https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a980tvdDOyA
Welcome to Covenant of Hope Ministries and our combined written and live Sunday sermon, which is normally broadcast every Sunday. I am Rev. Laura A. Neff. Our ministry was built on the truth of God’s love, sharing the Word of God, the Spirit of Yeshu Ha-Notzri or in English Jesus Christ of Nazareth 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.
You will find us in the following location: http://www.covenantofhopeministries.blogspot.com
Rev. Laura’s other sites: Blogspot & Twitter & Linkedin & USAlife & YouTube & Twitch & TruthSocial & Instagram & Facebook
Wedding officiant page: Wedfolio & Wedding Chicks
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.
- We are still praying today for my dear friend JB who had a very bad fall a little over a month ago and broke her hip. She is home resting and doing physical therapy after recovering from surgery and staying until the doctor is confident, she will manage, which has been updated for another month from now. Keep her husband EB in prayer as he stays home alone until she gets back from her stay at the hospital. My husband and I have been helping with their errands along with another neighbor.
- Evangelist Cal Jennings is finally home after rehabilitation after losing his fingertips to serious third-degree burns. He is still healing very slowly and has just had his stitches removed a few weeks ago now. Please pray for his healing and that his pain is treated like it should be treated, not as an afterthought.
- We have a long term prayer for my sister-in-law Fran’s family. Fran passed away on Friday night. Please keep all of her family in prayer.
- We continue to pray for my Mama who had a small scare two weeks ago involving a short fall. She has had a lot of anxiety issues lately after the loss of my sister almost a year ago. She has also been told not to drive any longer, which frustrates her even more right now. These anxiety issues are really devastating for her and for the family, so please keep all of them in prayer.
- Please pray for one of my sisters, who has a need for something new right now in regard to her career after frustration with a job she is currently within that did not turn out to be anything like it was portrayed to her.
- We continue to pray for a friend of ours, Alexis, who is in desperate need to improve her current situation and is seeking to sell things she owns to help her with this. If you want more information, send me a private message and I’ll pass on the information.
- We continue to pray for all sufferers and survivors of the various types of cancer, including several survivors of the disease, Evangelist Cal Jennings’ brother-in-law David Doyle, JB’s sister Debbie, Jerry, our friend Alexis, my Aunt Donna, and my friend Kelly.
- We pray for those who are in the path of dangerous weather, and other dangerous conditions, including wildfires, smoke from those wildfires, storms, flooding, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, worldwide like those in South America earlier this past month.
- We pray for the various outreach ministries we have joined with, with their leaders, Pastor Jared Otieno, Pastor George Ototo, Pastor Stephen Okoth, Pastor Simon Peter Javaji, Pastor Amir Aneel, Sister Santhi Swaroopa, Pastor Duke Moenga, and others in Kissee, Nairobi, and other places in Kenya, Pakistan, and India.
- We pray also for our American outreach ministries, including Rev. Lisa Tyler on the other side of Georgia from where I am and Rabbi Karen L. Hertzog with her ministry, Way Maker Messianic Jewish and Christian Center – USA as well.
* Happy Birthday to my sister, Cathy, who had her birthday yesterday.
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, we have a great deal of things to pray for and a great many as well. We pray for Fran, her husband, Chuck, children, Kimberly and Chuck Jr., and extended family as they prepare to say a final earthly goodbye this week. We pray for those in the path of the wildfires up north in Canada right now and for those affected by the smoke that is drifting for hundreds of miles. We pray for the many who are injured and ill in our ministry, our friends, including JB, our family, and more. We pray for the homeless and the helpless around this world. We pray for the many victims of violence, prejudice, and terrorism in this world. We pray for those still under the thumb of slavery and oppression. We pray for the unjustly persecuted and prosecuted. We pray for the friends and family who have been fighting cancer including Fran, and others. We pray for those who survived cancer, including Kelly, Alexis, David, and Debbie and many more, that they continue to remain well. We pray for the nations at war. We pray for all this in Your Holy Name through our Savior Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit, Amen and so it shall be.
Opening Song: My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less
Sermon: Today we are discussing the remaining verses of 1st Corinthians Chapter 13. As I have had to do on more than one occasion, two of the verses are connected together for context purposes, as well as for connectedness, to keep confusion out of the conversation. Now, these seven verses share something incredibly important to our Christian faith and an important lesson for Paul to teach there in the church at Corinth and on into today and far into the future. These are lessons that carried through God our Heavenly Father, our Savior Yeshu Ha Notzri Jesus Christ of Nazareth, and will continue on until time stops forever. Let’s begin here.
1 Corinthians 13:7 KJV –Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
NIV – It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Here are two Old Testament references that help us understand this more.
Proverbs 10:12 KJV – Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.
NIV – Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.
Lamentations 3:21-24 KJV – This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. 22 It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. 24 The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
NIV – Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: 22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”
Paul adds two gospel references here from both Mark and John the Beloved. Now, this one provides something I have always believed. The word “if” is a deterrent to all humanity. Our Savior clarifies that here.
Mark 9:23 KJV – Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
NIV – “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
John 14:1 KJV – Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
NIV – “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.
Paul further adds two references to the Hebrew prophets and also to the writings of James the Just, younger human brother of Yeshu Ha Notzri, Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Hebrews 11:1 KJV – Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
NIV – Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
James 1:12 KJV – Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
NIV –Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
Now, there is something interesting in the various translations for this specific verse. In the King James Version, it states, “Charity never fails”. However, in the New International Version, it states, “Love never fails”. This is important to recognize, because every interpretation of the original Scrolls of Scripture has a different meaning, but if you take them all together, then you might receive clarity between them.
1 Corinthians 13:8 KJV –Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
NIV – Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
There is one thing that no human being truly understands the way God understands, the way Yeshu-Ha Notzri Jesus Christ of Nazareth understands. Love doesn’t die. It doesn’t end. It never has. It never will. Love has qualities that are beyond the scope of human understanding. Love is infinite in its reach, eternal in its scope, and unconditional in its very existence. These are divine structures that no human being has any full concept of understanding. Paul provides insight on this through these verses.
Daniel 9:24 KJV – Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
NIV – “Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place.
Hebrews 1:1-2 KJV – God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
NIV –In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.
1 John 4:8 KJV –He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
NIV –Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 John 4:16 KJV –And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
NIV –And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
Now, God insisted that I combine these two verses for clarity purposes. The reason for this is that these two sentences clarify each other, and we cannot afford to misunderstand anything when it comes to Scripture and God’s Holy Word. Paul works with the church at Corinth with this verse. We have to understand that when our Savior returns, He isn’t returning to save the world as it is. He is returning to restore the world to what it should always have been. That’s a vastly different process. He came here to see if we could be saved. He proved that, in part, we could indeed. He also proved, in part, that some of us are so far astray we cannot see the forest for the trees. That is what Paul is pointing out here.
1 Corinthians 13:9-10 KJV –For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
NIV – For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.
Paul has a Torah reference and a Prophetic Scroll Reference from the prophet Daniel in the Old Testament. Now the words in Daniel are important, because they speak of writing something and sealing it up for the future. That’s important because it speaks of the scroll of Revelation, even as far back as the Prophetic Scrolls, a future as yet not written in human language.
Deuteronomy 29:29 KJV – The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
NIV – The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.
Daniel 12:8-9 KJV – And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? 9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
NIV – I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, “My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?” 9 He replied, “Go your way, Daniel, because the words are rolled up and sealed until the time of the end.
Paul includes three gospel references with Matthew and John the Beloved before reaching toward the Hebrew prophets and James, the human brother of Yeshu-Ha Notzri, Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Matthew 5:48 KJV – Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
NIV – Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
John 13:7 KJV – Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.
NIV – Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
John 16:13 KJV – Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
NIV – But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
Paul adds three other points of reference here with the Hebrew prophets and James the Just, younger brother of Yeshu-Ha Notzri, Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Hebrews 6:1 KJV – Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
NIV – Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God,
Hebrews 8:13 KJV – In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.
NIV – By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.
James 1:25 KJV – But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
NIV –But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.
Understanding Scripture and all of its nuances cannot be managed overnight. It cannot be done in one sitting. It takes time, practice, re-reading, context, studying every single day. If we do not, then we are in the situation that Paul speaks about here. We are all children of God, and we are supposed to learn from Him every single moment of every single day. It takes time, patience, practice, faith, and belief to manage even one ounce of full understanding and wisdom development.
1 Corinthians 13:11 KJV –When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
NIV – When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.
We have to allow ourselves to grow in our faith, belief, hope, understanding, wisdom, and life in general. We cannot afford to believe that we know everything about everything there is on earth, physically, spiritually, mentally, and so forth. It’s just not possible for a simple human being to understand everything. That’s why we have God through Yeshu-Ha Notzri Jesus Christ of Nazareth and the Holy Spirit which is a continual and eternal gift that was given to us through the great sacrifice Jesus made on that cross over two millennia ago. Paul has references from the Old Testament in the words of King Solomon here.
Ecclesiastes 11:10 KJV – Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.
NIV – So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless.
Paul adds four New Testament points of view with the gospel of Luke, the words of the Hebrew prophets and James the Just, younger human brother of our Savior.
Luke 2:52 KJV – And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.
NIV – And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
Hebrews 5:14 KJV – But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
NIV – But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
James 1:4 KJV – But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
NIV – Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
James 3:2-6 KJV – For
in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a
perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. 3 Behold,
we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about
their whole body.
4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are
driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm,
whithersoever the governor listeth.
5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great
things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the
tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire
the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
NIV
–We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is
perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.
3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey
us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an
example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are
steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise,
the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider
what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The
tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts
the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set
on fire by hell.
Seeing isn’t believing, that’s something that even Jesus pointed out. It’s a concept that most children can understand in seconds, because they can see things we as adults cannot always manage. That’s something that Jesus referenced many, many times through the gospels. This is what Paul shares next. Listen and hear what this would share.
1 Corinthians 13:12 KJV –For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
NIV – For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
Paul goes all the way back to the Torah for this pair of references before heading toward the Poetic Scrolls written by King David and King Solomon.
Exodus 33:11 KJV – And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.
NIV – The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.
Numbers 12:8 KJV – With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?
NIV – With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”
Psalm 139:1-4 KJV – O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.
2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.
NIV – You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 KJV – He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.
NIV –He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
Paul adds two references written by John the Beloved in the New Testament.
1 John 3:2 KJV –Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
NIV – Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
Revelation 22:4 KJV – And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
NIV –They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
Our final verse in this chapter that Paul wrote to the church at Corinth is this one. This one is a very important verse and one that is often quoted elsewhere.
1 Corinthians 13:13 KJV –And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
NIV –And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Faith, hope, and love. Faith, hope, and charity. Not much difference between the versions, but there’s a lot of information in those few words. Love is something that can grow and expand, it can transform and envelop. It can shrink, but it cannot disappear, not completely. People can say evil destroys love, but it doesn’t, so long as someone remembers what love truly is supposed to be. Evil and wickedness have no strength when love comes into being the way it should. That’s something that Jesus taught us. Paul only has New Testament references for this with these Gospel points of view including two of my favorite references. He adds three others from the Hebrew prophets and John the Beloved’s first letter to Ephesus.
Mark 12:29-31 KJV – And
Jesus answered him, The first of all the
commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
30 And thou shalt love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind,
and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
31 And the second is like,
namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other
commandment greater than these.
NIV – “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
John 13:34-35 KJV – A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as
I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By this shall
all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
NIV – “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
John 15:13 KJV – Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
NIV – Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
Hebrews 12:28 KJV – Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
NIV –Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,
1 John 3:16-18 KJV –Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
NIV –This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
1 John 4:7-8 KJV –Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
NIV –Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Love has a name, it is Jesus. I have a shirt with that quote, and it is both prophetic and truthful. We have a lot of work to do as a congregation, as a church, on the whole, and in truth. We have a lot of misinformation to combat. We have a lot of fear and injustice to correct. We have a lot of pain and sorrow to soothe away. All of this learning about what should be, how we should act, who we should portray in our words, actions, and reactions, allows us the ability to bring our collective hearts, minds, and spirits together so that we might grow in faith and belief through the hope and unconditional love that Yeshu-Ha Notzri Jesus Christ of Nazareth brings us. We do that by showing each other how faith and belief in God go hand in hand, and all of us have the opportunity to walk in the faithful steps of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The ability to do this requires us to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. If you are willing to do so, please leave me a note in the comments and I’ll be in touch. 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: God Be With You Till We Meet Again
~ Shalom ~
Rev. Laura A. Neff
Blogspot & Twitter & Linkedin & Twitch & USAlife
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 © 2026 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.
