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 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.
- 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.
- 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 bring You thanks for this day and for these who are here to share
it with us. We know there will be blessings brought this day and for those yet
to come. We pray that You might 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: I Saw The Light https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtolv9kM1qk
Sermon: Good afternoon. Today’s inspiration came very early
this morning after waking up and just meditating on the past week. Perhaps the
contemplation was needed to bring everything into focus. The Spirit of God
brought me a trio of verses and their companions to go with them. Let’s see
what is shared here.
John
10:9-11 KJV – I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved,
and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
The thief cometh not, but to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
The thief cometh not, but to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
Jesus is the door to a
better life. Many of us seek that better life, and sometimes that would be in
the wrong direction. This is where the false teachers come by. Notice, Jesus
even would willingly bring thieves in to show them the way. This is what Jesus
is all about. He is our salvation in so many ways. Let’s take a look at our
next view.
Acts
20:29 KJV – For I
know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you,
not sparing the flock.
Notice this, Jesus is now
warning us that there would be those who will do everything to keep us away.
There would be no sparing the flock, the people, His followers. He is the way,
the light, and the life, as you recall. Even with the wolves we must remember
to seek that, no matter what. Here is yet more that fits the ideal.
II
Peter 2:1 KJV – But there
were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false
teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying
the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
Isaiah
40:11 KJV – He shall
feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and
carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
The food we receive is the
Word! He is the shepherd that brings us to that food. Notice this is leading us
straight to the light of God brought to us through Jesus. He doesn’t lead us
with a firm hand, but with a gentle one so that the younger can follow those
who are filled with the knowledge He gives us.
I
Peter 2:25 KJV – For ye
were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop
of your souls.
Even if we fall down, there
are ways to get back up again. We can get lost in this great big world of ours,
not just physically, but mentally, spiritually. Yet, there is always a way to
get back to that path we should be on. No one path is the same, but the
destination should be the same. The light Jesus brings us gives us hope in His
love. 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: Let the Hallelujah’s Roll https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYgIU_3xkt4
~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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