October 16, 2022 | Ravenswood Evangelical Covenant Church

Worship live on Sundays in person,
or on Facebook & YouTube at 10:45 am.

Children’s Sunday School for ages K-7th grade at 9:30 am in-person.
Faith Forum (adult Sunday School) at 9:30 am in person and on Zoom.

October 16, 2022

PRE-SERVICE MUSIC

PRELUDE
“The Family Prayer Song”
Morris Chapman
led by Dana

WELCOME & GREETING, COMMUNITY LIFE

CALL TO WORSHIP
from Psalm 9:9–20
Leader: The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,
People: a stronghold in times of trouble.
L: And those who know your name put their trust in You,
P: for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.

L: Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion.
P: Declare his deeds among the peoples.
L: For He who avenges blood is mindful of them;
P: He does not forget the cry of the afflicted.

L: Be gracious to me, O Lord.
P: See what I suffer from those who hate me;
You are the one who lifts me up from the gates of death,
L: so that I may recount all Your praises
P: and, in the gates of daughter Zion,

L: The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;
P: in the net that they hid has their own foot been caught.
L: The Lord has made Himself known; He has executed judgment;
P: the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.

L: The wicked shall depart to Sheol,
P: all the nations that forget God.

L: For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
P: nor the hope of the poor perish forever.

L: Rise up, O Lord!
P: Do not let mortals prevail;
let the nations be judged before You.
L: Put them in fear, O Lord;
P: let the nations know that they are only human.

IMMORTAL, INVISIBLE, GOD ONLY WISE
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.

Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
nor wanting, nor wasting, Thou rulest in might;
Thy justice like mountains high soaring above
Thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.

To all life Thou givest, to both great and small;
in all life Thou livest, the true life of all;
we blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
and wither and perish but naught changeth Thee.

Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
all praise we would render, O help us to see
’tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee.

Covenant Hymnal, #10

GOSPEL LESSON
(Stand as you are able for the reading of the Gospel.)
Matthew 4:8-10

Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, ⁹and he said to Him, “All these I will give You, if You will fall down and worship me.” ¹⁰Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,

‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only Him.’ ”

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

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

chorus
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

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

Covenant Hymnal, #367

OLD TESTAMENT LESSON
Joshua 24:1-15

Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel, and they presented themselves before God. ²And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors—Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor—lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods. ³Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac, ⁴and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the hill country of Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. ⁵Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in its midst, and afterward I brought you out. ⁶When I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued your ancestors with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. ⁷When they cried out to the Lord, He put darkness between you and the Egyptians and made the sea come upon them and cover them, and your eyes saw what I did to Egypt. Afterward you lived in the wilderness a long time. ⁸Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other side of the Jordan; they fought with you, and I handed them over to you, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you. ⁹Then King Balak son of Zippor of Moab set out to fight against Israel. He sent and invited Balaam son of Beor to curse you, ¹⁰but I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he blessed you, so I rescued you out of his hand. ¹¹When you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, the citizens of Jericho fought against you, as well as the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I handed them over to you. ¹²I sent swarms of hornets ahead of you that drove out before you the two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your bow. ¹³I gave you a land on which you had not labored and towns that you had not built, and you live in them; you eat the fruit of vineyards and oliveyards that you did not plant.

¹⁴“Now, therefore, revere the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt and serve the Lord. ¹⁵Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living, but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

CHILDREN’S MOMENT
Pastor Denise

Children 6 and under are dismissed to Children’s Church in the upstairs lounge. Parents, please pick up your children from the lounge after the worship service.

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
No Other God
Pastor Mark

THE FAMILY PRAYER SONG
Come and fill our home with Your presence
You alone are worthy of our rev’rence

chorus
As for me and my house
We will serve the Lord
As for me and my house
We will serve the Lord
As for me and my house
We will serve the Lord
We will serve the Lord

Lord we vow to live holy
Bowing our knees to You only

bridge
Staying together
Praying together
Any storm we can weather
Trusting in God’s Word
We need each other
Fathers and mothers
Sisters and brothers
In harmony and love

PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH & THE LORD’S PRAYER
We continue to pray for: Nikolas Arden, Messian Burgos, Vira Coszach, Gloria Evenson, Pedro Gomez, Art & Rosa Hamilton, Mary McKirchy, Shirley Nicholas, our Pastoral Search Committee, Mary Smith, and Esther Stoel

Ministries & Mission
Adrienne & Ken Satterberg, serving in France; Carlos & Karen Feijoo, serving in Ecuador

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@administrator

OFFERTORY
“If My People”
Jimmy Owen
led by Erin 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.

IT IS YOU
As we lift up our hands
Will You meet us here?
As we call on Your name
Will You meet us here?
We have come to this place
To worship You
God of mercy and grace

It is You
We adore
It is You
Praises are for
Only You
The heaven’s declare
It is You
It is You

Holy, holy is our God Almighty
Holy, holy is His name alone
Holy, holy is our God Almighty
Holy, holy is His name alone

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

POSTLUDE
Chaconne in D
Johann Pachelbel
led by Cynthia

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

music as we go, by axiom.brass

Worship update
The Leadership Team of Ravenswood Covenant Church recommends mask use during services, but this is not mandatory.

Ravenswood Covenant livestreams worship each week on YouTube and Facebook, so Sunday morning worship will remain accessible to anyone who has Internet access.

Lawn signs
If you have a farmers market lawn sign, please return it to the church office. The lawn signs are undated and are therefore reusable next year. Thanks for putting it out in your yard this farmers market season!

Indoor Playground
Indoor Playground is back! Our weekly cold-weather opportunity to let young children run around in our gym, play with toys, and use the bounce house. will return for the first time since the pandemic on Thursday, October 20. Indoor Playground will be open every Thursday afternoon from 4:30 to 5:30 pm.

Thursday night community dinner
Our Thursday night community dinners will resume on a periodic basis beginning Thursday, October 20, followed by October 27, November 10, and November 17. The dinners are open to everyone. Suggested donation is $5 for individuals, $10 for families.

Neighborhood Yoga
Certified Yoga Instructor Deb Auger will be teaching a four-week Adult Yoga class in our community room on Wednesdays from 6:30-7:15 pm, starting October 26. The first session and the November 2 session are free; the fee for the third and fourth sessions are $15 each. To register or for more information, contact Deb at auger.deb@gmail.com.

Choir begins in October
Choir rehearsal for the Christmas season will start at the end of this month on Sunday, October 30. The choir will rehearse each Sunday at 8:30 am through Christmas. This is an opportunity for everyone, not just trained singers or choir veterans, to take part. For more information, please speak to Cynthia Arden or contact the church office.

Neighbor seeks aid
A woman in our community is seeking someone who can assist with the care of her son, who is 34 years old and has multiple sclerosis. Her son is bedridden and needs a minimum of 40 hrs/week care. The person assisting would need to feed her son breakfast each day (not weekends) and clean him as needed (bathroom cleaning) as well as sponge baths. He is confined to bed, so there would not be the regular difficulties in moving him in and out of bed.

They live on N. Lincoln Avenue, close to Budlong Elementary School. Light cleaning and vacuuming of his room would be expected, but no cleaning of the rest of the house. Pay is $16 to $17/hour.

For more information, please contact Gregory in the church office.

Aid for Ukrainian refugees
Jeremy and Amanda Foster, who attend our church, have a direct connection to a mission that is serving refugees who have fled Ukraine following the Russian invasion. Jeremy’s parents Don and Beatrice Foster are in Hazebrouck, France as tentmaker missionaries and have prepared rooms in their home for refugees coming from Ukraine.

If you would like to donate to help the Fosters pay for extra food and supplies, please give a donation to Ravenswood Covenant that is specially designated for Ukrainian refugees. If you would like to give directly online, the website for the Fosters is https://ukraine.la-ferme-de-la-papote.com/ .

The Covenant denomination is also raising funds for Ukraine through Covenant World Relief. Here is the link if you would like to donate through the Covenant’s program. https://giving.covchurch.org/priorities-detail/ukraine-response

Thursday evening adult Bible study
The weekly Bible study meets every Thursday at 7 pm. We are currently studying the book of Romans. The Bible study meets in the lounge, and is also accessible by Zoom. For more information, please contact Gregory Sager in the church office at (773) 784-7091 or office@ravenscov.org.

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.”

RECC preaching schedule for October
October 2: Pastor Denise
October 9: Pastor Jay Catanus
October 16: Pastor Mark
October 23: Mary Spriggs
October 30: Steve Swanson

Scripture for next Sunday
Matthew 21:33-41
2 Samuel 11:1-5, 26-27; 12:1-9
Psalm 51:1-9

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.