov.org.

Our response to the current health crisis
As a community of faith we continue to pray for the health and welfare of our church and community as we resist the temptation to fall prey to fear. We do, however, want to continue to look out for the welfare of our friends and neighbors. We are doing our best to stay current with best practices for this unique time — please stay tuned as these may change. Our primary place for timely communication will be our website, ravenscov.org. We will also offer reminders and notes on our Facebook page and by email. We are livestreaming our Sunday morning worship on Facebook Live so that you may continue to be a part of our worship. Do not, however, become isolated. If you need any help there are folks in our church who can do so. Call the office (773-784-7091) or email the office (office@ravenscov.org).

General fund giving:
August 9: $2,320

General fund giving:
August 16: $3,644

Scripture for Sunday, August 30
Psalm 26:1-8
Matthew 16:21-28

Art Used in this Bulletin: Steve Erspamer, SM
Clip Art for Year A © 1992, Archdiocese of Chicago.

Our church exists to love and worship God, and love and care for others. By God’s grace, we commit to help people find and follow Jesus Christ through the guidance of his Spirit and his word.

"With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade." (Mark 4:30-32 NRS)