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 posted on Sundays. These are our locations online only:
Our Main Video Feed: Covenant_of_Hope
We have
email and Instant Messenger through Facebook available most Tuesdays, Wednesdays,
and Sundays 10AM to 2PM ET US. We’re still working this out between the two of
us as to what will happen, our Elder, Cal Jennings and I. 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.
NOTE: Until further notice, it will be difficult for me to post my own voice for the songs. I am working on the issue. My microphone still refuses to work with the system I normally use, so I have to do it the old fashioned way. God loves to give me challenges. Well, this is one.
NOTE: Until further notice, it will be difficult for me to post my own voice for the songs. I am working on the issue. My microphone still refuses to work with the system I normally use, so I have to do it the old fashioned way. God loves to give me challenges. Well, this is one.
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 a friend Kerry, her husband Christian,
and their family that the surgery be completely successful and there will be no return to that which required the surgery.
Please pray for success for my youngest brother, that his
continued education be beneficial toward a great career.
Pray for Elder Cal he is having
pain and trouble breathing. Our brother is in need of more spiritual
nourishment. He also continues to have some technical issues, but does have his
Iphone so he can receive messages. He also has had some other technical issues
with his normal computer. May God provide him wellness, a method toward better
communication, and bring that flicker of hope into a bright and roaring flame.
Pray for our member Wayne, who has been absent for a while but
is back to work on his faith and connecting with us once more.
This is one that Rev. Lisa Tyler brought us: Robert is a quadraplegic man in hospital with
blood pressure and fever problems. Goodness, I guess it would take forever to
list all their needs. But God knows what they are.
Pray for friends Karen, Christie, her son Calvin, Art, Heather,
Chris and his family, Jackie and her father, Debby, Tom, Teresa, Hope, during
the start of the year for their issues of many forms.
Pray for Fran who is suffering a lot of pain and other issues.
Pray for Karen’s grandaughter Cyndal.
Pray for Marie’s Aunt Connie.
Pray for my friend Grace as she has had pretty bad migraines.
Pray also that her stepson would make the right decisions. They are having a
hard time, may we have praise from the LORD.
Pray for my friend Laura who hasn’t been feeling well, but is
gaining understanding as to why.
Pray for several friends and family members who God knows would
be on the list, whether it comes from this direction of from any other. Pray
that the faith held in God will hold them strong.
Pray that the Lord will find a way for my family to reach the
ability to solutions that are necessary for health, shelter, and more. Praise
the LORD more than half of those issues have been solved. Claim that God knows
and will be there. Pray that a solution will be found for a serious test I must
have, claim that Jesus can give us answers for that. The cost is simply out of
reach at the moment.
Continue your prayers for the continued success for little
Phoebe Faire. She is doing very well. Praise the Lord.
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 Ministries 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.
May the LORD allow us to claim His truth and His healing hands.
May we listen and hear and understand what those things we listen to and hear
as well.
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 generosity and the understanding You bring to each of our lives. We
praise Your ability to see our troubles, our sorrows, and hear our questions,
our fears, as well as our joy, hope, laughter, and triumphs. We bring friends,
family, colleagues and people we admire up to pray for health, faith,
understanding and loss. We do all of these things in Your Holy Name, through Christ
the Son, and through the gift of the Holy Spirit, Amen and so it shall be.
Opening Song: Ray Boltz – Thank You
Sermon: This sermon I had to really look
and listen to God. There are many complaints in this particular segment of
Psalm 44. Sure, it starts out with a praise God, praise His name forever. But,
what follows takes serious exploration. We’ll start with a praise for our
Father. Psalm 44:8 KJV– In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for
ever. Selah.
The
reference verses are just as praiseworthy.
They show the good times, the smiles and the understanding. Psalm 34:2 KJV– My
soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be
glad.
We have
to remember that law, sure, it looks like many at once, but it’s an interesting
view, and not so easy to keep in our hearts, souls, spirits and bodies. That
interesting view is unconditional love. Here is a reference that speaks of that
very thing. Romans 2:17 KJV– Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law,
and makest thy boast of God.
Celebrate,
but do so with God’s love in your heart. Now, that’s an awesome way to think
about God’s unconditional love. I Corinthians 1:31
KJV– That, according as it is written, He
that glorieth, let him glory in the LORD.
Now we
get to the ‘but’ in the section here. Psalm 44:9-10
KJV– But thou hast cast off, and put us to
shame; and goest not forth with our armies.
Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy: and they which hate
us spoil for themselves.
They are
saying that God has shamed them. Well, in truth, it goes both ways. God is
ashamed of what they have done, and makes the Jews feel that shame, which they
portrayed in the first place. It also proves that sometimes it is better to
turn away and leave it alone. No one wants to admit defeat. And no one wants to
leave that which this writer describes. God doesn’t pull any punches. You can
see this in the reference verse. Leviticus 26:17
KJV– And I will set my face against you, and
ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you;
and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.
Note
this, flee even with no one coming after them. In other words, they run as fast
as they can, even if there isn’t an issue. Then, what are they afraid of? Now,
that’s a great question. Deuteronomy 28:25 KJV– The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine
enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before
them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.
Here we
see it again, the fear that causes human beings to flee from God and His love.
We often wonder what we were thinking, but in truth, God is teaching a lesson.
Sometimes we have to learn that lesson more than once. These are the lessons
that often will take us away from God, and then have us realizing that the
truth has been there the whole time. Now, that’s 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: Mercy Me ~ Here I Am
~Shalom~
Covenant
of Hope Ministries
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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