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: October 04, 2026

Preacher: Pastor Nokomis Yeldell, Jr.

Sermon: Never Doubt The Lord

Scripture: Daniel 3: 14, 16-17

13 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14 and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? 15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?” 16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand.

WORSHIP THE LORD ALONE

In our postmodern world, many are now claiming that there are many different gods, and they all offer the same thing. They do not worship the one true God and are leading many astray. Others claim belief in one God, but it is in the wrong God. This problem was not just a problem that Joshua and the Israelites faced but is a problem we all face.

Should we just let others live their lifestyles and live our own way? Joshua is speaking to the entire nation of Israel. He is not worried about being offensive, but He is concerned about glorifying God and saving His people. He tells them that they are wrong for serving false gods. He does not let the idea of a false tolerance creep in and say that it is all right for them to live the way they want to as long as they let them live the way he wants to.

We may not think that this affects us. We do not serve Allah or Buddha. We claim that the only God that we serve is the Christian God, but is this so? Do we serve other gods that do not at first appear to be gods? The truth is that we often serve security, wealth, or our bank accounts. These things do not appear to be gods, which is why it is so easy to give into them. Satan has had a facelift for our times, so he is harder to recognize - but just as deadly. Even if we don’t follow other false gods, we must be careful that we do not make these worldly things into gods. When we do, others will learn that God is something that we only do on Sundays and Wednesdays.

The idols that we need to remove from our lives are anything that we prioritize or worship above God. These idols can take many forms, such as material possessions, status, relationships, or even our own desires and ambitions. When we place these things above God, we are turning away from His commandments and choosing to serve something other than Him. We must also identify and remove anything that hinders our relationship with God, just as Joshua warned the Israelites to rid themselves of the idols that were among them. We are making a conscious decision to commit ourselves fully to God by removing these idols from our lives. We are acknowledging His authority and sovereignty over us, and recognizing that He alone deserves our worship and devotion. We affirm our commitment to serve God alone as we strive to remove idols from our lives. We demonstrate our love and devotion to God by putting Him first in all things and casting aside anything that threatens to draw us away from Him. We are faced with the same decision as Joshua when he called the Israelites to choose whom they would serve. We should be diligent in recognizing and removing any idols from our lives, so that we may wholeheartedly serve and worship the Lord our God.

Just as we commit wholeheartedly to our work and family, let us also choose to serve the Lord with passion and dedication. Let’s leave behind distractions and prioritize our faith above all else. Our created purpose is to serve Christ. Are you ready to make the decision today to serve the Lord wholeheartedly?

SUNDAY SCHOOL NEXT WEEK

SUNDAY SCHOOL – October 11, 2026

____________________________

A Faithless Generation ~ Judges 2:6–15

AIM FOR CHANGE:

TELL why we need to listen to and obey God's commands;

REFLECT on the impact of our obedience and disobedience

in our relationship with God;

ASK God to help us to obey Him.

6 After Joshua had dismissed the Israelites, they went to take possession of the land, each to their own inheritance. 7 The people served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel. 8 Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten. 9 And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Heres in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 10 After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.

Joshua’s final charge called Israel to covenant faithfulness and warned against serving the gods of Canaan. His departure marked the close of the unified conquest under the leader appointed after Moses. Israel now faced the responsibility of continuing in obedience without Joshua’s direct guidance. The tribes returned to the territories assigned to them by the Lord through Joshua. God had fulfilled His covenant promise to give Canaan to Abraham’s descendants, yet the remaining inhabitants still had to be driven out through faithful dependence on Him. Israel’s success in settling the land was inseparable from its obedience to God’s commands. Every tribe received its allotted portion according to God’s wise distribution, and each family had a place within the covenant land. The inheritance testified that the land belonged ultimately to the Lord, who gave it to His people as a gift and stewardship.

God's promises are reliable and trustworthy. Just as He fulfilled His promise to give Israel the land, He will fulfill His promises to us. Joshua's role in leading the people to their inheritance shows the importance of faithful leadership and the need for leaders to prepare others for future responsibilities. Each believer has a unique calling and inheritance in Christ. We should seek to understand and walk in the specific purposes

God has for us. While the community of Israel received the land, each individual had to take possession of their inheritance. This balance of community and personal responsibility is vital in our spiritual lives.

Idolatry is not just the worship of physical idols but can be anything that takes the place of God in our lives. We must be vigilant in identifying and removing modern-day idols. The Israelites' repeated failure to remain faithful serves as a warning. We are called to steadfastness in our relationship with God, resisting the pull of cultural and spiritual distractions. The book of Judges illustrates a cycle of sin, oppression, repentance, and deliverance. Recognizing this pattern in our lives can help us seek God's help to break free from sin. Despite Israel's repeated failures, God remains patient and just. His discipline is meant to bring us back to Him, and His mercy is always available when we repent. The role of the judges highlights the need for godly leadership. We should pray for and support leaders who guide us according to God's Word.

11 Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals. 12 They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They aroused the Lord’s anger 13 because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. 14 In his anger against Israel the Lord gave them into the hands of raiders who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist.

The Israelites continued a pattern of abandoning their faith in the one true God, the one who led them out of Egypt—the one who drowned Pharaoh's army in the Red Sea, the one who fought for their ancestors (Exodus 14:13-31), the one who made bitter waters sweet when they were thirsty (15:22-25), the one who fed their ancestors bread from heaven (manna) when they were hungry (16:4-14). They violated the first two of the Ten Commandments: "I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (20:2-3). Instead, they chased after other gods; they worshiped the Canaanite gods, Baal and Ashtoreth. God deemed the Israelites' behavior as evil, and He deemed what they had done as abandonment of the one true God. Their disobedience of God's

commandments stirred His anger against the people He had chosen to represent Him to the rest of the world.

To those who worshiped him, Baal was considered to be the god of storms and rains and thought to control vegetation and agriculture. On the other hand, Ashtoreth was believed to be the mother goddess of love, war, and fertility. She was also known as Astarter or Ishtar. Not only did God's chosen people worship these idol gods, but even temple prostitution and child sacrifice were part of the worship of these Canaanite idols.

God would not and did not tolerate the Israelites adding idols to their worship of Him. They could not possibly bow to an idol and still truly believe that He was the one true God. Therefore, His anger with the Israelites results in judgment on them. God gives the Israelites over to the "marauders" (their enemies, Judges 2:14). He delivers them into the power and hands of their enemies and removes His divine defense from around them.

15 Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the Lord was against them to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them. They were in great distress.

Every time the Israelites went out to battle their enemies, they lost. God's arms of protection were no longer around them. In fact, before God's judgment against them when they went out to battle, it was the Lord Himself who fought against their enemies. Thus, the Israelites and their enemies were no match for an angry God. They were no match for the omnipotent (all-powerful) God. But the Israelites' disobedience demanded judgment, and God (the Righteous Judge) judged His chosen people. They had to suffer the consequences of their chosen actions. They had to pay their own sin-penalty.

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.