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Showing posts from December, 2012

Hebrews 11:17-40 – Faith Expressed!

Hebrews 11:17-40 – Faith Expressed! By Pastor Lee Hemen   December 30, 2012 AM What kind of heroes do we hold up to be emulated? Columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. writes about the need for heroes: “My middle son, Marlon, complained to me just the other day that his generation is coming of age ‘in a world without heroes.’ . . . His words tugged at me. . . . Our children have learned to wait for the other shoe to drop, for ‘heroes’ to be unmasked and values betrayed.” A survey by Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University shows that 60 percent of adults have no heroes. It’s an unhealthy trend, according to former U.S. Education Secretary William Bennett, author of the best-seller The Book of Virtues: “It is particularly important for young people to have heroes. This is a way to teach them by moral example, so that we can point to someone as an ideal.” I believe this is why true heroes, heroes of our faith can give us a renewed vigor to live for the Lord. In a summary, the wr

Hebrews 11:7-16 – What Faith Means!

Hebrews 11:7-16 – What Faith Means! By Pastor Lee Hemen December 16, 2012 AM In what has occurred in the past few days, people are trying to find meaning out of the violence. Sadly, bad people will do bad things to innocent people. Sin exists. And, this kind of violence has always been with us because we live in a sin-fallen world. Never forget that a madman king tried to wipe out a perceived rival for his throne by killing all the children, ages 2 years and younger, in Bethlehem following the birth of Jesus. When these kinds of horrendous things occur, we need to hide in the loving wings of the One who loves us and sacrificed His son for us. It is time to understand what faith means again. Jewish believers were trying to go back to a worldly faith where the emphasis was on their feelings and good works. The author of Hebrews would have none of it and begins the process of defining exactly what faith has meant all along. God rewards those who seek Him and we can only beco

Hebrews 11:1-6 – What Is Faith?

Hebrews 11:1-6 – What Is Faith? By Pastor Lee Hemen December  9, 2012 AM What is faith? Is it a feeling, an emotional response, or the intellectual exercise of one’s will to decide to believe in something based on the evidence no matter what others say? Webster’s Dictionary states that it is defined as, “allegiance to duty or a person, loyalty, fidelity to one's promises, sincerity of intentions, firm belief in something for which there is no proof, complete trust, something that is believed especially with strong conviction, or belief and trust in and loyalty to God.” The author of Hebrews gives us a definition of what faith is and then he spends the rest of this chapter in giving us examples of what faith meant for specific people. As we look at what he wrote and why, it should make us think about what our faith means to us. READ: Hebrews 11:1-6 What in life are you certain of, that you know without a doubt you can depend upon? We can absolutely depend in l

Hebrews 10:32-39 – Keep On Keeping On!

Hebrews 10:32-39 – Keep On Keeping On! By Pastor Lee Hemen December 2, 2012 AM Do you remember when you first came to Christ, how you felt, and how others viewed your conversion? Were you excited, were they excited for you, and what about your friends? When I came to faith in Christ, my family was not that thrilled and my friends did not understand. In fact, from both groups I received a certain amount of grief. In fact, my boss bluntly told me that he could not stand Christians and would make my life miserable. How did your salvation change your life and what in your faith makes you want to keep on keeping on in life? These very important questions challenge us to make some thoughtful answers. The author of Hebrews knew his listeners were confused and wanted the easy way out by going back to what they felt was spiritually comfortable for them. Sin often works that way. Sin usually occurs in our lives not because some dramatically evil thing entices us, but rather because