Covenant Of Hope Ministries: September 2014

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Faith Eternally Found

Good afternoon, welcome to Covenant of Hope Ministries. My name is Rev. Laura A. Neff, the Rainbow Minister. The choice for Rainbow has to do with the fact that the rainbow symbolizes a promise made and one that can and will be kept. I made, long ago, a promise to God that I would do all I could to keep that faith within me. We are normally posted on Sundays for sermons and Wednesdays for studies. You can find these posted in the following locations.

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

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

Note: I will only post poetry and a verse or two for the next two weeks due to family events, including my daughter's wedding this upcoming week. Should Elder Cal Jennings be up to it we may have some inspiration from him as well. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

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 most of his time in bed these days. Please also pray for a friend of his and for his financial situation.

- Pray for swift healing for my friend Deborah’s husband who had a very scary incident and needed surgery.

- Pray for my sister's son who just had surgery on his elbow, that he might heal swiftly.

- Pray for another sister, that her traumatic situation, which has affected most of the family, would be resolved to the better for all of us.

- Pray for another friend, Thomas, as his father passed away two weeks ago.

- Keep praying that Brother Wayne Bartosh manages to finish the trudge through the legal issues in the wake of his father's death.

- A friend of mine, Beth, is having many problems and is moving in with her mother for a while. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

- Please pray for my friend Theresa’s sister who is in stage four cancer and has taken a turn for the worse.

- 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.

- 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 you for the blessings brought and for those yet to come. We pray for those lost and those who mourn. We pray for patience and courage for those we love and care about, and ourselves as well. We pray for peace to reach out from the heart and be heard, felt, and understood. We pray that Your grace and love would fill the hearts of the many in this world. We pray all this in Your Holy Name through the Savior Jesus Christ, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, Amen and so it shall be.

Sermon: This isn't remotely an ordinary sermon. I am simply leaving you with a pair of verses to contemplate on. For the next two weeks I will post different poems with a verse or two of Scripture so that we might concentrate our thoughts on faith, hope, and the gift of unconditional love.

Mark 4:31-32 KJV – It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth:

But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of 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~

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 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.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Three Old Testament Miracles That Don’t Sound Like Miracles

Covenant of Hope Ministries Sunday Sermon_9_14_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:

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 (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 spent a day in the hospital now two weeks ago.

- Pray for swift healing for my friend Deborah’s husband who had a very scary incident this past week.

- Pray for another friend, Thomas, as his father passed away this past week.

- A high school classmate of mine, her brother-in-law passed away unexpectedly this week four days ago.

- A friend of mine, Beth, is having many problems and is moving in with her mother for a while. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

- Please pray for my friend Teresa’s sister who is in stage four cancer and has taken a turn for the worse.

- 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.

- 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.

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 the blessings brought and for those yet to come. We pray for those lost and those who mourn. We pray for peace to reach out from the heart and be heard, felt, and understood. We pray that Your grace and love would fill the hearts of the many in this world. We pray all this in Your Holy Name through the Savior Jesus Christ, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, Amen and so it shall be.

Opening Song: It is Well With My Soul http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EszdZQr69Gg&list=PL6A749F79098D5BAC

Sermon: This week has been unusual in regard to inspiration for the sermons. Well, this morning I received an interesting and even intriguing gift relative to last Sunday’s sermon on miracles. This truthfully is an unusual view, but, in fact, proves that there are three or more styles of miracle. There are miracles of life, heart, spirit, and soul. Some of those are combined, and others are individual. Today we are going to show miracles of the Spirit as seen through the eyes of the heart and soul. We’ll start with the miracle that kept Jonah alive in the whale’s belly.

Jonah 1:17 KJV – Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Jonah 2:10 KJV – And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.

Three days Jonah lived in the belly of the fish. Some say it was a whale, in different points of view in Scripture. Yet, think of it this way. How often do you hear of a person living inside any type of large fish? It doesn’t seem possible. Does it? Yet, if you look at it this way, as a miracle, it makes a huge difference. You see, it is a miracle to survive some of the ugliest, worst conditions known. In recent history we have seen or heard about babies that have survived floods, tornadoes, even hurricanes where none around them did the same. That, like Jonah in the giant fish, would consist of a miracle. Let’s take a look at a second miracle of survival.

Daniel 6:16-22 KJV – Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.

And a stone was brought and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel.

Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instrumental musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him.

Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions.

And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said unto Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?

Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live forever.

My God hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before his innocensy was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.

Now, in all cases, when given a prime opportunity for fresh meat, a lion would chase after it and rip that meat apart. It wouldn’t matter man or animal. Not only do we see the miracle of survival in dire circumstances, but the miracle of realization. That realization would be that God is a lot more than people think He is. The lion’s den, the giant fish’s belly, both of which most human beings could not survive within, and yet, both Jonah and Daniel had done so. Now we’ll see how friends of Daniel survived their own version of punishment that should never have been. Here is the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Daniel 3:19-26 KJV – Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.

And he commanded the most mighty of men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning, fiery furnace.

Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.

He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came forth of the midst of the fire.

I don’t know about you, but most of those in the middle of a seriously hot fire do not come out completely unharmed in this world. Thus, we see another miracle, two of them in fact, for there was a fourth protecting Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, the Spirit of the Lord. His love does a great deal. We don’t often see them as miracles. Yet, truthfully, should we survive terrible incidents, like earthquakes, hurricanes, typhoons, tidal waves, volcanic eruptions and more, that, in itself would be miraculous. The same can be said for explosions, bombings, and so many others.

Why is it we don’t see these events and their outcomes, especially if even one survives the incredibly slim odds, as miracles? Like the miracle of birth, there are many. You could add the return of the flowers, grass, even trees, after those bombings, nuclear issues, and more. Certainly it takes a good while to get everything cleared away and clean once more, but it can, and does, happen. 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: With All I Am http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MFpqb3Eazs

~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, September 7, 2014

In the Beginning a Miracle Unforeseen

Covenant of Hope Ministries Sunday Sermon_9_7_2014

Good afternoon, and welcomd 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 for a simple reason. The rainbow symbolizes faith, understanding, and God’s strength to forgive, heal, and so on. You can find us posted most Sundays and with studies on Wednesday at these locations online:

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

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

Our Main Video Feed: Covenant_of_Hope

- Please keep Elder Cal Jennings in your prayers as he is still having so many issues with his health and has been unable to do what he loves to do, that is to spread the gift of Jesus and His love to all. He has had a recent visit to the hospital for issues with his heart and more.

- Please pray for my friend Teresa’s sister who is in stage four cancer. Please also pray also for relief in her current situation. That her patience continue and be rewarded.

- 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. Pray that the stress from news we weren’t either expecting or prepared for would keep from swallowing us as it consists financial, health, and emotional upheaval.

- 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.

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 all the many gifts You bring to our hearts, minds, bodies, and spirits. We bring those whose hearts, minds, bodies, and spirits need Your extra care. We pray for grace and good spirit to fill the hearts of those who need Your embracing arms in their times of bad. We pray for Your hope in the sight of despair. We pray all this in the name of our Heavenly Father through the savior Jesus Christ, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, Amen and so it shall be.

Opening Song: This Little Light of Mine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2kDsqGeoLU

Sermon: Today’s sermon waited until morning to even come close to completion. There’s a reason for that. You’ll ask why there is one. Well, there is always a reason when it comes to God’s miracles. Yes, I said miracles. The simplest of things, miracles, can be. Or, they could, in fact, be the impossible. Well, sometimes you have to get back to basics when it comes to discussing miracles. For most in this world we hear the discussion of miracles when it came to Jesus and the Apostles, or the parting of the Red Sea. Truthfully, we’re getting even more basic than that.

The definition of a miracle is: an effect or event manifesting or considered as a work of God. Well, if you read Scripture enough, you realize there are a lot of things considered to be miracles in His Love. Let’s start with the simplest of those.

Genesis 1:1-5 NASB – In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formeless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

Yes, it is as simple as light and dark, day and night, heaven, and earth. Miracles are the unexplained. Where something is that wasn’t before. In these days everyone calls it science. Truthfully, miracles defy science. They are the reason science exists. So, these miracles started with the simplest views, day and night, sun, moon, and the stars.

Genesis 1:14-19 NASB – Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also. God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.

It is understanding how important these tiny miracles are to us. Simple isn’t it? When we breathe, we prove miracles exist. When we close our eyes only to open them the next morning, we prove the simplest, earliest of miracles, day and night. Look up in the sky and see the sun as it rises, or sets, the moon as it does the same, and the stars as they come into view. All of those are miracles we take for granted.

What miracles do we automatically think of in Scripture? Well, those are different types of miracles. They are miracles of faith. Sometimes we must learn that the simplest miracles can indeed prove the larger ones have more importance. There is a reason for this. We’ve forgotten too much. This is why the miracles Jesus brought would take such a significant portion of the New Testament. What did He do in those miracles? He proved that the gifts of life are right here in front of us in the greatest gift, unconditional love. You see, love, especially unconditional love, is something we have, yes, have, the ability to share. It is the fact that we’ve forgotten how to do so that brings us the reasons for having Jesus show us the path once more.

So, let’s think about it this way. Miracles are both as simple as day and night and as difficult as resurrection and healing without touching someone medically or otherwise. The one thing that is true from start to finish is, you have to believe. If you don’t believe there will be a tomorrow, then there won’t be. If you don’t believe in yourself, or that there is a reason you are here, then what is there to believe in? It is a miracle that brought each of us into being. It is a miracle that has kept us here as long as we are or will be. Every path has a beginning, a middle, and an end. It’s as much what you do as you take your miracle path, as how you get there. One thing we often don’t think about is a catalyst, the spark that leads to flame, or the turn of events that changes everything. Those are where the miracles aren’t seen, when they should be such.

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 Saw The Light http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtolv9kM1qk

~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, September 21, 2014

Faith Eternally Found

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Three Old Testament Miracles That Don’t Sound Like Miracles

Sunday, September 7, 2014

In the Beginning a Miracle Unforeseen