Covenant
of Hope Ministries Sunday Sermon_6_1_2014
Good
afternoon, and welcome to this Sunday Sermon for Covenant of Hope Ministries. I
am Rev. Laura A. Neff. The ministry knows me as the Rainbow Minister. Find us
posted on Sundays and studies on Wednesday. Our locations are online only:
Our Main Video Feed: Covenant_of_Hope
We
have email (instant messenger if you need me) through Facebook every day. 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 inform you further
regarding changes. These changes were made due to health reasons. The sermon
length has shortened dramatically. We are unsure as to when there might be
video presentations.
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.
- Please keep Brother Wayne Bartosh and his family in prayer. He
lost his father this past week. I spoke with him personally. It has been quite
a rough and tough year for the family. The Good Lord will protect their hearts
and ease their sorrows.
- Please keep Elder Cal Jennings in your prayers as he is very
sick and suffering quite a lot from various issues with his stomach, heart, and
lungs, as well as his memory.
- Please pray for my friend Teresa’s sister who is in stage four
cancer.
- Please keep others known by any of us up in prayer for
whatever they might need.
- Please keep my friend Heather in prayer for patience and safe
haven.
- Please keep my whole family in prayer for the pain, suffering,
and chaos we are going through. Add to those prayers in regard to our new home,
that we will be able to manage a smooth transition.
- Pray that the adversity and the pain we have seen around the
world would be relieved, and swept away. May we find common ground in many
ways, even if we start with just one step.
- 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.
- There are many in our ministry who are searching for more in
regard to our presence with my health, and with the health of others. We pray
that there would be health found once more, and that we have answers to all and
for all.
Prayer:
Father in heaven, we thank You for this day and for these who
are here to share it with us. We bring up in prayer those who have had terror
and sorrow fill their lives. We bring those who have suffered illness, injury,
and more up to You for Your loving arms and healing touch. We ask that You
protect and keep those who need that more than they realize. We pray that you
might bring faith, hope, and peace through Your Everlasting and Unconditional
Love. We pray all these things in Your Holy Name through our Savior Jesus
Christ, in the gift of the Holy Spirit, Amen and so it shall be.
Opening
Song: Jesus
Lives in Me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F69Dv7ZxoE0
Sermon:
The
inspiration brought today was like watching a movie or play scene by scene. It
all began with a telephone call I made to one of the members. We all have some
of God within us. It is only as difficult to bring that to the surface as we
cause it to be. Timothy is urging those to whom he writes to listen, to go
through with that which he is requesting. We’ll start here where he jogs their
memories. II Timothy 1:6 KJV – Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the
gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.
So,
what’s he saying? He’s saying remember that I brought God’s spirit to you
through the laying on of hands. That action, putting hands on a person to share
the faith, kind of brings our faith together in some ways, connecting due to
the physical contact. Let’s see what more Timothy has to say.
I Timothy 4:14 KJV – Neglect not the gift that is
in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of
the presbytery.
Don’t
forget that gift is there. We have the ability to share our love, our faith,
not just with those who know us well, but with those willing to share, and even
those who allow the offering of that shared faith. Now, here we see the word
presbytery. A body of elders, that’s what it means. He’s saying not to neglect
the fact that the elders elected through Christ’s gifts of the spirit would have
brought His love to others through the laying on of hands.
II Timothy 1:7 KJV – For God hath not given us the
spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
We
shouldn’t fear anything earthly, because God has promised to deliver us from
evil. Jesus gave us the prayer to remind us to always ask in remembrance of
Him. We have the power to defeat the fear of evil and hate. That power is love
with a sound mind and spirit.
Romans 8:15 KJV – For ye have not received the
spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption,
whereby we cry Abba, Father.
We’re
not held as prisoners of fear! We are the adopted children of God our Father.
We have that hope, that gift, given to us through the sacrifice of our Savior
Jesus. We are the children of God, all of us. Remember that and all fear can be
wiped away. It’s not easy to keep out of the prison known as fear. However, God
gave us a way to keep that prison from locking us in. That would be prayer.
II Timothy 1:8 KJV – Be not thou therefore ashamed
of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of
the affictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
Well,
of course we shouldn’t be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord. We also shouldn’t
be ashamed in regard to Timothy, and they shouldn’t either. In the NASB it
shares that he is reminding to bring everything back to the surface in regard
to God’s gifts. He worked with Jesus, through the Spirit. The afflictions of
the gospel it says, in other versions would share as suffering for the Lord’s
gospel in accordance with the power of God. We aren’t prisoners of shame in
regard to God’s word or the testimony of Christ. We are bringers of that gift
of God’s love and spirit to those around us. Let’s look at one last verse
Romans 8:28 KJV – And we know that all things
work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called
according to his purpose.
Good
things happen for those who love God. They happen in His time, but they do
happen. We have to remember to love God, and to do what we are led to do in His
name. When He shows us a path, we shouldn’t be afraid. We should be willing to
face fear head on. We should trust in His love. That is one gift that never
fails. 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: Jesus
Take The Wheel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lydBPm2KRaU
~Shalom~
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.
I had great success with God working through me when I was laying hands on people to heal them or bring them back from the dead. One person was brought back from the dead when I asked God to let me reach out with the Holy Spirit to the whole apartment complex of sick and elderly. There were a couple instances on LiveVideo when I was asked if I could put my hand on the monitor and they could put their hand on their monitor and be healed. I thought for a moment and said it feels like a form of electricity so maybe if I put my hand on the camera (the transmitter) and they put their hand on the monitor (the receiver) it might possibly work. They asked me to try so I did. They claimed that it worked but you know how dishonest many on LiveVideo were. Maybe it IS possible. Jesus did say that we could do greater things than He now that He is with the Father.
ReplyDeleteMy attitude was that since Jesus gave His life for me, it was only right that I let Him live through me.
ReplyDeleteAmen my friend, Amen. I can say I got people to open their eyes when it seemed like they were going to die. I managed to get coherent words from someone after a stroke, more than once. I took on someone else's pain from far away, through a telephone conversation. Until recently I never thought of it as being a form of laying on of hands. Jesus gave His life that we might live, and like you said, He should live through us.
DeleteI minister to a lot of people who aren't even necessarily part of the ministry. I would like to get to know more of the members better. Even if they would just leave a comment on the sermons it would help. Do we have a directory of the members like most churches have?
ReplyDeleteYes. well sort of anyway, and I can send you that email list.
DeleteThanks!
Delete