Covenant
of Hope Ministries Sunday Sermon_7_20_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. I have
often described myself as the Rainbow Minister. My reasoning for that is this:
The rainbow symbolizes faith, understanding, and God's strength to forgive, heal, and so on. 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 Elder Cal Jennings in your prayers as he is very
sick and spends quite a few days unable to do much. His strength and energy
have suffered as a result of pain and more. God and Jesus bring him strength in
his faith, his body, and his hope.
- Please pray for my friend Teresa’s sister who is in stage four
cancer.
- 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.
- Please keep my whole family in prayer for the pain, suffering,
and chaos we are going through. We have had many setbacks in the past few
months, and a few gains as well. May God’s blessings be upon us as we pray for
success in these endeavors.
- 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 thank and praise you for the answers to
prayers for some. We thank you for the gift of life, love, and understanding. We
pray for the many who are in mourning after disasters and more. We pray for
those who are sick, in pain, and lost from the path they should be on. We pray
for friend and foe, that peace may be shared between them. We pray all these
things in Your Holy Name through Jesus Christ the Savior and the gift of the
Holy Spirit, Amen and so it shall be.
Opening
Song: The
Love of God http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fla6EO07I3E
Sermon:
This
is one verse that often catches my attention. It is also one spoken about in
just about every view of ministry. This week what I did was to examine how the
different centuries, authors, languages, would have changed the very words
written for this verse. Some might find this a boring and repetitive view, but,
until and unless we see all the points of view, we won’t be able to find our
own meaning. Every person has a different point of view, that’s known as Free
Will. Let’s take a look at it starting with our customary King James.
John 3:16 KJV – For God so loved the world, that he gave his
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
NASB – For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
LAMSA (GREEK) – For God so loved the world, that he even gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
LATIN – For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-
begotten Son, that all who believe in him may not
perish, but may have eternal life.
NIV – For God so loved the world, that he gave his one
and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
HEBREW-ENGLISH – For the
Elohim so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Notice
that these aren’t very different. However, there are a few changes in the
meaning because of the change in words. For example, eternal, everlasting, they
are similar, in fact, synonyms for each other. However, when you add words
before or after like these in the Latin, may have eternal life. These
two little words change should have. How do they do so? The pairing
could be seen as synonyms. Yet, they also imply may have would be maybe,
as should have would be compelled to. To be compelled to, it’s like
being drawn toward that ideal. How interesting that we would be compelled
toward believing, as opposed to insisting as some would teach. You have to
believe, some say. You can learn to believe, or be compelled to. One must learn
to know, that’s how my grandmother and other teachers taught me.
A
compelling thought is one that draws you in, makes you want to explore the idea
further. That’s exactly what God and Jesus want us to do. They want us to look
beyond the words to the meaning behind them. This is the reason to see every
view known in regards to a single verse of Scripture. To some it may seem
redundant, and useless even. To others it would be opening the door to
exploration. That door is open already, we just have to walk right through it.
Again, Jesus told us that everyone follows their own path, it is their decision
as to how to open that door, and when to do so. This is what is so important
about reading between the lines, beyond the words, to the meaning.
Boredom,
that’s what some would say in seeing these words repeated over and over again.
I’ve had a few tell me that very thing. Yet, there are reasons to be
repetitive. If you were to explore all of Scripture you would note that every
inch is just that. In fact, most of the verses say the same thing twice, just
with different words. That is exactly the reason these verses are written in
each of the various languages and texts. Every translator will see these words
differently. That includes those who are reading, as opposed to writing them.
Writers
sometimes will read too much into things. Readers can do the same. Yet, there
is also the opposite where we don’t look far enough. That is the reason to
explore all points of view. You’ll ask, what exact reason would that be? It’s
known as Free Will. God gave us the ability to see it in our own point of view,
gathering all of the information and processing it to where we can understand.
Take,
for example, if you were to see the very same event as a group of others. No
description of that event will be the same. In the authorship of the Scriptures,
you’ll see just that. For one thing, the Scrolls were first shared in words
alone. They weren't written down for a very long time. Once they were they had
been passed down for several generations. The Gospels, when they were written,
four different men shared their points of view. The words and events were
similar. Yet each shared details they saw that the others did not. When you
hear a story about, perhaps a relative’s life, is it the same as they had
shared when you were a child? Or, is it seen differently when you are an adult?
Every story is seen differently based on knowledge, understanding, wisdom, the
steps of life. This also includes who is telling the story, and is it recent,
or is it somewhere in years far in the future. You have to gain knowledge to
understand, and then you’ll be wise when you can apply it and realize the
meaning.
No,
in most cases it’s not an action movie plot. In fact, some may find it more
like a drama. Yet, if you look at the Scriptures as somewhere in between the two,
you’ll find that yearning to learn more. How do we get it to where it’s
exciting? There is only one way. That’s to talk about our individual insights
based on each verse, passage, or even a sermon written that covers those verses
and passages. Jesus and the twelve Apostles often talked about the Scriptures,
bringing them into the present, as more than a memory, as a practice. Remember,
practice always makes perfect. That’s why they repeat so much all the time, in
school as children, and as adults.
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: Your
Love Never Fails
~Shalom~
Covenant
of Hope Ministries
Our Main Video Feed: Covenant_of_Hope
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.
This mission statement speaks of the rainbow in the darkness.
Every time I would have a seriously traumatic thing happen in my life I would
wake in the middle of the night. When I do I see a rainbow at the end of my
bed, or even through the window behind my head. I’ll see that rainbow in a dark
room even during the day. It will hover in the shadows and reassure me that God
is with me.
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