Covenant Of Hope Ministries: June 2013

Sunday, June 30, 2013

The Lion Comforted Amidst the Lamb’s Fleece

Covenant of Hope Ministries Sunday Sermon_6_30_2013

Good afternoon, and welcome to this Sunday Sermon for Covenant of Hope Ministries. I am Rev. Laura A. Neff, and the ministry knows me as the Rainbow Minister. You can find us posted on Sundays. These are our locations online only:

Main Site: http://covenantofhopeministries.blogspot.com/

Rev. Laura’s Other Sites: Facebook & Twitter & Google+ & Blogspot

Our Main Video Feed: Covenant_of_Hope

We have email and Instant Messenger through Facebook available most Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Sundays 10AM to 2PM ET US and these are now extremely variable. We’re still working this out between the two of us as to what will happen, our Elder, Cal Jennings and I. I will be informing you further in regard to changes being made. These changes were made due to health reasons. There will be live sermons, and the sermon length will be shortened dramatically, but we are unsure as to when that might be.
Prayer: Father in heaven, we thank You for this day and for these who are here to share it with us. We pray for friends, enemies, and the unknown. Let us remember and pray for those who have been lost to this life. Let us pray for those who have been injured or have suffered illness, short or prolonged. Let us pray for ministries worldwide and for those who are suffering fear, famine, terror, or disaster. We ask all these prayers in Your Holy Name, the name of Your Son Jesus Christ our Savior, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, Amen and so it shall be.

Sermon: Today isn’t a sermon, it’s an observation. We often don’t think about one thing in this world. That one thing is peace. We say we want peace. We say we need peace. But, do we actually know how to achieve peace? To achieve that peace we have to realize unconditional love doesn’t mean we have to like what people do or say, or even think. What it means is to love because they ARE. Like we would be, they ARE, human. We’re not perfect. None of us are. That is what we forget. This is one of the things we have to search for in life. There are two locations in Isaiah that share this. Let’s take a look at the pair and then I will share a poem I wrote recently that takes this view into account.

Isaiah 11:6 KJV – The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

What does this speak of? It shows acceptance, love that is unconditional would accept any and all. Thus the fact that the wolf with the lamb, the leopard with the kid, the calk and lion and fatling, with a little child leading them.

Isaiah 65:25 KJV – The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.

We see this same view but what gets added, the serpent shall have the meat of dust. None shall hurt, or destroy in His Holy Mountain. God’s Holy Mountain, sanctuary, the full view of unconditional love.

Well 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 ~ The Rainbow Minister Facebook & Twitter & Google+ & Blogspot

Calvin Jennings ~ Elder Facebook & Twitter & Blogster

Covenant of Hope Ministries

Main Site: http://covenantofhopeministries.blogspot.com/

Our Main Video Feed: Covenant_of_Hope

Our mission for Covenant of Hope Ministries and Poetic-Expressions is not to exploit fear, but to conquer it, and overcome all that is created through fear together as the rainbow in the darkness.

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Great is the LORD in His House and Our Home

Covenant of Hope Ministries Sunday Sermon_6_23_2013

Main Site: http://covenantofhopeministries.blogspot.com/

Rev. Laura’s Other Sites: Facebook & Twitter & Google+ & Blogspot

Our Main Video Feed: Covenant_of_Hope

We have email and Instant Messenger through Facebook available most Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Sundays 10AM to 2PM ET US. We’re still working this out between the two of us as to what will happen, our Elder, Cal Jennings and I. I will be informing you further in regard to changes being made. These changes were made due to health reasons. There will be live sermons, and the sermon length will be shortened dramatically, but we are unsure as to when that might be.
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 has grown from last week. This is our current prayer list for this week.

Please pray for my youngest brother, he is working toward his dream job.

Please pray for many of those we know and those we have heard about. Pray for their health and healing, financial balance, hope, faith, and love.

Please pray that my health will balance out, or at least bring a reason for what is going on. Add to that prayer the financial situation that is getting worse, not better.

Pray for those we have lost in our ministry. Pray for those we have brought as well.

Prayer: Father in heaven, we thank You for this day and for these who are here to share it with us. We thank you for answering prayers for all who would need lifting up. We pray for those in need. We pray for those who suffer. We are praying for our friends, our families, those who are unknown, and those who are enemies, as Jesus asked us to. We do this in Your Holy Name, through the love of Jesus Christ, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Amen and so it shall be.

Opening Song: Great Is The LORD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=035eeu_FygA

Sermon: Yes, I’m writing a sermon. It’s a very short one, but sends an awesome message. Great is the LORD. We shall flow into the house of God, Mount Zion, up in the clouds. How amazing and inspiring this gift would be. It is a gift. The reason this verse and those that coincide would be a gift is quite simple. It proves His unconditional love in hope for peace, love, not just in our hearts, but in our minds, our spirits, and our souls. That gift would wipe out need, want, and all those that follow. We would have all that can be given, shared, and experienced. See it in this verse.

Psalm 48:1KJV – Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.

It is interesting to see the words Great is the LORD. We sing songs with those words. Great is the LORD! He brings us many things. There are gifts we don’t realize He has given. There are others that are gifts we are able to realize if we think about it. We wake, breathe, think, dream, love, hope, and many other things.

There are verses that coincide, let us look at those. The first is in Isaiah 2:2 KJV – And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

How intriguing is that? We see here a premonition that is brought to Isaiah by God. He speaks of a new home in the house of the LORD. What a beautiful place, high in the mountains to see and understand the gifts He has brought us for all the days of our lives. Let’s go look at this verse, Obadiah 17KJV – But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.

Where is Mount Zion? Well, it is the LORD’S house, of course. It gives a name to the mountain of the LORD’s house as shared in Isaiah. In our first verse we see the words city of our God. Note that it is the city of OUR GOD. The LORD’S house, this city, is as a house, a home, where those who love and believe and share His truth would be when They bring us home, to Mount Zion, the city of God.

Micah 4:1 KJV – But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills’ and people shall flow unto it.

I’m going to use one of my favorite phrases here. Think about this. Realize it says people shall flow unto it. That means there will be many who reach Mount Zion, the LORD’s home. That is worthy of praise, now think about that. Think about it 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)

Closing Song: Oh Lord My God http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=mHqgQjJrxI8

~Shalom~

Rev. Laura A. Neff ~ The Rainbow Minister Facebook & Twitter & Google+ & Blogspot

Calvin Jennings ~ Elder Facebook & Twitter & Blogster

Covenant of Hope Ministries

Main Site: http://covenantofhopeministries.blogspot.com/

Our Main Video Feed: Covenant_of_Hope

Our mission for Covenant of Hope Ministries and Poetic-Expressions is not to exploit fear, but to conquer it, and overcome all that is created through fear together as the rainbow in the darkness.

Sunday, June 16, 2013

June 2013 Letter to the Ministry and All

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Brothers Sisters, and Friends in Christ,

My sabbatical being two weeks in, I thought I’d drop you a letter. I was just thinking about you, my friends, as I again awoke quite early. The LORD has done many things for us. Those against the LORD have tried to take us all the way down. Yet, I know that if we, Covenant of Hope Ministries, weren’t meant to be, then I would hardly fight for this, no matter how weak and weary this body might become.

This morning, I was thinking about something I read yesterday. Yes, though I haven’t written much in the realm of sermons and studies, I have kept up on things. Something I have thought about, read about, even written about has been the ideal of a safe haven, a hiding place in God’s love. Now, there are many places to look and find verses sharing this, but this one jumped at me when I read that email.

Psalm 91:9-11 KJV – Because thou hast made the LORD, which is thy refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;

There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

We all know the song All Night, All Day. The song speaks of angels watching over us. There is another titled Angels Among Us, which says the same in different words. We may think He’s forgotten us. We may forget He’s there to run toward for shelter, protection, solace. Yet, God is always there. It doesn’t matter who we are, where we live, what we do while we live, God is there, walking beside us. There is another song, and like those already mentioned, it is one I’m quite familiar with. It’s titled Walk With Me. This is what Jesus asks of us. This is what God asks of us. Yes, that means even while we’re on vacation. God wants US to walk TOGETHER with HIM. Jesus asked US to do the same. This is why I addressed this to Brothers, Sisters, and Friends. It sometimes makes me shake my head when God decides it’s time to write to you, for you, but, here I am doing just that.

May this summer bring you hope through faith. May it bring you peace as you give it to others. May we remember that where two or more are gathered, He is there. It doesn’t matter in person, or in the heart and from a distance, when we are gathered together, He is amongst us. That’s why we have love, you know, because it has no barriers, distance doesn’t matter, we are still gathered together. I leave you with this thought. There are many who gather, yet they have one voice. Should that mean just one speaks? There you go, something to think about.

To our fathers in the ministry, Happy Father’s Day. Remember to offer God the same, for He is OUR Father.

~Shalom~ Rev. Laura sending Rainbow Hugs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=7CZKIrRTIRs

Rev. Laura A. Neff ~The Rainbow Minister

Calvin Jennings ~ Elder

Covenant of Hope Ministries
http://covenantofhopeministries.blogspot.com/

Our mission for Covenant of Hope Ministries and Poetic-Expressions is not to exploit fear, but to conquer it, and overcome all that is created through fear together as the rainbow in the darkness.

Saturday, June 8, 2013

A Gift for Covenant of Hope Ministries and All

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Selah & Understanding Shall Fill You, Heart, Body, Mind, Spirit

Covenant of Hope Ministries Sunday Sermon_6_2_2013

Main Site: http://covenantofhopeministries.blogspot.com/

Rev. Laura’s Other Sites: Facebook & Twitter & Google+ & Blogspot

Prayer List: We have many on our prayer list. Some wish to remain anonymous, and others only wish to have their first names mentioned.

Prayer: Father in heaven, we thank You for this day and for these who are here to share it with us. We bring You the prayers from many who have suffered devastation, who are suffering pain and sorrow. May Your loving embrace bring them peace, solace, and comfort in the worst of times. We add prayers for those who are healing from illness, surgeries, or anything else. We pray for those who are in need, no matter what that need may be. We pray for the world as it is, for each and every soul, because they are our neighbors, they are our fellow humans. We pray for all in Your Holy Name, through Jesus Christ our Savior, and in the gift of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Opening Song: I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDBuzCj_GRU&list=FLys7UjSJHrgrNHy9kLrkxpw

Sermon: It strikes me as interesting that God decided to wait quite a while before He chose to allow me to open my Bible for the sermon itself. Last week we studied as to how the inheritance God gave us will never go away, so long as we believe. So, what do we do because of that everlasting gift? We celebrate of course. In our first verse we are celebrating a future gift, a foretelling of what soon shall be.

Psalm 47:5 KJV – God is gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.

He goes up with a shout and the sound of a trumpet. In days of old there was usually the trumpet first, the shout next, and the trumpet a second time. In the case of Jesus as He is risen, the angels shout, and then they sound the trumpet. They do it through joy, and gladness. That is why we see verses like these here.

Psalm 24:7-10 KJV - Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.

Who is this King of glory? The LORD is strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.

Lift up your heads, oh ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.

Who is this King of Glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.

You remember what Selah means. It is my favorite phrase, pause, think about it, wait for it to absorb, the words of God. Think about the amazing gifts that wait for us. It is a promise, that the strength of the LORD will see us through, and we should share in the delight, the gladness, and the glory, because that is what God brings through Jesus the King of Kings. That is why this occurred here.

Acts 1:9 KJV - And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

What happens? He is taken up in the clouds, up to where He will watch over us, yesterday, today, and tomorrow, until the end of time. The next verse here will share what can happen if we believe. See it here.

Ephesians 4:8-10 KJV- Wherefore he saith, When he ascendeth up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things. )

What is it sharing here? It is sharing that Jesus defeated the hold that the devil would have on us, if we believe. That’s how Jesus rose up to heaven, he defeated the one thing everyone would fear. That would be death. We, when time ends, will defeat death when Jesus raises us from the dead.

I Timothy 3:16 KJV – And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on the world, received up into glory.

Jesus did amazing things. He shared what truth could be, should be, would be. He brought us the ability to see the gifts angels of God can bring. Jesus believed in us, yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He still believes in us, as long as we believe in Him and His everlasting, unconditional love. So, what do we do as a result of His love? We would do as is shared here.

Psalm 47:6-7 KJV - Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises unto our King, sing praises.

For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.

There is a word change potential for ye praises with understanding. This can also be seen as every one that hath understanding. We must understand, we must take our knowledge, think about it, learn what it means, and then we will understand our King, our Father, and be able to share praises, give praises toward Him. That’s the beauty of wisdom. This is the gift of hope as shared here.

Zechariah 14:9 KJV - And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.

There are many ways to gain understanding. There are many ways to celebrate that gift of understanding. What is that gift? We see what happens when we do understand. It is brought to us through this verse.

I Corinthians 14:15 KJV - What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the understanding also.

Sing, it doesn’t matter if you think you can’t sing. You can sing in your heart, with the voice of your spirit and your soul. Then you can sing with your voice, no matter how it sounds. Weak or strong, low or high, sing to the Lord with praise in celebration of His glory. Why would we do this? Well, this one is self explanatory as you explore these verses here.

Psalm 47:8-9 KJV - God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness.

The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham: for the shields of the earth belong unto God: he is greatly exalted.

There is a word change from the princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham. That word change would be The voluntary of the people are gathered unto the people of the God of Abraham. Heathens, the Gentiles, God still is part of them. Note this, the Jews are there with them. The shields of the earth belong to God. We can volunteer to believe. Follow that which your heart shares. It is what God has said, what Jesus has said, will lead us to where we need to be. 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)

Closing Song: No More Night http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cfciYxtF_U&list=FLys7UjSJHrgrNHy9kLrkxpw

~Shalom~

Rev. Laura A. Neff ~ The Rainbow Minister Facebook & Twitter & Google+ & Blogspot

Calvin Jennings ~ Elder Facebook & Twitter & Blogster

Covenant of Hope Ministries

Main Site: http://covenantofhopeministries.blogspot.com/

Our Main Video Feed: Covenant_of_Hope

Our mission for Covenant of Hope Ministries and Poetic-Expressions is not to exploit fear, but to conquer it, and overcome all that is created through fear together as the rainbow in the darkness.

About Us/

Welcome, we are Covenant of Hope Ministries. We celebrate the light in the darkness. There are those of us who need a connection, one to another, whether it is someone we want to learn about, or someone we know and wish to keep in touch with. Ministry is all about sharing faith, hope, and unconditional love. This all would offer peace from the heart. It doesn't matter who you are, where you live, if you are traveling a lot, or otherwise, we serve Christians and Others who are disabled, displaced, disadvantaged and disenchanted in today's world. Licensed Ordained Minister, Rev. Laura A. Neff, Evangelist, Cal Jennings, Outreach Ministers including Rev. Lisa, Pastor Stephen, Apostle Eric, and many others. I am licensed to perform wedding ceremonies in the state of Georgia, USA. I was ordained in 2007 by Rev. Teresa Piercey-Gates. We established this ministry in October of 2008.

MESSENGER

Sunday, June 30, 2013

The Lion Comforted Amidst the Lamb’s Fleece

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Great is the LORD in His House and Our Home

Sunday, June 16, 2013

June 2013 Letter to the Ministry and All

Saturday, June 8, 2013

A Gift for Covenant of Hope Ministries and All

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Selah & Understanding Shall Fill You, Heart, Body, Mind, Spirit