Welcome to Covenant of Hope Ministries and our Sunday sermon. You will normally see us posted on Sunday and occasionally on 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:
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, Marci’s mother has suffered a
devastating stroke and is in critical condition as a result. Prayers for her
family, strength, hope, and comfort in Christ’s holy name.
- Please continue to pray for Elder Cal Jennings and his
health issues, which are numerous.
- Please pray for job opportunities or offers to help
bless Sister Theresa Bogard. Please also pray that her pain levels will
decrease because they are awfully high right now.
- Please pray for a dear friend and colleague who has had
so many issues, and now has an added one in a twisted knee and injured foot
that are causing immense amounts of pain, affecting her walking, and her
ability to play with her dog. Help me help this friend of mine with the strength of
compassion and more.
- Please pray for those suffering COVID-19 Corona Virus,
Influenza, and all the other diseases being suffered around this world. May
they be cured, healed, and praise the LORD for the gifts of life and health.
- 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 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, this
is our prayer today for seriously needed relief of those around this world who
have suffered from COVID-19 and other deadly illnesses. We pray for those who
have suffered as a result of natural disasters around this world. We pray
continually for those who are oppressed, falsely imprisoned, and isolated or
alone in this world. We pray for those who have been suffering illness or pain,
that they will be given comfort and healing. We pray for blessings in the midst
of pain, sorrow, terror, and more, so that this year is a better one for all
around us. 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: By Faith ~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNIx__JGLGs&list=PLb1LIt-9lDsU-XyeInBrAFGKjKSrUKdVf&index=5&t=0s
Sermon: We are continuing
our theme with HOPE. This specific emotion, expression, fills heart, mind,
spirit, and soul as one of the many gifts of the Holy Spirit, Jesus, and God
thanks to the source of HOPE, which is UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. With that, let’s
take a look at the next several verses
in Scripture that contain the elements of hope. You will note some of those
aspects and elements of hope in this first verse.
Philippians 1:20 KJV – According to my
earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that
with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body,
whether it be by life, or by death.
Paul was speaking at Philippi sharing what he hoped he
represented as an Apostle of Christ long after the Resurrection. The hope he
held was that Jesus Christ, the Savior shone through the Holy Spirit as it
surrounded Paul while he spoke to the new followers of Christ. Now we will see
how Jesus’s brother Jude expressed the gift of Hope, one of the most amazing
portions of Unconditional Love.
Jude 3 KJV – Beloved, when I gave all
diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to
write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith
which was once delivered unto the saints.
Notice how faith and hope appear a great many times
together in Scripture? Faith and Hope are two elements of love, specifically
God’s unique view of LOVE. Let’s go back to the Scroll of Isaiah and take a
look at what Paul referenced in his words.
Isaiah 51:7 KJV – Hearken unto me, ye that
know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the
reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.
When the author here wrote, they speak of hope, even
without the use of that very word. Righteousness, belief, faith, all belong
together with hope. Without them, hope cannot stand. Without faith, you cannot
believe. Without belief, your faith will suffer. Without hope, faith and belief
will suffer in our hearts.
Isaiah 51:12 KJV – I, even I, am he that
comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall
die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass;
This is the hope that a Savior would banish death and
restore eternal life with God. The word HOPE isn’t found in this verse, but the
way it is worded does indeed share that view. It doesn’t matter which view of
Scripture you work with, that very element of God’s Unconditional Love would indeed
be seen here. Our next verse directly references where our hope exists even
when we don’t realize the potential.
Colossians 1:5 KJV – For the hope which is
laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of
the gospel;
Our hope can instantly be made stronger than we could
possibly understand. Why is that? Well, this verse in Colossians shares exactly
why. There are endless reserves of hope waiting for us to need it, held in the
largest, most expansive, and endless space as God’s Heaven. That’s important. I
can guess you’ll ask me why. It’s quite simple. Hope shares the thought, the
core of any thoughts we may have, that eternal life is more than a concept, it
is a reality. Hope is endless so long as we remember to express our hope, pray
for our hope, share it with others, and with God.
2 Timothy 4:8 KJV – 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 unto all them also that love
his appearing.
The hope we all have is a space for us in heaven, a
mansion, a room, doesn’t matter the size, just enough room for those of us who realize
what the gift of God’s Unconditional Love holds within it, righteousness,
faith, hope, peace, security, all of those things we can only dream of as we
live life day to day in this world today. Our hope is much like what Peter
shares here.
1 Peter 1:4 KJV – To an inheritance
incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for
you,
We all HOPE to find that amazing, fascinating inheritance
of God’s Love as this verse from Peter shares. Faith only fades if we allow it
to leave our conscious and unconscious mind. HOPE reminds us that there is a
place for each and every one of us, here on earth and with God in heaven. The
faith that develops with knowledge and becomes righteousness is the ability to
realize and recognize God’s existence in our lives, and that there is hope even
in the midst of devastation. Take the current chaos of the COVID-19 Coronavirus
Pandemic that is consuming the news, causing all forms of chaos worldwide.
There are those who point out that this is just one step in the “Last Days”.
That’s our fear talking in some ways. And yet, even with fear, hope can
continue to exist. THAT is what true FAITH IN GOD would be.
Colossians 1:23 KJV – If ye continue in the
faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel,
which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under
heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;
Look at what Paul shares here. Grounded in FAITH! Kept in
HOPE! We should always feel this way when it comes to God’s Unconditional Love.
Faith is our foundation! Hope is the cement that connects the foundation to the
house. Remember, there is one verse that shares this absolute necessity of a
firm, unmoving foundation. Jesus shares this in His parable.
Matthew 7:24-27 KJV – Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I
will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
When we believe in something so strongly, as strong as
the ROCK, the FOUNDATION of our FAITH, and share that fact with any and all who
surround us, we are following God. Do this no matter the danger that could
afford us in this world, then we are standing with God’s Unconditional Love,
and the hope that Eternal Life is more than a hope, more than a wish, a
reality. This is what Jesus promised. It is what He ensured His Apostles and
Disciples would know and realize the eternal truth and how much it could impact
our existence.
John 15:16 KJV – Ye
have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go
and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye
shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
The fact that Jesus has chosen us as His FRIENDS, says a
lot. As a true Christian, a follower of Christ, we must remember what HE
teaches about faith, about belief, and about hope. All three are complete parts
of HIM. Because they are such, we have even more reasons to share our belief,
our faith, hope, and love in Scripture and in life as we live it. It is our
responsibility to share the righteousness that is God, Jesus, and the Holy
Spirit not just with our individual selves, but with anyone and everyone our
lives touch. How much and how often we should do it is shared here in the next
verses.
Matthew 24:14 KJV – And
this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness
unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Mark 16:15 KJV – And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every
creature.
Hope, Love, Faith, Belief, especially when it comes to
our earning righteousness in God’s House, would be something we have to build
upon. Much like building a foundation for a house where Christ lives with each
of us, mind, body, spirit, soul. Let us remember that sharing the Word allows
our belief to hold us up in those times where the world seems to crash around
us. Remembering, reflecting, writing the Word on our hearts, and in our minds,
that’s important because it allows our hope to spread within us and keep us
from worry, fear, pain, or sorrow. 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: Shout to the Lord ~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytXVSpPfKwA&list=PLp--8DD4Ij8pZBH2jSbJyT1mvHZfqDpmM&index=18&t=0s
~ 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.
