Adult Sunday School convenes at 9:30 on zoom

Streaming Live
Facebook & YouTube


KIDS TIME
Music & a visit from some friends

PRELUDE
Gather Us In
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.

GATHER US IN
Here in this place, the new light is streaming,
Shadows of doubt are vanished away.
See in this space our fears and our dreaming,
Brought here to You in the light of this day.
Gather us in, the lost and forsaken;
Gather us in; our spirits inflame.
Call to us now, and we shall awaken;
We shall arise at the sound of our name.

We are the young, our lives are a myst’ry;
We are the old, who yearn for Your face.
We have been sung through-out all of hist’ry,
Called to be light to the whole human race.
Gather us in, the rich and the haughty;
Gather us in the proud and the strong;
Give us a heart so meek and so lowly;
Give us the courage to enter the song.

Here we receive new life in the waters;
Here we receive the bread of new birth;
Here You shall call Your sons and your daughters,
Call us a new to be salt for the earth.
Give us to drink the wine of compassion;
Give us to eat the bread that is You;
Nourish us well, and teach us to fashion
Lives that are holy and hearts that are true.

Not just in buildings, small and confining,
Not in some heaven, light years away,
Here in this place the new light is shining;
Now is God present, and now is the day.
Gather us in and hold us forever;
Gather us in and make us Your own;
Gather us in, all peoples together,
Fire of love in our flesh and our bone.

From the Covenant Hymnal, page 511

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FROM THE EPISTLES
1 Corinthians 8:1-6

Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. Anyone who claims to know something does not yet have the necessary knowledge; but anyone who loves God is known by Him.

Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “no idol in the world really exists,” and that “there is no God but one.” Indeed, even though there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as in fact there are many gods and many lords— yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

GLORY BE TO GOD CREATOR
Glory be to God, Creator,
Glory be to God the Son,
Glory be to God the Spirit,
Known as three, yet God the One.

As it was in the beginning,
It is now and so shall be
In a world without an ending,
Glory through eternity.

Holy, holy God Almighty,
Holy, holy Prince of Peace,
Holy, holy Wind of Presence,
Holy, holy, holy.

From the Covenant Hymnal, page 110

GOSPEL LESSON
Mark 1:21-29

21 They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, He entered the synagogue and taught. 22 They were astounded at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23 Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24 and he cried out, “What have You to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who You are, the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” 28 At once His fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.

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

(sung)
Glory be to the Father, 
And to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost:
As it was in the beginning,
Is now and ever shall be,
World without end. Amen, Amen.

REFLECTING ON THE WORD
Fishing for People, Casting out Demons
Pastor Denise

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FREEDOM
Step out of the shadows
Step out of the grave
Break into the wild
And don’t be afraid

Run into wide open spaces
Grace is waiting for you
Dance like the weight has been lifted
Grace is waiting

Where the Spirit of the Lord is
There is freedom, there is freedom
Where the Spirit of the Lord is
There is freedom, there is freedom
Come out of the dark just as you are
Into the fullness of His love
For the Spirit is here let there be freedom
Let there be freedom

Bring all of your burdens
Bring all of your scars
Come back to communion
Come back to the start

Chains will fall prisons shake
At the sound of Jesus’ name
Lives made whole hearts awake
At the sound of Jesus’ name

CCLI Song # 7078151 CCLI License # 349090
Brett Younker | Hank Bentley | Jordan Frye

Kristian Stanfill | Mia Fieldes© Capitol CMG Genesis

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
Marta Klein, serving in the Democratic Republic of Congo; Barb & Steve Swanson, serving in Sweden.

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

Tomorrow’s Ahead
led by AxiomBrass

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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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 set the stars to give light to the world;
The star of my life is Jesus.
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.
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’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.
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.

From the Covenant Hymnal, page 367

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

POSTLUDE
Finlandia by J. Sibelius
led by Cynthia

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


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.

Monday Night Bible Study


The Thursday night Bible study is moving to Monday nights for a spell, starting on Monday, February 1, and at a new time, 7 pm. (It will not meet this week.) The group is studying 1 Corinthians, and will examine the fourth chapter of the book a week from 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

Thank You!

Thank you for all the donations for Cornerstone Community Outreach! I had a trunkful to donate to them on Thursday! Thank you for your generosity to this ministry in Uptown that serves homeless families.

Pastor Denise

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 10: $1,186

General fund giving:
January 17: $1,225

Scripture for next Sunday
2 Kings 5:1-14
Psalm 30
Mark 1:30-31, 40-45

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)