Adult Sunday School convenes at 9:30 on zoom

Streaming Live
Facebook & YouTube


PRE-SERVICE MUSIC
AxiomBrass

KIDS TIME
Music & a visit from some friends

PRELUDE
led by Cynthia

WELCOME & GREETING

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CALL TO WORSHIP                           from Psalm 111          

Leader: Praise the Lord!
People: I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.

L: Great are the works of the Lord,
P: studied by all who delight in them.

L: Full of honor and majesty is His work
P: and His righteousness endures forever.

HE’S EVER OVER ME
I will lift my eyes
To the hills and their Creator
Who made all heaven and earth.
For He watches me,
Will not sleep, no never slumber,
He’s ever over me.

As I come and I go,
I am safe for I know
That His care is sufficient
For me.

Winter warmth and light,
And a shady place in summer,
He’s ever over me.

From the Covenant Hymnal, page 428

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FROM THE FIRST TESTAMENT
PSALM 30

led by Mary

I will extol you, O Lord, for You have drawn me up,
    and did not let my foes rejoice over me.
O Lord my God, I cried to You for help,
    and You have healed me.
O Lord, You brought up my soul from Sheol,
    restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.

Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones,
    and give thanks to His holy name.
For His anger is but for a moment;
    His favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may linger for the night,
    but joy comes with the morning.

As for me, I said in my prosperity,
    “I shall never be moved.”
By Your favor, O Lord,
    You had established me as a strong mountain;
You hid your face;
    I was dismayed.

To You, O Lord, I cried,
    and to the Lord I made supplication:
“What profit is there in my death,
    if I go down to the Pit?
Will the dust praise You?
    Will it tell of Your faithfulness?
10 Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me!
    O Lord, be my helper!”

11 You have turned my mourning into dancing;
    You have taken off my sackcloth
    and clothed me with joy,
12 so that my soul may praise You and not be silent.
    O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

GOSPEL LESSON
Mark 1:30-31; 40-45

30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Him about her at once. 31 He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

(1:32-39 skipped over today)

40 A leper came to Him begging Him, and kneeling he said to Him, “If You choose, you can make me clean.” 41 Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I do choose. Be made clean!” 42 Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 43 After sternly warning him He sent him away at once, 44 saying to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” 45 But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to Him from every quarter.

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

RESCUER
He’s our Rescuer
He’s our Rescuer
We are free from sin forevermore
Oh how sweet the sound
Oh how grace abounds
We will praise the Lord our Rescuer

There is good news for the captive
Good news for the shamed
There is good news for the one who walked away
There is good news for the doubter
The one religion failed
For the good Lord has come to seek and save

He is beauty for the blind man
Riches for the poor
He is friendship for the one the world ignores
He is pasture for the weary
Rest for those who strive
Oh the good Lord is the way, the truth, the life
Yes the good Lord is the way, the truth, the life

So come and be chainless
Come and be fearless
Come to the foot of Calvary
There is redemption for every affliction
Here at the foot of Calvary

CCLI Song # 7094920 CCLI License # 349090
Benjamin Hastings | Bryan Fowler |Chris Llewellyn

Gareth Gilkeson © Capitol CMG Amplifier

REFLECTING ON THE WORD
When You’re Down & Troubled
Pastor Phil

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JESUS HEARD WITH DEEP COMPASSION
Jesus heard with deep compassion
Pleas for healing, cries of pain,
Cured the lame and cleansed the leper,
Gave the blind their sight again.
At His voice, tormenting spirits
Fled a mad-man’s tortured mind;
Clothed and sane, he went rejoicing,
Home and family to find.

Jesus touched the lives of outcasts,
Weak or sinful, scorned or poor,
Gave them self-respect and courage,
Trust and faith and hope secure.
Truly hearing, truly seeing
Deep within each troubled soul,
Jesus healed their wounded spirits,
Sent them forth with lives made whole.

Jesus, Lord, our true example,
You have shown how we must live.
Teach us how to share with others
Ev’ry-thing we have to give.
Let our days be spent in service;
Bring us by Your grace to know
Healing is the church’s calling,
And the path that we must go.

From the Covenant Hymnal, page 205

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: The Hodgkinson 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
Covenant Kids Congo; Covenant Mountain Mission Bible Camp.

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

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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CHRIST IS THE TRUTH, THE WAY
Christ is the truth, the way,
The center of our life.
Christ shares the struggles of our day,
Our earthly joy and strife.
Redeeming what is lost
And healing those in pain,
Christ walks the valley of the cross,
The servant’s glad domain.

Christ is the pow’r of peace,
Of lasting harmony.
In Christ, the wars of earth shall cease;
Chris is our unity.
The lion shall lie down
In peace beside the lamb.
The mighty shall lay down their crowns
Before the great “I Am.”

Christ is the living bread,
The source of grace out-poured,
Our deepest hungers shall be fed,
In Christ, life is restored.
Earth’s hungry shall rejoice,
For they shall all be filled.
The good shall welcome with one voice
The justice God has willed.

Christ is our living head,
Our sole authority.
By Christ’s own Spirit we are led
To serve humanity.
We follow where Christ leads
When others’ pain we bear;
Responding to our neighbors’ needs,
The cross and crown we share.

From the Covenant Hymnal, page 207

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

POSTLUDE
Allegro by Fiocco for violin and piano
led by Cynthia & Mary

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

music as we go by maxeltoft


Faith Forum update

This week Faith Forum, Ravenswood Covenant’s adult Sunday School class, heard from Beth Fredrickson, director of HarborPoint Ministries, about the ministries of our two conference Bible camps as they negotiate the difficulties that the pandemic has brought to camping. Next week Faith Forum will welcome a missionary couple sponsored by our church, Barb and Steve Swanson, to discuss their ministry to refugees and immigrants in the Swedish city of Malmö.

Faith Forum 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.

Monday Night Bible Study


The Thursday night Bible study is moving to Monday nights for a spell, starting tomorrow, Monday, February 1, and at a new time,
7 pm. The group is studying 1 Corinthians, and will examine the fourth chapter of the book tomorrow. The Bible study will meet
every Monday at 7 pm via Zoom until further notice , 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

Zoom book study

Pastor Denise will be reading Rethinking Incarceration by Rev. Dominique DuBois Gilliard this winter. You are invited to join in reading and learning about ways churches can be involved in advocating for justice in the prison system. Rev. Gilliard is the Director of Racial Righteousness and Reconciliation for the Evangelical Covenant Church, our parent denomination. Please email Pastor Denise if you’d like to join us or have questions, and she will get a reading schedule out to you. denise@ravenscov.org. The book can be ordered through InterVarsity Press. https://www.ivpress.com/rethinking-incarceration

Thursday evening community dinner

Our Thursday evening community dinner program, after taking a break for the holidays, has resumed. The next scheduled meal is for Thursday, February 4. 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 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 17: $1,225

General fund giving:
January 24: $1,686

Scripture for next Sunday
Isaiah 40:21-31
Psalm 50:1-6
Mark 1:32-39

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)