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 with cancer. Hospice care is in her home with
her family. Keep them all in your thoughts and prayers.
- Please pray for a friend of ours,
Lucy, whose liver is failing. She is going to be on medication but may need a
transplant. Pray that the first option works and she returns to health.
- Pray for a friend of my brother’s,
who is far from home right now. There have been many problems for her right
now. It is our hope that she will return and be here to complete her healing
and more.
- Pray for our Elder Cal Jennings as
he has been very ill of late. Let us help him with his heart and more, that his
faith will carry him through all that is happening.
- Pray for my family as they go
through still more chaos. Please pray mainly for my mother and one of my
sisters as they are in the midst of the worst part of it.
- Pray for our members Theresa and
Wayne who had a very rough year last year. May some of their trials and
tribulations end in time for our celebration of the birth of Jesus. Pray for
Brother Wayne as he has been very sick recently.
- Pray for those near and far who
have been suffering in battles that do not have to be. Pray that peace can be
found amidst the fear and anger, frustration and more. May hope blossom and
bring that peace once more.
- Pray for our friends and our
enemies, may they all find that the gift of God’s Son, Jesus, holds the hope
and faith everyone seeks.
- Keep hope alive in your prayers no
matter the pain or strife we might suffer.
- May God bless every one of us as we
continue on.
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. Help our friends and
families as they move through chaos and more. 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: Glory Road https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRI_FlK3ip8&index=10&list=PL614A115BF39E5936
Sermon: Good afternoon. Today it was not easy finding out
what God had to tell me. Then I came upon a verse and it hit me like a ton of
bricks. Well, when God wants us to listen, sometimes he has to go to extreme
measures. We reflect on many situations, for example Noah, the seven plagues,
and many others. Today we’re looking here.
II Timothy
7:6-8 KJV – For I am now ready to be offered, and my departure is at hand.
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but to all of them also that love his appearing.
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but to all of them also that love his appearing.
Look at what this says here. He’s ready to find
what’s next. He wants to see the day when the crown of glory and grace would be
brought to him by the LORD. Now, I can’t deny it. I would want to see the same,
now and forever. There are friends and family who would pray for the same.
Bring salvation to our hearts, our spirits, and our souls. Here is another
verse to connect with that one.
Revelation 2:10
KJV – Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee
from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them
that dwell upon the earth.
Look at this! It is the
prophecy from Timothy realized! Keep us from the hour of temptation that comes
upon the world, trying everyone, person or creature, living here on earth. Now,
I don’t know about you, but I’d personally like to avoid that judgment
position. If we were to be chosen to wear those crowns, think about it. It
would be a gift of endless boundaries. God and Jesus have made a promise and
this is the road They provide for us to get there. It’s not an easy road. We’ll
stumble and fall many a time. However, that’s why we ask Him for help. He’s
always there, even in the worst of times. Now, recently I have seen and heard
about so many who have been in the worst of situations, and are losing their
hope. I have worked hard, very hard, to rebuild the strength of their hope and
show that His gifts are right here in front of us if we’re willing to reach out
for them. Now, that’s something to think about as we pray in the prayer that Jesus
brought us.
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)
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)
Closing Song: Living in the Promised Land https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqIyIvL-gBs&index=14&list=PL614A115BF39E5936
~Shalom~
Rev.
Laura A. Neff ~ The Rainbow Minister
Covenant of Hope Ministries
Main Site:
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 © 2015
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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