Welcome to Covenant of Hope Ministries and our Sunday sermon. You will normally see us posted in written and live forms on Sunday. I am Rev. Laura A. Neff. Our ministry was built on the truth of God’s love and sharing the Word of God, the Spirit of Christ Jesus in a way that we believe embraces the ways Jesus taught us to manage. We bring His Word to the many as opposed to the few, in order to continue the legacy created by the ministry of Jesus Christ. 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
Wedding officiant page: Wedfolio
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 Evangelist Cal Jennings who has been suffering greatly with his health. May the Lord bring his spirits up and help heal him.
- Please pray for Evangelist Cal Jennings’ sister who has a malignant meningioma.
- Please keep several friends and other family members in prayer for their trials and tribulations. They have each requested to remain anonymous for the time being.
One who has defeated cancer three times and survived two heart attacks is having a serious issue with a heartbreaking moment. This person asks for prayer for someone they love with their whole heart.
One who has been diagnosed with some painful health issues.
One who just got out of the hospital after a long illness.
One little girl who was diagnosed with RSV.
One who has just had a painful biopsy done checking for cancer.
Four who have lost a loved one in the past week.
One who has returned home for more rehabilitation after a stroke.
One who has been working with cardiac rehabilitation after a heart attack a month or so ago.
Two who have had emotional chaos in their lives.
Another pair who have had serious issues with pain levels in recent weeks and months. May their pain ease sooner rather than later.
- Pray for the economy around this world as inflation and supply chains suffer from extremely high prices for fuel and overly high demand.
- Pray for those who have suffered from violent events, that they heal and do not have scarred psyches and that those who have lost their loved ones to violence find peace in the face of fear.
- 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.
* Happy birthday to a dear friend of mine celebrating today.
* Happy birthday to my niece who celebrated her birthday yesterday.
* Happy anniversary to our outreach minister Pastor Stephen Okoth and his wife.
Prayer: Father in heaven, our prayer today is to have the Spirit bring healing to each of our bodies, minds, spirits, and souls. We always pray for further enlightenment in the wonders that You bring each of us and understanding while studying Your Word. We thank You for the many awe inspiring gifts recognized or not which You have brought us. May our fears be drawn out of us. Help us to see the many gifts Your love brings and the unknown locations it might be found. May our pain and sorrow be eased. May Your love fill our hearts and replace that pain and sorrow. May peace be brought from our hearts and shared with others. May Your gifts of love shine through us toward others. We pray for the homeless, the survivors of weather issues, war, famine and more. We pray for the poor, the sick, the sorrowful, the wounded, and the frightened. We pray for the soldiers, the Samaritans, the children, and the rest. We pray in thanksgiving for every gift brought us. We pray that every tomorrow would 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: O Holy Night ~ Josh Groban https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17kiIIxSdC0
Sermon: This week we are continuing our study of the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. Last week we started with the Gospel of Luke and the news that Zechariah and Elizabeth were, in their old age, preparing to bring a new baby into the world, and the further news that Mary, a virgin betrothed to Joseph, would also do the same. Two cousins that would transform the world in their births and throughout their lives.
Luke 1:43-45 KJV –And
whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe
leaped in my womb for joy.
And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those
things which were told her from the Lord.
NIV –But why am I so
favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb
leaped for joy.
Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to
her!”
Elizabeth and Mary, at the time, did not have any understanding as to why God had chosen the two cousins to bring transformation to everything, and everyone, alive then and in generations to come. They had no idea the amount of work they themselves would be doing for the good of our heavenly Father. This is a short glimpse of their future. The gospel writer Matthew recounts a moment where people were gathering around Jesus.
Matthew 12:46 KJV – While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.
NIV – While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him.
We also need to reflect on the history that brought a prophecy of faith and hope for everyone to come, and is something to recognize and realize for all of us. Here we are traveling back into the Old Testament where the prophecy of hope wove through the lives of the people in Scripture, including this woman, here.
Ruth 2:10 KJV – Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?
NIV – At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She asked him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?”
We must add another prophet from the Old testament as well, this time Samuel.
1 Samuel 25:41 KJV –And she arose, and bowed herself on her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.
NIV –She bowed down with her face to the ground and said, “I am your servant and am ready to serve you and wash the feet of my lord’s servants.”
David, first king of the Jews, also has a lot to say. With him we remember Saul and King Jehoshaphat as well.
Psalm 110:1 KJV – The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
NIV – The Lord says to my lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”
2 Chronicles 20:20 KJV –And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
NIV –Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.”
Now we’ll get back to the words that Mary shared in her song once she saw her cousin Elizabeth as they spent nearly their entire pregnancies together. This is a song that shares her faith in God our Father. Add to that, this moment in her time she is realizing just how important the future births of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ our Savior.
Luke 1:46-55 KJV – And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.
NIV – And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.”
Mary’s song is quite a lot like a prayer uttered by Hannah, in the first scroll of Samuel. Hannah is Samuel’s mother, and this was her prayer to God when she wished to be able to bring a child into the world. God, at the time, granted her prayer, a prayer for the barren second wife of Elkanah.
1 Samuel 2:1 KJV –And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the Lord, mine horn is exalted in the Lord: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation.
NIV –Then Hannah prayed and said: “My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance.
In this world today we have all sorts of ways for science to prolong our ability to bring life into this world. In those days, a pregnancy after so many years was seen as a miracle and should, even to this day. King David is next praying for God to help him prove the strength and glory of God in the world.
Psalm 34:2-3 KJV – My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.
NIV – I will glory in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.
Throughout the Psalms that David prayed and sang he glorified God in many ways. This is something that all of us should do, sing praises to the Lord our God, to be thankful that we are here and alive. Pray that our salvation is closer than we may realize. This is what our spirits and souls should work toward. Every moment we build upon our faith allows our hopes to wipe away all the pain, sorrow, fear, anger, all of it away. With prayers and praises we can remove the seven troubles of vanity, envy, wrath, enmity, lust, shame and doubt. Jesus’s birth started the process for us to gain sanctity through faith and we see the sources of that in David’s words as we continue with some of them here.
Psalm 35:9 KJV – And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord: it shall rejoice in his salvation.
NIV – Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord and delight in his salvation.
Hope, this time of year, Advent, is the “season of hope”. In this world today we see fear, and the seven troubles everywhere. We see those seven in thousands of different ways, just by opening our newspapers, watching the news, reading on the computer. Many of us pray that we will see Jesus and enter through the gates of heaven. Advent builds up this hope, spreads it everywhere. This is something that Paul reminds us of. Here we see it in the words Paul shared with Timothy and Titus.
1 Timothy 1:1 KJV –Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;
NIV –Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,
1 Timothy 2:3 KJV –For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
NIV –This is good, and pleases God our Savior,
Titus 1:3 KJV – But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;
NIV – and which now at his appointed season he has brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior,
Titus 2:10 KJV – Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.
NIV – and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.
Titus 3:4 KJV – But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
NIV – But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared,
Again we are brought back to the Old Testament. We see this same hope, the glorious faith that God’s people have. Leah, one of the wives of Jacob, shares her joy in the birth of her son. This is the way every mother should feel with the births of their children. It should be added and increased as we share unconditional love with our children, our families, friends, and more.
Genesis 30:13 KJV – And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.
NIV – Then Leah said, “How happy I am! The women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher.
The happiness that Leah shares is something many mothers have shared. Being thankful and grateful for God’s blessings in life should be something everyone does all the time. David, although he had his human faults, understood that God was, as He is to us now, a steady and comforting part of life that fills hearts, minds, spirits, and souls each and every day. This is what David shares.
Psalm 72:17 KJV – His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.
NIV – May his name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun. Then all nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed.
Psalm 138:6 KJV – Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.
NIV – Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly; though lofty, he sees them from afar.
Psalm 71:19 KJV – Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high, who hast done great things: O God, who is like unto thee!
NIV – Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens, you who have done great things. Who is like you, God?
Psalm 111:9 KJV – He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and revered is his name.
NIV – He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenant forever—holy and awesome is his name.
Psalm 126:2 KJV – Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them.
NIV – Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.”
Psalm 103:17 KJV – But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children;
NIV – But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children—
Now we have to go all the way back into the first two scrolls of the Bible in order to seek origins of the hope Jesus Christ brought in His very existence.
Genesis 11:8 KJV – So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
NIV – So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city.
Genesis 17:7 KJV – And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.
NIV – I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
Exodus 18:11 KJV – Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.
NIV – Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.”
Exodus 20:6 KJV – And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
NIV – but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Exodus 34:6-7 KJV – And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
NIV – And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”
We add the words from one who often has the most difficult portion of Scripture to explore and study. This is a man who was very devout in his understanding of God. However, he had no understanding of the methodology Satan has in human life. Job understood what the future Jesus Christ would be able to do for every human being at some point in the future. This was his hope.
Job 5:11 KJV – To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety.
NIV – The lowly he sets on high, and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
Here we again see more of the thoughts David had and the amount of faith he often had to work to rebuild within himself in order to share it with his family and the members of the Jewish kingdom at Jerusalem.
Psalm 98:1 KJV – O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.
NIV – Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.
Psalm 107:9 KJV – For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.
NIV – for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.
Psalm 118:15 KJV – The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly.
NIV – Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: “The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!
As much of the Old Testament Scrolls manage, they are a true foretelling of the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. That He would transform death into eternal life as He comes to judge the living and the dead. However, that did not always prevent people from thinking they were more favored over another. This is something Jesus Himself cautioned those around him about. He shares that here in the Gospel of Luke.
Luke 14:11 KJV – For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
NIV – For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Paul reflects on this behavior pattern as a memory of his time with Jesus and the Apostles and Disciples of that day so long ago.
Galatians 3:16 KJV – Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
NIV – The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ.
Many times we have referenced James the Just, one of the first leaders of a Christian church in Jerusalem. He was the younger mortal, half-brother of Jesus. God asks us to take His Word to heart. James reminds us to not be haughty or snobbish about our faith. Doing so negates the faith we claim to own.
James 4:10 KJV – Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
NIV – Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
Humility is one of the most difficult human conditions to maintain on a constant basis. Being humble isn’t difficult, but it is hard to stay humble, no matter what happens in this world. Be humble, be thankful, be faithful, God is watching. Jesus is waiting. There is one bright light that will always shine for those who know and love our Heavenly Father, God and His only begotten Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Keep following that light. 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: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFoFOZmSIfY
~ Shalom ~
Rev. Laura A. Neff
Facebook & Blogspot & Twitter & Linkedin
Evangelist 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment