Welcome to Covenant of Hope Ministries and our sermon or
midweek study. I haven't posted anything new in a while. I am doing this by request. 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.
- Pray for friends and family to a dear classmate of mine who
passed away over Thanksgiving.
- Pray for the health and strength of the protesters and
their guardians at Standing Rock. May their fight for truth and justice bring
peace and understanding at long last.
- Pray for the families and colleagues lost in the wildfires
of Tennessee and North Carolina over the past months. Pray that those affected
find strength in their hearts and spirits to carry on despite the devastation.
- 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 those suffering because of the terrors that have
occurred just this past week around this world.
- Pray for our sick and wounded that they may heal.
Prayer: Father in heaven, our prayer today is
to have the Spirit bring peace to the hearts of many. Bring peace in the form
of understanding for those who need it most. Bring peace in the form of
knowledge for those who request it or require it. Bring peace to all those at
war, that they might find a way to live together in faith, hope, and love.
Bring peace and solace to those who have lost loved ones and colleagues. We
pray that every tomorrow 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: Standing
on the Promises https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D88yJ36nwNs
Sermon: Our elder, Cal Jennings, asked that I
try and post something today for the first time in a great while. So, based on
some of the things I have seen and heard over the last year, I agreed to do so.
This sermon today is one on peace. It is one that should be shared all the
time, not just because of the time of year. Currently there are many great
reasons to share the theme. Peace is something that can’t be bought. It can’t
be created by just one person. It is something we must share, and share alike.
You see, peace can be born of one, but it cannot be held by one alone. If it
isn’t shared, then peace cannot continue to exist. There are many, many verses
on this in Scripture. One of those would be this one.
Psalm 34:14 KJV – Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace,
and pursue it.
Seeking peace is something a lot of people say we should do.
Yet, finding peace is something that always seems to elude us. There’s a reason.
You must have peace to find it, and seek it to share it. Peace begins within
each of us.
Matthew 5:9 KJV – Blessed are the
peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
This is one of the verses from the Sermon on the Mount given
to us by Jesus. He speaks volumes in just a few words. You see, peacemakers
come in a great variety of people. There are men, women, even children, who are
born peacemakers. We’ve known many beyond Jesus, all we must do is see them no
matter their walks of life. Peacemaker, I know a few who are just that, even if
they have never been recognized by others. Peace is a true blessing, a
God-given blessing that should be seen, heard, felt, and experienced in as many
ways as possible in each lifetime lived.
Psalm 29:11 KJV – The LORD will give strength unto his
people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.
Notice, peace is something that gives us strength. Therefore,
even in death, we hope that a person rests in peace. Well, wouldn’t anyone want
that? Not just in death, but in life as well? A peaceful rest is one that
rejuvenates us, gives us the ability to fight, to live just a little longer.
Sometimes it even gives us a reason to continue. Now, a classmate of mine
passed away on Thanksgiving morning, that is just over a week ago. She battled
a long, arduous fight with cancer. One of the things that kept her going was
her love of God and the fact that Jesus was in her life. Her love of Jesus
brought me to this verse. It’s one verse He shared with the disciples and
apostles that says so much.
John 14:27 KJV – Peace I leave with
you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let
not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Note, Jesus didn’t just give any peace away to those
surrounding Him. He gave them HIS peace. That is a gift, and it’s no small one
either. HIS peace rests within us because JESUS gave it to 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: Silent
Night https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sme8N2pzRx8
~ 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.
