Covenant
of Hope Ministries Sunday Sermon_2_16_2014
Good
afternoon, and welcome to this Sunday Sermon for Covenant of Hope Ministries. I
am Rev. Laura A. Neff. The ministry knows me as the Rainbow Minister. Find us
posted on Sundays and studies on Wednesday. Our locations are online only:
Our Main Video Feed: Covenant_of_Hope
We
have email (instant messenger if you need me) through Facebook every day. 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 inform you
further regarding changes. These changes were made due to health reasons. The
sermon length has shortened dramatically. We are unsure as to when there might
be video presentations.
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 keep a school friend, Debby, in your prayers for a
swift recovery after major cancer surgery.
- Please keep another school friend, Karen and her family in
your prayers after the sudden loss of her brother
- Continue your prayers for Phoebe Fair’s family as they
continue to grieve her loss.
- Please keep Elder Cal Jennings in your prayers as his health
doesn’t know where it wants to be. He is still suffering stomach issues with
that tumor and all the heart issues to go with it.
- Please keep my youngest brother in your thoughts and prayers
as he is having a very rough time right now.
- Please pray for my friend Teresa’s sister who is in stage four
cancer. Keep Teresa and her daughter in prayer for many other things that have
been weighing down on their hearts, minds, and spirits.
- Please keep others known by any of us up in prayer for
whatever they might need.
- Please keep my friend Heather in prayer for patience and safe
haven.
- Let us keep those who have suffered from the weather in
prayer, as they continue to weather the storms, the cold, and the dangers that
can be found within them.
- 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 praise the gifts You bring for our hearts, minds,
bodies, and souls. We pray for those who are sick. We pray for those who are
seeking answers. Our thoughts and prayers are brought to you for those who are
found asking why and how. We are thankful that You let us know Your presence in
mind, body, spirit, and soul. We pray to always feel Your presence no matter
the situations we face. We pray all this in Your Holy Name through our Savior,
Jesus Christ, and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Opening
Song: Anytime
You Need A Friend http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNxXyKjiyoQ
Sermon:
Trust,
we’ve spoken about trust, and being thankful that, first we can do so, and
second we have learned how to in the first place. The first, and most important
one for us to trust is God. He, above all, would be trustworthy. Man is
fallible, or weak in some ways. We have our weaknesses. There are no doubts
there. His mercy is found within the trust He shares. It is also seen when we
are thankful and willing to trust in Him. See how this would be shared in Psalm 118:1 KJV – O
give thanks unto the LORD; for he is so good; because his mercy endureth for
ever.
He
is so good. His mercy lasts, survives, forever. Now, mercy is something many of
us tend to beg for. We do so when we don’t know what to do next, or perhaps
when we feel like the whole world is against us. Everyone gets to that point on
occasion. It takes practice to believe that God is there to take those burdens
off our shoulders. That’s where this next verse comes in. Psalm 118:6 KJV – The
LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?
There
is another Psalm that shares this. Though many see it in a different light than
what would be shared here in this one. That Psalm is number twenty-three. I
shall not want. That’s what it shares. Man can’t take away what is already held
in our hearts, the greatest gift God can give, His everlasting and enduring
love. That gift is shared and seen as long as we remember that trust can be
built, even in the worst of circumstances. Trust should be placed in the right
places. That’s what this next verse shares. Psalm
118:8 KJV – It is better to trust in the
LORD than to put confidence in princes.
Now,
we’re still talking about trust. There are many places we’ll find in regard to
trust. Psalms is just one of them. Yet, you’ll find it there sometimes where
you least expect it to be. Take this verse for example. Trusting in Him takes
practice, but, we should trust ALL the time, not just once in a while. That’s
what this verse shares. Psalm 62:8 KJV – Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart
before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.
Pour
out your heart. Give it all to Him. Why should we? Well, His arms would provide
us the best view of safety and security, of course. We often have to think about
that. It takes a lot to absorb the fact that our best haven is in the arms of
the LORD. There are views that prove it is better to trust in God than in man.
One of those is here in Isaiah 2:22 KJV – Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for
wherein is he to be accounted of?
So,
who is man accountable to? Well, all are accountable to God. That’s why we
should give our trust to God before man. Yeah, a lot in this world forget that
one. Love is something that extends from His heart to ours. It is the ultimate
portrayal of trust. To do so brings His love that much closer to us. There are
many reasons we should be cautious when trusting others beyond God. This is one
verse that shares His feelings on that. Jeremiah
17:5, 7 KJV – Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be
the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart
departeth from the LORD,
Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the
LORD is.
Remember,
trust is both found in the LORD, and given by the LORD. He trusts when you’re
willing to trust Him. You remember the story of Abraham, who was willing to go
and do the very last thing he wanted to do. God knew He could trust Abraham
with all things, as a FRIEND. That’s the best part. Once we learn fully to
trust in God, we learn that we can be true FRIENDS. 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: I’ll
Be Your Friend http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJ2IWpUSUdU
~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
Sermon
or Study Copyright © 2012 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.
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