Peace and salvation have been given to you through Christ’s Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father has sent in Jesus’ name into your hearts. Amen.

Shelley doesn’t like going with me to the Milwaukee museum. She doesn’t want to listen to me rant and rave and pick apart all the fallacies when we get to the dinosaur exhibit. It has always amazed and astounded me how so-called "scientists" and "artists" could combine their imaginations to build these life-sized models of dinosaurs. Supposedly, they are able to find a few dead bones and reconstruct what the big lizard looked like – complete with its sex, color, bone structure, habitat and eating habits. Personally, I have trouble believing their reconstructions. I believe they are more fanciful than factual.

Now, CSI on TV, on the other hand, is much more believable – and cooler. Whether it is finding a scuba diver in full scuba gear 30 feet up in a tree, or a young man whose skeletal remains are covered with fire ants or a dwarf who supposedly committed suicide at a Little People’s convention. These crime scene investigators don’t make things up. They look at the skeletal remains, the blood, the bullets at the crime scene and they let the evidence tell them the truth about what happened. As Gil Grissom, the head of CSI, famously says: "Concentrate on what cannot lie. The evidence …"

Today, we join Ezekiel in the valley of dry bones. There we see evidence that something dramatic and drastic has taken place. The dry, dead bones tell a story. It is not a fanciful story, but one based on facts. Today we are kind of like archeologists or investigators. We are going to discover the truths of what God wants us to learn from Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones and apply these truths to ourselves.

Ezekiel was given a vision where he was taken by the Lord into this valley – a valley that was full of dry bones. These dry bones were a picture of the spiritual condition of God’s people, the Israelites, who were living in captivity in Babylon – present day Iraq – about 2500 years ago. The bones that Ezekiel saw in his vision didn’t have a pleasant story to tell. Suppose Ezekiel called in a coroner to determine the cause of death of the people to whom the bones in the valley belonged. What would he have found out? What story would they have told? From those bones he would have discovered that their diet, lifestyle, and environment led to the spiritual death of God’s people. Instead of the milk and meat of God’s Word the Israelites fed on the junk food of human ideas and pagan philosophies. They wouldn’t drink from the water of life he offered. They chose to listen to the lying tongues of the false prophets and so were spiritually malnourished. And instead of living their lives according to God’s will they flocked to sin like moths to a bright light. Their love for sinful thoughts, words, and actions sucked the spiritual life out of them. They lived like their pagan neighbors for so long that they became just like them — a lifeless pile of dry bones. The Israelites had become skeletons of their former selves. Their sin had killed them – their sins had sucked the spiritual life right out of them.

Their bones were a record of their inconsistent life as God’s chosen people. They said one thing and did another. They prayed to the true God and then prostituted themselves with the temple prostitutes of false gods. They ignored the gracious God who had rescued them from slavery in Egypt and lovingly worshiped idols made of stone and metal. They were inconsistent, and in their inconsistency their sin stole their spiritual life and they became nothing but a pile of bones.

But that wouldn’t happen to us, right? We would never be like that. There is no way that you would let the same mouth that sings praises to God in church spit out swear words at work. You’ve learned all about not committing adultery in confirmation classes, so surely you would never have sex outside of marriage or even look at another person or picture lustfully. You have been taught from little on to love your neighbor as yourself, so surely you don’t gossip or get angry or seek revenge. You know that you have been richly blessed and have been taught to give cheerfully to the Lord and to those in need. So I’m positive that you have given generously to support Christ’s kingdom through his church. Right? You are all faithful Christians. Surely there are no inconsistencies in your life.

Joe was sitting at a stop light last Saturday morning. The lady in front of him was going through papers on the seat of her car, and when the light changed to green she did not obey its command. To Joe a green light is a commandment – NOT a suggestion. When the light turned to red, and she had still not moved, Joe began (with his windows up) screaming curses and beating on his steering wheel. Joe’s expressions of distress were interrupted by a policeman, gun drawn, tapping on his window. Joe argued loudly, "You can't arrest me for yelling in my own car." Still, the police officer ordered him into the back seat of his squad car. After about two hours in a holding cell, the arresting officer advised Joe that he was free to go. Joe tried leaving with a parting shot, "I knew you couldn't arrest me for what I was yelling in my own car. You haven't heard the last of this." The officer replied, "I didn't arrest you for shouting in your car. I was directly behind you at the light. I saw you screaming and beating your steering wheel, and I said to myself, ‘What a jerk.’ But there is nothing I can do to him for throwing a fit in his own car. Then I noticed the "Cross" hanging from your rear view mirror, the bright yellow "Choose Life" license tag, the "Jesus is Coming Soon" bumper sticker, and the "Fish" symbol, and I thought you must have stolen the car."

I’m sure you have heard people talk about "happy inconsistencies." Well, when it comes to living our Christian lives, there are only "unhappy inconsistencies." The times when we stray from God and abandon our faith are the times when we get ourselves into trouble – when we find ourselves unhappy and depressed.

In Ezekiel the people were spiritually depressed. They were captives in a strange land and didn’t feel any hope of getting out of it. It was their own fault they were there. Eventually they grew to realize that they were not in a good situation. That is why they were crying out, "Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off."

Are there times when you are feeling spiritually and emotionally dried up and brittle like dry bones? Do you get those days when there doesn’t seem to be much life in you? Do you look into your future and think that everything is hopeless? Perhaps it’s necessary to look at your lifestyle and see what might have sucked the life out of you in the first place. What sin is constantly plaguing you? What part of your lifestyle keeps drawing you away from God? Where are the inconsistencies? The discrepancies? How are you being hypocritical?

I’m sure you have heard more than one person say, "I don’t like going to church because it’s full of hypocrites." Well, the next time someone says that to you, you have my permission to reply, "You’re exactly right. The church is full of hypocrites. So why don’t you come with me so we’ll have one more."

We are hypocrites. We are inconsistent Christians. We are sinners. We are like those Old Testament Israelites. We are a bunch of depressing, dried up, old bones. That is exactly why we need the Breath of Life from the Holy Spirit. He can breathe life into our brittle, decaying bones and give us life again – the life of faith which will lead to life eternal.

The Israelites had slid into selfish, sinful living that violated the grace and glory of God. But God hadn’t abandoned them. Even though they felt "dried up" spiritually and emotionally, he promised he’d bring life back to them as he breathed his Spirit into them again.

In the valley of dry bones, Ezekiel prophesied as he was commanded. And as he was prophesying, there was a rattling sound, and the bones came together. Ezekiel looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. Then God said to him, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'" So he prophesied and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet--a vast army.

This vision gave the Israelites hope. God was going to rescue them from their captivity and their sin. He would return them safely to their homeland in Judah so they could rebuild their nation. And more importantly, he would rebuild their faith in him as their only, true Savior God. As long as they trusted God’s Word, the Holy Spirit would work through that Word to breathe spiritual life into them. He would turn them from inconsistent Israelites into a committed army for the Lord.

That what God also promises us. The encouragement we receive from Ezekiel is the same for us – "Just stick to the Word! It works!" It convicts and damns us for our inconsistencies. Then it renews us and brings to life with the promise of forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus Christ. That is what gives us joy during our unhappy inconsistencies. That is what breathes life into our weary, depressing days.

The only thing that will give life from death is the Word of Christ. It is that Word that lets us know that we are forgiven for our inconsistencies. Our hypocritical lives have been washed clean in Christ’s blood. Our discrepancies have been covered over by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Where we deserve eternal death, we have been given eternal life.

The Holy Spirit is the one who breathes this life-giving Word into our hearts. When we hear and read God’s Word, our hearts that have been weakened by sin are bolstered and strengthened by the Holy Spirit. Instead of only living for ourselves, through the Word the Holy Spirit gives us the power to live a God-pleasing life. A simple splash of water used with God’s Word brings to spiritual life what had once been dead in sin. A simple morsel of bread and sip of wine when used with God’s Word creates and strengthens God’s gift of faith. The Holy Spirit then takes all of us who had been formerly worthless, dried up bags of bones and he forms us into a large and committed army for the Lord.

And the Holy Spirit working through the Word is powerful. It does work. It can create a vast army. Look around you. Look at all the soldiers of Christ that are here with you this morning. After months of studying God’s Word we have six people who are joining our congregation today. These are deeply committed Christians. The Holy Spirit has already made them wonderful soldiers in our army.

Last Sunday we had six families sign the Friendship Register that they were interested in joining Epiphany. I was able to share resurrection comfort with those facing death; repair broken relationships with God’s love and forgiveness; we sent off WLS and Shoreland graduates with God’s blessing; and that was all within just a week.

Over the next few weeks we will need everybody up in arms and working together for door canvassing and Family Fun Fest, Vacation Bible School, and putting in the new playground equipment. The Holy Spirit has a lot of work for us to do in building up his church. But thankfully, he has also provided us with deeply committed and faithful soldiers.

The Holy Spirit can do great and amazing things. When we let him do it; when we don’t stand in the way with our stubborn inconsistencies and hypocritical lies; then he will do astonishing things. He will change us from liars to lovers, from losers to champions. He will breathe the breath of life into us so that we are no longer depressed, hopeless people. But we are now excited, joy-filled, committed Christians who are on our way to heaven. And we are going to take as many people with us as we can. Because we are now a part of the coherent, competent, committed army of our Lord. Amen.

To God be the glory. Amen.