Good
afternoon, welcome to Covenant of Hope Ministries. My name is Rev. Laura A.
Neff, the Rainbow Minister. The choice for Rainbow has to do with the fact that
the rainbow symbolizes a promise made and one that can and will be kept. I
made, long ago, a promise to God that I would do all I could to keep that faith
within me. We are normally posted on Sundays for sermons and Wednesdays for
studies. You can find these posted in the following locations.
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.
- Pray in thanksgiving that one serious prayer was answered for
the family I have so far from me. Please pray that the good tidings which have
occurred continue for as long as they can be.
- Please pray for a friend Susie Bartholow as she is in hospice.
She is in very grave condition with cancer. Hospice care is in her home with
her family. Keep them all in your thoughts and prayers.
- Please pray for my nearby family members as we are going
through some tough times here.
- Please pray for Elder Cal Jennings as he is going through a
whole lot health wise and emotionally as well. Please pray that he will be able
to find and follow inspiration still.
- Please pray for a friend of ours,
Lucy, whose liver is failing. She is going to be on medication but may need a
transplant. Pray that the first option works and she returns to health.
- Pray for our members Theresa and
Wayne who had a very rough year last year. May some of their trials and
tribulations end in time for our celebration of the birth of Jesus.
- Pray for those near and far who
have been suffering in battles that do not have to be. Pray that peace can be
found amidst the fear and anger, frustration and more. May hope blossom and
bring that peace once more.
- Pray for our friends and our
enemies, may they all find that the gift of God’s Son, Jesus, holds the hope
and faith everyone seeks.
- Keep hope alive in your prayers no
matter the pain or strife we might suffer.
- May God bless every one of us as we
continue on.
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 brought
and for those yet to come. We thank You for answers to our prayers when we
least expect them. We pray that You can remind us always what we should be
looking forward to. We bring prayers for those who have been seriously ill.
Help those who are working to fight serious illnesses the ability to find
solutions. We pray for those lost and those who mourn. We pray for all those
who are victims of violence. We pray for patience and courage for those we love
and care about, and ourselves as well. We pray for peace to reach out from the
heart and be heard, felt, and understood. We pray that Your grace and love
would fill the hearts of the many in this world. We pray all this in Your Holy
Name through the Savior Jesus Christ, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, Amen and
so it shall be.
Opening Song: Great Is the Lord https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocmCTU_rEeI
Sermon: Good afternoon. Today's inspiration came very late last evening while praying to find exactly what the Spirit wished me to say on
Palm Sunday. The answer came in the Gospel of John. The Day of Palms celebrates
when Jesus rode on the back of an ass to the gates of Jerusalem. This just
prior to his crucifixion and death. There are several verses as shown here.
John 12:12-18 KJV – On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.
Took branches
of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the
King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.
And Jesus,
when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written.
Fear not,
daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass’s colt.
These things
understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then
remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done
these things unto him.
The people
therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of his grave, and raised
him from the dead, bare record.
For this cause
the people also met him, for that they heard that he had done this miracle.
These people were literally
watching prophecy come to pass. Yet, they didn’t realize it. Even the disciples
didn’t realize the significance of the Day of Palms where Jesus rode on the
colt of an ass on His way to Jerusalem. John shares that they would only
realize this afterwards. When did this occur? It waited until after His
crucifixion. Prophecy fulfilled, start to finish, in the glory becoming the
rags of blood and the tears of pain as Jesus hung on the cross. This week
signifies the journey from the heralded Prince of Peace, King of the Jews, to
the one crucified on the cross. It is the longest week remembered in the mortal
life of Jesus Christ our Savior.
So, how should we treat this
week prior to Easter? Well, we should reflect on our view of miracles. Be they
great or small, miracles are found if you open your eyes to see. Jesus shared
many views of these glorious occurrences. Lazarus, the Centurion, the lepers,
and many others. He shared them and still shares miracles great and small here
in this world today. We might fail to recognize them as such, but they are there.
There are many ways to view
Palm Sunday. It can be a view of glory. It can be a view of joy. It can also be
something of a warning that sometimes glory waits and is celebrated prematurely
on occasion. Today, just today, we find that God shines on so many. That is
seen in some eyes, hearts, spirits, and souls. In others they miss that one
entirely. Miracles don’t have to be seen, touched, heard, smelled, or even
tasted. They can just be there. This is the miracle of Jesus and His Spirit as
given to us all.
That's what Palm Sunday brings. It brings us to the finish of one era in life to the start of a new beginning. Remember, He was born, was revered, was arrested, tried, and crucified, only to be resurrected back into a different form of glory. This is why we call Glory to God. Hosanna, hosanna, glory to God in the highest. Now, that's something to think about as we pray in the prayer that Jesus brought us.
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)
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)
Closing Song: Sing Hallelujah, Paul Wilbur, Shalom Jerusalem https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r06TMVKHctE
~Shalom~
Rev.
Laura A. Neff ~ The Rainbow Minister
Covenant of Hope Ministries
Main Site:
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 © 2015
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.
This mission statement speaks of the rainbow in the darkness.
Every time I would have a seriously traumatic thing happen in my life I would
wake in the middle of the night. When I do I see a rainbow at the end of my
bed, or even through the window behind my head. I’ll see that rainbow in a dark
room even during the day. It will hover in the shadows and reassure me that God
is with me.
