Monday, December 16, 2013

A Vast Army- Finding a Church for our Family

Yesterday Rob and I attended a Church service that ended with our friends daughter being Dedicated to the Lord. Rob and I have been searching for a Church that fits us, our beliefs, and would be a good Church to raise our children in. We both grew up in Church's that meant a lot to us. Raising our children in a Church is important to us. I miss being part of a Church community and am glad that we are working towards getting involved  in a new one.

We have been talking about attending this particular Church for over a year, and yesterday was our first opportunity to attend a service together. I'm not sure if this Church will be a perfect fit for us- I think it's going to take more than a single service/sermon to know for sure- but I felt so moved by the the sermon. I felt emotional listening to the Pastor speak. I felt moved by the people of the Church singing and pulling everyone together with their voices.

Yesterday's sermon was about Ezekiel 37. It's a verse I don't recall ever hearing about before. It's incredibly moving- Its starts:

"The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”

The pastor compared it to losing all of your hope. Having a utterly hopeless situation, an impossible, improbable, situation before you- but still having the faith that God can give you a favorable outcome. Sovereign Lord, you alone know. Standing before this valley of "impossibility" he still had the faith that his Lord had the ability to make the impossible-- possible.

During this journey haven't we all have our moments of helpless and hopelessness? Moments that brought us to our knees and tears from our eyes. Times when we may have questioned our faith or asked why us- why this particular hurdle? We've all been down and out and felt like we were standing before a valley of dry bones. It will happen again- there will be more struggles in our lives-- but we need to have the faith that through the Lord all struggles -all impossibilities- are possible.

He goes on to say-

 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath[a] enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

The Lord told him to tell those dry bones before him that he will repair them. He will cover them will tendons, and flesh, and then fill them with life. He will take this valley of impossible and He alone will fill it back with life. He will do the same for us in our hopeless situations if we let him. He will breath life into that which seems dead- hopeless. He will take our valleys of impossible and with our faith he will make them possible.

Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
11 Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”


Imagine standing before a valley of dry bones- a valley of death- only to watch life be breathed into them. To watch them stand before you- a vast army.  How powerful is that? Imagine it- a valley of bones standing before you as a vast army, their lungs full of breath when moments before they were dried bones laying in a valley. Even when you feel your most hopeless- our God doesn't. He can make all things possible. 

I think that I will come to love this church and this pastor. I think that the way he makes the sermons relateable and the way he was able to fill me with hope in a single sermon is a testament for what he can do for me- for us as a family- in the future.  

I haven't felt hopeless in quiet sometime. Before this sermon I felt like I had faith to move forward without fear. I have been coping with my emotions better and handling things easier. The sermon definitely helped to lift my faith even more though, because no matter how hopeless the situation may seem- even if you are standing before a valley of dry bones- He is able to make all things possible.  

As I head off for my SIS and trial transfer today I am filled with hope, excitement and a touch of nervousness. I know that no matter what the outcome is today that I have the faith that all things are possible. I know that we will be parents. I can't wait to move forward and to watch this process come together completely. To watch what may have seemed impossible to us in the past- become a valley of possibilities.  

16 comments:

  1. Wowza! Powerful sermon, and I love how the pastor used that as an example of losing hope in our own lives. I can see why you were moved! I hope this church continues to be a good fit for you guys!

    Good luck today. You've got a great attitude going into this!

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    1. Thanks Emily! I thought so too- and what a perfect sermon for us to catch- something so very relateable to us and our current situation!

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  2. Yes Yes!! This is so powerful!!!! Thanks for sharing! He gives life to things that might seem dead! So glad that NOTHING is impossible with Him! What a beautiful message you got to hear. Hope you are able to make this or find another church your home!! xoxo

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    1. Thanks Caroline! I think this will end up being our Church for sure!

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  3. Fingers crossed for a great SIS and trial transfer today. I'll be thinking of you.

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    1. Everything ended up okay, but it was so painful. I will blog about it tomorrow- Im glad its over for sure!

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  4. What a great message!! I'm so glad it occurred on the day you just 'happened' to be there! Sounds like a great church to try out for awhile!!

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  5. Oh wow!!! How awesome is that sermon, the funny thing is this was my hubby's devotional yesterday he shared it with me. There is so much wisdom in that sermon. God can make old things new and dead things live. I actually have a post sitting in my drafts about how to find a church. It took us over a year to find a church that we loved. But it was well worth it to be at the Right one. Sometimes you have to warm up to the church and other times you know right away. I felt a peace in my soul when I found my current church and my home church in Florida. The peace was overwhelming.

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    1. Its so hard to find a Church where you feel at home and at peace. I like this Church so far and I hope that I feel even more at peace about it, but I think just a little some will tell for sure. I also like that they stream their sermons live- so with my crazy schedule I can still "attend" every weeks.

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  6. Glad you found a place that you were comfortable at. J and I went to Chapel Next on post here yesterday. The sermon was from Matthew 2. Have to laugh at the fact that the Wise men took two years to find the baby Jesus. Our pastor made the joke that if it was Wise women they would have made it to the birth on time with formula, disposable diapers and something else I can't remember as the three gifts.

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    1. I love that your Pastor joked about it! I love when Pastors make things real and have a sense of humor!

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  7. Beautiful! I hope that this church continues to be a great fit for you guys!

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  8. Kassy this is so bizarre but I had a similar experience a couple months ago at a new church I tried that has become a great fit for us and brought me so much peace and hope. So happy you seem to have found your place as well!

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    1. So glad you have a similar experience! Im hopeful that this will be a good fit for us too!

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