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

DON’T FORGET TO REMEMBER

I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.” Psalm 77:12

Unfortunately, our memory isn’t perfect, and over time we are prone to forget things. It puts us in danger of suffering from spiritual amnesia; a condition in which we don’t remember God’s faithfulness in our life. It’s nothing new, and God’s people have been tragically forgetful from the beginning.

Take, for example, the children of Israel. While in Egypt, they saw God perform many signs and wonders. In the span of just a couple of chapters, we see the Israelites delivered from slavery and brought through the Red Sea, and then they are grumbling about not having food to eat. We want to say to them, “Don’t you remember what God just did for you? The water stood up like two walls, and you walked through the Red Sea on dry ground! Don’t you think that the God who can do that is also capable of giving you food to eat? Trust him!” When we read that, it’s easy to shake our heads in disbelief of the Israelites’ lack of faith. How could they not believe God would provide for them after all He had done?

But are we any better? Do we not often do the same thing as the Israelites? We fall into trials and ask God for help. He hears our prayers and at His perfect timing, rescue us. It makes us rejoice and sing His praises. However, within a few days it’s almost forgotten. We’re already looking to the next struggle on the horizon and finding reasons to worry, despair, complain and doubt God’s character.

This is not God’s will for our lives. He doesn’t want us to forget His goodness and constantly doubt Him. That is why He told the Israelites time and time again to remember Him and all the things He has done. When we remember how God previously helped us; it builds our faith and gives us confidence that He can do it again. Remember the most magnificent work God has ever done when He sent His only Son to die and free us from sin and death. Now, if He helped us get free from the terrible curse of sin, how much more will He help us in our daily troubles?

Let’s remember the goodness of our God and all He has done for us. And may His faithfulness of yesterday make us trust Him today and give us hope for tomorrow.

SUNDAY SCHOOL NEXT WEEK

SUNDAY SCHOOL – September 20, 2026

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Joshua Fights for God ~ Joshua 11: 6-9; Joshua 11: 16-23

Lesson Aims After participating in this lesson,

each learner will be able to:

1. Identify challenging phrases and contexts in the text.

2. Explain how Joshua's actions made way for the

receipt of the Lord's inheritance.

3. Discuss why this text presents challenges to modern readers.

Joshua 11:6–9 6 The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, because by this time tomorrow I will hand all of them, slain, over to Israel. You are to hamstring their horses and burn their chariots.” 7 So Joshua and his whole army came against them suddenly at the Waters of Merom and attacked them, 8 and the Lord gave them into the hand of Israel. They defeated them and pursued them all the way to Greater Sidon, to Misrephoth Maim, and to the Valley of Mizpah on the east, until no survivors were left. 9 Joshua did to them as the Lord had directed: He hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots.

God Defeats a Whole Army How will the people respond to heavily armed opposition from ruthless kings who resist? That’s the question behind today’s reading. We have skipped forward a few years past the entry into Canaan. Under Joshua’s leadership, the Israelites experienced victories from God—times when God did all of the fighting for them (see Josh. 6). The Israelites also met defeat and setback when some of them tried to hold back spoils of war (see the sin of Achan in Josh. 7). The pattern shows that God expects His people to conduct themselves as a nation of priests: God isn’t devoted to their cause as much as they must seek to be aligned with God (see Josh. 5:13–14). In some cases, Canaanites surrender and submit to what God is doing. Other times—as in Joshua 11—armed forces organize to oppose everything that God is wanting to accomplish through the establishment of Israel. In Joshua 11:1–5, the most powerful leaders of northern Canaanite territories create an alliance. Their combined army is like “sand on the seashore” (v. 4). Moreover, they are not just an army of foot soldiers; they have horse-drawn chariots (like armored tanks of the ancient world). A brilliant tactician such as Joshua might think to turn these weapons against the enemy, perhaps by capturing the chariots and arming them with Israelites who can win the next battle. But we see a counterintuitive strategy described by God. First, God says that this army is not to be feared, that they shall be overcome in a single day. Second, God asks Joshua to order the destruction of their horses and chariots after they have already been successfully captured (v. 6). Joshua prepares himself to give this order, which would raise many eyebrows and might lead to the question, “Couldn’t these have been put to use?” In the text that follows, we find only a brief description of the way the battle is won. The attack from Joshua’s forces is swift, showing their courage to oppose a strong army. And “the Lord gave [the Canaanites] into the hand of Israel” (v. 8). Nothing remains of the opposing army that seemed innumerable, like sand on the seashore.

Joshua 11:16–23 16 So Joshua took this entire land: the hill country, all the Negev, the whole region of Goshen, the western foothills, the Arabah and the mountains of Israel with their foothills, 17 from Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir, to Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon below Mount Hermon. He captured all their kings and put them to death. 18 Joshua waged war against all these kings for a long time. 19 Except for the Hivites living in Gibeon, not one city made a treaty of peace with the Israelites, who took them all in battle. 20 For it was the Lord himself who hardened their hearts to wage war against Israel, so that he might destroy them totally, exterminating them without mercy, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 21 At that time Joshua went and destroyed the Anakites from the hill country: from Hebron, Debir and Anab, from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua totally destroyed them and their towns. 22 No Anakites were left in Israelite territory; only in Gaza, Gath and Ashdod did any survive. 23 So Joshua took the entire land, just as the Lord had directed Moses, and he gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal divisions. Then the land had rest from war.

God Overcomes All Other Kings Joshua and his combined forces take possession of central and northern Canaan. This includes hills, desert, and mountainous regions—each with its own geography (v. 16). The various “kings” of each region should be understood as local tribal leaders in competition to hold power. According to Joshua 12, which includes a list extolling the victories that God gave, thirty-one kings were defeated in all. The description of God’s “[hardening] their hearts” (Josh. 11:20) of these warrior-kings can easily be misunderstood. It doesn’t mean that they had no free choice or ability to respond with humility to God’s desire to resettle Canaan. Verse 19 mentions a counterexample—the Gibeonites—who chose to make peace with Israel rather than face their God in battle (Josh. 9). Frequently Scripture describes God as the one able to “drive out” inhabitants of Canaan (Deut. 33:27; Josh. 24:12; compare Judg. 2:3). But for those who already made their decision to oppose this plan, God brings them together so that they can all be utterly defeated (Josh. 11:20). This includes the Anakites who are driven out and killed; they are descended from the Nephilim and the same people who were so large that Moses’ spies worried, “We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them” (Num. 13:33). God’s plan in all of this is found in Joshua 11:23. Again, Joshua is compared to Moses as a prophet and effective intermediary (one who can share what God desires). Faithfulness to what God expects results in Israel’s receipt of their “inheritance,” meaning the territory that had been promised to Abraham and his descendants. The phrase describing a “rest” from war shows that God’s design is for peace and security to reign among His people in their new homes.

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. On May 03, 2026, we celebrated our 12th 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.