Welcome to Covenant of Hope Ministries and our sermon or
midweek study. You will normally see us posted on Sunday and Wednesday. I am
Rev. Laura A. Neff. Our ministry was built on the truth of God’s love. It
doesn’t conform to society’s wishes. This ministry shares the Word of God, the
Spirit of Christ Jesus. Those who know me well will recognize that there are
definitive differences in the creation of every sermon from this point forward.
It is God’s will that has brought this to be. We wish only that God’s truth
will be shared within His words as brought to us by the Spirit as it fills my
heart, mind, and soul to be shared with my hands, but with His words alone.
You will find us in the following location: http://www.covenantofhopeministries.blogspot.com
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 grows or changes every week. This is our current
list.
- Pray for a friend of mine, Debby, so that she might heal
from her surgery quickly.
- Please pray for Elder Cal Jennings who has been suffering
greatly with his health. May the Lord bring his spirits up and help heal him.
- Please pray for relief in the trials and tribulations for
Sister Theresa and myself as we have had a great many over the past year and
more.
- Be thankful for each day we live as we do not know what
tomorrow brings.
- Pray for our nations that the voice of God be heard through
the Spirit.
- Pray for our friends and families that their tomorrows
bring blessings and pray our own be the same.
- Pray for those suffering as a result of the terrors that
have occurred just this past week around this world.
- Pray for our sick and wounded that they may heal.
Prayer: Father in heaven, our prayer today is
to have the Spirit bring clarity to each of our decisions. We thank You for
that gift and the many more You have brought us. May our fears be drawn out of
us. May our pain and sorrow be eased. May peace be brought from our hearts and
shared with others. May Your gifts of love shine through us toward others. We
pray for the poor, the sick, the sorrowful, the wounded, and the frightened. We
pray for the soldiers, the Samaritans, the children, and the rest. We pray in
thanksgiving for every gift brought us. We pray that every tomorrow bring good
things. For each of these we pray in Your Holy Name, through our 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: Today’s sermon is nice and simple as
there is only a single verse the Spirit brought me. However, there is quite the
powerful message within this single verse. Let’s take a look.
Psalm 27:1 KJV – The
LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is my strength
of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Now, there are reasons this particular verse jumped into my
mind’s eye through the Spirit. Many things have happened this past few months.
I have seen the faith in Him diminish in so many directions I was often praying
for the light to be seen and brought to those confused and in sorrow as a
result. Add to that, several have had so many things going on they’re trying to
find relief in many directions. One of the worst parts is the fact that some
are frustrated to the point of tearing their hair out.
Yes, it is crazy in this world today. It is very difficult to
find sanity anywhere. We’ve seen that in the news and just around us without a
newspaper or television. Who shall we fear? There should be no one person or
group of people we should fear. Certainly there are those who will do terrible
things. Absolutely we see horrors in every direction these days. We see
discrimination. We see Christianity being banned in places where it was never
such. Yet, Jesus warned us that this would happen. It was difficult to be
Christians after the death and resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ. It has
always been difficult to be such in so many ways. Foundations that began in the
light of Christ have been transformed into everything that shouldn’t be sitting
on that foundation. There is one reason, and one reason alone, that we shouldn’t
fear. That reason is Jesus Christ our Savior. He is always with us if we simply
carry Him in our hearts no matter what happens around us. Listen to His voice
within us through the Holy Spirit which He brought to us.
Just this year we have seen this chaos in every direction.
From following our faith to throwing people out of locations, closing down
their businesses, and other things simply because they are Christian and would
rather not support certain ideals. Now, there are things that are wrong with
this perception for people. In this case it would be the fact that Jesus tells
us to forgive one another our sins and ask God to do the same. Look at the
person, not what they are doing. You surely remember how Scripture shares what
Jesus said in Luke 23:34 KJV – Then said Jesus, Father
forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment,
and cast lots.
People are not paying attention to what they are doing. They
are ignoring the truth and what it should be. Now, there are those who are
willing to accept everyone in this world, and yet also accept the things they
do. However, you shouldn’t think about it this way. Yes, accept everyone in the
world, but you don’t have to accept the things they do. That’s why Jesus said
that while He was there on the cross. That’s also why we have the Our Father.
We’re not perfect by ourselves. We are only perfect with Christ’s love in our
hearts and shining through us. If we keep that light alive within us, no matter
our circumstances, peace can be found. Now that’s something to think about as
we pray in the prayer that Jesus taught us saying:
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: Whom
Shall I Fear – Lincoln Brewster https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49yvPqCRlEw
~ Shalom ~
Rev. Laura A. Neff
Elder Calvin Jennings
Covenant of Hope Ministries Main
Site: http://www.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 http://www.covenantofhopeministries.blogspot.com
Our mission for Covenant of Hope Ministries is not to exploit
fear, but to conquer it, and overcome all that is created through fear together
as the bringers of the light of Jesus found in the midst of darkness.
This is a good sermon. Some have questioned my defending the rights of those who wanted to keep the rebel flag. Most of these are the same who I defended against persecution because of their non-mainstream beliefs and I have tried to clarify that. I'm not sure how good a job I have done. Perhaps I need to address it more. The bottom line is that Jesus loves us all. None of us is perfect. Jesus loves them all and wants them to be called to repentance.
ReplyDeleteYes, there are those who use the rebel flag for racism but to many it is more of a sign of traditional Southern values like God, hospitality, and helping others. Those things are disappearing so rapidly from the world that I hate to see anything that symbolizes those things removed, including the 10 Commandments from courthouse lawns.
You are so right about the fact that those values are disappearing. It's sad, but true. The symbols of faith have become the opposite of what the intentions were. The fact that we work to fight those views and share that it would be people we love, not their actions necessarily. Then we work to show them how peace can be found. That's one thing I love about Scripture. It shares so often how faith, trust, and love are connected with hope, heart, and life itself.
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