Good afternoon, welcome to Covenant of Hope Ministries. I
am Elder Cal Jennings. 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 are here to thank You for this day and for these who are here to
share it with us. We thank you for the many blessings brought and for those yet
to come. We bring prayers for those who have been seriously ill. Help those who
are working to fight serious illnesses gain the ability to find solutions. 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: I
was prepared to write a story that was much harsher than my normal sermons. It
has been a long time since I've written about the things that are displeasing
to God. Just when I was about to start though, God whispered in my ear to go a
different route. I owe part of it to the inspiration of a good, Christian woman
whom I recently met, but God is the one who told me to change my story. In
fact, the woman almost made me go a harsher route at first. Haha Gotta love
fiery Scottish women. She's a gem, though.
1 Corinthians 13:13 New International Version (NIV)
There are many things in the world. Some good, some bad,
some indifferent. No matter what we run into though, there is nothing more
interesting, more fulfilling, more healing, more uplifting, and more righteous
than love. When everything seems its darkest, the things that can bring us out
of the darkness are faith, hope and love, but none is more powerful than real,
pure, Godly love.
Mark 12:28-31New International Version (NIV)
28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard
them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him,
“Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a] 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[b] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[c] There is no commandment greater than these.”
29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[a] 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[b] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[c] There is no commandment greater than these.”
Note that the bible refers to love as the GREATEST
commandment, whether it be love of God or love of your neighbor as yourself. Often,
the reason that people commit suicide is that they feel that all of the love is
gone out of their life and there is no hope left. Look at one of my favorite
actors and comedians, Robin Williams for instance. He, too had a horrible,
debilitating disease, evidently felt unloved by his wife and family, and had
run out of hope. He ended his life at the end of a belt in a closet door.
Having faced a much similar problem, I can tell you that there is NOTHING that
could have brought me back from the edge... not prayer, not faith, not anything
without the prospect of love. I was tired of suffering after having suffered so
much all of these years. I WANTED to die and go on to meet my maker. I'm a
Christian. I've lived life the best I could. I tried always to be kind to
others and do good to even those who hated me, did me wrong, and caused me
grief. I tried to teach God's word, heal the sick, and raise the dead as Jesus
commanded us to do. Yes, I made mistakes, but I knew that Jesus had died for my
sins and would forgive them since I prayed earnestly for forgiveness and did my
best to repent of those sins. I was ready to move on. I didn't even WANT to try
again. It was far too painful. I didn't want love. I knew it would likely mean
nothing but more suffering and humiliation. Of course, I had never really had
the love of a believer before.
There are many gifts given, but all of them originate
from unconditional love. Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment would
be. This was His response.
Matthew 22:36-40 King James Version (KJV)
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the
law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love
thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and
the prophets.
Notice this, love is the single most important gift given
and shared.
But, it can be neither, unless you are willing to first give, and
then also receive, no matter who brings that gift, and no matter when or where.
Love is a many splendored thing as literature shares. That love changes points
of views, but lives on regardless. It allows us to give, forgive, listen, hear,
understand, and act whenever it is wanted, needed, or even unrealized. So let’s
give that one some thought as we conclude our sermon. 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)
~ Love, Hope, and Peace through Christ ~
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. (Rev. Laura)
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