Adult Sunday School convenes at 9:30 on zoom

Streaming Live
Facebook & YouTube


KIDS TIME
Music & a visit from some friends

PRELUDE
led by Dana

WELCOME & GREETING

.

CALL TO WORSHIP                           from Psalm 100          
Leader:  Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.
People:  Worship the Lord with gladness;
come into His presence with singing. 

L:  Know that the Lord is God.
P:  It is He that made us, and we are His;
we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

L: Enter His gates with thanksgiving,
and His courts with praise
P: Give thanks to Him, bless His name.

L: For the Lord is good;
His steadfast love endures forever,
P: and His faithfulness to all generations.

HOW GREAT THOU ART
O Lord my God when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy pow’r throughout the universe displayed:
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

When through the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze:
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

And when I think that God, his Son not sparing,
Sent him to die, I scarce can take it in,
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin:
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow in humble adoration,
And there proclaim, “My God, how great Thou art.”
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee:
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

From the Covenant Hymnal, page 8

FIRST TESTAMENT LESSON
Jonah 3:1-5

The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.

GOSPEL LESSON
Mark 1:14-20

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

16 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

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

I HEARD THE VOICE OF JESUS SAY
I hear the voice of Jesus say,
“Come unto Me and rest;
Lay down, O weary one, lay down
Your head upon My breast.”
I came to Jesus as I was,
Weary and worn and sad;
I found in Him a resting place,
And He has made me glad.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Behold, I freely give
The living water, thirsty one,
Stoop down and drink and live.”
I came to Jesus and I drank
Of that life-giving stream;
My thirst was quench’d, my soul revived
And now I live in Him.

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“I am this dark world’s light;
Look unto Me, your morn shall rise
And all your day be bright.”
I looked to Jesus and I found
In Him my star, my sun;
And in that light of life I’ll walk
Till trav’ling days are done.

From the Covenant Hymnal, page 325

REFLECTING ON THE WORD
Called and Called to Call
Pastor Phil

.

THE SUMMONS
Will you come and follow Me
If I but call your name
Will you go where you don’t know
And never be the same
Will you let My love be shown
Will you let My name be known
Will you let My life be grown
In you and you in Me

Will you leave yourself behind
If I but call your name
Will you care for cruel and kind
And never be the same
Will you risk the hostile stare
Should your life attract or scare
Will you let Me answer prayer
In you and you in Me

Will you let the blinded see
If I but call your name
Will you set the prisoners free
And never be the same
Will you kiss the leper clean
And do such as this unseen
And admit to what I mean
In you and you in Me

Will you love the you you hide
If I but call your name
Will you quell the fear inside
And never be the same
Will you use the faith you’ve found
To reshape the world around
Through My sight and touch and sound
In you and you in Me

Lord Your summons echoes true
When You but call my name
Let me turn and follow You
And never be the same
In Your company I’ll go
Where Your love and footsteps show
Thus I’ll move and live and grow
In You and You in me

CCLI Song # 1040329 CCLI License # 349090
Graham Maule | John L. Bell © 1987 WGRG, c/o Iona Community, Glasgow, Scotland

GIVING OF OUR TITHES & OFFERINGS
& PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
giving opportunities: ravenscov.org/giving/
Zelle® to: giving@ravenscov.org

Wer Nur Den Lieben Gott Lasst Walten
by Georg Newmarket, 1657
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. 

A WEEK OF PRAYER: Breathe…Because I Am
With introduction from Pastor Denise & Pastor Deb Auger

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 Hodgkinson and family, 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
Jochy & Tammi Hernandez, serving in the Dominican Republic; Renee Nicholas, serving local graduate students and faculty with InterVarsity.

.

IT IS WELL
Grander earth has quaked before
Moved by the sound of His voice
Seas that are shaken and stirred
Can be calmed and broken for my regard

Through it all through it all
My eyes are on You
Through it all through it all
It is well
Through it all through it all
My eyes are on You
And it is well with me

Far be it from me to not believe
Even when my eyes can’t see
And this mountain that’s in front of me
Will be thrown into the midst of the sea

So let go my soul and trust in Him
The waves and wind still know His name

It is well with my soul
It is well with my soul
It is well with my soul
It is well it is well with my soul

CCLI Song # 7021972 CCLI License # 349090
Horatio Gates Spafford | Kristene DiMarco | Philip Paul Bliss © 2013 Bethel Music Publishing 

BENEDICTION                             
L: Go in peace to love and serve the Lord
P: Thanks be to God

POSTLUDE
Third Mode Melody by Thomas Tall
led by Cynthia

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

MUSIC AS WE GO INTO THE WEEK
maxeltoft, “Calling


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

Thursday evening community dinner returns!
Our Thursday evening community dinner program has resumed. The next scheduled meal is for this coming Thursday, January 21. There will be further details in the Community Life section of today’s service.

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 on 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:
January 3: $3,232

General fund giving:
January 10: $1,186

Scripture for next Sunday
Deuteronomy 8:15-20
Psalm 111
Mark 1:21-28

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)