October 20, 2024

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

PRELUDE
“Worthy of Worship”
Mark Blankenship
led by Leslie and Cynthia

WELCOME, GREETING, AND COMMUNITY LIFE

CALL TO WORSHIP
from Psalm 127:1-2
Leader: Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.
People: Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.
Leader: In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—
People: For He grants sleep to those he loves.

UNISON PRAYER
Abba Father, thank You for Your unconditional love. Lord Jesus, thank You for Your undeserved grace. Holy Spirit, thank You for Your inspirational power. Father, Son, and Spirit teach us to share Your gifts with others. Amen.

* WORTHY OF WORSHIP
Worthy of worship, worthy of praise,
Worthy of honour and glory;
Worthy of all the glad songs we can sing,
Worthy of all the off’rings we bring.

refrain
You are worthy, Father, Creator.
You are worthy, Savior, Sustainer.
You are worthy, worthy and wonderful;
Worthy of worship and praise.

Worthy of rev’rence, worthy of fear,
Worthy of love and devotion;
Worthy of bowing and bending of knees,
Worthy of all this and added to these.

refrain
Almighty Father, Master and Lord,
King of all kings and Redeemer,
Wonderful Counselor, Comforter, Friend,
Savior and Source of our life without end.

refrain

Covenant Hymnal, #38

OLD TESTAMENT LESSON: Jim Anderson
2 Samuel 6:17-22

They brought in the ark of the Lord and set it in its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David offered burnt offerings and offerings of well-being before the Lord. 18 When David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the offerings of well-being, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts 19 and distributed food among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, to each a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins. Then all the people went back to their homes.

20 David returned to bless his household. But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants’ maids, as any vulgar fellow might shamelessly uncover himself!” 21 David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me in place of your father and all his household, to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the Lord—I will dance before the Lord. 22 I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be humbled in my own eyes, but by the maids of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be held in honor.”

GOSPEL LESSON: Jim Anderson
Luke 1:30-33

The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name Him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His ancestor David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

Reader: The word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.

* OUR GOD
Water You turned into wine
Opened the eyes of the blind
There’s no one like You
None like You

Into the darkness You shine
Out of the ashes we rise
There’s no one like You
None like You

chorus
Our God is greater
Our God is stronger
God You are higher than any other
Our God is healer
Awesome in power our God our God

bridge
And if our God is for us
Then who could ever stop us
And if our God is with us
Then what could stand against
And if our God is for us
Then who could ever stop us
And if our God is with us
Then what could stand against
(Then) what could stand against

Chris Tomlin / Jesse Reeves / Jonas Myrin / Matt Redman © 2010 Atlas Mountain Songs (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CHILDREN’S MESSAGE
Pastor Ryan

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
2 Samuel 7:1-17
At Home with God
Pastor Ryan

* TAKE, O TAKE ME AS I AM
Take, O take me as I am;
Summon out what I shall be;
Set Your seal upon my heart
And live in me.


John L. Bell © 1995 WGRG, c/o Iona Community, Glasgow, Scotland

PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH
We continue to pray for: Nikolas Arden; Messian Burgos; Cathy Cassidy; Frank Coszach; Vira Coszach; Art & Rosa Hamilton; Trevor Hanks; Mary McKirchy; Sara Rosado; Kathy Sager; Mary Smith; Iris Velez; Lauren Vilardo; and Christian Wright

Ministries & Mission
Bonnie & Eric Swanson, serving in Sweden
Covenant Mountain Mission Bible Camp

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
Ash Grove
trad. Welsh melody
led by Leslie and 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.

* ALL GLORY BE TO CHRIST
Should nothing of our efforts stand
No legacy survive
Unless the Lord does raise the house
In vain its builders strive
To you who boast tomorrow’s gain
Tell me what is your life
A mist that vanishes at dawn
All glory be to Christ

chorus
All glory be to Christ our king
All glory be to Christ
His rule and reign we’ll ever sing
All glory be to Christ

His will be done His kingdom come
On earth as is above
Who is Himself our daily bread
Praise Him the Lord of love
Let living water satisfy
The thirsty without price
We’ll take a cup of kindness yet
All glory be to Christ

chorus

When on the day the great I Am
The faithful and the true
The Lamb who was for sinners slain
Is making all things new
Behold our God shall live with us
And be our steadfast light
And we shall e’er his people be
All glory be to Christ

Dustin Kensrue © 2012 We Are Younger We Are Faster Music

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

POSTLUDE
Third Mode Melody
Thomas Tallis
led by Cynthia

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. Please wear a nametag and let visitors know who you are! Blank nametags and Sharpies will be available both in the narthex and in the sanctuary.

Thank you!
Our thanks go out to everybody who helped to make the 2024 farmers market season a big success, including those who helped with this past week’s season-ending Pumpkin Fest. A special thanks to Bekah Carlson for all she did this year to make ours the most kid-friendly farmer’s market in the city of Chicago!

Choir begins
Today our church choir under the direction of Cynthia Arden began rehearsing. Choir rehearsal is held every Sunday at 9:00 am Sunday mornings. The fall/winter choir season lasts from until Christmas. You can still join us! Membership in the choir is open to all, regardless of experience level. Please consider joining us in choir this fall, and invite others to join as well!

Let’s Garden Together!
The church’s leadership has invited the Ravenswood Neighborhood Association to plant a flower garden on the northern edge of our parking lot. The planting will take place on Saturday, November 2, and of course anyone from the church who is interested can come and help! For more information, contact the church office at 773-784-7091 or office@ravenscov.org.

Faith Forum
Faith Forum, Ravenswood Covenant’s adult Christian education class, meets at the Sunday School hour (10:00 am) during the school year. This year’s edition of Faith Forum will feature a series of teachers who will each explore a topic over a one-month period. Our teacher for October is Jim Anderson.

Treats and coffee are provided each week. Join us in the upstairs lounge every Sunday in Faith Forum!

Church parking
Do you know someone who needs a place to park in the Ravenswood neighborhood? Ravenswood Covenant Church is currently leasing space in its parking lot. Parking is $60 per space per month for non-members, and is available for day/evening, overnight, or both. For more information, please contact the church office at 773-784-7091 or office@ravenscov.org.

Scripture reader sign-up
We’re now seeking people to read the scripture passages of the day in the worship service for the fall months. If you are willing to be a scripture reader in November or December, 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. Feel free to sign up for more than one Sunday if you like.

Pastor Ryan’s office hours
Pastor Ryan’s office hours at church are typically Tuesday thru Friday from 10:00 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 have just begun studying the Song of Solomon, also known as the Song of Songs. 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 have Zoom available 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

Scripture for next Sunday
1 Kings 8:12-13a, 27-30, 41-43
1 Kings 5:1-5
Luke 19:45-46

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)