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Showing posts from 2007

Rejoicing In the Savior’s Birth – Matthew 1:18-25

Rejoicing In the Savior’s Birth – Matthew 1:18-25 By Pastor Lee Hemen December 16, 2007 AM Each of the four Gospels begins differently in looking at the birth of Jesus. Matthew begins with Jesus’ family tree. Mark begins with a brief introduction followed by an account of John the Baptist’s ministry. Luke begins with the details of the Christmas story, focusing on Gabriel’s appearance to Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, and to Mary, the virgin mother of Jesus. John’s Gospel starts with a more theological introduction about the Word becoming flesh (John 1:14). Both Matthew and Luke included genealogies of Jesus, but Luke did not include a genealogy until after the record of Jesus’ baptism (Luke 3:23-38). While each is different view of Jesus’ birth, they all give us a fuller picture of the actual event. People in our day and age look at the birth of Jesus differently also, but for different reasons than the gospel writers. Some think it is just a nice story that is rela

Taking Seriously God’s Message – Jonah 2:10-3:10

Taking Seriously God’s Message – Jonah 2:10-3:10 By Pastor Lee Hemen December 9, 2007 AM Imagine you are leaving your motel room late one afternoon. You’re hungry and are meeting friends for supper. You notice a small child swimming in the motel pool. The child begins to yell for help, and you realize that the child is drowning. What would you do? If you know how to swim, you might jump into the water and try to save the child. You might extend a pole or some other object to the child who is struggling. In any case, you would do all you could to help. Emergency situations, such as a child drowning, usually evoke action. How many of us as Christians, however, feel a sense of urgency to help those who are sinking in sin? The Bible clearly teaches that God judges sin, but many in our society ignore this teaching. Some Christians believe it to a point but doubt that God will truly condemn unrepentant sinners for eternity. Other Christians believe it absolutely but still feel no sense of ur

Taking Seriously God’s Message – Jonah 2:10-3:10

Taking Seriously God’s Message – Jonah 2:10-3:10 By Pastor Lee Hemen December 9, 2007 AM Imagine you are leaving your motel room late one afternoon. You’re hungry and are meeting friends for supper. You notice a small child swimming in the motel pool. The child begins to yell for help, and you realize that the child is drowning. What would you do? If you know how to swim, you might jump into the water and try to save the child. You might extend a pole or some other object to the child who is struggling. In any case, you would do all you could to help. Emergency situations, such as a child drowning, usually evoke action. How many of us as Christians, however, feel a sense of urgency to help those who are sinking in sin? The Bible clearly teaches that God judges sin, but many in our society ignore this teaching. Some Christians believe it to a point but doubt that God will truly condemn unrepentant sinners for eternity. Other Christians believe it absolutely but still feel no sense of ur

Responding to God’s Call – Jonah 1:1-3; 4-12, 17; 2:1-2

Responding to God’s Call – Jonah 1:1-3; 4-12, 17; 2:1-2 By Pastor Lee Hemen December 2, 2007 AM Have you ever received a sign from God? Has God ever directly given you a message about what He wants you to do? A few years ago billboards in some cities had humorous yet serious messages from God. People often smiled at the idea of God communicating with us through ordinary road signs. Some people today, even some who believe that God exists, reject as absurd the idea that God wants to communicate with human beings, but we will discover that He indeed does! Christians, in fact, know that God is real and that He communicates with us today. He speaks to us primarily through His written Word, the Bible. We also communicate with Him through prayer, a sermon, or during a quiet time alone with Him. Christians believe that God wants all people to know Him personally and that God wants to communicate through believers the good news about the salvation He has provided in Jesus Christ. Some b

How Thankfulness Is Expressed! - Psalm 100

How Thankfulness Is Expressed! - Psalm 100 By Pastor Lee Hemen November 25, 2007 AM For some people being thankful is kind of like the story told about a 4-year-old daughter and her mother who were strolling through an open-air market. As the little girl stared at a large pile of oranges. A generous vendor took one from the pile and handed it to the little girl. “What do you say to the nice man?” the mother asked her daughter. The little girl looked at the orange, then thrust it toward the man and said, “Peel it!” Often, thankfulness is something we learn and grow into. How easy it is for us to respond to God’s graciousness like that 4-year-old. An attitude of being thankful is a mark of a maturing faith. This time of year we are reminded to be thankful. What are some of the personal memories you have about Thanksgiving? Are they good ones? Perhaps we need to pause and remember what it means to truly be thankful. The Psalmist gives us a beautiful song of thanksgiving directed to

Three Areas of Christian Life - Colossians 4:2

Three Areas of Christian Life - Colossians 4:2 By Pastor Lee Hemen November 18, 2007 How would you say goodbye to someone that you wanted to impart some good advice to before they left? You know what mean, kind of like when a parent sees their child off to college for the first time. What “wisdom” do you send them off with that you hope will stick in their minds for more than a nanosecond? In the verse we will look at this morning we find Paul doing just this. He is summing up his letter to the church at Colossae and wants to impart some kind of wisdom that would stick with them afterwards. Jesus does this as well with His disciples. Jesus gave them the foundational truth for salvation and how they were to live as Christians. In a grand summation to the Pharisees, who wanted to entrap Him by asking, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus responds, not with a specific “command” but with a condensed summation: “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with

Thanks—giving! - 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

Thanks—giving! - 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 By Pastor Lee Hemen November 11, 2007 AM Thanksgiving is about so many things in our lives. We carry with us the memories of family, friends, and loved ones whom we have spent the years with over mega meals of turkey, potatoes and gravy, and candied yams. Yet, for the believer, there is so much more to this holiday than a mere holiday feast. It should bring us to where we remember what the holiday was truly about in the first place: Thanking God for what He has done in our lives. It should be a day of thanks---giving for the Christian. Within these few verses we will look at today is such a rich teaching on what Christianity is all about that I almost hesitate to begin. It is a daunting task but one that is sorely needed in our day and age. We live in an era whereby churches have become nothing more than emotional way stations for the unregenerate where they can come to feel good about themselves. Church is to be more than a spiritual pep rally! It

How Sin Affects God’s People - Psalm 6

How Sin Affects God’s People - Psalm 6 By Pastor Lee Hemen November 4, 2007 AM David was a man that was often vexed by troubles from his enemies. He often felt persecuted and sought to understand why this occurred in his life. We discover that David was not always the holy person God desired him to be. In fact, many of his problems were caused by his own stubbornness and guilt when he was caught in his own sin. David discovered that far too often, like most of us do, God does not like it when His people sin. We may wonder, like David did, where our grief, anger, or even frustration comes from and cry out, “How long, O Lord, how long?” However, if we take a close look at our own lives, compare it to this Psalm, we soon discover how sin affects God’s people. What happens and what should God’s people do when they are caught in sin’s grasp? Too few people in our day understand the consequences of their sin and what sin will do in their lives. They shrug it off not realizing who they harm a

The King of Glory - Psalm 24

The King of Glory - Psalm 24 October 28, 2007 AM By Pastor Lee Hemen Looking up a family’s history has become quite an obsession for many today. Whole web sites are devoted to it and there is even a myriad of software you can purchase for you to investigate your own family’s history. Why? I believe sometimes it is because we are so dissatisfied with our own lives that we look in other places to discover some meaning. Perhaps lost royalty, a past President, bandit, or Indian chieftain that we can cling to that would bring some kind of a sense of importance to our existence. Sadly what we find is just a whole lot of reality. Now before you get your historical buns in a snit, I am not saying it is necessarily a bad thing researching your ancestors, because knowing where you come from can help in knowing who you are. The Christian has a rich heritage indeed. We do not have to look very far afield to discover our royal roots. In fact, we soon find that we are all adopted and the lost childr