Can These Bones Live?

When Bones Start Moving

I was raised a few miles outside of Elizabethtown on Hwy 701, it’s where all my childhood memories are. Playing in the yard with my brothers and sister, my friends. Family activities happened there. I learned to ride a bike in that front yard, my brother would push me to get me started, eventually rode a motorcycle for the first time. in that same front yard. The trees I used to climb where there, it was my childhood happiness. Love was there. Life was there. Later on in life we moved from that house and it just kind of faded away from memory. A house that used to be full of life. Kids used to play in the yard. Lights used to be on at night. Cars coming and going. Laughter coming through the windows. But now? The grass is overgrown. The paint is peeling. The porch is sagging. Windows are shut. And if you slow down long enough to really look at it…you start thinking: “What happened there?”

You don’t just see a house. You see what’s left of something that used to be alive. Now imagine this…One day, you drive by again—and there are trucks in the driveway. People are there. Tools are out. Someone’s tearing off boards. Someone’s cutting grass. Someone’s hauling out what’s broken. Someone’s rebuilding what’s been falling apart. And slowly…it starts to look different. it’s not finished yet…but something’s happening. And you find yourself asking a different question: “Could that place live again?”

Now let me ask you something…Have you ever looked at something—or someone—and thought: “I don’t know if that can come back.” Maybe it’s a relationship. Maybe it’s your own life. Maybe it’s your faith. Maybe it’s a part of you that used to be alive…but now feels empty… unused… quiet. And here’s where it gets personal: Have you ever felt like that house? Still standing…but not what you used to be. Still here…but something’s missing. Still breathing…but not really living. Because that’s exactly where Ezekiel finds himself. God doesn’t take him to a house…He takes him to a valley. And instead of broken boards and empty rooms…it’s bones. Dry bones. Scattered. Lifeless. No movement. No breath. No hope.

And God asks him a question that sounds almost unreasonable: “Can these bones live?” And maybe that’s the same question God is asking us today. Not about a house. Not about a valley. But about the places in our lives… and the gifts in our lives…that we’ve quietly started to believe…“Probably not anymore.” (Transition into sermon) Let’s step into that valley with Ezekiel… and see what God does next.

“Can these bones live?”

That’s the question God asks Ezekiel. And it’s not just a question for him. It’s a question for us. Because if we’re honest, we’ve all stood in that valley. This week I was thinking about Ezekiel’s life. Before he ever stood in that valley of dry bones, he had already been living in one. He was training to be a priest. He had a future. A calling. A place. Then everything changed. His city was invaded. The best and brightest were taken. And Ezekiel was one of them.

He was forced to leave his home…forced to leave his place of worship…forced to walk over 700 miles into a land that wasn’t his. And yet—even there—God called him. God called him to preach. To speak truth. To minister to people who didn’t want to hear it. And they rejected him. They didn’t just ignore him—they despised him. And if that wasn’t enough…while he’s in exile… he loses his wife. And then comes the news—his city… gone. Destroyed. Everything he knew… everything he loved… everything he hoped to return to… gone. And that’s the man God takes into the valley. And I think that matters… because some of you know exactly what that feels like. Maybe your valley doesn’t look like exile…but it feels like loss. Things didn’t turn out the way you thought they would. Life didn’t go the way you planned. And if we zoom out for a minute…The world doesn’t feel like it used to either.

We’ve gotten used to things we never thought we’d get used to. Sin doesn’t shock us like it used to. Brokenness doesn’t surprise us like it used to. We see it so often… we start to accept it. And when sin becomes normal…it becomes tolerated. And when it becomes tolerated it becomes our character…it shapes us. Slowly… quietly…a gap begins to form between us and God. Not all at once. But little by little. And before we know it…We’re standing in a valley…looking at what’s left. And then come the questions: Can broken lives be restored? Can damaged relationships be healed? Can people really change? Can the addict break free? Can the angry become gentle? Can the divided ever come together? Can these bones live? Ezekiel looks at that valley. And I love his answer.

“O Lord God… You know.” He doesn’t pretend to have the answer. He just refuses to doubt God. Then God tells him to do something strange. “Prophesy to the bones.” Speak. Step in. Do something. And here’s where this hits us. Because God didn’t need Ezekiel to do this. God could have spoken the word Himself. But He chose to involve him. Because God has always worked that way. He gives His people a role in what He’s doing. And here’s the tension for us: God has given us gifts. Every one of us. Ways to serve. Ways to love. Ways to build up the body of Christ. But using those gifts? That’s where it gets uncomfortable. Because it’s a little scary. As a man, as a pastor, I’d rather fail trying something than succeed at doing nothing.

What if I’m not good enough? What if I say the wrong thing? What if I step out… and fail? So instead of stepping forward…We stay back. We watch. We wait. We convince ourselves someone else will do it. And slowly…what God placed in us starts to feel like those bones. Still there…but not moving. God says, “Speak to the bones.” So Ezekiel does. He just spoke aloud with ordinary words. No magic. No secret incantations. No conjuring tricks with bones. Just the living power of the word of the living God invading the valley of the shadow of death. Invading your fears, your doubt, your worry. And if you’re worry if you’ll fail I’ll help you with that, you will, at something at sometime but that is the beauty of if. Because we get to try again and again and eventually something will work. When we listen and follow God, it will work and just as sure as we need to know success, we have to know failure. We have to learn that it is God at work and not us. God is calling you to the valley, calling you into the place you don’t want to go, to do the thing that you don’t want to do. Will you step into the valley?

And something starts happening. Bones begin to rattle. They begin to move. They begin to come together. But here’s the part we can’t miss. They look alive…but they’re not alive yet. There’s structure…but no breath. And that’s the danger. Because churches can look alive. We can have activity…programs…meetings…But without the breath of God…we’re just organized bones. So God says: “Prophesy to the breath.” And when the breath comes—everything changes. That breath…is the Spirit of God. The same breath that formed Adam from dust. The same breath that brings life where there is none.

And when that breath enters them—they don’t just stand up as individuals. They stand up as an army. Don’t miss that. God didn’t just bring them back to life…He gave them purpose. And I believe that’s where this lands for us today. God didn’t bring you to life…so you could sit still. He didn’t save you…so you could stay on the sidelines. He didn’t give you gifts…so they could stay buried in fear. There are bones all around us. In our community. In our neighborhoods. In our own families. People who are hurting. People who feel forgotten. People who need hope. And the question is not: “Does God care?” The question is: “Will we step in?” Because God is still asking: “Can these bones live?” And maybe the better question for us is: “Will we speak?”

Will we serve? Will we step into what God has already placed in us? Because here’s the truth: The same Spirit that raises the dead…is the same Spirit that equips you. You don’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to have it all figured out. Ezekiel didn’t bring the life—he just obeyed. “So I prophesied as He commanded me…and breath came into them…and they lived…and stood on their feet…an exceedingly great army.” What started as a valley…became a movement. What started as death…became purpose. And maybe…just maybe…the first sound of those bones rattling again…starts when you stop holding back…and say yes to what God has already given you.

At the beginning, I asked you to imagine driving by that house. The one that looked abandoned. Overgrown. Falling apart. The kind of place where you slow down just long enough to think, “Nothing’s happening there anymore.” But then something changed. You drove by again…And there were people there. Work was happening. Things were moving. What looked dead… wasn’t staying dead. That house didn’t fix itself. Someone showed up.

Someone picked up tools. Someone stepped into the mess. Someone believed it could be more than what it looked like. Ezekiel stood in a valley just like that. Nothing but bones. Nothing but what used to be. And God asked: “Can these bones live?” And now we know the answer. Yes. But not without obedience. Not without someone stepping in. Not without the Spirit breathing life. So here’s the question…What is God placing in front of you right now? A person? A ministry? A calling? A gift you’ve been sitting on? Because some of you know.

You’ve felt it. That nudge. That stirring. That quiet voice that keeps saying, “It’s time.” And maybe the reason you haven’t moved yet…is because you’re waiting to feel ready. But hear this: You don’t have to feel ready—you just have to be willing.

So here’s what I want to do. I’m not going to make this complicated. I’m just going to make it real. If you’re here this morning and you know— God has placed something in you…and you’ve been holding back…I want you to respond. Maybe it’s fear. Maybe it’s doubt. Maybe it’s uncertainty. But today, you’re ready to say: “God, I’m stepping in.” If that’s you…I want to invite you to come forward. Not because you have it all figured out. Not because you know exactly what it looks like next. But because you’re saying: “I’m done sitting in the valley. I’m ready to be used.” Or maybe you’re here…and you feel more like the bones than the builder. You feel dry. Disconnected. Like something in you needs life again. Then this moment is for you too. Come and ask God to breathe again.

You can come and kneel. You can stand. You can pray right where you are. But don’t leave this moment untouched. Because when God starts moving…things don’t stay the same. Don’t wait for another Sunday. Don’t wait for a better moment. If God is speaking… this is the moment.