Welcome to Covenant of Hope Ministries and our sermon or
midweek study. You will normally see us posted on Sunday and Wednesday. I am
Rev. Laura A. Neff. Our ministry was built on the truth of God’s love. It
doesn’t conform to society’s wishes. This ministry shares the Word of God, the
Spirit of Christ Jesus. Those who know me well will recognize that there are
definitive differences in the creation of every sermon from this point forward.
It is God’s will that has brought this to be. We wish only that God’s truth
will be shared within His words as brought to us by the Spirit as it fills my
heart, mind, and soul to be shared with my hands, but with His words alone.
You will find us in the following location: http://www.covenantofhopeministries.blogspot.com
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 grows or changes every week. This is our current
list.
- Please pray for Elder Cal Jennings who has been suffering
greatly with his health. May the Lord bring his spirits up and help heal him.
- Please pray for relief in the trials and tribulations for
Sister Theresa and myself as we have had a great many over the past year and
more. Pray that an answer has been found for at least some of those trials and
tribulations through events this past week.
- Be thankful for each day we live as we do not know what
tomorrow brings.
- Pray for our nations that the voice of God be heard through
the Spirit.
- Pray for our friends and families that their tomorrows
bring blessings and pray our own be the same.
- Pray for our sick and wounded that they may heal.
Prayer: Father in heaven, our prayer today is
to have the Spirit bring clarity to each of our decisions. We thank You for
that great gift and the many more You have brought us. May our fears be drawn
out of us. Help us to see the many gifts Your love brings and the unknown
locations it might be found. May our pain and sorrow be eased. May peace be
brought from our hearts and shared with others. May Your gifts of love shine
through us toward others. We pray for the poor, the sick, the sorrowful, the
wounded, and the frightened. We pray for the soldiers, the Samaritans, the
children, the homeless, and the rest. We pray in thanksgiving for every gift
brought us. We pray that every tomorrow may bring good things. For each of
these we pray in Your Holy Name, through our Savior Jesus Christ, and the gift
of the Holy Spirit, Amen and so it shall be.
Opening Song: What A Friend We Have In Jesus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SCorW9r_Is
Sermon: Today’s sermon again came to me in a
meditative dream of sorts. As I was waking I heard one of my favorite verses
playing in my head. Yes, we’ve shared this particular verse many, many times.
However, no matter how many times we do so, it always needs to be said again. Many
of us do not realize how much it helps to hear these words in our hearts, in
our minds, in our ears, and in our souls. These very words free our spirits and
give us the gift of hope. We’re going to start here.
John 15:13-14 KJV – Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his
life for his friends.
Ye are my friends if ye do
whatsoever I command you.
Friendship, and especially that which is built for reasons
beyond business, can go a long way toward healing a heart, a spirit, and a
soul. No matter what happens Jesus proves that He is our friend. He did so by
first dying on the cross. When He was resurrected He gave us a great gift of
friendship, the Holy Spirit. It is this gift of friendship which continues to
comfort us, proving that the time for meeting Him face to face will come soon.
Now, let’s see where more in this regard can be found.
Proverbs 8:17 KJV – I
love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.
There are days when we feel God and Jesus are very, very far
from our hearts and spirits and souls. There are some we can hear, feel, and even
see them. This can be heard loud and clear, seen eye to eye, and through and
through. That is the reason we must learn that loving one another actually
helps us love God even more. This is the lesson Jesus teaches us through that
parable of the Vine and Branches there in John 15. Friendship and love can
extend within our families and our friends of many views. If we work hard
enough those friends will become family. Many of you would be just that for me.
Let us remember that in doing so we are also friends to Jesus and God as well.
This through the Holy Spirit which guides us. Now that’s something to think
about as we pray in the prayer that Jesus taught us saying:
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)
Closing Song: Friends https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZVWi8pCQDw
~ Shalom ~
Rev. Laura A. Neff
Elder Calvin Jennings
Covenant of Hope Ministries Main
Site: http://www.covenantofhopeministries.blogspot.com
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 http://www.covenantofhopeministries.blogspot.com
Our mission for Covenant of Hope Ministries is not to exploit
fear, but to conquer it, and overcome all that is created through fear together
as the bringers of the light of Jesus found in the midst of darkness.
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