https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--L_KxubKro
Welcome to Covenant of Hope Ministries and our Sunday sermon. You will normally see us posted in written and live form 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. 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 and voice, 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 and his housing situation. May the Lord bring his spirits up and help heal him, and help him improve his current living situation.
- Please continue praying for Evangelist Cal Jennings’ sister who has had a benign meningioma removed and has been undergoing rehabilitation. The family is overjoyed to learn that the tumor was benign.
- Please keep praying for my father-in-law Raymond Neff, who is still recovering from his severe chemical burns, but is thankfully home. He is improving some, but there are still issues with his health as a result of the burns.
- 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.
Several who are having money issues.
One who is suffering from loneliness that keeps them from peace and patience.
- One cousin who is having a great many issues in their family, including two suffering cancer, other family issues especially difficult include several diagnoses that are a lot to process for them.
- Please pray for several friends of my friend Mary.
1 – a friend’s father passed away this past Monday.
2 – A dear friend was killed in a car wreck.
3 – A friend’s café burned to the ground, thankfully this friend is safe.
4 – there were hail storms throughout half of her home state of Texas, she asks that we pray for those who suffered from them.
- Please pray for my friend Jeff’s close friend Buddy who had a heart attack this past Friday.
- Please pray for a sibling who has again injured their back badly enough to require more surgery.
- 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.
- Pray for comfort and solace to be shared with those who have said farewell to a loved one this week, known or unknown.
- 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.
- Pray for all the mothers in this world and those mothers we may have lost as well. Our memories of their faith, love, hope, and happiness should always help us continue to share faith in all that we do.
- Keep my mother in prayer, it is two years today that we lost my father to encephalopathy as a result of COVID-19.
* Happy birthday to my daughter Deanna, whose birthday was yesterday.
* Happy birthday to my daughter-in-law Rebecca, whose birthday is on Tuesday.
Prayer: Father in heaven, our prayer today on this wonderful Sunday is to have the Holy Spirit bring the gifts of joy and peace to our hearts, faith to our minds, and healing to our bodies, and souls this week and always. We share a special prayer for all the mothers in this world, past and present, for their contributions in the growth and faith of each and every person in this world they consider their children. We pray for family and friends who have health and other issues that are causing upheaval, sorrow, fear, and more around this world. We pray for those who have had serious medical issues in our families, colleagues, and friends. We pray for those who have suffered unjustly for things they could not control. We pray for those who have lost faith and live in paralyzing fear and sorrow. We pray for the homeless and the jobless in this world. We pray for the hungry and the malnourished. We pray for the poor, weak, and sorrowful people in this world. We pray in thanksgiving for all the great gifts that You have given us, even if we don’t always realize they are there. We pray in hope and patience for those things that are worrying us in our hearts and minds. 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: Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg5mVgR7JuA
Sermon: This Sunday just like we should on all other days of the week, we should continue to have the glorious knowledge that Jesus Christ is the Risen Lord, our Eternal Savior and the owner and bringer of the Path to Salvation. We complete the third chapter of Romans with this sermon. There is quite a lot to learn from the writing Paul managed for the Christian church in Rome so let’s begin here.
Romans 3:23 KJV – For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
NIV – for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Paul points out that none of us are exempt from sin. It is something we don’t even realize half or more of the time we live that we would indeed be sinning, based on the holy definition of sin. In Christianity, sin is any and all immoral acts considered to be a transgression of divine law. The doctrine of sin is central to faith, since the basic message of Christianity is about redemption in and through Christ. We recognize this definition with the first Scroll of Scripture here.
Genesis 8:21 KJV – And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
NIV – The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.
We learn from history the good, the bad, and the ugly. The Scriptures are no different. We learn how to be godly, how to avoid sin and sinfulness. We learn how to achieve peace, for ourselves and for those around us. We learn how significant sin and sinfulness truly was in the early years of creation, and that it encompasses all ages, all classes, and everything. We see this in the words of the kings, poets, prophets, and more.
1 Kings 8:46 KJV –If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near;
NIV –“When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them over to their enemies, who take them captive to their own lands, far away or near;
Ecclesiastes 7:20 KJV – For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
NIV – Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins.
Another phrase we hear a lot in Paul’s writings to the church members in Rome is “being justified”. “Justified by His grace” we see here in this next verse.
Romans 3:24 KJV – Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
NIV – and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Every person on this earth who accepts Christ would be protected through His heavenly grace, a gift He freely gives to those who believe in Him, heart, mind, body, spirit, and soul. Sure, we are all sinners still, but His grace, His Spirit, cleanses us as long as we remember to ask for these divine gifts. Remember, the humble, the meek, the mourners, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, the poor in spirit, the persecuted due to their righteousness, each and every one would have a place in heaven. Do you think that is something we wouldn’t be able to manage even two millennia later? The Israelites, the Jews, knew that they could all be part of the truly righteous. It is proven in the words of David, first king of the Jews, Luke the gospel writer who wrote the Acts of the Apostles, and of course the Apostle Paul in his letters to Corinth and Ephesus.
Psalm 130:7 KJV – Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.
NIV – Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.
Acts 15:11 KJV – But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
NIV – No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”
1 Corinthians 1:30 KJV – But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
NIV – It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
Ephesians 1:7 KJV – In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
NIV – In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.
Ephesians 2:8 KJV – For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
NIV – For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
Redemption is something each of us, as Christians, would be within reach of all who love the Lord and prove it in their intentions, expressions, faith, no matter how weak or strong it might be, and their understanding of what that faith can manage. Remember, it doesn’t matter the size, every ounce of faith is much more than it might seem to be to us as Christians. Faith, the foundation of Christianity. It took quite a lot of faith in God and in His Apostles for Jesus Christ to willingly face one of the most painful deaths there was in 33 AD, as it was proven to those who witnessed it. Paul speaks of this memory in a way that enhances the experience for those who read his letters then and even today. We see that here.
Romans 3:25 KJV – Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
NIV – God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—
There are many, many, references to the future Salvation of All, our Savior Jesus Christ. We see them and hear them through the Old Testament Scrolls and remembered through the words of the gospel writer Luke.
Leviticus 16:10 KJV – But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.
NIV – But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD to be used for making atonement by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat.
Psalm 98:2 KJV – The LORD hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.
NIV – The LORD has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations.
Acts 14:16 KJV – Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.
NIV – In the past, he let all nations go their own way.
Acts 17:30 KJV – And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
NIV – In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
Now, Luke points out ignorance. It is something we see even today. There are those who have never heard the glorious truth of salvation through Jesus Christ. There are those who have never even heard of the great I Am, God, our Heavenly Father. There are those who haven’t shared their experience of redemption, in salvation, and in their exercises of faith and belief. Just like our bodies, we have to exercise our faith.
Romans 3:26 KJV – To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
NIV – he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
We hear the words “be just”, “be justified”, through many points of view and throughout Scripture. In fact, the words “be just” appear nearly two hundred times. The word “justified” appears seventeen times. The phrase “be justified” appears only eight times. The smaller the number of occurrences can often prove just how important the act or action would be for us as faithful Christians. We see many occurrences of lessons in being just and justified throughout the entire Bible. Here we see what being justified through faith in God and Jesus would include.
Deuteronomy 32:4 KJV – He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.
NIV – He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.
Psalm 85:10-11 KJV – Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.
NIV – Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven.
Isaiah 42:21 KJV – The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.
NIV – It pleased the LORD for the sake of his righteousness to make his law great and glorious.
Luke 1:80 KJV – And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.
NIV – And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.
Remember that Jesus warned the Apostles and Disciples that they should all act or react a certain way to things that occurred in this world. He didn’t mean it to be just for the twelve and their families. He meant it to apply to all Christians, through all the various transitions from that long, long ago day to the present and on into the future. Paul is emphasizing this fact in his next line of this letter to Rome.
Romans 3:27 KJV – Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
NIV – Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith.
Paul is reflecting on the Word as Jesus shared it. We see the moment Jesus pointed out the importance of faith. We find it in the Gospel written by Mark.
Mark 16:16 KJV – He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
NIV – Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
We see Paul adding his reflections in his first letter to Corinth.
1 Corinthians 1:29 KJV – That no flesh should glory in his presence.
NIV – so that no one may boast before him.
Remember, the Law was given to Moses because the Jews were lawless, they had forgotten the great I Am, God, our Heavenly Father, and so needed direction in order to stay in God’s view. By the time our Savior was born, it was more a reconciliation between God and the citizens of this earth. Faith in Jesus replaced the law, and is shared by the words of our Savior, and remembered by Paul in these next words. So long as we remember the origins of our Father, His Only Begotten Son, and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 3:28 KJV – Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
NIV – For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.
Paul didn’t mince words. He, in fact, reminds us to pay attention to our faith and the depths it reaches within us, the amount shows and is shared in our thoughts, expressions, practices, and all life in general. This is something that is very important for us as the children of God. Each and every one of us has earned this title if we accept Jesus and choose His path toward everlasting life over the earthly chaos we see around us every day. This is proven in the words of Luke, and James the brother of Jesus as well as Paul’s letter to Ephesus.
Acts 13:39 KJV – And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.
NIV – Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses.
Ephesians 2:9 KJV – Not of works, lest any man should boast.
NIV – not by works, so that no one can boast.
James 2:18-20 KJV – Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
NIV – But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?
Another thing that people need to be reminded of is that Jesus isn’t just exclusively for the Jews who believe in His existence, life, death, and resurrection. His divine grace, His unconditional love, is for each and every person, regardless of where they come from, what color their skin is, age, stature, any and all other factors in this world. Faith exercised in our belief of His life, death, and resurrection measures more greatly than anything else. This is why we still, even to this day, have to learn or re-learn exactly how to pursue our personal and individual righteousness. This is Paul’s reminder that Jesus is a universal Savior.
Romans 3:29 KJV – Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:
NIV – Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too,
He again references Luke’s writings of the Acts of the Apostles.
Acts 10:34 KJV – Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
NIV – Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism.
Playing favorites is a human failing. We see it in all directions and walks of life. We hear about it everywhere. We, unfortunately, might not even realize we’re doing just that, portraying favoritism, in our daily life.
Romans 3:30 KJV – Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.
NIV – since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.
Life has proven that people don’t understand what it means to be circumcised in this world save as a medical procedure that occurs for young infant boys, or is conducted as a sacred religious event for those of the Jewish faith. To be circumcised means to cut away all the parts of us that are not walking in faith as defined by God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Trinity is also a mystery to many. Here are explanations that give insight in faith and understanding what makes up our faith through a Scriptural point of view.
Deuteronomy 6:4 KJV – Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
NIV – Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
Galatians 3:8 KJV – And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
NIV – Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.”
Galatians 3:20 KJV – Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.
NIV – A mediator, however, implies more than one party; but God is one.
Paul does an excellent job of portraying what it is to be one of the blessed multitudes of the nations of Abraham. We all should realize, if we were to have a perfectly accurate method toward tracing our individual genealogy, each and every one of us could trace our existence back to the many sons and daughters of Abraham. His friendship with God is something we all should strive for. This is something that is reflected upon by all the important points of view, including the prophets, kings, queens, gospel writers, and the twelve Apostles, as Paul points out in his next verse.
Romans 3:31 KJV – Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
NIV – Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
Love One Another is the supreme law. The act and reaction of Love One Another, this single effort holds all the Ten Commandments within it. In our ability to work toward the objective of loving one another, we are doing what Jesus wishes us to do, what God has wanted since the very beginning. His work begins the moment we accept Him as our Heavenly Holy Father, and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior through the acceptance of the Holy Spirit. This is something we see shared by King David, Jeremiah, and the Word as shared by Jesus Christ in the gospels written by Matthew, and Luke.
Psalm 119:126 KJV – It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law.
NIV – It is time for you to act, LORD; your law is being broken.
Jeremiah 8:8-9 KJV – How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain. The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them?
NIV – “’How can you say, “We are wise, for we have the law of the LORD,” when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely? The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the LORD, what kind of wisdom do they have?
Matthew 5:17 KJV – Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
NIV – “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
Luke 20:16 KJV – He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid.
NIV – He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When the people heard this, they said, “God forbid!”
Regardless that the people who hadn’t accepted what Jesus was meant to do here on earth, the truth is in His Word. Our objective is to prove this in our words, actions, reactions, and life itself. For each and every person who reads this and is ready to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, please feel free to respond with a comment or a note in an instant message or note. 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: I Surrender All https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSPcuV5Sli8
~ 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 © 2023 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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