The Lord Brings Hope to the Hopeless
Lost Hope Borne of Sin
Picture a valley, full of dry bones. It’s rather easy to envision. The book of Ezekiel is full of rich imagery used to illustrate important lessons.
The very dry bones are symbolic of those who reject Christ. They have lost all hope and created a manmade spiritual disaster. It sounds quite similar to today’s societal and cultural morass.
People, en masse, have sought so-called enlightenment apart from God’s Word for millennia while only making themselves, and their environments, more miserable hidden by the shallow facade of self-empowerment.
Hope Comes By Word and Spirit
Thankfully, those dry bones were promised a Savior. And that Savior came. He came for them, for you, and for me. Even though they were long dead, once the Word of the Lord was spoken to them the dry bones became alive again.
Importantly, the long dead were not only restored in their flesh and in their breath, they also had the Spirit of the Lord put into them. This is something that they did not have in their first life. Their second lives were even better than the first.
Thanks be to God to for the Spirit and the Word!
Here is the full sermon text from Ezekiel 37 :
The Valley of Dry Bones
1The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. 2 And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. 3 And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had 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, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.
11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”
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Announcements
Holy Week Service Times: Lent is quickly moving along. Holy Week will start on Sunday, April 2nd with Palm Sunday. Please note the below times and whether online or in person.
- Palm Sunday service will be held at our regular time of 11 am in person.
- The Passion Readings, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday services will be posted online ONLY.
- Easter morning will feature breakfast at 8 am and the Divine Service at 10 am in person..
Bible Study: Our midweek Bible study is on hiatus during Lent and will resume after Easter. Sunday morning class meets at church at 10 am.
Lenten Services: We will post a Lenten Vespers service each Wednesday online since we will not meet in person.
Donations: While we have suffered a decline in attendance since the pandemic, unfortunately, the expenses continue. If you wish to make a donation please mail them to the St. James post office box as that is a secure location. You may also donate online. We appreciate every dollar and thank you in advance for considering us.