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.
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 a friend
Susie Bartholow as she is in hospice. She is in very grave condition and
currently in hospice with advanced cancer. Hospice care is at her home with her
family. They all need as much support in spirit as we can bring.
- Pray that the tensions ease in the family. Pray also that the actions being worked out will assist in doing just that and more. Pray that tempers don’t flare and we don’t reach the breaking point. Pray that those who have suffered allergies and colds this past week get well once more.
- Pray for Elder Cal Jennings who is in ill health and a quandary regarding all that has been going on in this world.
- Please pray for another member, Theresa, who is having issues with all sorts of things, spiritual and physical, financial, and more. She has recently gotten out of sinus surgery and is still healing. Pray that her healing goes well and swiftly.
- Keep other friends, families, and even those around us in society in our thoughts and prayers that they be safe, secure, and well.
- Pray that the tensions ease in the family. Pray also that the actions being worked out will assist in doing just that and more. Pray that tempers don’t flare and we don’t reach the breaking point. Pray that those who have suffered allergies and colds this past week get well once more.
- Pray for Elder Cal Jennings who is in ill health and a quandary regarding all that has been going on in this world.
- Please pray for another member, Theresa, who is having issues with all sorts of things, spiritual and physical, financial, and more. She has recently gotten out of sinus surgery and is still healing. Pray that her healing goes well and swiftly.
- Keep other friends, families, and even those around us in society in our thoughts and prayers that they be safe, secure, and well.
- Keep the ministry in your thoughts
as well, that we may continue on even in times that are bad.
- Brother Wayne is still
trudging through the processes of settling his father’s estate. Keep him and
his family in your prayers.
- Our families and friends who
have been in our hearts, keep them in your thoughts and prayers that they be
safe, healthy, and let them know they are always loved.
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 that You can remind us always what
we should be looking forward to. We bring prayers for those who have been
seriously ill. Help those who are working to fight serious illnesses the
ability to find solutions. We pray for those lost and those who mourn. We pray
for those who are traveling home this weekend that they may have a safe
journey. 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.
Opening Song: O Come, O Come Emmanuel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLBPuvFOXIU&list=PLqGktD6ebJGerX1msxT0s9BDm4uKFQF7X
Sermon: Good morning. This week we are at the
beginning of the celebration of Advent. What is Advent? It would consist of the
four Sundays before Christmas, observed in commemoration of the coming of
Christ into the world. Today we will begin on the day Mary learned she would be
carrying the Son of God in her womb.
Luke 1:26-40 KJV – And in
the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee,
named Nazareth.
To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of The Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
And behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
For with God nothing shall be impossible.
And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
And Mary arose in those days, and went unto the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;
And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.
To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of The Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
And behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
For with God nothing shall be impossible.
And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
And Mary arose in those days, and went unto the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;
And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.
What an amazing gift, to know that God would
be with her in the trials and tribulations that would most likely follow in
days to come. Then to learn that her much older sister would also bring a son
into the world. To know that the salvation of the world was at hand. What a
beautiful thought. Christ the King, Son of God, and the advent of His coming to
bring us the hope that was promised in the days of Abraham, carried on through
the seed of David. 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: Musical Interlude
~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.
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.
