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 Elder Cal Jennings. His pain is constant and little to nothing helps. May the Lord bring his spirits up and help heal him and ease his pain.
- Please pray for relief in the trials and tribulations for Sister Theresa who continues to have issues with pain. Pray that her daughter, Hope, will have a successfully bright semester in college.
- Please pray for a dear friend and colleague who has just learned they might have serious health problems. Help me help this friend of mine with strength of compassion 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 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 for the relief of those in far-away places suffering from forest and brush fires in Australia, those suffering the aftereffects of armed gunmen, bombings, plane crashes, and so forth, that their spirits be lifted and calmed. We pray for those who suffered through the earthquakes in Puerto Rico in this past week, and the plane crash where everyone perished. We pray for those who have been suffering illness or pain, that they will be given comfort and healing. We pray for blessings in the midst of pain, sorrow, terror, and more, so that this year is a better one for all around 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.
Sermon: The idea of baptism is one that has been spoken about since the days of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. What is important about baptism? It is a cleansing, not just a bath to scrub the dirt and grime of the day, but cleansing from sin, and an ability to have a fresh start and to become a truly faithful and devout follower of Christ and God, our Heavenly Father. The gift of baptism is furthered through the learning of the Word, the practice of that Word, and the sharing of His Holy Word with those around us. Baptism, Communion, Confirmation, three words we hear a lot, not just in Scripture, but in the various churches around the world.
1 Corinthians 15:29-30 KJV – Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead? And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?
If it had not been for the coming of Christ, and all that He did for us, Baptism, Confirmation, Communion, none of those would hold an ounce of meaning. Jesus gave tradition meaning, substance. That’s why He was first promised, then borne, lived, died, rose from death to eternal life, and then proven to be just that. Jesus gives our faith substance that you can see, feel, think about, and understand, just to be able to share that same gift with anyone that surrounds us, no matter their age.
Romans 6:3-4 KJV – Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
When Paul wrote this, he was teaching new Christians, those who had never met, never known, Jesus beyond the sermons shared, just how important the teaching would be, not just during the time when Christ was alive and teaching, preaching the Truth of the Word, but also what it means to follow in those much-revered footsteps even with Him in the Spirit as opposed to alive and breathing. The promise of a future walking side by side with Jesus, that is seriously important for us to understand, and to strive toward in this world of chaos today. With all the sad and sorrowful things that we have seen, from the bombings to the arson fires destroying Australia and other locations, as well as the various earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters that have shaken foundations all over this world in the last decade alone. Jesus is part of us, each of us, once we accept Him as our Lord and Savior. That is what was hoped for long before the birth of Christ, as shared here.
Isaiah 25:8 KJV – He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.
Here we see Isaiah sharing that there would be a day, long after he was gone when everything would transform from eternal death to eternal life. The moment when Jesus would secure our place in heaven, a gift promised by God all the way in the days of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, there would be a time when the bite of a forbidden piece of fruit transformed life to death, peril and perishing in many views and methods. Here we see Paul describing that as well.
2 Corinthians 11:26 KJV – In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
We all know life isn’t easy. If it were, there would be no fun to be found. It would be boring, and we would wonder, even more, exactly why we are here in the first place. Paul is reassuring the disciples and followers, the newly confirmed Christians, that no matter how hard it gets here on earth, our faith will hold us together, and keep us working toward that destination, the one which promises us a life filled with beauty, peace, and prosperity.
1 Corinthians 15:31 KJV – I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
Even Jesus warned that it would not be easy to follow His footsteps. Paul is here in Corinth proving that it is no walk in the park to be a follower of Jesus, especially when you consider that Jesus was crucified, a brutal end for this Man who had not sinned and did not deserve the death He received. Even in the midst of His sorrow, His pain, He thought only of those who needed Him, for so many reasons that even some of us may never realize. We see a similar lesson in the city of Philippi. Paul was adamant that people understand, it isn’t just an act, it is a serious endeavor that requires strength in every way, spiritually, physically, mentally, to follow His footsteps, and share that voyage with as many as are willing to listen.
Philippians 3:3 KJV – For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
There is a reason we still have to preach and teach the lessons of Jesus. That would be eternal life because the other route would be filled with death, despair, and destruction. A lot of people have asked me over the years, what I was thinking when I started my voyage following Christ, making up my own mind to do so. It was not an easy consideration for me, to take the step to become a minister. I spent a good twenty years fighting to realize exactly what life wanted from me, as well as what I wanted out of life. I have my family, my children, my grandchild, my wonderfully devoted husband, and so many more. Yet, when I was eighteen, nineteen, I wasn’t sure where God was leading me. I was frustrated, unfulfilled in the things I was hoping to manage. So, I walked away. I studied on my own, spent a great deal of time alone just because I was lost, spiritually at least.
The writings of Paul and John always make me think about what it took to get me out of that frustrating stupor in my life. And then I met the man I married, and one of the most spiritual people I have ever experienced in my entire life, even beyond my paternal grandmother, a Christian minister, just like I would be at this point in my life. Who was this person? Her name was Martha Neff, and I called her Moms. She, even to her dying day, believed so strongly in God’s strength, in the power of Jesus, that she had me realizing and recognizing what she saw in me from the very first moment we met. She had touched death more than once, and suffered so much in her life, filled with constant pain, I realized she bore that pain and survived it, until such time as God told her it was time to leave us except in spirit. As most of this ministry’s members know, she was not the first I lost in the pursuit of my faith, and she was not, nor will she be, the last. It was Martha Neff who proved to me that life would be eternally managed, through the power of God and the gift of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. Paul shared his view of that eternity here.
Romans 6:23 KJV – For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
God’s law, note this, Jesus said there is a difference between following tradition and following God. It is a tradition in this world today to walk into a church building, sit down, and participate in the typical Sunday ritual we know so well. Jesus, however, taught that there is so much more to ministry than tradition. It goes beyond the space where a sermon is delivered. It goes beyond the sharing of communion, song, prayers and praises. Some people don’t realize just how much work comes with being truly Christian. You can’t just go by rote, repetition. You have to absorb the Word, with hearing, reading, repeating, sharing, and so forth. You have to do this to truly live a Christian life in full. It’s more than rules and laws. It’s more than showing up. That’s what Paul shares here.
Romans 4:15 KJV – Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.
There is a song that says, “If today was your last day…” and I’ve mentioned it before. Another one says, “If everyone cared…”, and I have also noted that one. Both songs share so much, and we often won’t see how truthful and spiritual some music can be, due to how it is conveyed. How much of a difference would caring, or kindness, have on this world today? No, I’m not speaking of caring and then boasting that you’ve done this, or managed a bit of kindness to someone that would hardly expect it. It’s more than that. Sharing kindness, and caring, is taking Scripture and transforming their life with it, without saying a word. Caring enough to do more than just the normal with someone or for someone shares far more than people realize. Yet, even with all the care in the world, there are those who would rather we Christians did not exist. To protect the innocent is something we often want to do more of. This is what Paul shares regarding that much.
Romans 8:36 KJV – As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
True followers, devout followers, of Christ would understand what it means to sacrifice much of our lives to ensure that others understood what Christ, what God means to each of those and how much it affects each of them when it comes to teaching, learning, understanding, sharing, and caring about the Word, the Truth of God’s Word. Every person has their own path with Christ, it is as individual as it is for everyone to follow together as one. It’s something that can be easily understood, as long as we listen to our hearts, our minds, our spirits, and our souls. 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: If Everyone Cared ~ Nickelback
~ 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 ©circa 1890-1910: International Bible Press, The John C. Winston Co.; Philadelphia, PA, USA
Sermon or Study Copyright © 2020 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment