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Showing posts from 2011

For to us a child is born…

For to us a child is born… December 25, 2011 Pastor Lee Hemen For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this. (Isaiah 9:6-7 NIV) "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." (Micah 5:2 NIV) ---- In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "G

Luke 2:8-12; John 1:1-5 - The Word among us…

Luke 2:8-12; John 1:1-5 - The Word among us… By Pastor Lee Hemen December 18, 2011 AM From small beginnings mighty things can happen especially when God is involved. Take for instance the man known as Francis of Assisi. When he committed his life to Christ, he gave away everything he had. He came from a very wealthy family. For clothing, he put on a brown robe discarded by a peasant. For a belt he found a piece of rope lying on the ground nearby. It was a shabby outfit at best but ten years later his makeshift costume was the uniform of 5,000 men. Consider also the petite young woman who became huge in stature. The missionary Lottie Moon was in China even before the great missionary Hudson Taylor. This tiny woman had a large vision for reaching the world for Christ. Taylor himself would remark, “God does not do His great work by large committees. He trains somebody to be quiet enough and little enough and then he uses them.” That’s what occurred with the birth of Jesus Chri

Malachi 1:6-14 – Being honorable!

Malachi 1:6-14 – Being honorable! By Pastor Lee Hemen December 11, 2011 AM We can dishonor someone by not holding them in high regard. The people of Israel had done this with God. Within the Ten Commandments given to them on Mt. Sinai was the first and most important command that instructed, “You shall have no other gods before me.” Following this command was the simple reasoning that they were also not to make any “idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.” They were not only not to make them, they were not to “bow down to them or worship them (Exodus 20:3-4).” Yet, in all of this, the Israelites had dishonored God and done all of the above. Malachi’s second burden therefore deals with the dishonor God’s people can have for the Lord. While it may be easy for us to point to specific denominations today that make idols and worship them, we often as evangelical Christians can fail to see the idols we form and impure worship i

Malachi 1:1-5 – Being responsive!

Malachi 1:1-5 – Being responsive! By Pastor Lee Hemen December 4, 2011 AM My Mom used to play mind games with us kids when we did something bad. A lot of mothers do this. Here’s what I mean: Right in the middle of scolding us over our bad behavior, she would innocently ask, “Don’t you love your dear old mother?” Or she would declare, “I work and I slave and what thanks do I get?” It was a form of psychological warfare to get a response from us and to have us think about the consequences of our actions. It’s called guilt. Malachi is kind of like my mother. His message is for God’s wayward children. Didn’t they love God? Didn’t God love them? If that were true, then why were they acting the way they did? Had they gotten spiritually soft? God’s chosen people had gotten so lackadaisical about their faith that they forget what their relationship to God meant! Malachi’s message from the Lord is to illicit a response from his people. Malachi’s message applies to us as much as it d

Now thank we all our God! - Psalm 100

Now thank we all our God! - Psalm 100 By Pastor Lee Hemen November 20, 2011 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. The early Pilgrims understood this. In fact, after surviving the first years in the American wilderness, they deliberately set out to print a song book of praise taken from the Psalms. The Bay Psalm Book is an important piece of our nation’s history. It was the first book entirely written

John 17:20-26 - Jesus prayed for us!

John 17:20-26 - Jesus prayed for us! By Pastor Lee Hemen November 6, 2011 AM “I’ll pray for you” are words often uttered as an empathetic gesture by many, yet they can have a tremendous impact on the life of a person. Have you ever had someone pray for you? Perhaps you were sick, maybe even in the hospital, and someone from the church stopped by and, after a brief visit, prayed for your recovery. Or perhaps there was a significant decision to be made, and someone from your family prayed with you and for you. How do you feel when someone prays for you? We discover that Jesus paused to pray for his disciples, but did you know he also prayed for each of us as well? On the night he was betrayed, the Son of God himself prayed — not just for the little band of Galileans who followed him across the Palestinian landscape for three years — but for each one of us here this morning! Let’s discover what Jesus prayed… READ: John 17:20-26 We may have forgotten that prayer is much more tha

The Great Awakening - Romans 1:18; Joel 2:1-2, 11-13, 15-18, 28-32

The Great Awakening - Romans 1:18; Joel 2:1-2, 11-13, 15-18, 28-32 By Pastor Lee Hemen Oct 30, 2011 AM Today, we will finish our study on prayer by putting into practice what we have learned from God through his Word. Everything we’ve focused on has been in preparation for this evening, when we will gather as one body of believers to pray for the dreams and plans God has for us as a church in the coming weeks, months, and years ahead. Why is this important? It is important because never before has there been a time when our nation and world is in greater need of a Savior. It is a time set apart time for personal and corporate prayer, crying out to God in repentance and fresh surrender for all his purposes and power to break forth upon our church, our city, and our country. Since 1947, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has depicted on its cover what is called the Doomsday Clock. This clock registers how close the world is to nuclear apocalypse by the proximity of the minu

The Great Awakening - Romans 1:18; Joel 2:1-2, 11-13, 15-18, 28-32

The Great Awakening - Romans 1:18; Joel 2:1-2, 11-13, 15-18, 28-32 By Pastor Lee Hemen Oct 30, 2011 AM Today, we will finish our study on prayer by putting into practice what we have learned from God through his Word. Everything we’ve focused on has been in preparation for this evening, when we will gather as one body of believers to pray for the dreams and plans God has for us as a church in the coming weeks, months, and years ahead. Why is this important? It is important because never before has there been a time when our nation and world is in greater need of a Savior. It is a time set apart time for personal and corporate prayer, crying out to God in repentance and fresh surrender for all his purposes and power to break forth upon our church, our city, and our country. Since 1947, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has depicted on its cover what is called the Doomsday Clock. This clock registers how close the world is to nuclear apocalypse by the proximity of the minu

The principles of a powerful prayer meeting, Part 2

The principles of a powerful prayer meeting, Part 2 By Pastor Lee Hemen’ October 23, 2011 AM Last time, we asked why Elijah, Moses, Joshua, Jesus and Paul were so filled with confidence when praying about the impossible that they often announced that it would take place even before they prayed! How could they be so sure that God would answer their prayers? I believe it was because they had paid the price of being alone with God. They had come to know the very heart and intent of God. They began to see life from his perspective instead of their own. Fervent focused prayer surged through their spiritual souls and it beat with the intense intimacy they shared with the Father. They sought the Lord until they knew what he was doing and joined him in doing it! Therefore, they saw the power of God displayed in response to their prayers. This is the very essence of what Jesus meant by abiding in him, without which we will not know what God’s will is or what to ask him. We find that