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 my family members far away as chaos continues
in their lives. The outcomes of so many things have worn them to a frazzle and
they are seeking answer in prayers from near and far.
- Please pray for Elder Cal Jennings as he is going through a
whole lot health wise and emotionally as well. Please pray that he will be able
to find and follow inspiration still.
- 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 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 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. 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: Kumbaya https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jjcxFGEysE
Sermon: Good afternoon. Today’s sermon was not easy to
realize as God and our Savior decided again to wait until the last minute. This
is the reason it waited until after noon. Otherwise it would have been sooner.
Today we’re going to speak in regard to waiting on the LORD.
Psalm 27:14 KJV
– Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine
heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.
Just about everyone has
heard this particular verse in many different ways. Waiting, as some say, is
for the birds. However, waiting for some things would, and could, be more
beneficial than most could realize at the beginning, no matter what would be
going on. It wouldn’t just be our heart or mind that waits. Here is another
view.
Psalm 62:1, 5 KJV
– Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.
My soul, waiteth thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.
My soul, waiteth thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.
Here we see a verse in
Psalms about our souls waiting. Now, look at this. First we have our heart.
Second we have our mind. Third we have our soul. Perhaps there would be more to
add. Actually, there is.
Isaiah 25:9 KJV
– And it shall be said on that day, Lo this is our God; we have
waited for him, and he will save us: This is the Lord; we have waited for him,
we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
This verse may not say it straight
out, but Isaiah is speaking about the spirit within us. So, we have now
connected heart, mind, soul, and spirit. We have one last view to look at. Let’s
see what connects here.
Habakkuk 2:3 KJV
– For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it
shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely
come, it will not tarry.
Ah, here’s an interesting view. This one speaks of
our subconscious views. More than our minds alone, but those which we cannot
always reach easily. Most of the time our conscious views are reached without
much thought. Our subconscious ones would be found in sleep, dreams, and such.
We’ve spoken of dreams before. Notice how things tend to connect more and more
as we look. Sometimes they do so without looking for that specifically. 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: Isaiah 40:25-31 Song "Those Who Wait on
the LORD" (Christian Scripture Worship Lyrics) - Esther Mui
~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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