Covenant
of Hope Ministries Sunday Sermon_7/13/2014
Welcome to this Sunday Sermon for Covenant of Hope Ministries. I
am Rev. Laura A. Neff. The ministry knows me as the Rainbow Minister. I have often described myself as the Rainbow Minister. My
reasoning for that is this: The rainbow symbolizes
faith, understanding, and God's strength to forgive, heal, and so on. 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
after the recent loss of his father.
- Please keep Elder Cal Jennings in your prayers as his health continues to be erratic and he has been in the emergency room more than once this month.
- Please pray for my friend Teresa’s sister who is in stage four
cancer. Keep Teresa and her daughter in prayer for many other things that have
been weighing down on their hearts, minds, and spirits.
- 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.
- Let us keep those who have suffered from the weather in
prayer, as they continue to weather the storms, and the dangers that can be
found within them.
- Please keep my whole family in prayer for the pain, suffering,
and chaos we are going through. Pray that our hopes and dreams are fulfilled
after a disappointment that had us back to square one regarding the move to a
new and healthier home.
- 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.
*
We wish to send a belated birthday greeting for good health and good tidings as
Theresa Bogard’s birthday was this past week.
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 blessings received
throughout our days and nights. We thank You for the gifts of knowledge and
understanding toward gaining wisdom. We pray for peace and faith and hope for
those in peril, sick, or imprisoned. We pray for grace over those who have
fought hard to gain peace, within and around them. We pray for our friends and
families that they be safe, secure, and healthy. We pray all these things in
Your Holy Name through the Savior Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit,
Amen and so it shall be.
Opening
Song: 10,000
Reasons (Bless the Lord) ~ Matt Redman http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXDGE_lRI0E&list=PL614A115BF39E5936&index=23
Sermon:
This
week God helped me with my patience. He helped me to remember the words spoken
at Ephesus, and Rome as well. It reminded me of a saying, don’t go to bed
angry. That saying is important. It focuses not just on people, but on events,
and more. Let’s look at the first segment here in Ephesians
4:21-32 KJV – If so be that ye have heard
him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man,
which is corrupt according in the deceitful lusts;
And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in
righteousness and true holiness.
Wherefor putting away lying, speak every man truth with his
neighbour; for we are members one of another.
Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your
wrath:
Neither give place to the devil.
Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour,
working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him
that needeth.
Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that
which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the
hearers.
And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed
unto the day of redemption.
Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil
speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
When
I was younger, much younger in fact, I was told it was the best thing not to go
to bed angry. This would work for marriage or being single, either one. Anger
that simmers even during our rest will end up being wrath at some point. Here
we see something we’ve heard in many other forms, but have we truly looked at
it the way we should be looking? Let’s look further into the thoughts brought
to us from Ephesus and the sermon there.
Romans 8:6 NASB – For the mind set on the flesh
is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.
What
does it mean to be carnally minded as it would be said in the King James? It
means to focus solely on the flesh, the desires of the body, as opposed to the
spirit, which is where it should be. Anger can be seen as a carnal desire
because it is focused on a person, an opinion, events, and more. Keeping those
thoughts simmering, no matter how far back they would be, only causes havoc
later when you least expect it, and when you are hardly prepared to fight it
off. That’s the point in time where we reach out and focus on this view here
again in Ephesians 6:11-16 KJV – Put the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand
against the wiles of the devil.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this
world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be
able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth and
having on the breastplate of righteousness;
And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be
able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Faith
is our shield, our strength, and with it, through it, we can fight off all the
evils of this world. We can see through the corruption and tear it away. All we
have to do is focus on those things, see the truth in the midst of the lies,
and pull ourselves out of that chaos. It’s not easy to discern the difference
between truth and a lie in this world today. There are so many points of view
it is like having people shouting at you from all directions, poking you,
prodding you, coaxing you into things that are bad, not just for you physically
and mentally, but spiritually as well. You can add the ideal that the
corruption extends beyond people to places, national, international, and more.
It is this which God is letting us know we must approach with caution, learn,
discuss, understand, and act only if you need to, not just if you want to. That
is good judgment and the usage of it. 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: Cherokee
Amazing Grace
~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.
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