Faith Covenant Christian Church

11:00 a.m. Service

CALL TO WORSHIP

*INVOCATION

*CONGREGATIONAL HYMN

*RESPONSIVE READING

*PRAYER

SONG OF PRAISE AND WORSHIP

WELCOME / ANNOUNCEMENTS / FELLOWSHIP

OFFERTORY PRAYER AND OFFERING

*INTERCESSORY PRAYER

*PRAYER OF FAITH AND COMMITMENT

SPECIAL MUSIC

WORD OF GOD – Pastor Nokomis Yeldell, Jr.

*INVITATION TO SALVATION AND DISCIPLESHIP

PRAYER OF COMMITMENT

Dear God, I know that I am a sinner. I want to turn from my sins, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe that Jesus Christ is Your Son. I believe He died for my sins and that You raised Him to life. I want Him to come into my heart and to take control of my life. I want to trust Jesus as my Savior and follow Him as my Lord from this day forward.

In Jesus’ Name, amen.

[You may join Faith Covenant Christian Church by: Baptism, Christian Experience,

Re-Dedication, Transfer Letter, or Watch Care]

HOLY COMMUNION (1st Sunday Of Every Month)

BENEDICTION

This Week's Message

Date: March 01, 2026

Preacher: Pastor Nokomis Yeldell, Jr.

Sermon: A Purpose Driven Life

Scripture: 1 Samuel 17: 32-27

32 David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.” 33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”

Joined at the heart — loving God by loving others!

Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second like to it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Many of us can recite Jesus’ words about the two greatest commandments—loving God and loving our neighbor—but we often miss how deeply intertwined they are. We treat them like separate tasks: one for God, one for people. The second commandment isn’t just next in line—it shares the same nature. This small detail radically changes how we understand the passage: loving others is essential to loving God.

To love God with all your heart, soul, and strength is also to love your neighbor. The two are inseparable. If we claim to adore God but harbor bitterness or indifference toward those around us, we aren’t fulfilling the first commandment at all. As John said, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar” (1 John 4:20).

Every act of kindness, patience, or selfless love toward others reflects our love for God. Each interaction becomes a sacred chance to live out His heart. When we serve instead of demand, forgive instead of retaliate, and bless instead of curse, we’re not just doing good—we’re mirroring the character of our God.

God didn’t give us abstract ideals; He gave us a way to live. His commandments are not just rules, but daily invitations to shift our hearts from selfishness to love. As we consistently walk in His ways, loving others becomes second nature because our love for God becomes alive and genuine. These two commands were never meant to stand apart—they are joined by design, each strengthening the other and drawing us deeper into relationship with Him.

This is the heartbeat of the Kingdom: love that flows upward in worship to God and outward in love, mercy, and grace toward people. It’s not a love that stays in the pews or within the pages of Scripture—it moves, it serves, and it sacrifices. And as we walk this path daily, that love begins to shape us. Slowly, we reflect the heart of the One who loved us first, whose life was the perfect picture of love in action. In following God, love becomes more than an idea—it becomes our way of life.

SUNDAY SCHOOL NEXT WEEK

SUNDAY SCHOOL – March 01, 2026

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Watching Our Consumption - Daniel 1:8–17; 1 Timothy 4:7–8

Lesson Aims: After participating in this lesson,

each learner will be able to:

1. List the components of Daniel’s proposal and its results.

2. Outline ways to cultivate mental, physical and spiritual

health by seeking true and wholesome things.

3. Make an inventory of daily habits and plan adjustments

to honor God with time, diet and attention.

Daniel 1:8–14

8 But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. 9 Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel, 10 but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.” 11 Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” 14 So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.

Faithful in Exile Daniel and his three friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, were taken to Babylon from their home country of Judah. They didn’t ask for this fate. For many years, Judah was weakened and corrupted by inadequate kings. God allowed Babylon to lay siege to Jerusalem and to send many people into exile. Daniel and his friends are young and capable, which is why they have been chosen for future service in the courts of King Nebuchadnezzar. They would learn the language and customs of Babylon. Over time, their identities are expected to shift and to change, and they receive new Babylonian names to match. These servants-in-training are fed well, with food and wine from the king’s own table. Their position is meant to help them adapt to new lives, exiled far from their homeland and families. For three years, they would be apprenticed in this role. But in verse 8, Daniel makes a hard decision: not to “defile himself” with all these fancy things to eat. It could mean several things. Perhaps the food did not fit the requirements of Israel’s covenant agreement (see Lev. 11). Alternatively, the royal food might have been offered to idols and false gods. Or, perhaps Daniel notices that accepting rich food would signal disloyalty to his people, who were struggling and starving. Whatever the reasons, Daniel wants to remain a faithful servant of the one, true God. By taking a stand, he invites his friends to join his commitment to faithfulness. Even as a slave in the court of a foreign king, Daniel is treated with respect by the chief official (Dan. 1:3). He lives in such a way that others notice and show “favor and compassion” (Dan. 1:9). But the king’s chief official is concerned that Daniel and his companions will look thin and unhealthy if they eat only vegetables and water (v. 12). Thus Daniel devises a test. He and his friends shall eat this restrictive diet for ten days, after which time their appearance can be compared to the rest. If these exiles of Judah remain faithful to God, they expect God to be faithful in return, meeting all of their needs.

Daniel 1:15–17; 1 Timothy 4:7–8

15 At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. 16 So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead. 17 To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds. . . .

7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

Faithful in All Circumstances In each age, God invites His people to be faithful. When ancient Israelites were worshiping Baal, Elijah hears that seven thousand servants remain, kept safe by God (1 Kings 19:18). When fearsome armies threaten, God promises that a remnant shall endure (Isa. 10:21–21). And in Daniel’s time, the exiles to Babylon step into the role. They must pay attention to what they do and say, even what they eat in a foreign land. The four men pass their self-devised test. At the end of ten days of eating a restrictive diet in the Babylonian court, they appear healthier than all the rest (Dan. 1:15). God’s faithfulness goes beyond preserving their physical health: they receive great “knowledge and understanding” (v. 17). And Daniel is singled out for his ability to interpret “visions and dreams.” Because the exiles do not depart from faithful living, God helps them succeed in other things. Like other ancient people, the Babylonians see dreams as powerful messages from the gods. Their people seek to understand dreams through divination, but Daniel has this gift of interpretation from the one, true God. He can use his skill for the success of his new home (compare Jer. 29:7). But while living in Babylon, he and his friends shall not lose their identity as God’s servants. For the second reading, we move forward more than six centuries. The challenge of walking faithfully with God continues, even after Judah returns to the land. Jews struggle with foreign kings and rulers who disrupt worship of God or who mock those waiting for God’s deliverance. But at the coming of Jesus, God’s deliverance arrives. Jesus is the ultimate demonstration of faithfulness to God’s purposes: a servant of God who sacrifices His life for the good of others. Followers of Christ still live in a kind of exile, in a world not fully reconciled to Him. In a letter to Timothy, Paul encourages his ministry partner. He knows that living faithfully can be a challenge, when culture exercises a powerful influence. Some Christians at the time were reacting by multiplying restrictions, forbidding marriage and certain foods (1 Tim. 4:3). But Paul teaches that faithfulness in this age is not about mere physical things, like what we eat or whether we are married. He tells Timothy to “train” like an athlete might train—to train in godliness (1 Tim. 4:7–8). What we consume with our mouths is important, since God created the physical world. But training in godliness will have lasting, eternal effects. Pursuing godliness means that we evaluate what we use to entertain ourselves, the stories we tell, and whether we are rejecting the influence of evil (see 1 Tim.4:1, 7). By turning our minds to God and the pursuit of truth, we demonstrate “hope in the living God” (v. 10), which is the ultimate act of faithfulness.

About Us

OUR HISTORY

Faith Covenant Christian Church began on February 27, 2014 following a fellowship dinner for displaced former members of Crossroads Christian Church. Following that first meeting, we formed a Planning Committee and began meeting @ Best Western Hotel at Cedar Bluff.

On May 7, 2014, we adopted the name Faith Covenant Christian Church, with our foundational verse being Jeremiah 50:5. On June 22, 2014 an invitation to membership was given by Rev A. David Baxter and 21 people united with Faith Covenant Christian Church. Women’s and Men’s Ministries began having regular meetings. In September 2014, we began having Sunday School and Wednesday Night Bible Study. In November, Youth Ministry began. By the end of 2014, ten more people joined, three as new converts. We moved to 1027 Summer Wood Drive on April 1, 2015. Following a yearlong pastor search, Violet P. McRoy, was called as pastor on April 18, 2016. In March 2018, Pastor McRoy resigned as pastor, due to poor health and other personal issues. God quickly responded to our prayer-laden search and Nokomis Yeldell, Jr. was elected to the pastoral position on April 16, 2018. On Easter Sunday in 2025, we moved into a new sanctuary at 1021 Summer Wood Drive. In May, 2025, we celebrated our 11th church anniversary and are looking onward, upward and forward to serving God faithfully.

OUR PASTOR

Nokomis Yeldell, Jr.

Pastor Yeldell was born in Mt Pleasant, Texas, the third of five children of Nokomis and Dollie Pearl Yeldell. His father, also a Pastor for over 60 years, was called to Memphis, TN, where Nokomis Jr. grew up. Following graduation Pastor Yeldell attended Southwestern Christian College. He then served four years in the United States Air Force. He then decided to move to Knoxville, TN to further his education. After serving in leadership capacities in various ministries at Foster Chapel Baptist Church, Pastor Yeldell was called into the ministry in 2010.

Faith Covenant Christian Church represents Pastor Yeldell’s third and prayerfully final pastorate.

WHAT WE BELIEVE

FAITH COVENANT Christian Church accepts the Holy Scriptures as the revealed will of God, the all-sufficient rule of faith and practice, and holds to the following foundational truths:

1. The One True God

GOD IS… He is the eternally existent and immutable Father, Creator of the Universe and everything therein. He is the Lord of heaven and earth, and in Him we move and have our being. He is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth. Our Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—is One God in three distinct persons: one in essence and purpose and distinct in personality and function. He is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. He is the essence of love, goodness, faithfulness, kindness, mercy, grace, holiness, righteousness, and justice.

2. The Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ is the eternally existent Son of the living God, the fullness of the Godhead bodily, the image of the invisible God, and the firstborn of all creation. Through Him was made everything that is made—things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things are held together.

He was born of a virgin, and lived a sinless life. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God through His substitutionary death on the cross. He was resurrected bodily from the dead, and sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us.

3. The Work of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the Counselor, the Spirit of Truth, who goes out from the Father and testifies about the Son. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of guilt in regards to sin and righteousness and judgment. He is given to all who believe, for Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit according to the promise of God the Father, who gives the Spirit without limit. The Holy Spirit lives with us and in us, bringing about the endowment of power for life and service, as well as the bestowment of the gifts and their uses in the work of the ministry. These gifts of the Holy Spirit, distributed according to His own will (Hebrews 2:4) include: prophecy, service, teaching, encouragement, contributing to the needs of others, leadership, mercy (Romans 12:6-8), message of wisdom, message of knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous powers, distinguishing between spirits (discernment), tongues, interpretation of tongues (1 Corinthians 12:7-11).

4. Salvation from the Penalty of Sin

By grace, through faith, we are saved from the penalty of sin. Mankind, though made in the image of God, has inherited through the first man, Adam, a sinful nature. By this nature, all mankind has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and thereby, was alienated from God; dead in transgressions—gratifying the cravings, desires, and thoughts of the sinful nature; following the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air; stirring up wrath against himself for the day of God’s wrath, when His righteous judgment will be revealed. But God did not appoint mankind to suffer wrath, but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—and saved us by His grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

5. Salvation from the Power of Sin

By grace, through faith, we are saved from the power of sin. Having been crucified with Christ, we put to death the deeds of the body so that sin shall have no dominion over our mortal bodies. We have received the Spirit who is from God so that we may live by faith, understanding what God has freely given us to accomplish His purpose:

He has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our personal knowledge of Him as Savior and Lord.
He has given us His precious and magnificent promises by which we may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
He has given us apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ, His church, may be built up.
He has given to us the manifestation of the Spirit through spiritual gifts for the common good.
He has given us the ministry of reconciliation: that by word and deed we might aim to bring others into harmony with Him.

6. Salvation from the Presence of Sin

By grace, through faith, we are saved from the presence of sin, for the Lord Jesus died and rose again, and will Himself come down from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God. The dead in Christ shall rise first, and we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then the end will come, when He hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. And there shall be a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth will pass away. And we shall dwell with God in the Holy City, the New Jerusalem. We shall be His people, and God Himself will be with us and be our God. He will wipe every tear from our eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things will have passed away.

7. The Inspiration and Inerrancy of Scripture

God’s Word is TRUTH. The Holy Scriptures (both the Old and New Testament) is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God. We are saved from the penalty, power, and presence of sin by grace through faith that comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God, which testifies of Jesus Christ. By His Word, God has revealed Himself, His plan, His purpose, and His ways—so that we would come to Him to receive eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.

OUR MINISTRIES

Faith Covenant Christian Church operates under a FIVE FOLD Ministry concept

I EXALTATION

Deacons- Bro. Reggie Lindsey

Holy Sacraments And Sacred Days – Sis. Earlenia Lindsey

Media- Sis. Tiaeshia Kelso, Bro. Anthony Lindsey

Music- Bro. Reggie Lindsey

Program – Sis. Earlenia Lindsey

Public Relations – Bro. Reggie Lindsey, Sis. Sabrina T. Wilson

Pulpit – Pastor Nokomis Yeldell, Jr.

Reconciliation – Ministerial Council

Ushers – Sis. Teresa Farmer

II ENABLING

Benevolence – Sis. Earlenia Lindsey

Food Pantry – Bro. Karl Townes

Hospitality – Sis. Teresa Farmer

Intercessory Prayer – Sis. Earlenia Lindsey

Missions – Sis. Earlenia Lindsey

III EDUCATION

Bible Study – Pastor Nokomis Yeldell, Jr.

Youth Church –

Sunday School – Bro. Reggie Lindsey

Supplemental Education And Training – Bro. Reggie Lindsey

Vacation Bible School –

IV EDIFICATION

Church-Wide Edification – Sis. Sabrina T. Wilson

Men’s Ministry – Bro. Karl Towns

Women’s Ministry (WICS) – Sis. Teresa Farmer

Youth – Sis. Earlenia Lindsey

V EQUIPPING

Administration – Sis. Sabrina T. Wilson

Finance – Sis. Teresa Farmer, Sis. Tiaeshia Kelso, Sis. Sabrina T. Wilson

Transportation – Bro. Karl Towns

Trustees – Bro. Karl Towns

Kitchen Ministry / Special Events – Sis. Teresa Farmer

Comfort And Care Ministry - Pastor Nokomis Yeldell, Jr.