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Fatherly Advice - Proverbs 22:6  By Pastor Lee Hemen June 12, 2022 Father’s Day is coming up real soon and later in the year, on September 11, 2022, the first Sunday after Labor Day we will celebrate National Grandparents Day. Of course, we just celebrated Mother’s Day. When I was younger, like a lot of kids, I wondered out loud when there would be a national celebration for kids, my father replied that “It’s when schools begins in the fall.” Some would say, “Every day is Kid’s Day.” And perhaps it is. We live in a day and age where children have become almost idolatry for some families. Here’s what I mean: Far too much emphasis is placed on how to make children happy and little is spent on what truly makes a child self-sufficient. Children today are often used by “experts” as educational and political experiments for indoctrination. Yet the Bible speaks very plainly on what truly constitutes a well rounded child rearing. What most families lack today in raising godly kids is consi...

Ramblings from Retirement – Take Time to Ponder By Retired Pastor Lee Hemen May 9, 2021 Before the birth of her first child my daughter was kind of scared; you could see it in her eyes. She did not know what to expect but everything turned out fine and she gave birth to a sweet baby boy. During the birth of her second child she was a little bit late in heading to the hospital, called me to rush over, and I helped her give birth to her tiny daughter there on the floor of her apartment. Her husband was rushing home as fast as he could. Her son helped direct the EMS and firemen to where the baby was being born. After both births it was amazing how she cuddled and kissed each newborn. My mother was not always what you would call a “loving” person however she would find the time to put together a picnic lunch, take us to the park, and tell us stories while eating our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on the grass sitting on a blanket. As a young child she would have me sit next to her and ...

Ramblings From Retirement - Spare the Rod? By Retired Pastor Lee Hemen May 8, 2021 Mother’s Day is tomorrow and I’ve been writing a few remembrances about my mother. She stood at a mighty 5 foot 2 inches but she was full of life and none of us children crossed her. She could get a terror on in nothing flat and was not afraid to spare the rod. In fact I have planted lilacs in our backyard in remembrance of her because she loved them a lot, however they were also her favorite tool for “whippin’s”. More than once I heard from her say, “Here’s a sharp knife, now go out to the lilac bush and cut me off a sucker so I can whip you.” Now lest you think that she was being abusive, she was not. A few whacks was all it took to get us into a proper frame of mind. None of us suffered from her ministrations and in fact all of us learned respect and discipline from her. She would remind us that to “spare the rod is to spoil the child” which of course is not found in the Bible but we learn from Prover...

Ramblings from Retirement - Focus By Lee Hemen March 16, 2021 When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you. Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds. (Psalms 73:21-28 NIV) I was reminded this morning as I sat and did my devotion that what we focus on, whether in life or for the day, will impact how we live. Now I know this is not some great new truth but it reminded me to be more focused on what is important. These past several weeks several of my friends have lost family m...

Ramblings from Retirement - Nativity By Lee Hemen (Retired Pastor) December 24, 2020 A couple traveling was nothing new especially at this time when everyone was required to head back to their ancestral places of birth. It was required and they had no choice in the matter. The government dictated that they had to go and be counted and so they went. To do otherwise would have brought the full force of the Empire down on them. This one couple walked side by side carrying a few meager possessions, food, and things for the baby that could be born any time soon. The young woman was pregnant. Her husband was worried because there were so many traveling and what if he could not find anywhere for them to rest and for her to be protected from the weather. She was pregnant after all and that alone was risk enough. Many women died in child birth but she was strong, young, and a lovely person who loved God and he was certain that God loved her. I wonder if he thought about what had transpired in b...

The birth of Jesus – Matthew 1:18-25 By Pastor Lee Hemen December 30, 2018 Matthew is the first of what is commonly called the “Synoptic Gospels”. “Synoptic” comes from the Greek adjective synoptikos, which is from two words syn and opsesthai, “to see with or together.” While Matthew, Mark, and Luke have distinctive purposes, they nevertheless view the life of Jesus Christ in a common way. There have been multiple arguments concerning why they are similar and yet also different. Everything from there supposedly being some mysterious other source document known as “Q” no one has ever found a single scrap of to the notion that it was all made up. None of these are correct. The Gospels are similar and yet different simply because they were written by different individuals who either used firsthand accounts they remembered or the testimony of others. When my brother, my sister and I get together we often share common stories of our youth. While we may share the same events we experienced e...

1st Sunday of Advent – Hope! - Isaiah 9:2-7 By Pastor Lee Hemen December 3, 2017 In seminary we used to tease one another with a little ditty that went “My hope is built on nothing less than Scofield’s notes and Moody Press”. Of course this is a takeoff from the old hymn however it makes one think about what their hope is built upon. Christmas is based on hope and the celebration of the first Advent, the coming of the Savior, the Messiah, of the world! As believers, we celebrate the birth of Jesus. But we also wait eagerly for the Second Advent when Jesus returns! A large part of our lives center around anticipation. The enjoyment in many of life’s events is built on the fact that we have time to anticipate them. Whether it is Christmas, vacations, trips, or sporting events, all grow in value because of the hours we spend looking forward to them. Now imagine the anticipation of the salvation the hope of mankind coming to earth. That is what the first Sunday of Advent is all about, ...

God leads us to him! – Psalm 61 By Pastor Lee Hemen September 24, 2017 My Dad and I were headed home and in the yard of a stranger was my dog Tad. He was chained to a big old fir tree. I exclaimed, “Dad! There’s Tad!” We had been looking for him for days. My father just kept driving. Tad was one of those dogs I realize now that you look forward to the day when he runs a way. A friend of my parents had shoved him through our front door one Christmas Eve; we woke up to the tree on the floor, broken blubs, torn apart and half-eaten presents. He ran away once and I found him seven miles away in town by our elementary school. My teacher put him in her car until we could take him home later. He defecated all over inside of it; tore up her seats, and pretty much ruined her car. Sadly he was one dog you could not teach anything. My Dad was not going to turn around and claim him. There are people like my old dog Tad whom you can’t seem to teach anything. They never learn to listen to anyone...

God is our guide! – Psalm 23 By Pastor Lee Hemen September 3, 2017 In our day and age few of us truly understand what it means to be a shepherd or even what sheep are all about. Of course if you have been around sheep you probably are still wondering what in the world sheep are all about. While a cow will walk into muck clear up to their hind tail and wonder how in the world they got there, sheep will freak out and happily run off a cliff together. I also realize that few of us would sit day in and day out through the cold, heat, rain, wind or snow watching a herd of grass-chewing wooly uncaring critters so understanding shepherding isn’t part of our modern day lives or personal experience. Now perhaps in our day we could understand what it means to be a guide instead of a shepherd. A guide helps someone to go from one place to the next, meet a specific goal, or to acquire a certain skill. In David’s day shepherds were common and since he had been one himself he understood what it ...

Hannah, determined devotion! – 1 Samuel 1:1-20 By Pastor Lee Hemen May 13, 2012 AM My Mother taught me several different important lessons as I was growing up. Like LOGIC: “What were you thinking? Answer me when I talk to you! Don’t talk back to me!” HUMOR: “When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don’t come running to me!” She taught me about my ROOTS: “Where do you think you were born -- in a barn?” About ANTICIPATION: “Young man, just you wait until I get you home!” And, my all time favorite thing – FAIRNESS: “One day you will have kids and I hope they turn out just like YOU.” Yep, that’s my Mom. In the Bible we see examples of mothers as well. One in particular can teach us a lot of important things too. One who stands out among women of the Bible is a lady named Hannah. Her name literally meant “grace” or “mercy.” Its root meaning comes from the idea of someone humbly bending their knees in petition and asking for mercy. That is a good picture of Hannah. Hannah was on...