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 my granddaughter Maria. She is getting
stronger and bigger every day. At this time, she is over 4.5 pounds, eating,
and breathing on her own, amazing view of the gift of God’s grace and love. Her
next hurdle, the ability to be safe in a car seat so she might travel home at
last.
- Please pray for Elder Cal Jennings mother, who has been in hospice for quite a while and getting weaker.
- Please pray for Elder Cal Jennings mother, who has been in hospice for quite a while and getting weaker.
- Please pray for Elder Cal Jennings as his pain levels
have continued to be astronomical, and the doctors do not understand that
taking certain medications away would not be helpful at this point in time. May
the Lord bring his spirits up and help heal him.
- Please pray for those who are traveling all over this
world for the Christmas season, whether by auto, bus, train, ship, or airplane.
- 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, today
we bring up into prayer each of those we know who are ill, fighting to live,
and suffering pain. This Christmas season, we thank you for everything that has
been laid before us, and pray that those around us are able to celebrate Your
existence in their life, and the memories of those who we love fill our minds
with happy memories and help heal our hearts from the aches of those that are
forever missed. We pray that the ones traveling for this holiday week will
reach their destinations safely. For those who cannot be together for this
holiday we pray that their hearts would not be heavy with sadness. We pray for
our soldiers who are deployed and far from their families. 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: Silent Night https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BRVkgaIcaE&list=PLAV7hQToHN7SJMTk2_Q8vFJTJfZRBTPow&index=62&t=0s
Sermon: We are continuing on
with our study of 1 Corinthians Chapter 15. We begin where we left off last
week. So, with that, let’s take these three verses and show how they will
assist us in learning what Paul was working to teach those around him, and also
those in future generations, like we would be.
1 Corinthians 15:15-17 KJV – Yea, and we
are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he
raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.
For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
People even now cannot fathom the idea that God raised
Jesus from the dead and brought our Savior up into heaven after three days. It
was exactly the same in Jerusalem when Mary Magdalene and the others hurried to
the crypt only to find it empty save the shroud that covered His body upon
burial. How is it possible that Jesus could walk among them and not even His
apostles and followers could realize just who He was? It’s not all that
difficult, because Jesus did not look as He had when He gave up the ghost just
three days prior. We have to realize, Paul, who had been there that day, and
all the ones leading up to it, and beyond it, and had literally realized just
how important Christ would be, for him, and for all of the people around the
world. So, let’s take a look at supporting verses for this segment of Chapter
15.
Daniel 12:3 KJV – And they that be wise shall
shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to
righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
You will notice in these three supporting verses, the
repetition regarding righteousness and how that capacity toward true
righteousness should be valued, even in these trying times today and on into
the future.
Matthew 13:43 KJV – Then shall the righteous
shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear,
let him hear.
The righteous ones will fill the sky with stars that
shine bright, strong, forever. Our bodies are temporary, what comes next, that
will be our final form, just as Jesus taught, when He rose from the dead and
warned them that His presence had not yet firmed up in the next form, until He
was fully in the presence of all of His disciples and apostles and could help
them understand what it meant when God shared what Resurrection would be.
Philippians 3:21 KJV – Who shall change our
vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to
the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
Paradise is more than a place. It is a sensation,
tactile, sweet smelling, filled with awesome sound, wondrous views for our
eyes, and so much more. We won’t know this for fact until the moment when our
bodies and souls are transformed in the midst of the Second Coming as Jesus
Christ taught through the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus wanted everyone to
understand just how important it was for Him to die for the sins of the world,
all of the sin that had been, and would still be here on earth until time as we
know it stops.
Romans 4:25 KJV – Who was delivered for our
offences, and was raised again for our justification.
The sins of mankind are many, even today. Yet, one Man, a
very special Man, was born into this life to take those sins away, from as far
back as Adam and Eve and forward beyond where we are here and now. That’s a lot
of ugliness to pay it forward for. It is the reason Jesus cried out from the
cross, “Why have you forsaken me?”
Matthew 27:46 KJV – And about the ninth hour
Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to
say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
The gift that Jesus brought to this world, just by dying
on that cross, hung there for all to see, baking in the sun, bleeding from his
side, and from his brows due to the crown of thorns, all of that suffering,
along with the added stress and torment brought from the willingness to suffer
for something Jesus had not done, but mankind, whom Jesus loves with His whole
heart and soul and spirit, to where He willingly gave His life to save us.
That’s some serious strength to be found. Strength that continues even today,
so many years into the future. It is that strength that we must remember, when
times get tough in this world today.
1
Corinthians 15:18-20 KJV – Then they also which are fallen asleep
in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of
all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead,
and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
These three verses may confuse some. Paul is working to
explain that even though some have died long before Christ was born, lived, was
crucified, dead, buried and rose again, they too are brought into the potential
for ascending into heaven as one of the chosen through Christ. Remember, Jesus
will judge the living and the dead, that means every single person ever born.
And yet, people who are one with Christ and Christianity may be afraid to
express that fact. This is where John shares something we should all think
about.
John
16:2 KJV – They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the
time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
The
one thing that Jesus warned every follower he had, was that there would be
those who persecute us simply because we believe in Jesus Christ, that He is
the Son of God, and will save all of those who are sinners when the time comes
for judgement to be rendered, so long as we believe, with all our hearts, our
spirits, our very minds and souls as well. Timothy shares thoughts about this
as well.
2
Timothy 3:12 KJV – Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ
Jesus shall suffer persecution.
In
this era of turmoil on all fronts, terrorism, disease, and so many other bits
of chaos around the globe, we must remember and reflect upon the gifts God
brings every day that we live. Those blessings should always be thought of
first, before our chaos gets mentioned. Why? Because it gives us the ability to
see the bright side of life, the rainbows in place of the rain, the sunshine in
place of the clouds, things like that.
1
Peter 1:3 KJV – Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto
a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
Mercy,
the single most incredible gift that can be given. Why would mercy be so
important? One reason alone. We not only can show mercy, but mercy can be seen
by each and every one of us, no matter the style of peril involved. Jesus
Christ, our Savior, shared this view in that, even though He suffered arrest,
humiliation, thrashing, mutilation, torment, torture, and utter loss of
everything He had, still, Jesus gave a gift to even the lowest of the low, the
potential for eternal life. Paul shares more here.
Acts
26:23 KJV – That Christ should suffer, and that he should be
the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the
people, and to the Gentiles.
Jesus,
three days after His crucifixion and death, proved that there is light, even in
utter darkness. There is a place in the land of glory that waits for each and
every one of us. This is the reason the Apostles and Disciples worked so hard,
for thousands of years, proving that we should live as children of God,
followers of God’s only begotten Son, our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. The
reason, every church needs a leader. Jesus is the leader of Christianity, even
today, this far in the future. His place secured on a long ago day up on a
hillside after hanging on the cross until He gave up the ghost.
Colossians
1:18 KJV – And he is the head of the body, the church: who is
the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have
the preeminence.
Jesus
suffered because He knew, that if He didn’t go through with this torture and
torment, humanity would lose the battle, and the Devil, Satan, would win, evil
would forever defeat the goodness that still exists in this world. It was His
faith, in us, that keeps us here, until the end of time.
Revelation
1:5-6 KJV – And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful
witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the
earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and
dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Remember, there is a reason, a design for everything in
life, from the very moment we are conceived, through to the very moment life on
earth will cease to be what we see here in this time. Tomorrow is unknown, to
humanity as we are. The promise Jesus gave us, “I am with you.”
Matthew
28:18-20 KJV – And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye
therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
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)
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: Hark the Herald Angels Sing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF_bncx97-0
~ 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 © 2019 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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