Covenant of Hope is an online ministry developed as a mission for Christians and Others who are disabled, disadvantaged, displaced or disenchanted in this world. Our motto is not to exploit fear, but to conquer it, and overcome all that is created through fear, together as the rainbow in the darkness.
Do you know that our
Spirits need nourishment? They need the
time to grow. They need time to heal
when times are rough. Think of it this way, even God took a vacation. Remember, every seventh year have Jubilee.
That is a whole year of vacation! We in today’s world consider it a blessing to
get seven days in a row. Yet, there are times we really and truly need it. This is why.
Galatians 5:22-26
KJV –But the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness,
faith,
Meekness,
temperance: against such there is no law.
And they
that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
If we live
in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Let us not
be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
If we don’t, can’t keep
these in mind, it’s time for a vacation. It doesn’t matter if it’s a “working”
vacation. You can do a little just to stave off the boredom. But, in truth, we
need that rest. That is why we have the seventh day, Sabbath, the seventh year,
Jubilee, and Easter.
Do you remember when we
were speaking about the Gospel of John and we saw these words? The Gospel of John 15:5 KJV –I am the
vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same
bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
It is not always easy to
walk in His footprints, or beside them, either one. Yet, so long as we carry
Him in our hearts, we can overcome those seven pains in everyone’s earthly
life, vanity, envy, lust, enmity, wrath, shame, and doubt. We have spoken of
these seven so much we should know them by heart. You’ve heard the ideal of
keeping our thoughts to ourselves.
The reason we should do
just that, unless they are thoughts for the greater good, would be that we keep
those seven tame. In other words, setting them loose only makes things worse
than they are already. This is something everyone does. Even the ministers that
are there for us can indeed let those seven break loose and, well, you know
what that can do.
This summer, for example.
I haven’t written more than a few sermons, a few studies, as opposed to putting
them up all the time. Sometimes we, quite literally, need to take the time to
keep our thoughts to ourselves, to recuperate, to bring our thoughts back to
where they should be. This isn’t just for ministers. It is for all of us. It’s
why those who work for a paycheck would get some sort of vacation, the weekend,
those precious seven, fourteen, or twenty-one days in the corporate world, or
the twelve that teachers would, in some ways, consider a blessing. Think about
it as you see there are ways to be somewhere in the middle.
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.
Covenant of Hope
Ministries Sunday Sermon_7_28_2013
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:
We have
email (instant messenger if you need me) through Facebook available every day, and
these are now extremely variable. 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. 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 Phoebe Fair, the last thing they
wanted to see has appeared. Her cancer has returned in the same location. There
is nothing that can be done to stop this at this point in time. They have a
prognosis of two to eight weeks. Keep her parents and family in your prayers,
and little Phoebe as well.
- Pray for our member Sonya Poll who has had her twin daughters.
Their names are Addisin Hope and Emmalynn Faith. They are in the NICU for
another week. These sweet little girls are sure fighters, Praise the LORD, may
they continue to fight and flourish. Pray also that the faith and hope held by
their parents be there to help the little ones along.
- Pray for baby Corbin who is struggling to survive. He has lived one hundred days so far, let us
pray he continues to beat the odds.
- Pray for the victims of the boat wreck in New York this week,
that their families receive their solace, and that truth be found in regard to
their losses.
- Pray for the victims of the shooting in a Florida apartment
complex, and their families.
- Pray for the victims and survivors of the bus wreck in Indiana.
- Pray that there are more answers in regard to my health
situation.
- Remember those who have been lost either violently or
peacefully this week.
- Keep the ministry in your thoughts, each member, no matter
their location, their circumstances, because a group of friends, a ministry,
should support one another.
Prayer: Father in heaven, we
thank You for this day and for these who are here to share it with us. We have
much to be thankful for. The great gifts and the understanding even in the
tragedies this world has brought. We pray that you hear the voices of the sick,
the mourning, as we bring them up to You, knowing You can hear, do hear, and
will share what You have to bring. Faith, Hope, and Love, all are gifts You
bring. It would be those which we need in our hearts, and you have shown us
that those are within us, all we must do is ask. We pray for friends, family,
colleagues, whether ill, well, or mourning. May Your grace and love fill their
hearts, minds, spirits, and souls. We ask this in Your Holy Name, Amen and so
it shall be.
Sermon: Now, we were speaking of the fact
that fear had taken hold, causing pain. Fear can do that. Who was this
happening to? It was the kings. They were terrified. Because of this fear, this
is what happened.
Psalm 48:7 KJV – Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind.
We find a
second view in the scroll of Ezekiel. It’s not just the kings according to
this. It would be all of those who look
and listen to these kings. Again, we see them broken in the great waters of the
sea.
Ezekiel 27:26 KJV – Thy rowers have brought thee into great
waters: the east wind hath broken thee in the midst of the seas.
Listen,
hear, and see, this is what we have often wondered about. It is not just using
our eyes, it is seeing and understanding what we are listening to, and hearing.
That is what we see here in this next verse.
Psalm 48:8 KJV – As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the
LORD of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it forever. Selah.
We see it
after we hear it. Where do we do so? In the city of the LORD of hosts, the city
of our God. Remember it shares that twice at the end, and then says STOP AND
THINK ABOUT IT, or Selah. We tend to forget that part, stop, listen, hear, and
think about what you stopped to listen to and hear.
Alright,
so what are we seeing? We’re seeing humanity flowing toward the city of the
LORD, the mountain where safe haven can be found. Notice how it says flow, or
flowing. You’ve seen a river as it flows, a mass of people trying to get in or
out of someplace, somewhere. This is what will be seen. It will be a whole mass
of people entering the city of the LORD in the last days. We see more views of
that shared here in.
Isaiah 2:2 KJV – And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the
mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains,
and shall be exalted above the hills; and all the nations shall flow into it.
Again we
see this view repeated, and celebrated, as both would share. Well, think about
it, at that point in time, wouldn’t you want to be somewhere you’d never feel
pain, never fear another human being, never feel sorrow, or anger, and all the
rest. That’s the best thought in the world, so, like the other verses, Micah
says the same.
Micah 4:1 KJV – But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the
mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the
mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto
it.
Well,
many of us are wanting this view. We want it, but often have a hard time
understanding what it takes to listen, hear, and see. What does it take? 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)
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.
Covenant of Hope
Ministries Sunday Sermon_7_14_2013
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:
We have
email and Instant Messenger through Facebook available most Tuesdays, Wednesdays,
and Sundays 10AM to 2PM ET US and these are now extremely variable. 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. 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 Phoebe Fair as she continues to do
well. There have been a few setbacks, including fevers.
- Pray for our member Sonya Poll who is two weeks from her due
date with twins. She is having
complications and needs all the prayers she can get.
- Pray for the victims of the plane crash in San Francisco this
past week.
- Remember those who have been lost either violently or
peacefully this week.
- Keep the ministry in your thoughts, each member, no matter
their location, their circumstances, because a group of friends, a ministry,
should support one another.
- Pray for my nephew who has been sick.
- Pray that my sister and her new husband have a wonderful life
together.
- Pray that there are more answers in regard to my health
situation.
- Pray that political heat will simmer down worldwide.
- Pray for baby Corbin who is struggling to survive. He has lived one hundred days so far, let us
pray he continues to beat the odds.
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 this day, those before this, and for those yet to come. We bring our
friends, our families, their friends and more up in prayer. Each of them with
their own circumstances, may those trials and tribulations have solutions. We
bring the injured, the missing, and the ones mourning the losses of family,
friends, or colleagues this week. We pray all this in Your Holy Name, the gift
of life through Jesus Christ and His gift of the Holy Spirit, Amen and so it
shall be.
Sermon: In all the years I have worked as
a minister, I have come up with many an interesting sermons thanks to His
inspiration. Today’s sermon is no different. This sermon is continuing where we
were in Psalm 48. Today we are exploring Psalm 48:3-6
KJV – God is known in her palaces for a
refuge.
For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together.
They saw it, and so they marvelled; they were troubled, and
hasted away.
Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in
travail.
God is
our refuge. He is our haven, and this location, Zion, the palaces within, would
be that refuge. Yet, there is fear when it comes to what will happen on the way
to reaching that wonderous place given to us as we pursue the path toward it.
Let us look at the additions included in these four verses. We’ll start here in
II Samuel 10:6 KJV – And when the children of Ammon saw that they stank before David, the
children of Ammon sent and hired the Syrians of Zoba, twenty thousand footmen,
and of king Maacah a thousand men, and of Ishtob twelve thousand men.
Fear, something we all suffer. In the verses found in our Psalm we see that
fear, yet they marvelled at the palaces found in God’s house. Fear overcame
their senses. Why would anyone fear the ultimate refuge? That’s the question
that continues to be asked in the supporting verse here in II Samuel somewhat
confuses the situation. Why does it do so? It shows a different view of these
troubled kings. The smell of fear can be a terrible smell. So, what did these
children of Ammon do? They went and asked for help. Now, that’s something we
all do. The only difference is we ask God through Jesus and the gift of the
Holy Spirit, in place of others here on earth. It is something all of us must
learn, practice, learn more, and continue to practice. You see to learn, and
then to apply that learning, will lead us to wisdom. There are many in this
ministry, and beyond who are still learning, still practicing, and still
reaching toward wisdom. 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: Whom Shall I Fear (God of Angel
Armies)
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.
Covenant of Hope
Ministries Sunday Sermon_07_07_2013
Good
morning, my name is Rev. Laura A. Neff known as the Rainbow Minister by the
ministry and others. You can find the ministry here in these locations.
We have
email and Instant Messenger through Facebook available. The email is easier for
the moment. I am supposed to be on vacation but try to put in short ones on
Sundays at least.
Prayer List: We have many on our
prayer list. Some wish to remain anonymous, and others only wish to have their
first names mentioned. This is our current prayer list for this week.
Continue your prayers for those devastated in the tornadoes.
Pray for those who lost family and friends in the terrible fires
this last two weeks.
Pray for the lost and the surviving from the plane crash in San
Francisco, that they be remembered for the lives lived or survived that they
may be healed.
Pray for those who have lost their lives around this world.
Pray for those at war, that they might find peace.
Pray for those who are in suffering that relief may be found.
Pray for those who argue that they may find resolution.
Pray for those lost, that they may be found.
Pray for those in sorrow that they receive solace.
Pray for those experiencing joy, that they know how to share it.
Pray that love will fill the hearts of all, since God’s love
conquers all so long as we give it, share it, and believe in it.
Pray for those in the ministry, that they be safe, secure, and
know they are loved.
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 memories and lessons of yesterday. We thank you for this day and
those that follow for the lessons that may be learned and the wisdom earned
from yesterday. We pray for those who are in our hearts and those who are on
our list. We pray that those who need to be listened to are heard. We pray for
our friends, our acquaintances, our enemies, and the unknown. We pray all this
praising Your Holy Name through the Savior Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy
Spirit, Amen and so it shall be.
Sermon: Well, here we have the next verse
to share, one with quite a few thoughts to be considered. Beauty, many say it
is in the eye of the beholder. Well, this is quite true, as we learned when God
chose David as King of the Jews. We’ll start with another view of beauty here
in Psalm 48:2 KJV – Beautiful
for situation, the joy of the whole earth is mount Zion, on the sides of the
north, the city of the great King.
Mount Zion,
the most wonderful place, because it is the Mount of the great King. Think
about it, the best place on earth is not on earth, it’s on the Mount of Zion.
What’s the difference you ask? Well, for one thing, seven troubles that get all
of us in trouble aren’t there. Remember the seven are only trouble if you make
them so. On Mount Zion those are left behind.
Jeremiah 3:19 KJV –But I said, How shall I put thee among the
children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage, of the hosts of
nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, my Father; and shalt not turn away
from me.
When you
remember that God is YOUR Father, as He is OUR Father, you’ll understand He’s
always there, we just have to remember that. We just have to realize that.
Those are the most important things. The reason for that, He’s there and won’t
turn away. It won’t be Him who turns, it will be any or all of us.
Lamentations 2:15 KJV – All that pass by clap their hands at thee;
they hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying is this the
city that men call The perfection of beauty, the joy of the whole earth?
Why would
anyone hiss or wag their heads at someone or in regard to someone? Well, one
reason would be due to anger. Another would be because they don’t listen and
then hear. There are many others that could be considered and spoken of, but
the idea is there.
Ezekiel 20:6 KJV –In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto
them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied
for them, flowing with milk and honey which is the glory of all lands.
God is
wondering why anyone would look away from the greatest of all gifts. It isn’t
money or goods, it is life and the ability to live it, love it, and understand
it. You see, if you don’t live life, you can’t love it, learn from it,
understand it, or become wise because of it.
Isaiah 14:13 KJV –For thou hast said in thine heart, I will
ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit
also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
How are
we to do so if we won’t listen and hear? How are we to get to that point if we
forget to live life, love it, learn from it, understand it, or become wise as a
result? God is OUR Father. He is HERE, right now, all we have to do is say
hello, and there you go. 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)
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.
