1. Brother Anthony – 2 Corinthians 5:17: A New Life in Christ

Anthony preached from 2 Corinthians 5:17, emphasizing that in Christ believers are made new. This transformation is not merely self-improvement but a complete change under a new Master. He outlined two new relationships that define the Christian life:

1. A new relationship with Christ – Believers are to walk where Christ walks, seeking His presence and avoiding worldly pursuits that conflict with Him.
2. A new relationship with the world – What was once familiar now becomes foreign. Christians should feel like strangers in worldly environments, reflecting their new identity as pilgrims.

Anthony illustrated the inverse relationship between closeness to God and attraction to the world: the more joy found in God, the less joy in worldly things. He challenged believers to consider whether their acceptance by the world compromises their faith and urged them to pursue God’s perfect will through sanctification and separation from sin. His closing illustration compared spiritual growth to feeding a dog before a fight—the side of our nature we nourish most (spiritual or worldly) will ultimately prevail.

2. Brother Mark – Matthew 7:15–20: Known by Our Fruits

Mark spoke from Matthew 7, focusing on Jesus’ warning about false prophets and the principle that every person is known by their fruits. Using physical fruit as an object lesson, he contrasted ripe, nourishing fruit with rotten, unusable fruit.

He reminded the congregation that every believer bears fruit through actions—whether love, joy, patience, or anger and impatience. He challenged listeners to reflect on whether their fruit is spiritually nourishing or decayed. The fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23) was used as a standard to examine love, patience, kindness, and self-control in everyday situations such as marriage, work frustrations, and driving.

Mark stressed that Christians may appear outwardly polished but inwardly produce rotten fruit if not genuinely walking with God. Yet even spoiled fruit can be repurposed—God can take broken lives and make “spiritual banana bread” if believers surrender to Him. His message tied into the need for change and the importance of offering God something fresh and alive rather than stale and lifeless.

Main Sermon – Pastor Ortiz: Ezekiel 37: From Dry Bones to a Living Army

The central message came from Ezekiel 37, the vision of the valley of dry bones. The pastor explained that revival is not merely emotional excitement or noise but the restoration of life where there is none. Just as CPR breathes life back into a lifeless body, true revival is God breathing His Spirit into spiritually dry and lifeless believers.

1. The Vision of Dry Bones

Ezekiel saw a valley filled with “very dry” bones—utterly lifeless, petrified remnants. God asked him whether these bones could live, and Ezekiel wisely deferred: “Lord, Thou knowest.” The image symbolized Israel’s hopeless condition in captivity, but it also illustrates believers today who have grown spiritually lifeless through sin, routine, or overwhelming burdens.

2. Why Revival Is Needed

• Spiritual Dryness – Like Israel who laid aside their harps by the rivers of Babylon (Psalm 137), many Christians have stopped worshiping and serving, overwhelmed by life’s demands. Familiarity with church routines often breeds dryness and apathy.
• Sin’s Scattering Effect – Sin separates believers from God and scatters His people, leaving them ineffective and spiritually fragmented.
• Empty Religion without Power – Many maintain the form of godliness but deny its power. Outward religion without the Spirit leads to lifeless faith.
• The World Needs Living Witnesses – God restores life so His people can testify of Him. Without revived believers, families and communities lack the witness of Christ.

3. How Revival Happens

Revival requires four essential elements:

1. Preaching of God’s Word – Ezekiel was commanded to prophesy to the bones. The Word of God, breathed by inspiration, brings life where there is death. Faith comes by hearing, and preaching stirs conviction that leads to change.
2. The Power of the Holy Spirit – Ezekiel could only obey; it was God’s Spirit who breathed life into the bones. Transformation comes not by human effort but by divine power.
3. Prayer from God’s People – Genuine prayer, not superficial requests, is essential. Revival begins when believers cry out with conviction, recognizing their own unworthiness and desperate need for God.
4. The Presence of God – Ultimately, revival is God Himself breathing life into His people. His presence turns a valley of bones into an “exceeding great army.” Without His presence, all efforts are empty mechanics.

4. The Call to Change

The pastor connected this message to the broader theme of recent weeks: beholding to becoming, strength to weakness, testing to triumph, and now dry bones to living revival. Change happens when God’s Spirit breathes new life. He urged the congregation to take inventory of their spiritual state—whether they were dry, scattered, or lifeless—and to seek God’s breath of revival.