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: November 01, 2026

Preacher: Pastor A. David Baxter

Sermon: The Difficulty And Delight Of A Disciple Of Christ

Scripture: Acts 9: 36-40

36 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor. 37 About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38 Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!” 39 Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them. 40 Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up.

ANSWERING GOD’S CALL WITH FAITH AND ACTION

Wholehearted obedience means saying yes to God without reservation, even when His call seems impossible, uncomfortable, or contrary to our own plans. This kind of obedience is not about partial compliance or picking and choosing what feels convenient; it’s about trusting that God’s ways are higher than ours and stepping forward in faith, regardless of the cost or uncertainty. When we look at Mary’s response to the angel and Abraham’s immediate departure from his homeland, we see that their willingness to obey fully changed the course of history. God is not looking for 90% or 95% obedience—He desires our whole heart, our full surrender, and our trust that His plan is better than anything we could imagine.

Every one of us is called by God—not as an accident, but as a divine strategy to display His glory on earth. The stories of Samuel, Mary, and Abraham remind us that the way we respond to God’s call is just as significant as the call itself. Their lives were forever changed, and so were generations after them, because they responded with wholehearted obedience and unwavering trust.

Wholehearted obedience is not partial or selective; it is a complete surrender to God’s will, even when it doesn’t make sense or align with our plans. Obedience is not about negotiating with God or holding back a portion of our lives. It’s about saying, “Even if it costs me everything, I will follow.” This kind of obedience is only possible when it is rooted in a deep, committed relationship with God, which produces trust. If we struggle to obey, it’s often a sign that we need to deepen our relationship and trust in Him.

Responding to God’s call also means submitting to a process of total transformation. Saying “yes” to God is also saying “no” to control, to our own ways of thinking, and to our preconceived ideas of what life should look like. God is not interested in simply renovating our lives; He wants to make us new creations, capable of carrying out the assignments He has for us. This process can be uncomfortable and may disrupt our plans, but it is necessary for us to become who God has called us to be.

We are not here by accident; we are God’s workmanship, created for good works that He prepared in advance. Purpose is not about comfort—it is about surrender and sacrifice. Our wounds, passions, and even our pain are often the very things God uses to direct us into our purpose. Walking in purpose is not just for our benefit, but for the generations that come after us.

SUNDAY SCHOOL NEXT WEEK

SUNDAY SCHOOL – November 08, 2026

____________________________

The Ark Is Lost ~1 Samuel 4:12-22

Lesson Aims After participating in this lesson,

each learner will be able to:

1. DESCRIBE the circumstances that led to the

loss of the ark of the covenant.

2. EXAMINE what led to failure and dishonor

for the Israelites.

3. COMPOSE a personal lament for times when seeking

personal success and glory has led to harm.

The Death of Eli (1 Samuel 4:12-18, NIV)

12That same day a Benjamite ran from the battle line and went to Shiloh, his clothes torn and dust on his head. 13When he arrived, there was Eli sitting on his chair by the side of the road, watching, because his heart feared for the ark of God. When the man entered the town and told what had happened, the whole town sent up a cry. 14Eli heard the outcry and asked, "What is the meaning of this uproar?" The man hurried over to Eli, 15who was ninety-eight years old and whose eyes were set so that he could not see. 16He told Eli, "I have just come from the battle line; I fled from it this very day." Eli asked, "What happened, my son?" 17The man who brought the news replied, "Israel fled before the Philistines, and the army has suffered heavy losses. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured." 18When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man and heavy. He had led Israel forty years.

The defeat of the army was very grievous to Eli as a judge; the tidings of the death of his two sons, to whom he had been so indulgent, and who, as he had reason to fear, died impenitent, touched him as a father; yet there was a greater concern on his spirit. And when the messenger concluded his story with, "The ark of God is taken," he is struck to the heart, and died immediately. A man may die miserably, yet not die eternally; may come to an untimely end, yet the end be peace. News of Israel’s defeat traveled without delay from Ebenezer to Shiloh. The speed of the report reflects the magnitude of the disaster: Israel had been routed, thousands had fallen, and the ark of God had been taken by the Philistines. The messenger belonged to Benjamin, a tribe noted for capable fighting men and situated near Shiloh. His escape from the battlefield enabled him to carry the first report to the sanctuary. Benjamin would later supply Israel’s first king, Saul, whose reign would also be marked by conflict with the Philistines. Shiloh was Israel’s central place of worship during the period of the judges, housing the tabernacle and serving as the residence of Eli the priest. The ark had been carried from Shiloh into battle as though it could guarantee victory, and its capture brought shame not merely upon Israel’s army but upon the whole nation gathered around the worship of the Lord. Torn garments and dirt upon the head openly proclaimed mourning, terror, and national calamity. Before the messenger spoke a word, his appearance announced that grievous loss had come. Israel’s outward grief was warranted, yet the deeper tragedy was the nation’s presumption toward God and the corruption that had defiled the priesthood. The Benjamite's appearance underscores the seriousness of the message he carries. In our lives, how we deliver and receive difficult news can reflect our understanding of its impact. Understanding the cultural context of mourning in biblical times can deepen our empathy and connection with the accounts of Scripture. As a place of worship and the presence of God, Shiloh's mention reminds us of the centrality of God's presence in our lives and the consequences when it is neglected. The Israelites' defeat and the capture of the Ark challenge us to consider how we respond to spiritual and personal crises, urging us to seek God earnestly. Eli's failure to discipline his sons led to national disaster. Spiritual leaders must uphold God's standards to prevent moral and spiritual decline. The Ark's capture signifies God's judgment and the seriousness of sin. As believers, we must cherish God's presence and live in obedience. Eli's account underscores the need for leaders who are both spiritually and morally upright. Leadership carries the responsibility of guiding others in faithfulness. Eli's death and the loss of the Ark reminds us that God's judgment is real and inevitable for unrepentant sin. Believers are called to live in reverence and obedience. Despite Israel's failure, God's plan for redemption continues. Believers can find hope in God's faithfulness to restore and redeem.

The Birth of Ichabod (1 Samuel 4:19-22, NIV)

19His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near the time of delivery. When she heard the news that the ark of God had been captured and that her father-inlaw and her husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth, but was overcome by her labor pains. 20As she was dying, the women attending her said, "Don't despair; you have given birth to a son." But she did not respond or pay any attention. 21She named the boy Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel"--because of the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. 22She said, "The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured."

The wife of Phinehas seems to have been a person of piety. Her dying regret was for the loss of the ark, and the departure of the glory from Israel. What is any earthly joy to her that feels herself dying? No joy but that which is spiritual and divine, will stand in any stead then; death is too serious a thing to admit the relish of any earthly joy. What is it to one that is lamenting the loss of the ark? What pleasure can we take in our creature comforts and enjoyments, if we want God's word and ordinances; especially if we want the comfort of his gracious presence, and the light of his countenance? Phinehas’s wife belonged to Eli’s priestly household at Shiloh, a family entrusted with service before the Lord but brought under judgment because of Eli’s sons’ persistent corruption. Her unnamed condition underscores the devastation that would soon fall upon the whole house of Eli. The imminent birth of a child ordinarily promised continuity and hope, yet this child would be born as the priestly family and the nation endured calamity. The Philistines’ capture of the ark represented far more than a military defeat. Israel had treated the ark as a means of securing victory while refusing to repent, and the Lord allowed it to be taken as judgment upon His people. Phinehas and Hophni died in the same battle, fulfilling the sign given to Eli that both sons would die on one day (1 Samuel 2:34). Eli’s death completed the collapse of the household that had dishonored God’s worship. For Phinehas’s wife, the report brought the loss of her husband, her family’s head, Israel’s priestly leadership, and the visible symbol of the Lord’s covenant presence. Overwhelmed by grief and shock, she went into labor and gave birth amid national disaster. Her suffering joined personal bereavement to Israel’s spiritual ruin. The child’s birth preserved Eli’s family line, but it could not erase the judgment that had fallen upon it. The events at Shiloh showed that God’s presence cannot be manipulated through sacred objects or religious office; He remains holy and judges those who dishonor Him. Phinehas’s wife faced death amid the ruin of Eli’s household and Israel’s humiliation before the Philistines. The capture of the ark, the deaths of Eli and his sons, and her own labor pains fulfilled the judgment announced against Eli’s corrupt house (1 Samuel 2:31–34). Women assisted mothers in childbirth and sought to strengthen them with words of comfort. Their care could not overcome the grief that had fallen upon her family and the nation. The birth of a son ordinarily brought hope for a family’s future and the continuation of its inheritance. Yet no personal blessing could erase the disaster of Israel’s defeat or the loss of the ark, the visible sign of the Lord’s covenant presence among His people. Her silence revealed grief deeper than the joy of childbirth. Before she died, she named the child Ichabod, meaning “the glory has departed,” declaring that the glory had departed from Israel because the ark had been captured (1 Samuel 4:21–22). Israel’s crisis was not merely military or political; it exposed the consequences of treating the Lord’s holiness lightly.

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.