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.
- A friend of mine is suffering from respiratory issues along with her family members, and her animals have been seeking a new home due to disastrous flooding that has made their apartment complex unlivable. Pray that the leads they have now will allow them to find that new, safe, and comfortable haven.
- Another friend of mine will be traveling across the ocean to England with his family. Keep them in your prayers for a safe journey and that they find what they are seeking there.
- Elder Cal Jennings has let me know, that he is still very, very ill with Bronchitis bordering on Pneumonia at this point in time. His pain is constant, due to a fall last week or so, but since they put him in a brace, the pain levels have dropped. May the Lord bring his spirits up and help heal him and ease his pain even more.
- Please pray for job opportunities or offers to help bless Sister Theresa Bogard.
- Please pray for a dear friend and colleague who has just learned they might have very serious problems. She has had so many issues that this week the doctor has insisted on special tests to determine what is going on. Help me help this friend of mine with strength of compassion and more.
- 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 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 as a result 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, today we bring up in prayer those who have lost their hope, suffered from pain and sorrow, and need direction in Your Unconditional love. We bring up to you those who have been sick, injured, suffering and in need of healing. We pray for hope to be found within the hearts of those who have felt loss. We pray for the dying and the sick. We pray for peace in the midst of despair, fear, and chaos. 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: Hope In Front Of Me ~ https://youtu.be/O5GFiDdGGGM?list=PLv3_uyCdrULHwdM3kpwHFTcG_efrlyNFZ
Sermon: We have been discussing hope. This is one subject we often hear about, hope for the best, here’s hoping, and other common phrases on a near daily basis. This past week, I too found myself “hoping” for good news in several directions. Thank God, I got that good news, in six directions. I still, however, continue to pray for the hope of others, that their prayers will be answered. Those of us who believe, and work toward continuing and excelling in the view of hope. This fits very well when I look to the LORD for the gift of hope.
Proverbs 10:28 KJV – The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish.
When our hopes become fulfilled, of course, we’re happy. Righteousness and hope, gladness and joy, all part of each other. We watch as wickedness leads to more peril and terror, and yet we can still have hope. Why is that? Well, God provides that glimmer of hope, no matter how terrible life may seem for us. I have watched friends and family suffer through worry, fear, pain, sorrow, and yet, hope still exists, even in their worst days and nights. There’s always tomorrow for dreams to come true, as a childhood favorite shares. Hope helps those who believe in the gift of our Savior, and His sacrifice to keep us on the path toward righteousness began singularly because there is hope in this world, God’s hope is found in true righteousness, faith, belief, and the pursuit of eternal peace in unconditional love.
Proverbs 11:7 KJV – When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish: and the hope of unjust men perisheth.
Hope is the one thing that keeps the view of unconditional love in the hearts of the righteous, the just, the ones who have learned well what the phrase love one another as He loves us all the way to the heart and soul, spirit, and mind. When we do, wickedness has no handhold within any Christian. Another phrase I have seen and heard this week, a true Christian is one that realizes there is that part of us that is not perfectly righteous, a little naughty, a little wayward, and yet, because we believe and we have hope in that belief, we are following Christ as much as we can.
Proverbs 13:12 KJV – Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.
See how hope can change your life? Hope transforms the bad things in life to something we can look forward to. If we forget to hold on to hope, we can become sickly, flat out ill, and in some cases, die because of that loss of hope. When you work toward hope and keep that single flame flickering and dancing in your heart and mind and soul, your spirits will rise higher and higher and ensure that we breathe life into our view of eternal life.
Proverbs 14:32 KJV – The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death.
Several times I have been asked if I believe in life after death. I have always said, with God everything is possible. It’s not just a verse in Scripture, as was shared last week. It’s something that proves hope is one of the greatest gifts God ever brought to us. I have known so many who, despite all the terrible things that have happened in their lives, they still have that hope that God will see them through whatever chaos they’re headed for. Several have been through the gamut in their lives, everything thrown at them, and yet, they see the brighter side, the happier view, even in the midst of their chaos. That’s something God gives us through Christ, the Holy Spirit holds us up even in the midst of that chaos. Yet, we also need to be careful how much we celebrate, remember, don’t boast about it because there will come a day when you teeter on the brink of pain and sorrow. These two verses share that view.
Proverbs 19:18 KJV – Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.
Proverbs 26:12 KJV – Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.
Now, here comes the part where we remember our grandmothers and their sage advice. “Watch what you say.” They often add this one. “Think before you open your mouth.” To this day, I think about anything and everything when I feel the need to speak out about something. Now, I’m not saying I haven’t screwed up with how I say something, or when I put in my two cents, but watching when and how I react to things has taught me something, which I hope people also learn, it’s not just what you say, it’s how you say it, that can be misconstrued, and twisted. Think before you speak as shared here.
Proverbs 29:20 KJV – Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him.
Slow down. Think about it. Reflect on your position in anything and everything. Then, when you have done all that, speak with the knowledge that you seek to share with everyone. Never hurry, and there will be no worry. It’s something we have most likely heard at some point in our lives. Whether or not we have actually paid attention to that, is up for our personal debate.
Ecclesiastes 9:4 KJV – For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
Hoping for life, no matter if it is perfect in every way, or decidedly imperfect, but worthy of more than a little joy, is far better than just saying forget it, I’m done. We may not have the most perfect of lives, but with Jesus, with God, we can hope for a blessing in the midst of our chaos. There are worse things that could be. All we have to do is turn on the television, read the paper, and realize anything is possible, good, bad, ugly, or in between, and remembering the fact that living life has so many good things to look forward to. Death is not a sentence if you hope in the faith and belief that God brought us through Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 38:18 KJV – For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.
Sometimes life can make us tired. There are days where we feel as though life is hopeless. When we are weary, and losing hope, it is very hard to pull ourselves out of that sort of tailspin. We have seen this throughout life in this world today, and through the Scriptures, where hope seems to be lost in the hearts of so many of the people there.
Isaiah 57:10 KJV – Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way; yet saidst thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found the life of thine hand; therefore thou wast not grieved.
Hope is something that we have to nurture, to help continue on. It is one of the greatest portions of Unconditional Love that we often forget about. Hope, when it is brought into our thoughts through good faith, sage belief, even in the midst of total earthly chaos, sorrow, pain, and fear, proves just how much we believe in God’s grace. There is nothing better in life than Unconditional Love. That is where hope lives. 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)
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: All My Hope ~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tElvdnId4Q
~ 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 © 2020 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.
I need extra prayer today because I ran out of pain pills.
ReplyDeleteI pray always for you, my friend.
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