MESSENGER

Sunday, December 4, 2016

Standing on the Promise of Peace

Welcome to Covenant of Hope Ministries and our sermon or midweek study. I haven't posted anything new in a while. I am doing this by request. 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
 Rev. Laura’s other sites: Facebook & Google+ & Blogspot & Twitter
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 Elder Cal Jennings who has been suffering greatly with his health. May the Lord bring his spirits up and help heal him.
- Pray for friends and family to a dear classmate of mine who passed away over Thanksgiving.
- Pray for the health and strength of the protesters and their guardians at Standing Rock. May their fight for truth and justice bring peace and understanding at long last.
- Pray for the families and colleagues lost in the wildfires of Tennessee and North Carolina over the past months. Pray that those affected find strength in their hearts and spirits to carry on despite the devastation.
- 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 because 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 peace to the hearts of many. Bring peace in the form of understanding for those who need it most. Bring peace in the form of knowledge for those who request it or require it. Bring peace to all those at war, that they might find a way to live together in faith, hope, and love. Bring peace and solace to those who have lost loved ones and colleagues. 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: Standing on the Promises https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D88yJ36nwNs



Sermon: Our elder, Cal Jennings, asked that I try and post something today for the first time in a great while. So, based on some of the things I have seen and heard over the last year, I agreed to do so. This sermon today is one on peace. It is one that should be shared all the time, not just because of the time of year. Currently there are many great reasons to share the theme. Peace is something that can’t be bought. It can’t be created by just one person. It is something we must share, and share alike. You see, peace can be born of one, but it cannot be held by one alone. If it isn’t shared, then peace cannot continue to exist. There are many, many verses on this in Scripture. One of those would be this one.
Psalm 34:14 KJV – Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
Seeking peace is something a lot of people say we should do. Yet, finding peace is something that always seems to elude us. There’s a reason. You must have peace to find it, and seek it to share it. Peace begins within each of us.
Matthew 5:9 KJV – Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
This is one of the verses from the Sermon on the Mount given to us by Jesus. He speaks volumes in just a few words. You see, peacemakers come in a great variety of people. There are men, women, even children, who are born peacemakers. We’ve known many beyond Jesus, all we must do is see them no matter their walks of life. Peacemaker, I know a few who are just that, even if they have never been recognized by others. Peace is a true blessing, a God-given blessing that should be seen, heard, felt, and experienced in as many ways as possible in each lifetime lived.
Psalm 29:11 KJV – The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.
Notice, peace is something that gives us strength. Therefore, even in death, we hope that a person rests in peace. Well, wouldn’t anyone want that? Not just in death, but in life as well? A peaceful rest is one that rejuvenates us, gives us the ability to fight, to live just a little longer. Sometimes it even gives us a reason to continue. Now, a classmate of mine passed away on Thanksgiving morning, that is just over a week ago. She battled a long, arduous fight with cancer. One of the things that kept her going was her love of God and the fact that Jesus was in her life. Her love of Jesus brought me to this verse. It’s one verse He shared with the disciples and apostles that says so much.
John 14:27 KJV – Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Note, Jesus didn’t just give any peace away to those surrounding Him. He gave them HIS peace. That is a gift, and it’s no small one either. HIS peace rests within us because JESUS gave it to us. 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: Silent Night https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sme8N2pzRx8



~ 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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