Sunday, July 6, 2025
Sunday, July 6th
Sunday, July 6, 2025
Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
Worship live on Sundays in person at 10:00 am
or online via YouTube at noon.
PRELUDE
“O Worship the King, All Glorious Above”
William Gardiner
led by Cynthia
WELCOME, GREETING, AND COMMUNITY LIFE
CALL TO WORSHIP
Come and celebrate, people of God! Sing and shout your praise! For our God comes to us: triumphant and victorious, yet gentle and humble of heart.
He comes bringing peace, offering hope and freedom to all who despair. Let’s worship God together!
UNISON PRAYER
Lord God Almighty, by the power of your Spirit we gather with all of creation to worship and praise you. We shout with the angels, “Glory! Glory! Glory!” Holy God, receive our worship. In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, we pray. Amen.
* A THOUSAND HALLELUJAHS
* JOYFUL, JOYFUL, WE ADORE THEE (verse 1)
(words on screen)
OLD TESTAMENT LESSON: Don Hodgkinson
Isaiah 43:1-7
But now thus says the Lord,
He who created you, O Jacob,
He who formed you, O Israel:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are Mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you,
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
Because you are precious in My sight
and honored and I love you,
I give people in return for you,
nations in exchange for your life.
Do not fear, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you;
I will say to the north, “Give them up,”
and to the south, “Do not withhold;
bring My sons from far away
and My daughters from the end of the earth—
everyone who is called by My name,
whom I created for My glory,
whom I formed and made.”
NEW TESTAMENT LESSON: Don Hodgkinson
Acts 8: 14-17
Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
* OPEN OUR EYES
(words on screen)
REFLECTING ON THE WORD
Psalm 29
Pastor Ryan
* HOW HE LOVES
(words on screen)
PRAYER OF CELEBRATION
O God, seeing as there is in Christ Jesus an infinite fullness of all that we can want or desire, may we all receive from him, grace upon grace; grace to pardon our sins, and subdue our iniquities; to justify our persons and to sanctify our souls; and to complete that holy change, that renewal of our hearts, which will enable us to be transformed into the blessed image in which you created us. O make us all acceptable to be partakers of the inheritance of your saints in light. Amen.
John Wesley
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
We offer God a portion of our money as a way to say we love God, and desire to encourage the ministry & mission of the church.
giving opportunities: ravenscov.org/giving/
Zelle® to: giving@ravenscov.org
OFFERTORY
“My Country, ‘Tis of Thee”
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.
WE ARE INVITED TO THE TABLE OF OUR LORD
as we remember, with thanksgiving, Jesus’ death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins for the world.
SINGING AS WE RECEIVE THE BREAD & CUP
(please follow the words on the screen)
* TREES
(a song based upon several psalms)
(words on screen)
THE LAST GOOD WORD
L: Go in peace to love and serve the Lord
P: Thanks be to God
POSTLUDE
“Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”
Ludwig van Beethoven
led by Cynthia
INVITATION
We’ll be back here next Sunday. We hope you can join us. Information on ravenscov.org.
* Please stand as you are able.
Summer worship schedule
We are now in our summer worship schedule, which means a 10:00 am worship hour. Sunday School and Faith Forum are now on summer hiatus. Sunday worship will return to the 11:00 am hour the Sunday after Labor Day.
Summer Book Club
You are invited to take part in the Summer Book Club, led by Pastor Ryan, which will meet two Thursday evenings in each of the three summer months, at 7:00 pm in the upstairs lounge. The book is The Great De-churching by Jim Davis and Michael Graham. The remaining sessions of the Summer Book Club are July 10 and 24, and August 7 and 21. Participants are asked to please read pages 65-115 for the July 10 session.
Scripture for next Sunday
Psalm 1
Proverbs 1:20-33
1 Corinthians 2:6-10
If you enjoy reading scripture out loud, please sign up to read scripture in worship. The sign-up sheet is on the table in the back of the sanctuary, or you can talk with Pastor Ryan or Gregory Sager.
Farmers market
We had an outstanding day at the Ravenswood Community Farmers Market on Wednesday, as nearly a thousand adults (994, to be exact) enjoyed a pleasant summer afternoon at the market. For Ravenswood Covenant’s part, we were particularly happy to provide fun for the neighborhood children via the church’s playground, the bounce house, the art tent, the science table, and the water play area.
The market runs every Wednesday from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm in the church parking lot until the middle of October. The church not only hosts the market, it also operates the children’s activities that are a part of the market — and this year we are also going to reinstate our greeting tent on select Wednesdays, so that our neighbors visiting the market can get to know the church that hosts it a little better
How you can contribute:
* Pray for the community, the vendors and those from the church who volunteer.
* Purchase the following needs:
– Baby Wipes
– Blue Dawn Dish Soap
– Corn Starch
– Baking Soda
– White Vinegar (1/2 to 1 gallon size)
* Help with set-up and tear-down
* Help facilitate activities for the kids
See Bekah Carlson or the church staff if you’d like to join us to help on Wednesdays.
Ravenswood Covenant T-shirts
We are going to be handing out the new Ravenswood Covenant t-shirts next Sunday, July 13. If you have not yet paid for your t-shirt, please bring your $10 to purchase the shirt that Sunday. We request that you join us for a group photo once we’ve all donned our new t-shirts!
Thursday evening Bible study
The weekly Bible study meets Thursdays at 7:00 pm. We are currently studying the Gospel of Luke, to be followed by its sequel, the Acts of the Apostles. 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.
The Bible study will not meet this summer on the Thursday evenings in which the Summer Book Club meets.
We have Zoom available for those who would like to take part in the Bible study but cannot be physically present. The Zoom link is https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83923376849?pwd=YUlYVXBmOVdwV0d5L20ySng3aHU3Zz09 .
Meeting ID: 839 2337 6849
Passcode: 318853
Cooler Sundays
The fourth Sunday of each month of summer — June 22, July 27, and August 24 — is a Cooler Sunday, which features grilled hot dogs and hamburgers during the fellowship hour downstairs. The burgers, hot dogs, and drinks are provided. Please plan to join us on Cooler Sundays and to bring a side dish or dessert to pass, as we enjoy food and fellowship after the service!
Visitation and memorial service for Roger Olsen
Roger Olsen, our dear brother in Christ and one of the longest-standing members of our congregation, passed away a week ago. Roger was a loving husband to Cindy (Riste); cherished father of Timothy (Samantha), Tammy (John) Englund, Thomas (Kimberly) and Terri; adored grandfather of Brian (Marina), Robert (Stephanie Gatsakos), Timothy II, Amanda (Jon) Beach, Erik (Kylee Hernandez), Jacob, John Englund; Jessica, Julia Olsen, and Keli Hatfield; and great-grandfather of Michael and Lily Olsen. He is survived by siblings Phyllis Prang, Jeffery (Susan) Olsen, and Diane Olsen-Gaertner, along with many nephews, nieces, and extended family. He was preceded in death by his high-school sweetheart and wife of nearly 50 years, Joanne (Pearson) Olsen. He was also preceded in death by sister Kathryn Olsen, nephew Douglas Prang, and Michael Hatfield.
As most people familiar with Ravenswood Covenant are aware, Roger played a huge role in the life of our church. His inexhaustible contributions to the church building as handyman, cleaner, and organizer are the stuff of legend, and for generations the AWANA ministry that the Olsens led at Ravenswood Covenant welcomed the children of the Ravenswood neighborhood into our building every week and taught them about Jesus. He will be, and already is, dearly missed — but we rejoice in the blessing that he was in our lives for so long and in the knowledge that he is now in God’s presence.
A visitation for Roger will take place this coming Wednesday, July 9, from 4:00-8:00 pm at Drake & Son Funeral Home, 5303 N. Western Ave., Chicago, IL, 60625. A graveside service will then take place next Thursday, July 10, 2025 at Memorial Park, 9900 Grosse Point Rd, Skokie, IL, 60076. A memorial service for Roger will be held here at church at 1:00 pm this coming Thursday,
July 10, with light refreshments to follow.
Peace to his memory.
Remember in prayer
* the Anderson family
* Cynthia Arden
* Nikolas Arden
* the Binag family
* Messian Burgos
* Shirley Deliberto
* Veronica Clarke
* Frank Coszach
* Vira Coszach
* Art & Rosa Hamilton
* Trevor Hanks
* Lidija Jagustin
* the Olsen family
* Maria Paulette
* Brianna Randall
* Mary Smith
* Mary Spriggs
* Dorinne Tamras
* Lauren Vilardo
* Lydia Warrens
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.