Covenant of Hope Ministries Sunday Sermon_09_23_2012
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
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 Elder Cal Jennings who has been suffering
greatly with his health. May the Lord bring his spirits up and help heal him.
- Pray for those who were lost or injured during the attacks in Paris this past week.
- Please pray for relief in the trials and tribulations for
Sister Theresa and myself as we have had a great many over the past year and
more.
- 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.
Prayer: Father in heaven, our prayer today is
to have the Spirit bring clarity to each of our decisions. We thank You for
that gift and the many more 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 peace be brought from our
hearts and shared with others. May Your gifts of love shine through us toward
others. 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 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.
Sermon: To be honest, I had no idea what to bring you for this
sermon. So, I thought about it, and went looking into the verses and such that
I have never shared with you prior to this. Now, our new Elder, Calvin
Jennings, would remember part of this from quite some time ago. It was
originally some form of music, but never, truthfully managed to reach that
point. In some ways, that poetic song fits these verses.
We’ll start with wisdom. One
needs to have wisdom to realize what love can mean to them. It is not an easy
task to gain wisdom and understanding. Job is one of those in Scripture who
proves this unequivocally. So, let us start with his thoughts in this here.
Job 12:12-13 KJV – With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding.
With him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding.
In some ways with this next verse, I always think of the day Jesus was with His disciples and apostles and sharing the parable of the vine and branches. The reason would be, this too shares just what He did there. You can see it here.
Proverbs 22:11 KJV – He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend.
Job 12:12-13 KJV – With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding.
With him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding.
In some ways with this next verse, I always think of the day Jesus was with His disciples and apostles and sharing the parable of the vine and branches. The reason would be, this too shares just what He did there. You can see it here.
Proverbs 22:11 KJV – He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend.
Again, it is intriguing how
three things connect so much in Scripture. Love, hope, and friendship. There is
love and hope in every friendship. There is grace in that fact. Jesus proves
that just in the fact that He would reach out upon stormy seas and help create
calm. He proves that in the fact that He could heal so many, sick from such a
variety of illness, up to, and including death, or what appeared as death. It
is something to know that Jesus and God would be our friends, and King Solomon
shares that in so many, many ways as we see here.
Song of Solomon 5:16 KJV – His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.
Song of Solomon 5:16 KJV – His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.
Without thought, there is
just one verse that could possibly close out our tiny sermon this week. That
sermon is one of my all time favorites beyond the Great Commission and the
verses in Chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes, both of which share hope and love, but
there is something more that is seen, beyond this, a tried and true version of
friendship which can easily be seen at the end of the parable of the Vine and Branches.
John 15:13 KJV – Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
John 15:13 KJV – Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Love, hope, wisdom walk hand
in hand because we are willing to learn, to know, to share and be
understanding, one to another in this regard. As a result of feeling this way,
I wrote, just a while ago, a poem that just might, some day, be transformed to
song. That poem is titled:
Grace So Amazing and Love So Awesome
A friend does
indeed
Live in each
waiting heart
That
remembers the words
Spoken as
promises to impart
Grace so
amazing we can feel
Love so
awesome and so real
A friend
existing forever
Lives with a
name known
The world
would never
Think how the
gift has grown
Grace so
amazing we can feel
Love so
awesome and so real
A friend to
always hear
In the voices
around us
Who would be
oh so dear
Enough to
listen without fuss
Grace so
amazing we can feel
Love so awesome
and so real
A friend
remaining unseen
Yet right
there all the same
For good and
bad and between
All we need
is just one name
Grace so
amazing we can feel
Love so
awesome and so real
An amazing
friend is found
In any hearts
that stay open
Without the
slightest sound
Prayers heard
whispered again
Grace so
amazing we can feel
Love so
awesome and so real
There is as
would truly be
Just One who
fulfills this
With no fear
known it is He
Holding pure
grace and bliss.
Grace so
amazing we can feel
Love so
awesome and so real
Lyrics: © Rev. Laura A. Neff ~ 2012
Now, that’s something to
think about as we pray in the prayer Jesus taught us saying: After this manner therefore pray ye: 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 KJV)
~ 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 © 2015 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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