Adult Sunday School convenes at 9:30 on zoom
Streaming Live
Facebook & YouTube
KIDS TIME
Music & a visit from some friends
PRELUDE
Sing Praise to the Father
led by Cynthia
WELCOME & GREETING
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CALL TO WORSHIP from Psalm 29:1-2; 10-11
Leader: Ascribe to the LORD, O mighty ones,
People: Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
L: Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
P: Worship the LORD in the splendor of His holiness.
L: The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
P: The God of glory thunders,
L: The LORD thunders over the mighty waters….
P: The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
L: The LORD is enthroned as King forever.
P: The LORD gives strength to His people;
L: The LORD blesses His people with peace.
ALL: May the LORD bless His people with peace!
SING PRAISE TO THE FATHER
Sing praise to the Father, Creator and King,
Whose mercy has taught us a new song to sing;
Who made us, and loved us though rebels and lost,
And planned our redemption at infinite cost
Bless the Lord, bless the Lord,
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
For the grace that redeems,
For the love that makes whole;
O come and adore him, his glories proclaim,
And worship before him- the Lord is his name!
Sing praise to the Savior, Redeemer, and Friend,
For grace past all telling, for love without end;
Who stripped off his glory, put on mortal sin,
And died and was ris’n full atonement to win.
Bless the Lord, bless the Lord,
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
For the grace that redeems,
For the love that makes whole;
O come and adore him, his glories proclaim,
And worship before him- the Lord is his name!
Sing praise to the Spirit, the gift of God’s love,
Who quickens our hearts with new life from above,
Who woos us, subdues us, and seals us his own,
And faultless presents us before his great throne
Bless the Lord, bless the Lord,
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
For the grace that redeems,
For the love that makes whole;
O come and adore him, his glories proclaim,
And worship before him- the Lord is his name!
Sing praise to the Father, sin praise to the Son,
Sing praise to the Spirit, great God three in One;
The God of salvation, of glory, of grace,
Who wrought our redemption-my soul, sing his praise.
Bless the Lord, bless the Lord,
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
For the grace that redeems,
For the love that makes whole;
O come and adore him, his glories proclaim,
And worship before him- the Lord is his name!
From the Covenant Hymnal, page 108
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FIRST TESTAMENT LESSON
Genesis 1:1-5
1 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2 the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
SPIRIT OF GOD, DESCEND UPON MY HEART
(in preparation for the Gospel)
verses 1 & 5 only
verse 1
Spirit of God, descend upon my heart,
Free it from sin, through all its pulses move.
Stoop to my weakness, mighty as you are;
And make me love you as I ought to love.
verse 5
Teach me to love you as your angels love,
One holy passion filling all my frame:
The baptism of the heav’n descended Dove,
My heart an altar, and your love the flame.
From the Covenant Hymnal, page 294
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GOSPEL LESSON
Mark 1:1-11
1 The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way;
3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’”
4 John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8 I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
Leader: The Word of the Lord
People: Thanks be to God
(sung)
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 without end. Amen, Amen.
REFLECTING ON THE WORD
A beginning is a very delicate time.
Pastor Phil
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OCEANS
You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep my faith will stand
And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine
Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sov’reign hand will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You’ve never failed and You won’t start now
Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior
I will call upon Your name
Keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
I am Yours and You are mine
CCLI Song # 6428767 CCLI License # 349090
Joel Houston | Matt Crocker Salomon Ligthelm
© 2012 Hillsong Music Publishing Australia
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: Bud & Audrey Hodgkinson, Kathy Salzano, Ron Arden, Bob Auger, Nikolas Arden, Katie Collier, Art and Rosa Hamilton, Shirley Nicholas, Paul Mounts, Jane Auger, Joyce Andrews, Steve Hoden, Mary Spriggs, Alice Nilsson (Nancy Popovich’s sister), the Brandel-Tanis family, the Morales/Randall family.
Ministries & Mission
Aleta & Roy Danforth, serving in the Central African Republic; Carlos & Karen Feijoo, serving in Ecuador.
GIVING OF OUR TITHES & OFFERINGS
& PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
giving opportunities: ravenscov.org/giving/
Zelle® to: giving@ravenscov.org
We Three Kings, JH Hopkins
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.
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BECAUSE HE LIVES
God sent his Son, they called him Jesus;
He came to love, heal, and forgive;
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.
Because he lives I can face tomorrow;
Because he lives all fear is gone;
Because I know he holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because he lives.
And then one day I’ll cross the river;
I’ll fight life’s final war with pain;
And then as death gives way to vict’ry,
I’ll see the light of glory and I’ll know he lives.
Because he lives I can face tomorrow;
Because he lives all fear is gone;
Because I know he holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because he lives.
BENEDICTION
L: Go in peace to love and serve the Lord
P: Thanks be to God
POSTLUDE
Vom Himmel Hoch, 1539
led by Cynthia
INVITATION & FINAL SLIDES
We’ll be back here next Sunday.
We hope you can join us.
Information on ravenscov.org.
The rose at the front of the sanctuary today marks the birth of Axel Arnold Anderson to Kyra and Lars Anderson on December 30. Axel joins big brother Noah in that family. We praise God for the blessing of a new life in our midst!
Faith Forum update
Faith Forum, Ravenswood Covenant’s adult Sunday School class, has reconvened for 2021. It meets via Zoom at the traditional meeting time of 9:30 am on Sunday. This is the Zoom link for Faith Forum. The link is also provided at the top of the bulletin every week.
Thursday Night Bible Study
The Thursday night Bible study is studying 1 Corinthians, and will examine the second chapter of the book this week. 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. If you’re interested, please contact Gregory Sager in the church office at office@ravenscov.org or at 773-784-7091.
The Zoom link for the Thursday night Bible study is https://zoom.us/j/95052558015?pwd=N3d1eFpUUmUwenhCSzNJNUk3WEV2QT09
Meeting ID: 950 5255 8015
Passcode: 141628
Didn’t get dinner? Keep your eye open for our next installment.
Thursday evening community dinner returns!
Our Thursday evening community dinner program, after taking a break for the holidays, has resumed. The next scheduled meal is for Thursday, January 21. Keep an eye out for the announcement!
2021 camp registration update from HarborPoint Ministries
There may be snow on the ground, and some houses may still have their Christmas lights up … but at Covenant Harbor and Covenant Point Bible camps, the staffs are already thinking about summer! For those who are wondering about camp options for summer 2021, please be aware that online registration for next summer’s camping season began this past Tuesday, January 5.
Day, overnight, and family camp options are posted at www.covenantharbor.org and www.cpbc.com.
Prayer meeting canceled indefinitely
The church’s biweekly prayer meeting that gathers every second and fourth Monday night each month has been canceled until further notice as part of the church’s response to Chicago’s heightened Covid-19 infection rate and the mayor’s “Stay-at-Home Advisory.”
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.
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 and YouTube 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:
December 27: $1,753
General fund giving:
January 3: $3,232
Scripture for next Sunday
1 Samuel 3:1-10
Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18
John 1:43-51
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.