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 unrest and rioting suffered in too many places around this world would cease and that peace can reign once more.
- 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 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. 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: Teach Your Children Well https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yq6rusc_EjM
Sermon: Good afternoon. Today’s inspiration came thanks to
some inspiration brought to me by my youngest son from his minister at the
church he attends. The gift brought is something his elders there worked for
weeks to share. In that work would be differences found through twenty-two
versions of Scripture. Within that is a reflection of the day of Jesus’
Resurrection. Yes, His inspiration was similar, using the passage here, save
the fact that it would have been with all the Gospels. Here I will share with
you the passage, it is long enough to surprise some, an entire segment
completely left out of almost every version of Scripture save the one we use
the most. Here you will see that series of verses.
Mark 16:9-20 KJV – Now
when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary
Magdalene out of whom he had cast seven devils.
And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.
And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had seen that he was alive and had seen of her, believed not.
After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.
And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them.
Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following, Amen.
And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.
And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had seen that he was alive and had seen of her, believed not.
After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.
And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them.
Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.
And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following, Amen.
See here how Jesus first
meets with Mary Magdalene primarily and then with the two others He appeared in
another form. At first Mary Magdalene did but didn’t want to believe that she
was seeing Jesus. When He appeared later to two others they didn’t either, as
He appeared in a different form. He wanted people, His people, the Apostles,
the believers, even those who hadn’t believed before, including those who had
never known Him, seen Him, during His life on earth. Jesus was mad, furious
that the Apostles didn’t recognize Him when He appeared to them. He tells them
they HAD to share His word with passion, faith, and truth in what they had
seen, shared, and more. The reason was simple, unbelief, disbelief, can be
changed to belief if the Apostles who had lived life with Him on earth for many
years and didn’t realize who He was, but then realized they HAD been wrong,
were more than willing to embrace the truth of Resurrection. It amazes me that
God would pull this particular series of verses, but once I read them I
realized He did so on purpose. There are so many who have lost their faith in
God. We saw earlier this week in the news how Christians are actually leaving
the faith. What is the reason for this? There is a simple method to share truth.
That is to be straight forward, straight up in regard to Scripture and don’t
mince those words, don’t sit there and wonder what in the world people are
either thinking or talking about. See the truth, that’s why Jesus came to this
world as a baby, grew up as a man, shared God’s truth, and died in such a cruel
way here on earth. These verses are cross-matched with every Gospel, Acts,
Romans, Colossians, I Peter, I Corinthians, Psalms, and Hebrews. The fact that
the King James shares this many connections would indeed make it even more
interesting. What God has instructed me through the Spirit to manage would be
to bring you each of these connecting verses one or two at a time for our
midweek sermons. Obviously He wants us to pay attention to the details both on
the surface that we can see and deep within. These verses, all twelve of them,
share that fact. They prove that God brought Jesus for a reason, not to be
recognized as a simple man walking, teaching, and preaching, but as much more
than that. As Jesus shared, I am the way, the truth,
and the life. In His resurrection and appearance to the many who were on
the fence. Those who didn’t believe, even now today as seen in this world,
around this world, can indeed see the light if we simply share our faith, our
belief, and the love Jesus brought us through His life story, His death, and
His resurrection. That’s what’s important. 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: Just Believe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIEX6YZHdFk
~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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