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Do you share the Good News? – Matthew 28:1-10, 16-20 By Retired Pastor Lee Hemen August 1, 2021 As a family drove home from worship the mother exclaimed, “What a wonderful service we had this morning!” The oldest daughter from the backseat asked, “So, what do we do about Christ’s resurrection?” “What do you mean, honey?” “I mean Christ’s resurrection supposedly changed everything. We say it changed our life. It seems to me we should be doing more to indicate Christ has made a difference in us and he wants to make a difference in others.” It made the mother realize that she needed to share the good news with others joyfully and more consistently. Let me ask you, “How does your worship influence your daily service for Christ?” As Sunday morning dawned, two lowly women walked to the tomb of Jesus. An earthquake occurs, and an angel of God rolls back the stone at the entrance of the tomb and sits on it. He tells the women not to be afraid because Jesus had risen from the dead. What occurs ...

Ramblings from Retirement – Better than a Lifetime Guarantee By Retired Pastor Lee Hemen April 3, 2021 If you have not learned the simple and hard lesson that there is nothing guaranteed in life you had better learn it fast. What the Jewish people understood was the fact that life was fleeting. Many hoped there would be an afterlife but most believed there was not and that you would just “sleep” in the bosom of Abraham forever. Jesus changed all of that though. Jesus related to Nicodemus, “No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven--the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, bu...

The Joy of Palm Sunday! – Luke 19:29-40 By Pastor Lee Hemen April 5, 2020 Do you think you would recognize Jesus if he came into your community? Sadly, the church today while it is supposed to be “Jesus” to their neighbors, family, and friends I fear few would see Jesus in them. What would you do if Jesus came to your town, your neighborhood, or your home? While we would all like to think we would immediately recognize Jesus if he came to our area we might not. People in Jesus’ day had longed for and prayed for generations for God to hear their prayers and it seemed as if God was not listening but he was. All of sudden in the midst of what seemed their darkest days, Jesus came healing, caring, and displaying how God works. For the average person it was a miracle of God and rightly so. The common people responded with joy, let’s see how… READ: Luke 19:29-40 We become witnesses of Jesus’ final days as we read the gospel of Luke and here we discover… I. The joy of Palm Sunday in sharing w...

3rd Sunday of Advent - The Joy of our worship - Matthew 2:1-12 By Pastor Lee Hemen December 15, 2019 Though not everyone agrees on the timing of the arrival of the Magi from the East, they apparently came sometime after the birth of Jesus. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, though still in Bethlehem, were now in a house (oikia) or residence. Matthew could have simply been describing where Mary and Joseph were staying. Jesus was also called a child (paidion) rather than infant. The focus is the Magi’s joyous worship. When Denise and I first began to date, I would drive hundreds of miles, often times during very bad weather just to see her. I wrote her letters where I painstakingly drew cartoon characters just to make her smile. I was and am willing to sacrifice anything for her happiness and contentment. Why would I do this? I did it because I love her. She is the joy of my life. And isn’t that the way believers should respond to the joy of their worship as well? Let’s discover just what the joy ...

2nd Sunday of Advent - The peace of God - Isaiah 52:6-10 By Pastor Lee Hemen December 8, 2019 Last week we spoke of how the Messiah would be called by the names of Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. There were those who incorrectly thought that the Messiah would bring about the end of war or that everyone would find bliss. Interestingly, there are those in our day who still have misconceptions of who the Messiah is and the peace he brings. Isaiah introduces us to a Messiah who would bring peace to all mankind. He begins these verses by calling the nation of Israel to “Awake, awake, O Zion, clothe yourself with strength. Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, the holy city. The uncircumcised (ungodly) and defiled will not enter you again.” Jerusalem’s pagan conquerors — the uncircumcised and defiled — would never again invade and pollute the holy city after the Messiah came. This is part of the peace he would bring when he came. Let’s disco...

2nd Sunday of Advent - The peace of God - Isaiah 52:6-10 By Pastor Lee Hemen December 9, 2018 Last week we spoke of how the Messiah would be called by the names of Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. There were those who incorrectly thought that the Messiah would bring about the end of war or that everyone would find bliss. Interestingly, there are those in our day who still have misconceptions of who the Messiah is and the peace he brings. Isaiah introduces us to a Messiah who would bring peace to all mankind. He begins these verses by calling the nation of Israel to “Awake, awake, O Zion, clothe yourself with strength. Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, the holy city. The uncircumcised (ungodly) and defiled will not enter you again.” Jerusalem’s pagan conquerors — the uncircumcised and defiled — would never again invade and pollute the holy city after the Messiah came. This is part of the peace he would bring when he came. Let’s disco...

Get Real! - Isaiah 58:3-14 By Pastor Lee Hemen April 6, 2014 AM Like poor fitting underwear, our sins can creep up on us without our ever noticing and then we get frustrated when it begins to bind! This can happen with our worship of God as well. When we go to worship to feel better about ourselves; to gain some kind of happiness for the moment; as a requirement, or to try to please others or God are all examples of subtle sin that has crept into our worship. As a child I remember going to worship in fear, not knowing what God expected from me and that perhaps somehow in some way if I worshipped Him, He would be pleased with me. Nowadays there are those whose worship is all about anything but God. God pointed out a subtle sin in Israel. The people worshiped but only for the purpose of getting what they wanted from God. God called them back to center their worship on what He desired of them. And, after having punished His people, God then would restore them, creating a ne...

Lord of the Sabbath – Mark 2:23-28 By Pastor Lee Hemen October 4, 2009 AM I was in a discussion with one of our area’s ministry directors when he grandly announced that he did not agree with “organized religion.” I was stunned and immediately asked him, “Why then do we pay your salary?” He could not answer me. I then followed this by telling him, “If you have placed your faith in Christ, you are now part of an ‘organized religion’ that was prearranged by God Himself, centered on the foundation of the gospel message of salvation through His One and Only Son!” In being a Christian, you have submitted yourself to membership in the body of Christ. There is a foolish discussion going on in some circles today about the importance of church membership in the life of the Christian. It has come about because of universalism creeping back into Christian theology from sources like the emergent church. It is not a new heresy. It is the notion that the church and thereby worship should center spiri...