March 10, 2024 | Ravenswood Evangelical Covenant Church

March 10, 2024

Worship live on Sundays in person at 11:00 am,
or on YouTube at noon.

PRELUDE
Herzliebster Jesu
Johann Crüger
led by Mary

WELCOME, GREETING, AND COMMUNITY LIFE

CALL TO WORSHIP
from Psalm 89:1-2

Leader: I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever;
with my mouth I will proclaim Your faithfulness to all generations.
People: I declare that Your steadfast love is established forever; Your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.

UNISON PRAYER
Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of Your Holy Spirit, so that we may truly love You and worthily praise Your holy name; through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

* 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 power throughout the universe displayed:

refrain
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:

refrain

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.

refrain

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!

Covenant Hymnal, #8

* GOSPEL LESSON: Gregory Sager
Mark 12:28-37

One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that He answered them well he asked Him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” ²⁹Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; ³⁰you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” ³²Then the scribe said to Him, “You are right, Teacher; You have truly said that ‘He is one, and besides Him there is no other’; ³³and ‘to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself’—this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.

³⁵While Jesus was teaching in the temple, He said, “How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the son of David? ³⁶David himself, by the Holy Spirit, declared,

‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet.” ’

³⁷“David himself calls Him Lord, so how can He be his son?” And the large crowd was listening to Him with delight.

* RECKLESS LOVE
Before I spoke a word You were singing over me
You have been so, so good to me
Before I took a breath You breathed Your life in me
You have been so, so kind to me

chorus
O the overwhelming. never-ending
Reckless love of God
O it chases me down. fights ’til I’m found
Leaves the ninety-nine
I couldn’t earn it. I don’t deserve it
Still, You give Yourself away
O the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless
Love of God, yeah

When I was Your foe, still Your love fought for me
You have been so so good to me
When I felt no worth, You paid it all for me
You have been so, so kind to me

bridge
There’s no shadow You won’t light up
Mountain You won’t climb up
Coming after me
There’s no wall You won’t kick down
Lie You won’t tear down
Coming after me

CCLI Song # 7089641 CCLI License # 349090
Caleb Culver | Cory Asbury | Ran Jackson © 2017 Cory Asbury Publishing

CHILDREN’S MOMENT

Children 6 and under are dismissed to Children’s Church in the upstairs lounge. Parents can pick up their children in the lounge after the service.

REFLECTING ON THE WORD
Mark 12:38-44
Redefining Greatness
Pastor Ryan

I WANT TO WALK AS A CHILD OF THE LIGHT
I want to walk as a child of the light;
I want to follow Jesus.
God sent the stars to give light to the world;
The star of my life is Jesus.

refrain
In Him there is no darkness at all;
The night and the day are both alike.
The Lamb is the light of the city of God:
Shine in my heart, Lord Jesus.

I want to see the brightness of God;
I want to look at Jesus.
Clear Sun of righteousness, shine on my path,
And show me the way to the Father.

refrain

I’m looking for the coming of Christ;
I want to be with Jesus.
When we have run with patience the race,
We shall know the joy of Jesus.

refrain

Covenant Hymnal, #367

PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH & THE LORD’S PRAYER
We continue to pray for: Nikolas Arden; Messian Burgos; Frank Coszach; Vira Coszach; Art & Rosa Hamilton; Trevor Hanks; Bud Hodgkinson; Nancy Popovich’s family; Sara Rosado; Mary Smith; Phillip, son of Iris Velez; and Lauren Vilardo

Ministries & Mission
Jen & Minh Dao, serving in Thailand; Barb & Steve Swanson, serving in Sweden

THE LORD’S PRAYER:
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.

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

OFFERTORY
Moments of Worship
arr. Craig Curry
led by Mary

* 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.

* HE IS AMONG US (THE LEAST OF THESE)
You’ll find Me with the broken and the weak
In the spaces in between
You’ll hear My voice cry out with those who weep
Only if you’re listening

chorus
Whatever you do for the least of these
You do it unto Me

You’ll find Me with the ones without a voice
The forgotten and ignored
My blessing is on those who love the poor
Will you open up the door

bridge
Hallelujah, hallelujah
He is among us He is among us
(repeat)

By this the world will know the Father’s love
We will know the Father’s love

Andy Piercy / Isaac Wardell / John Swinton / Orlando Palmer / Paul Zach © Common Hymnal Publishing; IAMSON Productions; Integrity Worship Music; Integrity’s Alleluia! Music; Paul Zach Publishing; PG Songs And Hymns

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

POSTLUDE
“In Thee is Gladness”
arr. Paul Manz
led by Mary
please remain seated during the postlude

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

Please wear a nametag
We’ve had a number of visitors and new attendees lately, and it’s very important that we not only welcome them warmly to our church but also allow them to attach a name to a face. We’re asking everyone to return to our old practice of wearing nametags on Sunday morning. Blank nametags and Sharpies will be available both in the narthex and in the sanctuary.

Glenn Kaiser at Ravenswood Covenant
Next Sunday, March 17, Ravenswood Covenant will be blessed to have Glenn Kaiser present to preach as well as to help lead worship with a couple of his songs. A Covenant pastor, one of the ministers and leaders of Jesus People USA for half a century, and a world-famous singer/guitarist/songwriter both solo and as a member of the Resurrection Band (aka Rez Band or just plain REZ), Glenn has lived a remarkable life of sharing the Good News with non-Christians as well as challenging Christians with timely truth-telling lyrics and preaching.

VCR player
Do you have an old VCR player gathering dust in your closet or your attic? Someone in the church is in need of a VCR player. If you’d like to donate yours, please bring it to the church office. Thank you!

Farmers market is returning!
Our farmers market will be back this summer and fall, and this year it will commence in the spring as well! We’re moving the start of the market forward to Wednesday, May 8, so it’s not too early to think about volunteering. We have openings for RECC greeting tent staff, children’s art tent staff, bounce house monitors, as well as people who can help to set up and/or take down the market.

This is not necessarily a commitment to the full span of the market; whenever you can help out would be great! For more information, please contact Bekah Carlson or leave your name and contact info at the church office.

New Covenant Home Altar available
Copies of the second-quarter issue of the Covenant Home Altar are available for free in the narthex. The Covenant Home Altar isthe daily devotional that features contributions from people who are a part of our denomination, the Evangelical Covenant Church.

Thanks, painters!
A big thanks to everybody who took time out of their schedules yesterday to give a much-needed fresh coat of paint to our fellowship hall. It looks great!

Camp Booster Fund
Interested in sending your children to overnight camp at Covenant Harbor or Covenant Point next summer? We have a camp booster fund that will give $200 towards the fee of any Ravenswood Covenant child (or that child’s friend) who wishes to attend one of our two Central Conference summer camps. We feel that every child from our congregation who wants to attend camp should have the opportunity to go!

Sunday School and Faith Forum
Sunday School and Faith Forum meets at 10:00 am every week, unless otherwise noted. Come join us as we gather together to learn and grow in faith every Sunday morning.

Scripture reader sign-up
We are seeking people to read the scripture passages of the day as part of the worship services this coming spring. If you are willing to be a scripture reader in April, May, or June, please add your name to the sign-up sheet in the church office or in the narthex on Sundays, or contact Gregory Sager or Pastor Ryan.

Pastor Ryan’s office hours
Pastor Ryan’s office hours at church are typically Tuesday thru Friday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. If you would like to meet with Pastor Ryan please call the church office in advance to schedule an appointment.

Coffee hour changes
There is now a coffee hour bulletin board downstairs in the fellowship hall! (It’s right next to the kids’ serving window.) Please look there for updated serving instructions as well as to find out what team you’re on. We’ve had some turnover, so we encourage you to sign up to join a serving team if you haven’t done so already. A self-sign-up will now be available on the board so that you can pick which Sundays work best for you. As always, thanks for serving!

Thursday evening Bible study
The weekly Bible study meets Thursdays at 7:00 pm. We are studying the Gospel of Mark. The Bible study meets in the upstairs lounge. For more information, please contact Gregory Sager in the church office at (773) 784-7091 or office@ravenscov.org.

We now have Zoom available again for those who would like to take part in the Bible study but cannot be physically present. The Zoom link for the Bible study is:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83923376849?pwd=YUlYVXBmOVdwV0d5L20ySng3aHU3Zz09

Meeting ID: 839 2337 6849
Passcode: 318853

Join Us in Sponsoring a Student in the NPTS SRA Program
North Park’s School of Restorative Arts offers a MA in Christian Ministry and Restorative Arts, allowing free and incarcerated students to study together. This unique degree program is designed to prepare individuals for ministries of restoration in contexts susceptible to violence and includes courses in trauma, race relations, nonviolent communication, conflict transformation, restorative practices, and transformative justice, in addition to Bible, theology, and history. In partnership with the Illinois Department of Corrections, this four-year degree is currently offered at Stateville Correctional Center with 80 incarcerated men and a first cohort of 20 women at Logan Correctional Center.

We, Ravenswood Covenant Church, have partnered with North Park Theological Seminary by committing to sponsor a student in this program. To help us support an SRA student please send a check to church or give online and in the memo line write: “SRA Sponsorship.”

Scripture for next Sunday
Mark 13:24-37
Mark 13:1-8
Psalm 118:25-29

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.