Welcome to Covenant of Hope Ministries and our Sunday sermon. I am Rev. Laura A. Neff. This ministry shares the Word of God, the Spirit of Christ Jesus. Our ministry was created with twelve people around this world back in 2008. Each of us shares God’s Word in ways He guides us to utilize. 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 & LinkedIn
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 has been having issues with his pain, vision, and memory. Pray that his new venture continues and helps the family finances.
- Please keep my father-in-law Raymond in your prayers. He is bleeding internally after a broken collar bone. He has been in the hospital for two days or so now.
- Please keep one of our followers, Regina Fuller, in your prayers. She has been in the hospital for a week or more.
- We are ever watchful in regard to the weather with tropical weather and with the high winds around many places. We continue to pray for those who suffer or have suffered from the COVID-19 chaos. Let pray for calm skies and seas, calm voices and spirits, and also healthy outcomes for those who are affected.
- Pray for a friend of a friend whose daughter Everleigh is preparing for her bone marrow replacement to be managed Monday. This is tremendously good news for little Everleigh and her family.
- Pray that another friend gets good news in three weeks regarding their healing process is going well.
- Be thankful for each day we live as we do not know what tomorrow brings.
- Pray for all of our outreach ministries with Pastor Stephen Okoth, Pastor Robert Nganwa, Pastor Simon Peter Javaji, Rev. Lisa Tyler, and all the others who have joined us.
- 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 who are jobless, homeless, no matter what might have ended up causing either of those. Pray that providence would find them and ease the suffering.
- 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.
- Pray that truth is revealed where falsehoods have been shared around this world.
Prayer: Father in heaven, this is our prayer for today. We continue to pray for the ones suffering as a result of shootings and unrest around this world. We pray that truth can be seen where too many lies have filled life as we know it. We pray for Everleigh, Regina, Raymond, Jeff, Kayla, and Debbie and all the others who have been ill or in the hospital. We pray for those whose jobs are in a scary position. We pray also for family members of colleagues and friends. We pray for those traveling back and forth across this country and around this world so they remain healthy. We pray for the medical scientists, and physicians who battle on the front lines of the COVID-19 virus and all the other terrible diseases in this world. 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: You Say ~ Lauren Daigle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1EwKwayzLM
Sermon: We begin exploring Peter’s second epistle today. It has been eye opening for us as we have explored Peter’s ministry after the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. There is a great deal for us to explore in this much shorter epistle where in place of being ever watchful of the world around us, we should also focus within. It is just as important to clear the cobwebs, the bad feelings, all of those that we tend to hang on to in life as we live it. For many people, this is sometimes a thousand times more difficult to manage. Let’s start here.
2 Peter 1:1 KJV – Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
Much like the first epistle Peter wrote, this one is directed to the faithful believers from the very new Christian church. It is always important, when you greet each other as Christians, to be generous and humble in that generosity. Faith, as Peter points out, is precious, very precious, because it helps lead us to righteousness as shared by God and Jesus. Here we see a similar thoughts managed by Paul here.
Galatians 2:8 KJV – (Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust: )
Ephesians 4:5 KJV – One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
Now we’ll take this back to the first King of Israel and his successor, David and Solomon.
Psalm 119:105 KJV – Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Proverbs 6:23 KJV – For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
We have had so many inklings of what is in store for us at some future date unknown unless to God. It is the hope for eternal life and eternal unconditional love to be found that we hear in these words from the Apostle Peter in this next verse.
2 Peter 1:2 KJV – Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
Grace and peace, two very necessary gifts to realize and recognize as Christians. Peter emphasizes that this is multiplied through our knowledge of God and Jesus Christ our Lord. We have heard this before, knowledge of God brings us closer to Him. Another prophet from long ago also knew this and shared this quite often as we see here.
Daniel 4:1 KJV – Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.
Peace it is a gift that must be shared to be seen and felt. This is, for too many, a confusing thought. It is important for us to work toward gaining knowledge and wisdom on the ability to share peace so that it magnifies within our minds, spirits, hearts and souls. It is there we will find all the gifts that Jesus promises will be available to all of us who believe. This is what Peter shares in the next verse.
2 Peter 1:3 KJV – According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
It is important for us to realize all that Peter knew while he preached the Gospel of Jesus, our Savior and Lord. There is so much that connects us to God and Him to us. Yet, the most obvious is often not shared enough. Jesus is our Salvation, the Ultimate Gift of Salvation because He was born by human means, raised as a boy, became a man, was baptized for all to see, ministered and managed miracles for a great many people, and proved, upon His death and resurrection, that He truly Is the Son of God. Therefore, we see this view of our Savior and His gift of Unconditional Love.
Revelation 2:28 KJV – And I will give him the morning star.
Revelation 22:16 KJV – I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
Of course, as all the Apostles, Peter refers back to an earlier sermon he had with the early Christians. We see that here in these two familiar verses.
1 Peter 1:5 KJV – Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1 Peter 5:10 KJV – But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
Now we are seeing what the Gospel of Luke shares to connect this.
Luke 1:70 KJV – As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:
Now we add to that with these words from Timothy.
2 Timothy 3:16 KJV – All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
All Scripture is Inspired by God, and thus usable for all forms of teaching relative to righteousness. We see now just how this connects with Peter’s ministry here.
2 Peter 1:4 KJV – Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
Great and Precious Promises that are Exceeding all that we could possibly imagine. We can be part of all that, as Peter shares. We do so by shutting out all the corruption of this world as we learn what His Word can do for all of us. That’s very, very important to realize and recognize for each of us. Time taken to study with careful eyes and open hearts and minds will help us create a righteous mind. Here we see two verses that add to this understanding of wisdom.
2 Corinthians 7:1 KJV – Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Hebrews 12:10 KJV – For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
Our last verse is to continue proving that all the promises foretold in the Old Testament have indeed come to pass.
Deuteronomy 13:1 KJV – If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,
It is time to spend as much time as we can reading, sharing, absorbing God’s Word as He wishes us to do. Now, that’s something to think about as we pray in the prayer that Jesus taught us.
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: Amy Grant ~ All I Ever Have to Be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohkdMXx_JlQ&list=PL647D4A09B6636294&index=47
~ 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 © 2022 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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