January 30, 2022 | Ravenswood Evangelical Covenant Church

January 30, 2022
Adult Sunday School convenes at 9:30 on Zoom and in-person

PRE-SERVICE MUSIC

PRELUDE
“The Lord’s Prayer”
Albert Hay Mallotte
led by Mary

WELCOME & GREETING

CALL TO WORSHIP
based on Psalm 42

Leader: As a deer longs for flowing streams
People: So my soul longs for you, O God.

L: My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
P: My soul thirsts for the Lord.

COME TO THE WATER
O let all who thirst
Let them come to the water
And let all who have nothing
Let them come to the Lord
Without money, without price
Why should you pay the price
Except for the Lord?

And let all who seek
Let them come to the water
And let all who have nothing
Let them come to the Lord
Without money, without strife
Why should you spend your life
Except for the Lord?

And let all who toil
Let them come to the water
And let all who are weary
Let them come to the Lord
All who labor without rest
How can your soul find rest
Except for the Lord?

And let all the poor
Let them come to the water
And let the ones who are laden
Bring them all to the Lord
Bring the children without might
Easy the load and light
Come to the Lord …

SERVICE OF DEDICATION
Emmy May Johnson
daughter of Kari and Neal Johnson

CHILDREN OF THE HEAVENLY FATHER
Children of the heav’nly Father
Safely in His bosom gather;
Nesting bird nor star in heaven
Such a refuge e’er was given.

God His own doth tend and nourish,
In His holy courts they flourish;
From all evil things He spares the,
In His mighty arms He bears them.

Neither life nor death shall ever
From the Lord His children sever;
Unto them His grace He showeth,
And their sorrows all He knoweth.

Praise the Lord in joyful numbers,
Your protector never slumbers;
At the will of your Defender
Ev’ry foeman must surrender.

Though He giveth or He taketh,
God His children ne’er forsaketh;
His the loving purpose solely
To preserve them pure and holy.

Tryg-ga-re kan ing-en va-ra
An Guds lil-la bar-na-ska-ra;
Stjar-nan ej pa him-la-fas-tet,
Fa-geln ej i kan-da nas-tet.

Covenant Hymnal, #87

GOSPEL LESSON
(Stand as you are able for the reading of the Gospel.)
John 4:1-42

Now when Jesuslearned that the Pharisees had heard, “Jesus is making and baptizing more disciples than John” ²—although it was not Jesus Himself but his disciples who baptized— ³He left Judea and started back to Galilee. ⁴But He had to go through Samaria. ⁵So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. ⁶Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by His journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.

⁷A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” ⁸(His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) ⁹The Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that You, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) ¹⁰Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” ¹¹The woman said to him, “Sir, You have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do You get that living water? ¹²Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” ¹³Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” ¹⁵The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

¹⁶Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” ¹⁷The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; ¹⁸for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” ¹⁹The woman said to Him, “Sir, I see that You are a prophet. ²⁰Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but You say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” ²¹Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²²You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship Him. ²⁴God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” ²⁵The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” ²⁶Jesus said to her, “I am he, the One who is speaking to you.”

²⁷Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” ²⁸Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, ²⁹“Come and see a Man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can He?” ³⁰They left the city and were on their way to him.

³¹Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” ³²But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” ³³So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought Him something to eat?” ³⁴Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to complete His work. ³⁵Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. ³⁶The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. ³⁷For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ ³⁸I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

³⁹Many Samaritans from that city believed in Him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” ⁴⁰So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days. ⁴¹And many more believed because of His word. ⁴²They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.”

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

I HEARD THE VOICE OF JESUS SAY
verse 2 only

I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Behold, I freely give
The living water, thirsty one,
Stoop down and drink and live.”
I came to Jesus and I drank
Of that life giving stream;
My thirst was quench’d, my soul revived,
And now I live in Him.

Covenant Hymnal, #325

Children ages 3-5 are dismissed to the fellowship hall at this time for Children’s Church.

TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
Don’t lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him
And He will direct your paths.
Al-le-lu-ia, Al-le-lu-ia, and
He will direct your paths.

REFLECTING ON THE WORD
Well, Well, Well
Pastor Phil

HAVE MERCY ON ME
chorus
Let Your mercy flow through us
Your mercy Your mercy
Let Your mercy flow through us
Your mercy Your mercy

verse
The beauty of the Lord is the suff’ring of the Lord
Is Christ upon a tree stripped of dignity
The glory of the Lord is the mercy of the Lord
Gives life for us to see a new humanity

bridge
When they see us
May they see Your mercy Your mercy
When they know us
May they know Your mercy Your mercy

bridge
Bless the hands and feet of those who serve in need
Of the broken and ashamed
Bless the weary soul the Lord will make us whole
God speak peace to those afraid
May the words we speak build a bridge for peace
Your loving-kindness shows the way
Open up our doors
Giving refuge for all the weary and afraid

CCLI Song # 7097864 CCLI License # 349090
David Gungor | Latifah Alattas © Porter’s Gate Publications

PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH & THE LORD’S PRAYER
We continue to pray for: Kristine Brandel’s family, Nikolas Arden, Shirley Nicholas, Art & Rosa Hamilton, Esther Stoel, the Koeller family, Mary Smith, Delores and Steve Staurseth, Jane Auger, Mary McKirchy, and the former congregation of Immanuel Evangelical Covenant Church.

Ministries & Mission
Covenant Kids Congo; 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 & OFFERING
giving opportunities: ravenscov.org/giving/
Zelle^® to: giving@ravenscov.org

OFFERTORY
led by Dana

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.

COMMUNITY LIFE

WE’VE A STORY TO TELL TO THE NATIONS
We’ve a story to tell to the nations,
That shall turn their hearts to the right,
A story of truth and mercy,
A story of peace and light, a story of peace and light.

chorus
For the darkness shall turn to dawning,
And the dawning to noon-day bright
And Christ’s great kingdom shall come on earth,
The kingdom of love and light.

We’ve a song to be sung to the nations,
That shall lift their hearts to the Lord,
A song that shall conquer evil
And shatter the spear and sword,
And shatter the spear and sword.

chorus

We’ve a message to give to the nations,
That the Lord who reigns high above
Has sent us His Son to save us,
And show us that God is love,
And show us that God is love.

chorus

We’ve a Savior to show to the nations,
Who the path of sorrow has trod,
That all of the world’s great peoples
Might come to the truth of God,
Might come to the truth of God.

chorus

Covenant Hymnal, #688

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

POSTLUDE
“A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”
Martin Luther
led by 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 axiom.brass

Covid restrictions for in-person worship
Chicago is now requiring the use of masks for indoor public gatherings, so Ravenswood Covenant has reinstated safety protocols for Sunday morning worship. This means that within the building masks are required at all times, regardless of vaccination status; seating is socially distant; and handshakes and hugs are avoided.

We are still observing precautions regarding children, specifically with regard to the cry room. As was the case before, if you and your family would like to worship in the cry room, please reserve it in advance by contacting Gregory Sager at office@ravenscov.org or 773-784-7091. One family may choose to use the cry room upon arrival if it hasn’t already been reserved. Children of all ages are always welcome to be in the sanctuary with their parents for the worship service!

Ravenswood Covenant will continue to livestream worship each week on YouTube and Facebook; this is now a permanent feature of our ministry, so Sunday morning worship will remain accessible to anyone who has Internet access.

2021 Giving Statements
The giving statements for 2021 will be available this week for everyone who gave to the church last year.

Even though the pandemic has kept many people from visiting the church building, we ask that, if possible, you still observe our long-held custom of picking up your giving statement yourself. This spares the church the expense of mailing them all out. You can pick them up from the church office anytime this week, and they will also be made available next Sunday morning.

Faith Forum
Faith Forum, our adult Sunday School class, meets every week in the upstairs lounge at 9:30 am. It operates in a hybrid format; you are invited to attend in person, but if you do so, please wear a mask. As was the case last year, the class will also have a Zoom component for those who wish to attend remotely. The Zoom link can be found at the top of the online bulletin every week. Pastor Phil is currently leading Faith Forum in a study of the book of Romans.

Thursday evening adult Bible study
Our weekly Bible study meets on Thursday evenings at 7 pm. We are currently studying the book of Colossians. We welcome anybody to the upstairs lounge on Thursday evenings who wants to take part in the Bible study. Please wear a mask. If you would prefer to participate remotely, or if you are out of town, the Bible study will continue to provide Zoom access as well for online participants.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/95052558015?pwd=N3d1eFpUUmUwenhCSzNJNUk3WEV2QT09

The Zoom meeting ID for the Bible study: 972 871 4458
The Zoom passcode for the Bible study: 1qa3CD

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.”

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 773-784-7091 for more information.

Scripture for next Sunday
Psalm 40:1-5
John 4:46-54

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.