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Showing posts from July, 2012

Hebrews 4:1-11 – Rest assured!

Hebrews 4:1-11 – Rest assured! By Pastor Lee Hemen July 29, 2012 AM It is an old tale but true. Successful lawyer and family man looses only son to aggressive disease and all of his assets burn in a huge fire a year later. He and his family head to England for vacation, but at the last minute he is called away and his four daughters and wife go without him. Nine days later he receives a note from his wife simply stating, “Saved alone.” The ship they were vacationing on collided with another at sea and sank killing 226 including his four daughters Annie, Maggie, Bessie and Tanetta. His wife, Anna, miraculously survived; in shock he goes to join her. During the voyage the captain invites him to the bridge. He believes they are passing the place where the de Havre, the ship his wife and daughters had been on, sank. Horatio Spafford then quietly returned to his cabin and begins writing the lyrics of his great hymn “It Is Well with My Soul.” Many people in our day and age

Hebrews 3:7-19 – Don’t harden your heart!

Hebrews 3:7-19 – Don’t harden your heart! By Pastor Lee Hemen July 22, 2012 AM The comedian Bill Cosby used to tell the story about his preschool children whereby he would ask them to “Come here… come here… come here… COME HERE!” Of course they ignored him. He said it was as if they were “brain-dead.” In fact he went on to say that preteen boys could be the worst. His son gave himself a reverse Mohawk haircut. When Cosby asked him why he cut his hair that way, his response was, “I don’t know!” Well, guess what, Christians sometimes can be just as “brain-dead” in their faith walk with the Lord. We know what we should be doing, but the very thing we know we should not be doing is exactly what we do. And then, when we suffer from the choices we made, we wonder why! The Apostle Paul would write, “In fact, I don't understand why I act the way I do. I don't do what I know is right. I do the things I hate…. Instead of doing what I know is right, I do wrong! (Romans 7:

Hebrews 3:1-6 Moses vs. Jesus: Smack Down!

Hebrews 3:1-6 Moses vs. Jesus: Smack Down! By Pastor Lee Hemen July 15, 2012 AM There are some things in life that are better than other things. Peanut butter and jelly is better than plain bread and butter; homemade cookies are better than cheap store-bought ones and college football is better than pro football any day of the week! Of course some may disagree with my assessments, but there is one arena where we cannot disagree as to what is better and that is in the spiritual assessment between God’s Messiah and God’s Messenger. That is between Moses the messenger and Jesus the Messiah. The writer of Hebrews continues in his evaluation of just how much grandeur Jesus is than people’s old views of spirituality. The old contract was finished and the new one has come into service. In his assessment between Moses and Jesus the author of Hebrews makes it very plain that there simply is no contest between the two individuals. It is almost like watching a boxing match or sm

Hebrews 2:10-18 – Jesus went where no man could go!

Hebrews 2:10-18 – Jesus went where no man could go! By Pastor Lee Hemen July 8, 2012 AM When I was young there was a TV show called “Wagon Train” that ran on NBC from 1957–62 and then on ABC from 1962–65. The show chronicles the adventures of a wagon train as it makes its way from Missouri to California. There were 284 episodes in 8 seasons and it was one of the longest running series of its day next to the TV western “Gunsmoke.” I loved it because of its strong characters and the idea of strong consistent leadership that was based on integrity and a moral code. The Wagon Master was the captain and leader who kept folks safe as he lead them west through many trials and hazards. Believe it or not, much of the science fiction TV series “Star Trek” was based on “Wagon Train” and its concepts. They both “boldly went where no man had gone before.” When we read the gospel narrative we discover that we have a real hero who went boldly where no man could ever go, Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 2:5-9 - Jesus, better than angels are -- 3D!

Hebrews 2:5-9 - Jesus, better than angels are -- 3D! By Pastor Lee Hemen July 1, 2012 AM In the movies when they cannot come up with an original idea they often make remakes of the original. “Heaven Can Wait” is a good example of a movie that has been remade over 6 times and it was not the first based on the original idea! Now they rerelease movies by adding new scenes or by making them 3D. It does not necessarily make the movie any better. I kind of used this notion in order to introduce us to what the author of Hebrews does in his sermon concerning Jesus being way better than angels are -- 3D! However, in this case the “sequel” the author of Hebrews writes is just as great as the original. They say that repetition is good for the soul, and in the case of Hebrews it is excellent. It is excellent because the writer was not afraid to keep hammering home the teaching that Jesus is better than angels are. Let’s discover why… READ: Hebrews 2:5-9 The great Christian wri