INTRO: Today we are continuing our exploration into 1 Peter chapter 2.
Welcome to Covenant of Hope Ministries and our Sunday sermon. I am Rev. Laura A. Neff. This ministry shares the Word of God, the Spirit of Christ Jesus. Our ministry was created with twelve people around this world back in 2008. Each of us shares God’s Word in ways He guides us to utilize. 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
Rev. Laura’s sites: Facebook & Blogspot & Twitter & LinkedIn
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 health issues, which are numerous. He has been having issues with his pain, vision, and memory. Add to the prayers with a need for new housing as the family is in dire straits there at this point in time.
- Pray for the citizens of this earth caught in the natural and unnatural disasters on nearly every continent right now.
- Pray for friends and family members of my friend Mary and several other dear friends of mine, all of whom have been suffering from various health issues, including an aneurysm, COVID-19 with pneumonia, severe depression, cancers, the loss of beloved pets, and other styles of dire straits.
- Be thankful for each day we live as we do not know what tomorrow brings.
- Pray for all of our outreach ministries with Pastor Stephen Okoth, Pastor Robert Nganwa, Pastor Simon Peter Javaji, Rev. Lisa Tyler, and all the others who have joined us.
- 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 who are jobless, homeless, no matter what might have ended up causing either of those. Pray that providence would find them and ease the suffering.
- 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.
- Pray that truth is revealed where falsehoods have been shared around this world.
Prayer: Father in heaven, this is our prayer for today. We pray for relief from the massive flooding, earthquakes, hurricanes, typhoons, cyclones, and forest fires around this world. We pray for those who have been suffering long term effects of COVID-19, and those suffering from the new Delta variant. We pray for our outreach ministries that their voices are heard and new members of Christ’s Unconditional Love rejoice in their faith. 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: Glory ~ Hillsong https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf7KdRKCmOE
Sermon: We continue to explore Peter’s first epistle today. It has been quite the exploration, because we get to see the amount of influence Jesus had on Peter and his preaching toward Jew and Gentile. We will start here.
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.
What does it mean to be “lively stones”? Jesus is THE “LIVING STONE”, the cornerstone of faith in God’s Word as shared through prophecy throughout Scripture, mortality which was proven in His earthly death, and destiny realized and recognized in His resurrection and ascension into heaven. “LIVELY STONES” are those who follow His path as closely as possible, to ensure that His Name is never forgotten and never far from our thoughts, words, songs, prayers, family, and friends. We are only perfect through Christ who saves us, moment to moment and on until time stops. Let’s see what the Hebrew prophets, the prophet Isaiah, John the Beloved and Malachi, God’s earthly messenger, have to share in this regard.
Hebrews 3:6 KJV – But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
Isaiah 61:6 KJV – But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.
Revelation 1:6 KJV – And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Malachi 1:11 KJV – For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts.
We all have a role to pursue in this world. Some of them good, and some not so good. Each of us has a purpose under heaven, just as the song says. We all have a reason to live, even in the most dire of circumstances. We’ve all seen it in one way or another. It doesn’t matter how old or young we are when we leave this side of mortality. What matters is what we do with our lives, and what God sees us learning as a result. A lot of us fall off the path and struggle to get back to it. Some of us barely hang on to our faith, but it doesn’t die, no matter how bad life gets, so long as we hang onto that hope within our faith. Peter shares still more regarding the foundation stones of faith’s deliverance from evil.
1 Peter 2:6 KJV – Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
Again, Peter points out the foundation stone, the corner stone, and the fact, yes, it is a FACT, that Jesus is here for us, no matter how far we might fall, there is always the gift of promise, the gift of hope, that Jesus left to us as He gave up the ghost on the cross at His crucifixion. That Holy Ghost, or Holy Spirit, connects us to Him through the ultimate sacrifice of Unconditional Love, which both Jesus and God share with us on this side of life, even now in the tumult we find around this world, whether it be the seven troubles of vanity, envy, lust, enmity, wrath, shame, and doubt, or simply put the trials, tribulations, perils, and pestilence that have all but consumed this earth, and of which we have seen far too much of in recent years, or our own personal demons, whatever those might be. Jesus wants us to realize and recognize that there is always a path back to His loving arms. The road is never easy, and always longer than we think it might be. That’s why Isaiah prophesied this moment in time.
Isaiah 28:16 KJV – Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
The Apostle Paul saw a great many fall to the wayside in building their faith and walking away from the LAW, which had been drilled into their heads from the moment they were cognizant human beings. It is NOT an easy thing to separate “Doctrine” or “Law” from Scriptural Truth as Jesus shared. There are many reasons for this, only some of which involve those same seven troubles from which all sin escapes into this world, vanity, envy, lust, enmity, wrath, shame, and doubt. It is a warning shared by all the Apostles, by all of the prophets, and by God and Jesus as well. We see that here in the words Paul shares in Rome.
Romans 9:32-33 KJV – Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone; As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Who, or what, is this stumbling stone? Jesus! He is the one who will make us stop and think about what we’re saying, doing, or preparing for. He is the one who will warn us in the whisper of the Holy Spirit in our ears, that inner voice we hear when we’re about to do something that isn’t good, brings or does harm toward others, as well as ourselves. That’s why we are taught so often to listen to our hearts, open our hearts and minds to His Unconditional Love, because, even if we may fall far from the grace of God, we still have a method of returning into that same grace. Remember, Jesus promised that He has a way for us to reach His arms and His home when time as we know it ends, when life as we know it ends on this earth. Paul proves it here.
Romans 10:11 KJV – For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
We have to, yes, have to, study God’s Word as much as possible. It must be a daily ritual to have a conversation with Him, and also to keep our minds, hearts, and spirits focused on Him, no matter what happens to us during each day we live. It’s one thing to live and live well. It’s another thing to live righteously and faithfully in the Word, and sharing that experience with all those around us willing to share. That’s what we see here.
1 Peter 2:7 KJV – Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
Of course we have to go back and forth between Old and New Testament writing. The reason for that is the lessons were always taught from the Old Testament to be recreated in the New Testament to prove that the prophecies made in the Old Testament Scrolls were becoming reality in the days of Jesus and beyond His resurrection and ascension into heaven. Jesus is our foundation, with God and the Holy Spirit. Upon His shoulders, we will be able to rise up into glory. That’s what we see here in King David’s writings.
Psalm 118:22 KJV – The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.
Now we will add two gospel verses that share very different aspects of Jesus as our Lord and Savior. They do so for specific reasons. In this first one, it is Jesus who speaks. Jesus shares this with His Apostles and Disciples.
Matthew 21:42 KJV – Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?
Jesus is reminding them of what King David said as part of the prophecy of his line bringing the Salvation of All Mankind into being, at some point in the future. That point was present day when Jesus shared these promises and prophesies. Now we see it from the Apostle Simeon’s viewpoint as shared in the Gospel of Luke. It is quite important to look at all angles of any occurrence if at all possible when it comes to bringing faith into focus and portraying that faith to others around us. Here is what he shares.
Luke 2:34 KJV – And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;
Jesus knew at an early age that it would be betrayal that would lead to His rising up into glory, defeating Original Sin and ensuring Eternal Life. He spoke often in this regard, that one day, there would be what appeared to be the worst thing to ever happen on this earth, and then glory would prove otherwise. While we consider the glory of our Father and our Savior, let’s remember to pray in the Spirit, to pursue faith and walking in the path of Christ and to teach each other what Unconditional Love can do. Now, that’s something to think about as we pray in the prayer that Jesus taught us.
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: Above All ~ Michael W. Smith https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7EPZV56PuA
~ 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 © 2021 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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