Good
afternoon, and welcome to this Sunday Sermon for Covenant of Hope Ministries. I
am Rev. Laura A. Neff, and the ministry knows me as the Rainbow Minister. You
can find us live Sundays at 12:30 PM ET US and These are our locations online
only:
Our Main Video Feed: Covenant_of_Hope
We have
email and Instant Messenger available Tuesday, Wednesday, and Sunday 10AM to
2PM ET US via Yahoo IM. We’re still working this out between the three of us as
to what will happen, our Elder, Cal Jennings, our Apostle/Shepherd, Mary C.
Michel-Lynch and I. The IM is available if you ask first and identify the
reason as being part of the ministry. This IM is connected through Facebook as
well. I will be informing you further in regard to changes being made. These
changes were made due to health reasons. There will be live sermons, and the
sermon length will be shortened dramatically, but we are unsure as to when that
might be.
Prayer List: We have many on our prayer list. Some wish to remain anonymous, and others only wish to have their first names mentioned. Our prayer list has grown from last week. This is our current prayer list for this week.
Prayer List: We have many on our prayer list. Some wish to remain anonymous, and others only wish to have their first names mentioned. Our prayer list has grown from last week. This is our current prayer list for this week.
Continue your prayers for Sister Mary. I got an extensive update
just after Christmas, actually, it was just last week, and can tell you she is
better. Things haven’t changed dramatically, but baby steps are seen in her
recovery at this point. She is in 24/7 care with a staff that continuously
keeps me informed. They do have her sitting up in a wheelchair. She is able now
to propel it with one foot. She fights a lot to maneuver on her own. That’s a
great thing, and God is good!
Pray for our family. There are several things weighing us down,
and they don’t all include my health, or that of any member of the family.
Though, those don’t hurt.
Pray good things can occur as a result of the doctor’s
determinations for me, and as to the negotiations for other situations in our
family. Praise God for the fact that some of those things the doctor’s
determinations included, have indeed helped, and without adding medication, but
instead reducing them. Praise God for the gift of time for one of our financial
problems. Perhaps we might get that improved by His grace. Now, that’s
something to praise God about.
Pray for Elder Cal, as he has still been feeling pretty rotten.
May God provide him wellness, and bring that flicker of hope into a bright and
roaring flame.
Pray for friends Karen, Christie, her son Calvin, Art, Heather,
Chris and his family, Jackie and her father, Debby, Tom, Teresa, Hope, Joe and
his family as they lost his mother-in-law, Robert’s brother and his brother’s
fiancee suffering some serious chaos, and several others.
Phoebe Fair and her family had a good Christmas. Phoebe was able
to be home. The family was thrilled that she healed enough to do so.
We pray for Teresa and Hope during the start of the year for their
issues of many forms.
Pray for Thomas, as he is having a lot of chaos in his life.
Pray for our outreach ministries, and all on their separate
prayer lists, no matter where in this world they would be.
Pray for all the members of Covenant of Hope and all those who
they reach out to. May each of the members find grace and peace in His love.
Pray for our leaders, local, state, federal and around the
world. That they make good decisions for the many.
Prayer: Father in heaven, we
thank You for this day and for these who are here to share it with us. We thank
You for the gifts that we have. We thank You for the hope you bring our hearts
and spirits and souls. We thank You for the gift of understanding, and pray
that You would bring us more understanding of the things that happen. We bring
many friends and family members into prayer. We add those who have died or been
injured this week. We also pray for those who have been affected by weather and
other situations. We pray that our soldiers are safe, as they protect our world
from war and terror. We pray all these things in Your Holy Name through our
Savior Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, Amein and so it shall be.
Opening Song: Without Him
Sermon: This week I have wanted to try
something different. I wanted to see how interpretation can change, not only
the way things are said, but also how they are seen and read, not just in the
context of today’s language, but even as the ancient language of Hebrew and
Greek. The reason would be, I actually, as a child, asked a professor what the
difference was between some words, and why they both would be in the same
verse, if they meant the same, in essence. Well, the question had a point. My
Old and New Testament professor took a long time to describe his answer. In
truth, it’s as simple as it can possibly be. When learning any language, we
should know the basics, not just the letters, or even the words, but how they
are put together as well. In Hebrew, the words were taken quite literally,
there are no adjectives, nothing like that, it’s all straight up, straight
forward, saying the same thing two ways. Psalm 38:1
KJV – O LORD, rebuke me not in thy wrath:
neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
The word
rebuke, if you recall, means to reprimand. Chasten means to correct, as in discipline.
In other words, we are seeing the same thing, said in different ways. The
language of Scripture, if you truly look at it, will often say the same exact
thing, in two different forms, thus reinforcing what would be said. In this
verse, you see, rebuke or reprimand, So it says, in today’s English, “Don’t
reprimand me in your anger; and don’t discipline me in your fury”. Look at it
here as it is shown in the NIV from 1979 as it reads here in Psalm 38:1 NIV – O
LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.
Do you
see the repetition with, or without the same words? This is all interpretation.
It comes from several centuries of difference between the texts, one King James
being 1890, the New International was 1979, and the last King James being 1990.
They all may be written in different eras, by different translators, but they
all are repetitive. They all say the same thing, it is the context that
matters. So, let us continue by exploring an earlier verse that is referred to
here in Psalm 6:1 KJV – O LORD, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me
in thy hot displeasure. Yet again, we see repetition. In this case, an
exact one, from earlier in Psalms. In all of history, no matter the writing
style, things get repeated, it is because life is cyclical, it cycles, birth,
life, death. Learning, repeating, understanding, living, teaching, and wisdom.
We are learning from the minute we are born. As we learn, we repeat many of our
lessons over and over again, once we understand them, then we can apply them,
teach them, and earn wisdom because of them. Scripture does what it does,
because we will read and interpret things differently every time we read. Take
a look here in Psalm 38:2-3 KJV – For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth
me sore.
There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger;
neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin.
The words
‘rest in my bones’ could also be seen as ‘peace or health’ in my bones.
In the
1990 version of King James, the words ‘presseth me sore’ could also be shared
as ‘sunk deep’.
So, look
at these verses this way.
Psalm 38:2-3 KJV – For thine arrows stick fast
in me, and thy hand is sunk deep.
There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger;
neither is there any peace and health in my bones because of my sin.
In a more
modern way, you see how many have ready this same verse. Psalm 38:2-3 NIV – For
your arrows have pierced me, and your hand has come down upon me.
Because of your wrath there is no health in my body; my bones
have no soundness because of my sin.
When we
don’t listen, don’t hear, our health suffers. It doesn’t matter what part of
our health. We could suffer from an unhealthy Spirit, bones, body, all of it.
But, don’t take it as being a bad thing completely. Sometimes the sickness is
for teaching patience, perseverance, and more. If we could see each other’s
point of view, then perhaps an understanding wisdom could be realized. You’ve
heard of walking in another person’s shoes. This is all God wants us to manage.
He wants us to understand each other, and our selves too.
Psalm 38:4-5 KJV – For mine iniquities are gone
over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness.
What an
intriguing view of sin. Do you see the descriptiveness of the words? Look at
them here in Psalm 38:4-5 NIV – My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to
bear.
My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly.
Do you
know when you’re over your head in something? Perhaps you have too many things
on your mind, bills, family issues, work issues, and more. Sometimes we get to
the point of frustration. Well, look at this, our frustration has an answer. He
is God, and He can help. We just have to let Him in. Now, that’s a challenge,
isn’t it? Our challenge is to do this, LET HIM IN, HEART, MIND, BODY and SOUL.
Notice, I said OUR challenge. There’s a reason. Every one in the world, no
matter their status or stature, will have days, weeks, and more where burdens
will get the best of them. That’s when we need to take a step out of our
sandals and see it from another perspective. Sure, it could be better, but
then, it could be worse too. It sure gives us something to think about as we
pray in the prayer Jesus taught us saying: After this
manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine
is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. (Matthew 6:9-13 KJV)
Closing Song: Jesus Is Calling http://www.singsnap.com/karaoke/r/c1852037e
Covenant
of Hope Ministries
Our Main Video Feed: Covenant_of_Hope
Scripture
Excerpts: The New Open Bible Study Edition:Copyright © 1990: Thomas Nelson
Publishers, Inc.
Scripture
Excerpts: Holy Bible: Copyright © 1982: E. E. Gaddy and Associates, Inc.
Scripture
Excerpts: Holy Bible: Copyright © circa 1890-1910: International Bible
Press,The John C. Winston Co.; Philadelphia, PA., USA
Sermon or
Study Copyright © 2012 http://covenantofhopeministries.blogspot.com/
Our mission for Covenant of Hope Ministries and
Poetic-Expressions is not to exploit fear, but to conquer it, and overcome all
that is created through fear together as the rainbow in the darkness.
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