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.
- Please pray for friends of my friend Kerry Barban Huffines.
Their names are Steve Chappell, Bruce Brown, and Jim Franke. May the love of
Jesus bring health, healing, peace, and comfort for their families and each of
them. Please also pray for Kerry as she continues with her voyage toward health.
- Keep your prayers up for Elder Cal Jennings as he continues
his struggles with his health.
- Please add more prayers for my family as we continue to slowly trudge through our financial and health difficulties. Our lives are blessed by your love through Christ.
- Please pray for our member Theresa Bogard and her daughter
as they go through multiple issues including financial and others.
- Pray that blessings will be found with each of our members
and that communication can open up once more.
- Pray that God shares what people are missing and the truth
would be seen beyond the earthly wants and desires of men.
- Bring hope to those suffering pain, fear, and despair.
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. We pray for our
friends and our families, our membership, that their pains, sorrows, and fears
be eased or taken away. We pray for the poor, the sick, the wounded, and the
soldiers, the Samaritans, the children, and the rest. We pray in thanksgiving
for every gift brought us. 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: Bless the Lord oh My Soul https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSxocnIaN0A
Sermon: This week I found something
interesting in some daily Scripture verses received in my email. Well, with
that a pair of verses hopped off the page. I always take that as a sign it
needs reading and discussion together. It does indeed need such. Let’s begin
with the two verses here.
I Peter 2:4, 5 KJV – To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but
chosen of God, and precious,
Ye also, as lively stones, are built upon a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
Ye also, as lively stones, are built upon a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
So what does this mean? Well, let’s look at the three verses
prior to these.
I Peter 2:1-3 KJV – Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and
envies, and all evil speaking,
As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
When you look at all five verses you see something
interesting. Notice you have to leave behind several earthly considerations. This
is something that is obviously difficult for far too many men, women, and even
children in the world today. Malice, what is that? Well, usually you see it as retaliation
of ugly nature. We’ve seen far too much of that in today’s society. Now the
word guile isn’t familiar in today’s language. What does it mean? It means
being deceptive. If we don’t see deception in some form whether in our personal
lives, or in the press and such it would be not bothering to look that caused
such a thing. Sorry, you can even hear deceptive practices occurring in this
world today. They come in every format imaginable.
We get to hypocrisies and envies. Well, we all know what it
means to envy something or someone. What is hypocrisy? It would be the act of innocence
when the opposite would be true. Jesus showed how many hypocrites were in the
world during His time on earth. That didn’t stop even after His death and
resurrection. There is so much envy in this world, for those who have more
means, for those who can live with much simpler considerations, and so many
others. Now, hypocrisy is being a liar, usually we’ve seen it considered as
being two-faced. It is where you’ll see someone playing the good guy, the
innocent, when they would be far from that.
What comes next, you ask?
Evil speaking, that’s what it shares. Now, evil speaking is exactly what
it sounds like. It’s talking about someone or someone’s deeds, and both lying,
and making people believe it. According to other passages in Scripture this is
forbidden. It is abhorred. It goes against everything Christ taught. You’ll see
it in the writings of the Apostles. These are the ones who relate that
necessity. Titus 3:2; James 4:11; I
Corinthians 5:11; I Corinthians 6:10; Psalm 15:3; Proverbs 18:6, 7; these are
the verses to be seen when it comes to evil speaking. Let me share each of
those with you. It is quite important to do so.
Titus 3:2 KJV – To
speak evil of no man, to be not brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto
all men.
James 4:11 KJV – Speak
not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and
judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou
judge the law, thou art not a doer of a the law, but a judge.
I Corinthians 5:11 KJV – But
now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a
brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or a railer, or a
drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
I Corinthians 6:10 KJV – Nor
thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall
inherit the kingdom of God.
Psalm 15:3 KJV – He
that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh
up a reproach against his neighbour.
Proverbs 18:6, 7 KJV – A
fool’s lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes.
A fool’s mouth is his destruction,
and his lips are the snare of his soul.
So here you see what it is to be an evildoer. The obvious
view of such forbidden considerations. There are many of us who have, even
accidentally, done each and every one of these considerations. It can often
quite literally go under the radar with us. When we catch ourselves we can
automatically see what Jesus was sharing all those years ago. We want to hear
things like this in today’s views. Well, if you really want to see what evildoers
are, and also the opposite, check the news. There is so much dissension,
destruction, foolishness, and more. Yet, none are willing to shout it out,
people, learn what you’re doing to each other, and to yourselves. It’s not a
simple consideration. Many have died just to point out these facts. Jesus
warned us, all of us, that it would indeed happen, our persecution, and it
wouldn’t be gentle. There would be no question that is exactly what has
happened for over two thousand years. What can we do? We can listen to His love
and advice. Don’t just read the words. See what’s beyond just the word and find
the meaning. Not just defining each little word, but applying these verses to
your life and filling in the blanks between the lines. That’s the important
part about learning how God’s love works within each of us. Find that love, and
it will bring you peace, joy, and more to share. 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: You Raise Me Up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oni0tO_HN30
~ 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.
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