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 continue to pray for Elder Cal Jennings and his
need for healing prayer.
- Please pray for faith and hope boosters to help bless
Sister Theresa Bogard.
- 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, this
is our prayer for today. Health, happiness, financial security, love,
understanding, and wisdom for all who need these things. We pray for a return
to good health after the quarantines and other medical chaos this world has
seen. We pray for our nation which is in chaos, that peace can again reign. We
bring our loved ones that have been lost in the past week that their families have
peace in knowing their loved ones are now free from pain, sorrow, and more. 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: Holy, Holy, Holy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgHrNNM23p8
Sermon: Our voyage into
Paul’s teaching of the people of Ephesus continues to share how Christ and
following Christ would be a path toward true roots in our faith. It’s not easy
to see our faith as it works within us and with those around us. Love,
unconditional love, is a very important component in the path Jesus blazed for
us. That’s what is shared here.
Ephesians 1:4 KJV – According
as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before him in love:
There are many future verses that take us back to this
idea, which all of the Apostles worked to share with those who were surrounding
them. Here is the Apostle Peter with his view.
1 Peter 1:2 KJV – Elect
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the
Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto
you, and peace, be multiplied.
To sanctify something is to make or keep something holy.
The blood of Christ, in every communion ceremony, is made to be such through
sanctification. When we take part in the communion ceremony, we are
transforming ourselves, in our hearts, minds, spirits, and souls. When we
remember Him in our prayers, words, and actions, we sanctify the faith we have
for Him through our daily walk.
Luke 1:75 KJV – In holiness
and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.
Colossians 1:22 KJV – In the
body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and
unreproveable in his sight:
These two verses allude to an Old Testament reference
sharing that the love God has for us is beyond normal human understanding. This
is something that Jesus wanted everyone to understand as well. Thus the reason
we are brought to this verse.
Psalms 8:6 KJV – Thou madest
him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things
under his feet:
Matthew 28:18 KJV – And
Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven
and in earth.
Many of the Apostles and Prophets shared this belief. We must
remember, when we pray, when we teach, whenever we encounter others, we should
share the generosity of God’s love in a way that will always have an impact on
others, as well as ourselves. The reason for that is simple. We are the ones to
continue to share the Word and spread the Truth of God’s Unconditional Love. We
all, as truly faithful, devout, Christians have been adopted by Jesus Christ
the second we choose to believe, and to share that belief. This is what is
shared in Ephesus and Rome here by Paul and John the Beloved.
Ephesians 1:5 KJV – Having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself,
according to the good pleasure of his will,
Romans 8:29-30 KJV – For
whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of
his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he
did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also
justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
John 1:12 KJV – But as many
as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them
that believe on his name:
Faith, hope, love, righteousness, understanding, wisdom,
they all have a rank and order in our in-depth studies of God’s Word. The
challenge is always how to apply it to this world today. Yet, the truly
faithful, the devout believers, understand in ways that sometimes cannot be
described. The description that is held within the words of the Apostles shows
us just how so many of us have to work harder and harder to keep that faith in
the true belief of Jesus in His life, teaching, death, and resurrection. We
have to be one with Christ to be one with the Church because Jesus Christ IS
the church. This is shared in all four of the following verses.
1 Corinthians 12:12 KJV – For
as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one
body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
Colossians 1:18 KJV – And he
is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from
the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Colossians 1:24 KJV – Who
now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the
afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:
Luke 12:32 KJV – Fear not,
little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Our last verse from the voyage Paul took in Ephesus
shares what praise gives us in the glory of Christ’s grace. We are chosen, each
of us who truly believes, to share the path of Christ with everyone we meet.
The reason we do so is to ensure that the message Jesus brought to this world
is never lost. That’s what Paul shares with the citizens of Ephesus. He and
other faithful followers, apostles, and disciples of Christ shared this all
over the place.
Ephesians 1:6 KJV – To the
praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the
beloved.
Praise, glory, grace, acceptance, beloved, all of these
words are gifts to any Christian devoted to the truth that is Jesus Christ’s
life, death, and resurrection. All of us need to pursue a greater understanding
of these great gifts of His love. We are the chosen ones, the men and women,
who are charged with ensuring that the understanding of Scripture will ensure
that the promised land is more than just words, it is reality. In today’s
world, remembering that, is very, very important for peace to dwell within us.
1 Peter 2:9 KJV – But ye are
a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people;
that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of
darkness into his marvellous light;
John 5:24 KJV – Verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent
me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed
from death unto life.
Listening, hearing, understanding the eternal gift of
everlasting life is an important thing in this world filled with dangerous diseases,
emotions, and actions. We often find ourselves asking, “did I hear what I just
heard?”, or “did I really just see that?” We see that is an issue in Scripture
as well. Jesus had many different parables He taught for the Apostles,
Disciples, believers, and non-believers, exactly what He was saying in many,
many ways. He did so to show that seeing has nothing to do with believing. He
proved that hearing and listening are necessary to understand and to share our
faith in God’s Unconditional Love. It was to reveal what sin would truly be,
and how to atone for it as shared in the last two verses today.
Colossians 2:13 KJV – And
you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he
quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
1 Peter 2:5 KJV – Ye also,
as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer
up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
Let us complete the true structure of the Church of
Christ, with our hearts, minds, spirits, and souls included within the design
and glory. 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: Only Jesus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eQd3K2Fxp4
~ 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.
Amen, Rev. Laura!
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