Glory Seen in the Chant Hosanna, Blessed is the King of Israel

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.

Main Site: http://covenantofhopeministries.blogspot.com/

Rev. Laura’s Other Sites: Facebook & Twitter &Google+ & Blogspot

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)

Closing Song: Sing Hallelujah, Paul Wilbur, Shalom Jerusalem https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r06TMVKHctE  

~Shalom~

Rev. Laura A. Neff ~ The Rainbow Minister

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Covenant of Hope Ministries

Main Site:

http://covenantofhopeministries.blogspot.com/ 

       

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

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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.