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Before Pilate - John 18:28-40 By Pastor Lee Hemen January 31, 2016 I hated it when my mother would drag us around to our relatives and then want us to show something off to them just so she could brag about it. I know she did it because she was proud of us but as a child it seem kind of, well, exploitive. No one likes to be used as a trophy or as a means to an end, whatever that may be. How would like to be dragged from one place to another simply to be put on display and illegally tried? We are all angered when we find out that someone has been tried, held captive, or used as a human guinea pig. Few of us would like these prospects yet Jesus suffered these indignities. And now we find him dragged before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor in charge of the occupation of his nation and people. Sadly, it was his own people who were using him as a means to an end, as a scapegoat for their own problems. Let's find out what happens when Jesus is brought before Pilate… READ: John ...

Betrayal! - John 13:18-30 By Pastor Lee Hemen September 6, 2013 Treason used to be such a dirty word, but in our day and age some folks who betray their countries are seen as heroes and adulated by the mainstream media. I suppose it depends upon what your government is doing, but how do you feel when you are personally betrayed by someone you trust? What an awful feeling to have someone who is nice to you publically, but stabbing you in the back privately. As a pastor I have incredulously watched as folks tell me to my face that I could count on them no matter what and immediately do the opposite. And sadly actually think they are doing the will of God in their betrayal. This is nothing new, even Jesus faced betrayal by one of his disciples, one of the men he had chosen to follow him. Can you imagine being a friend, being seen as a confidant, doing the work of God, and then betraying the one God has sent into your life? This is exactly what occurs in the verses John shares with us next...

The Incarnation! – John 1:14-18 By Pastor Lee Hemen September 14, 2014 Joan Rivers made no apologies for all the plastic surgeries she had over the years. Sometimes we can look in the mirror and not like what we see. When you look in the mirror what do you see? What do you think it would feel like to be a different person? Vernon Grounds writes that “You will never know. You may modify your body by exercise and diet. You may change your mind and your behavior. You may even resort to surgery. But you and I will forever be the unique individuals God created us to be. Regardless of how much we may try, we can’t actually experience what it is to be another person.” He continues by relating, “What was it like, then, for God to take on our human nature and live as a man who was despised and misunderstood on this fallen planet? He already knew exactly what sinful people go through. After all, He is all-knowing. Yet He voluntarily came… That’s what the incarnation is all about.” Yet, how does ...

Accept God's Free Offer! - Isaiah 55:1-13 By pastor Lee Hemen March 30, 2014 AM How many churches offer Sunday School as a means of baby-sitting to over-worked parents so they can be safely separated without guilt from their children for an hour or so? How many adults think that the thirty-minute sermon on Sunday is all they need in studying the Bible, depending on the emotional high they get from the worship service? They fail to understand they are missing an important part of the Christian life--relating to other believers, building unity and fellowship of the local church! Too many settle for a cheap grace experience rather than mature growth. Why would anyone invest so little in their spiritual life when God wants to give them so much more?” God declared He would restore Israel creating a righteous nation that would grow in number, territory, and faith. God would protect His people rather than punish them. God freely invited Israel to seek and know Him. He alone could provide ...

The Important Message -- Mark 1:12-14 By Pastor Lee Hemen Aug 16, 2009 AM History is filled with the inhumane harshness that many societies have inflicted specifically on their children. Ancient Roman society would leave poorer children to fend for themselves, literally to die on their own if both parents were gone. Even in wealthier homes children that were not well liked could be left outside to die or cast aside for others that were deemed more privileged. Meanwhile, in Greek Sparta, boys were educated to create a strong warrior. Taken away from their parents at age 7 they lived a harsh and often brutal life in the soldiers barracks. Younger males were beaten by older boys to help toughen them up and they were not allowed to cry out in pain. These rituals were thought to make their perspective societies stronger and more vigorous. However the message it gave was one of harshness and cruel bleakness. Suppose you were deliberately left all on your own by those you thought cared about ...