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.
- Please pray that the good tidings
which have occurred for my family far away from me would continue for as long
as it can be.
- Please pray for my sister-in-law as
she continues to heal from her knee surgery. Pray that further tests give
answers for her healing further. Add a prayer that she will not need a second
surgery for her other knee for a while as the recovery for the first one is
still ongoing.
- 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
a friend of my brother’s, who is far from home right now. There have been many
problems for her right now. It is our hope that she will return and be here to
complete her healing and more.
- 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 pray that You can
remind us always what we should be looking forward to. We bring prayers for
those who have been seriously ill. We add prayers for those who have been
injured, that they might heal quickly. Help those who are working to fight
serious illnesses the ability to find solutions. We pray for those who suffer
pain, that their pain be relieved. 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: Let Us Rejoice And Be Glad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7-mUjZc1MI
Sermon: Good afternoon. Today’s inspiration came in bits and
pieces this week. The interesting thing would be that a single word brought
this into being. That single word would be shared in our Sunday sermon. That
word is REJOICE. Once that word did so, two verses continued the theme, yes,
just two. That pair brought me an intriguing view. Apparently the Spirit
believes our hearts need to be lifted up this week. Let’s begin here with this
verse.
Psalm 32:11 KJV – Be glad
in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye who are
upright in heart.
Be glad! Shout for joy!
Rejoice! Those of us who are righteous, upright in heart, we should be glad,
rejoicing, and shouting for joy. Now, let’s learn what it means to be both
righteous and upright. Well, to be righteous is something we’ve been learning
about quite a lot in our works, listening, and hearing, even experiencing
through our lives. What does it mean to be righteous? Well, that means to have
morals. There are those of us who work hard to be morally responsible,
conscious, and so forth. Uprightness would walk hand in hand. In the case of
uprightness it is holding on to that which is righteous, or morally correct in
its very nature. So, what happens when we are both righteous and upright in the
same? Well, let’s get some enlightenment there with another verse.
Psalm 97:11 KJV
– Light is sown for the righteous and gladness for the upright in
heart.
Light, now remember, Jesus
said this in regard to light.
John 8:12 KJV
– Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in
darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Jesus wants us to see the
light of truth, righteousness, and the heart that holds them within. Taking
that gift and first following it, then sharing it with those around us, family,
friend, or even perfect stranger, will guide us right up His path to the light
of truth, the gift of life everlasting. 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)
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: I Saw The Light https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtolv9kM1qk
~Shalom~
Rev.
Laura A. Neff ~ The Rainbow Minister
Covenant of Hope Ministries
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.
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