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.
- Pray for a friend of mine, Dena, who has been in the
hospital since Friday.
- Pray for my granddaughter Maria. She is getting
stronger and bigger every day. At this time, she is half an ounce from 4
pounds, 4 inches longer, is now eating, and breathing on her own, amazing view
of the gift of God’s grace and love.
- Please pray for Elder Cal Jennings. His pain levels
have been beyond astronomical. It is so bad, that he believes the doctors are
killing him the hard way. We must also pray that doctors and lawmakers should gain
a better understanding of chronic pain. May the Lord bring Cal’s spirits up,
take the pain levels down, and help heal him.
- Please pray for relief in the trials and tribulations
for Sister Theresa as her pain is worse off and on after several procedures
meant to help.
- 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,
our prayer today is for the gift of the Holy Spirit to surround each of us with
Your healing touch. We pray for spiritual and all other forms of peace within each of us and for the ability to
share that peace, creating the perfect view of everyone and everything here on
this earth. We pray for the many that surround us and interact with us who are sick in or out of the hospital. We
pray for those who are in pain, that their pains be eased. We pray for those
who have lost loved ones this week. We pray for forgiveness in our ignorance and
pray for enlightenment as we study Your Eternal Word. We pray for peace around
this world. We pray for justice and for empathy in the terrible things that
have happened this past week. 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: When
Love Was Born https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKSU9Dbxvrw&list=PL5o2Uu3rC4m5ONKvTeJSDlCA8b_JomJ8k&index=12&t=0s
Sermon: We are continuing with our study of 1 Corinthians, Chapter 15. There is a whole lot to cover in these verses. That is just one reason God has chosen this chapter at this time of year. One of the biggest issues with faith in God has to do with all the frenzy regarding “I want, I need, I must” and so on. What we should be thinking about is “Why aren’t we all listening?” Simple enough, His truth is right in front of us, and if we don’t start paying attention to that truth, we’re going to pay for it. When Paul was speaking with those in Corinth two thousand years ago or so, he was emphatic that those around him realized just how much Christ did for humanity when He died on the cross. Not only that, Paul was emphatic that the entire lifetime of thirty-three short years which Jesus lived and loved on this earth was an experience we all should find within our lives as well. That’s why Jesus brought us so much in life. One, He was born on earth, a gift of Divine means, known as the Immaculate Conception. He was borne by human methods with only His earthly father, Joseph, and His mother, Mary there to help Him enter into the view of life known by all humanity. This is our gift of God’s Grace, the salvation of one and all, Emmanuel. Paul draws on the strength of God’s grace when he shares this with those in Corinth.
1
Corinthians 15:10 KJV – But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace
which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than
they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
We
are who we are, what we are, where we are, because God made it so, long before
there were billions upon billions of human beings, of all ages, shapes, and
descriptions, upon this planet on which we live. This brings us back to where
Paul was still learning how to be a full child of God, through the salvation of
Christ Jesus. This is where the wisdom of Christ shines through those of us who
teach and preach in His holy name.
Matthew
10:20 KJV – For it is not ye that speak, but
the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.
Jesus taught this knowledge every day of His life. During
the time after His death and resurrection many new Christians had a hard time
with the idea, that ministers of God’s Word made manifest, Jesus Christ our
Savior, it was a hard era of show me and I will believe. Unfortunately, a lot
in this world expect the same even today. That’s why God leads people to preach
the gospel, God’s Word, at every opportunity, as Paul was sharing here in
Corinth.
1
Corinthians 15:11 KJV – Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and
so ye believed.
Now
we go back to the Old Testament to share what it was like just before the
existence of Christ on earth. We are going to explore some of Isaiah’s words at
this point. Here is a prediction of what will be in the future of humanity.
Christ is coming, and He will redeem the world, in life, in word, in death, and
in His resurrection. All the work toward this very important event in the
history of Earth will project far, far, beyond the day Christ was born.
Isaiah
45:14 KJV – Thus saith the Lord, The labour of
Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall
come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in
chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall
make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none
else, there is no God.
Zechariah, married to Mary’s sister, Elizabeth, was a
very devout follower of God’s Word and Instruction. He knew that the time was
coming where life on earth would transform from what it was to what it will be
in the End of Days. This is what he shared long ago.
Zechariah
8:23 KJV – Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those
days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages
of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying,
We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.
Humanity tends to forget lessons learned through the
centuries. This is why war gets repeated over and over again. The cycle is
vicious toward each other, and toward the world in general. Jesus knew this,
even thousands of years ago. Scripture shares this in billions of ways. Paul
was no slouch in pointing out the many human failures around the world at that
time. If we didn’t have the hope instilled in us through the Word that God
brought here to earth, this would be a very, very depressing world to live in
right now.
1
Corinthians 15:12 KJV – Now if Christ be preached that he rose from
the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
Paul,
who had seen the resurrection firsthand, could not deny the truth that Jesus
died, experienced every bad thing possible during that death and for three days
afterward. Then, when Jesus rose from the dead, Paul was one of the first ones
to be both elated and disbelieving of that fact. Remember, Jesus warned Paul he
would deny Christ’s resurrection, not once, not twice, but three times before
the day was over and a new one begun. Instantly, Paul was ashamed at his
reaction to this. It is why he preached more and more to ensure that others did
not fall into the same trap of denial.
Acts
26:8 KJV – Why should it be thought a thing incredible
with you, that God should raise the dead?
1
Corinthians 15:13 KJV – But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is
Christ not risen:
The
belief that Jesus died, was buried, and rose from death into eternal life is
yet another argument many who are not Christian, or are still not certain what
Christianity states as TRUTH would absolutely exist, persist, and will carry us
into the future as yet to be. Doubt is a seriously huge roadblock for anyone,
in any view, not just spiritually, but in every possible direction along with
spirituality.
1
Thessalonians 4:14 KJV – For if we believe that Jesus died and
rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1
Corinthians 15:6 KJV – After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren
at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen
asleep.
Faith
is something that takes time to grow. That’s why it is spoken about as trials
and tribulations within our faith. Testing faith is a regular thing, because
everything on this earth can test our faith. It doesn’t matter if we are awake
or asleep, faith is tested in our conscious and subconscious, and unconscious
parts of our psyches. There are those who say it can often lead to sleepless
nights as a result. Here Paul shares another bit of wisdom, in erasing doubt
from our psyche in full.
1
Corinthians 15:14 KJV – And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain,
and your faith is also vain.
Acts
17:31 KJV – Because he hath appointed a day, in the which
he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained;
whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from
the dead.
When Paul shared this, he was most likely wagging his
finger at those around him. Jesus was, is, will always be part of us, so long
as we remember what His being here for us is all about. When we hit roadblocks,
no matter what those might be, we have to learn to overcome them. It isn’t an
easy task to learn all the methods toward removing our trials and tribulations
from that realm into the realm of experience toward knowing God’s wisdom is the
main building block toward our faith. This is regardless of the struggle to get
past the pain, the sorrow, the awkwardness that might fill our lives while we
work toward believing and sharing that belief with others around us.
1
Corinthians 15:15 KJV – Yea, and we are found false witnesses
of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he
raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.
Paul
was struggling to explain what the existence of Christ through the Holy Spirit
meant to all who believed then, and who are working towards believing even now.
What is he sharing? That moment of doubt which nearly erased everything Jesus
had taught all the twelve Apostles three days after His crucifixion. It was the
moment of dread Peter had that changed everything he had learned, and
everything he had taught at the time to others as one of the twelve. Paul knew
this feeling, of course, because he was there in the midst of those three
terrible moments of Peter’s life within hours of Jesus’ arrest, persecution,
prosecution, and condemnation. This even before Jesus was nailed to the cross
and crucified. If it were to happen today, would any one person realize what
they were doing? Most likely, it would be the same, someone put their foot in
their mouth, shoe and all, and paid the price for it in one way or another. The
guilt often forces a person to work toward changing the situation in any
possible method, and hopefully toward the right way of doing things. 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: Do
You Hear What I Hear ~ Bing Crosby https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdnYjKC19n4&list=PLeDakahyfrO_xD3xuEkFjhTQEIH9rqC7p&index=87
~ 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 © 2019 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.
