Covenant Of Hope Ministries: Be Teachers of Hope in a World Filled with Sorrow, Pain, and Fear

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

Rev. Laura’s other sites: Facebook & 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 continue to pray for Elder Cal Jennings and his health issues, which are numerous. He is scheduled for surgery on another crushed vertebra in his back on Tuesday.

- Please pray for opportunities or offers to help bless Sister Theresa Bogard.

- Please pray for a friend of mine, Heather T.B.’s brother Donny who is having brain surgery and is having other issues connected to that.

- Please pray for a dear friend and colleague who has learned they have very serious problems with her back and more. She has had many issues, including injuries that are taking a good while to heal. Help me help this friend of mine with strength of compassion and more.

- Please pray for those suffering COVID-19 Coronavirus, Influenza, and all the other diseases being suffered around this world. May they be cured, healed, and praise the LORD for the gifts of life and health.

- 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, this is our prayer for today. We pray for those who are sick, injured, and suffering around this world today. We pray for our medical doctors, nurses, and assistants throughout the world as they fight this COVID-19 Coronavirus on the front lines. We pray for those who have lost loved ones as a result of this terrible illness. We pray for those who have lost their jobs or have had their education or employment put on hold. 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: Tenth Avenue North ~ By Your Side https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKeeH4yB0wI&list=PLdtuWQWG7NyWLS_Ubd98ruc4e3HViogw6&index=9&t=0s

Sermon: We are continuing to explore the very diverse views of HOPE in Scripture. Today we jump into Timothy and Titus’s views on this subject. We’ll start here.

1 Timothy 1:1-2 KJV – Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our savior and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;
Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Apostles always traveled with most of their family members. The fact that Paul’s son Timothy is helping to spread the good news of the resurrection of Christ, His life, and His teaching is one that shows a lot in the world view of Christianity. This young man walked in step with his father, and with Jesus, for many years. When we walk in the footsteps of Christ, that gift of hope continues as Paul and the Apostles and Disciples of Christ share it with others, including the residents of Thessaly, Ephesus, Corinth, and more. Now we’re going to see a younger son of Paul, and his view of the path Christ blazed for us.

Titus 1:1-2 KJV – Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;
In hope of eternal life, which God that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

God promised long, long, before the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, that there is something to hope for. There is something special waiting for all of us who believe in Him. After the Resurrection, it was even harder for the Apostles and Disciples of Christ to teach the truth of God’s Holy Word. It was made such for many reasons, only some of them cultural. That’s why passing down the truth from generation to generation with the Apostles, Disciples, and other followers of Christ continues to be so very important, absolutely vital for the twelve to manage. Here is another verse from Paul’s son.

Titus 1:3-5 KJV – But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;
To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.
For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:

Notice that here Titus is in Crete, a small island off the coasts of Greece and Italy. Jesus taught all over Israel. Yet He insisted that His Apostles share the truth of God’s Word all over the world, far beyond the borders of Israel. We remember this fact in the Gospel of Matthew.

Matthew 28:19-20 KJV – 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 is something God has done since the beginning of time. He realized, after Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden, that there needed to be a way to bring everyone back to the full truth and meaning of His Holy Word. That’s why generation after generation would learn, memorize, and recite the Word from start to finish and this continues to this very day. Hope only exists if we exercise it by sharing that same gift, an extension of Unconditional Love. It is a true blessing within that generous gift God provides every moment. That’s what is shared in this next verse from Titus.

Titus 2:13 KJV – Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ;

Ordained and laymen alike have worked hard to teach this concept of Unconditional Love and all of the encompassing elements within it. We often forget that there are so many components. That is one of the many reasons we return to verses so many times. We need to see it and remember it, and exercise the Word of God and how elemental His love for us would be. We are justified by HIS GRACE. We are the heirs of HIS UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. His kingdom is our home one day, so long as we have faith that is unwavering, belief that is held all the way into our souls. Believe, and He promises, He is here.

Titus 3:7 KJV – That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Justification is something many people need in life. Are we justified in the things we say and do? We might not always do or say the right things, but if we believe in Jesus Christ and His teaching of God’s amazing grace and goodness, then we know that even with our errors and misdeeds in life, there is someone willing to forgive us as long as we remember Him and His Amazing Grace. That is the gift of eternal life and the hope that we will see our loved ones, friends, and so many more share when the day of reckoning arrives. 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: Hope Changes Everything ~ NewSong https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jQiuZdOvbM

~ Shalom ~

Rev. Laura A. Neff

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Elder Calvin Jennings

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Covenant of Hope Ministries Main Site: 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.

Covenant Of Hope Ministries

MESSENGER

Sunday, May 17, 2020

Be Teachers of Hope in a World Filled with Sorrow, Pain, and Fear

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