Covenant of Hope
Ministries Sunday Sermon_8_18_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:
We have
email (instant messenger if you need me) through Facebook available every day, 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 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.
- Continue your prayers for Phoebe Fair as she is in hospice.
She has her good days and her bad days. Her tumor has come back, and they don’t
know what will happen right now. She is at home with the hospice care, but it
is very hard on the family.
- Please keep my friend Heather in prayer for patience and safe
haven.
- Please pray for my mother’s neighbor whose house exploded
earlier this week. Pray for his health as he was diagnosed with cancer at the
same time.
- Please keep my whole family in prayer for the pain, suffering,
and chaos we are going through.
- Pray that the adversity and the pain we have seen around the
world would be relieved, and swept away. May we find common ground in many
ways, even if we start with just one step.
- Remember those who have been lost either violently or
peacefully this week.
- Keep the ministry in your thoughts, each member, no matter
their location, their circumstances, because a group of friends, a ministry,
should support one another.
- There are many in our ministry who are searching for more in
regard to our presence with my health, and with the health of others. We pray
that there would be health found once more, and that we have answers to all and
for all.
Prayer: Father in heaven, we
thank You for this day and for these who are here to share it with us. We bring
our friends, our families, and those who have requested prayers up to You as
You and Your grace in unconditional love can bring hope to those in need. Heal
those who have been wounded or have fallen ill. Bring solace to those who are
in pain and sorrow. Bring the gift of Your Unconditional Love toward those who
see it, and those who do not, so that learning and wisdom would bring so much
to the hearts of many. We know You can do anything. We know You can hear our prayers,
our wishes, and more. We praise Your Holy Name in the grace of Jesus Christ
through the gift of the Holy Spirit. Amen and so it shall be.
Sermon: Sometimes we forget that there are
things more worthwhile or more precious than, say your computer, your
television, things like that. There are those who would say they can’t live
without them. Then there are others who would say the opposite. The thing is,
there would be one thing you can’t live without. That gift is life itself. Life
is born of love. These are far more precious gifts than anything else. They are
far more important than anything you’ll find outside of that. See what this
leads to when you read the next verses shared here. Then see where it changes
but doesn’t change when you see it written in the NIV.
Psalm 49:5-9 KJV – Wherefore should I fear in the days of
evil, when the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?
They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the
multitude of their riches;
None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to
God a ransom for him:
(For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth
for ever: )
That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption.
Psalm 49:5-9 NIV – Why should I fear when evil days come, when
wicked deceivers surround me –
those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches.
No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom
for him –
the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough –
that he should live on forever and not see decay.
It’s the truth, we should not fear the
chaos we see around us, because Jesus is there where we need Him. He is of God,
as we are of Him. So, think of it this way. Jesus and God are like the storm
shelter of life. Sure, it may make us feel helpless and alone when the
electricity goes out, the phone stops working, the internet decides to freeze
up, but those are far less important than life itself. Those are the days God
wants us to sit out in the shade and watch the wind blow, or listen to the rain
as it hits the roof.
We, all of us, have experienced that.
Some as early as this morning, or perhaps it was yesterday, even last week.
Life is more costly than things. There is nothing that can pay enough or buy
enough when it comes to life. I once heard someone say this, but can’t remember
this. You can’t equate money with life. There is nothing more precious than
life and not enough money in the world could make up for the tragic loss of
that life. It doesn’t matter how many lives, even just one when it comes to
murder, war, even a hurricane. There are many additional views found in these
follow up verses. They were put in both versions for many reasons. You can see
those just in the writing of the first set.
Jeremiah 3:19 KJV – But I said, How shall I put thee among the
children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of
nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away
from me.
Jeremiah 3:19 NIV – I myself said, “How gladly would I treat
you like sons and give you a desirable land, the most beautiful inheritance of
any nation.’ I thought you would call me ‘Father’ and not turn away from
following me.
Imagine, well sometimes we see it in our
lives, those we have worked so hard for and done so much for have literally
thrown that assistance away, all but in your face. This is how God feels in
regard to the Jews. If it weren’t for the grace of our Savior, what would he
think of us now? We fight to share what “we” believe is right when it should be
seeing where HE is coming from. There is a difference.
Lamentations 2:15 KJV – All that pass by clap their hands at thee;
they hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, Is this the
city that men call The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth?
Lamentations 2:15 NIV – All who pass your way clap their hands at
you; they scoff and shake their heads at the Daughter of Jerusalem: “is this
the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of the whole earth?”
Why would they scorn, scoff, even shake
their heads at Jerusalem? Well, why do
we do the same when it comes to others? It’s because there are things we should
do, and things we shouldn’t. There are things we are willing to see, and then
there are things we don’t want to see. The same can be said with, hearing,
doing, believing, and so much more. If you were to quite literally “tell the
truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth” as many would promise on the
stand when it comes to court and justice, here in this country at least, it
would be hard for you, for us. Why is that? The truth is never the same from
one person to the other. Like a story, the view of it changes every time it is
told, written, or read.
Ezekiel 20:6 KJV – In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto
them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied
for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands:
Ezekiel 20:6 NIV – On that day I swore to them, I swore to
them that I would bring them out of Egypt into a land flowing with milk and
honey, the most beautiful of all lands.
Milk and honey, they are healthy things,
they are nourishing, but this isn’t just in the food we see in the refrigerator
or on the shelf. Think about them as more than that. Yet, we exploit that gift.
We hoard it and don’t, won’t share it with others. Everyone says “stop world
hunger” but the offers barely touch the problem. It is because we forgot what
it means to help one another, to give to a brother, a sister who needs
something and you have more than enough. It doesn’t matter what it is, food,
clothing, shelter, a hug, a bath, or just the sound of someone else’s voice. We
don’t realize how much of a gift all of those would be, or even just one, and
it doesn’t matter how much or how little. The gift that Jerusalem was intended
to be was one that would be for all, shared by all, equally. It didn’t happen
the way.
Isaiah 14:13 KJV – For thou hast said in thine heart, I will
ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit
also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
Isaiah 14:13 NIV – You said in your heart, “I will ascend to
heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on
the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.
How can we live above the heavens? God lives IN the sacred mountain which is IN
the heavens. We cannot, should not be above God, as He created us, it wasn’t
the other way around. Jerusalem and those living there wanted more than what
was deserved. The intention was shared yet again by our Savior here in these
verses.
Matthew 5:35 KJV – Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool:
neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
Matthew 5:35 NIV – Or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by
Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.
The city of the Great King, Jerusalem,
this is what it should be, how it should be. Yet, no one would let it be that
way. We tend to want to shape things in the way WE alone see would be right. It
should be, WE ALL see what is right, in the same view, His view. Free will
gives us the opportunity to see, hear, listen, and do as He would do the same.
You see, God hurts when we hurt. He cries when we cry. He laughs when we laugh.
He loves when we love, but He also loves us anyway, no matter what we do.
That’s the difference between us. We forget to love one another regardless of
what is done. We’re human, sure we’re not perfect, but we are at the same time
because we have the grace of Jesus, the gift of life through His sacrifice. If
we want to learn from the errors of our forefathers, first we must listen,
hear, understand, and then go and do something about it. 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~
Covenant
of Hope Ministries
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
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.
