Covenant Update
Dear Covenant Family:
Sunday was a great day at Covenant, we had 32 folks in attendance. We had an update from Michelle Miller on her granddaughter Sophia. She is recovering nicely from her surgery and is at home now, but still requires daily patches placed on her wound for healing. Continue to pray for Sophia and her parents Luke and Carolyn until Sophia’s healing is complete. Victoria MacArthur had a knee replacement this week and is recovering nicely at home, her nurse husband Paul is giving her complete care! Carolyn Vlacos asked for prayer for two of her brothers who have been hospitalized and one of them will be going into hospice.
Attached is today’s bulletin. Please pay attention to the prayer Tina included titled Think Before You Weep and also the story on the back cover titled Riches in Christ, as both relate to today’s sermon. Also note that this month’s ministry is FCA, which our church has supported strongly over the years and also which Pastor Don led for almost 20 years to get it really going locally. Pastor Don told us today that the FCA just had a football camp for about 24 area football teams. About 1,350 football players attended this camp and about 300 of them committed their lives to Jesus Christ at the camp. This is a powerful opportunity that FCA fills for bringing young people to God and this is the type of effort Covenant needs to support to help Christianity to continue to grow through young people who are our future! Also remember that this month has five Sundays so continue to bring your paper and cleaning goods for Pine Grove, for which you can donate through the middle of August this time.
Also, remember that Pastor Don has Publix food and gas cards for anyone in special need right now. Please note that Covenant has distributed over $1,000 in family assistance aid to some folks in need since we began this program about a month ago, mainly through these food and gas cards. If you know of anyone needing assistance right now, please speak to Pastor Don as he is the only one administering this program and will know the specifics of each situation. Also know that a number of Covenant members have contributed additional support to this effort! If you would like to contribute to this program, please write Family Assistance on your check for proper credit to your charitable donation. May God continue to bless this effort through Covenant Church and all of the families in need.
Pastor Don’s sermon today was titled Dry As A Bone and the scripture was from Ezekiel 37:1-10. Don began by saying a better name for the sermon may be Hopeless. Don started by saying all of us have had episodes of hopelessness in our lives. Verses 1 and 2 of this passage say:
Verses 1-2 – The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2 He had me pass among them all around, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and behold, they were very dry.
The Lord was clearly speaking to Ezekiel and showed him what was left in a hopeless field of dried bones. The Lord then asked Ezekiel a prophetic question:
Verse 3 – Then He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “Lord God, You Yourself know.”
It doesn’t matter how bleak any situation may be, God can always help. What we often think of as impossible is made possible by God. Pastor Don then told the story of how he was unconscious for 13 days as a 14-year old from a football injury. Yet God looked over him and he eventually woke up and recovered his health. God clearly took care of him when things were looking quite helpless to those around Don.
God then told Ezekiel how to pray for hope in this case in verses 4-6:
Verses 4-6 – Again He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them, ‘You dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.’ 5 This is what the Lord God says to these bones: ‘Behold, I am going to make breath enter you so that you may come to life. 6 And I will attach tendons to you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin, and put breath in you so that you may come to life; and you will know that I am the Lord.’”
Ezekiel obeyed God’s wishes and the immediate result is described in the next two verses:
Verses 7-8 – So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a loud noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, tendons were on them, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them.
9 Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘The Lord God says this: “Come from the four winds, breath, and breathe on these slain, so that they come to life.”’” 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath entered them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.
This vision given to Ezekiel by God represented the lifeless nation of Israel. Ezekiel was told to proclaim God’s pledge to restore the nation to life and give them His Spirit in true salvation and spiritual life. God’s plan raised up an army from the dead.
Pastor Don then gave the example of Jesus’ crucifixion leading to such intense sadness and hopelessness among His followers. Yet when they saw Him soon after His resurrection, they were overjoyed and came to life to spread His Word and the immediate result was described in
Acts 4:4 – But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
That led to the immense global growth of Christianity when many men and women came alive to His Word. However, unfortunately, today the world seems to be dead again spiritually. Pastor Don’s closing comments were that we can change the world again, but only if we all show and speak our Godliness and our faith to others, including the lost. If we do this, we can change the world and return to a nation and world of believers.
I wish each of you a very blessed and peaceful week ahead! Note that Cindy and I will be gone the next 2 Sundays for our annual family vacation in Hilton Head, so I will be unable to send messages out about the next 2 Sunday services. I look forward to seeing you all again in mid-August.
Ron
