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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 – How we handle hurt says a lot By Retired Pastor Lee Hemen August 5, 2021 I liked a TV series from PBS and the BBC that was called Downton Abby. In it one of the characters, Tom, tells another character Lady Mary that “being hurt is part of being alive.” He is correct and herein is a simple truth that many in our day and age have forgotten that life consists of a series of being hurt yet how we handle the hurt tells a lot about who we are as a person. Many try to escape being hurt at all and this is simply impossible. People get hurt. People die. People get sick. We are not guaranteed a perfect life, no one is and no one in all of history has enjoyed a perfect life except perhaps Jesus and he also suffered hurt in his life. The writer of Ecclesiastes wrote that “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to te...

 Ramblings from Retirement – Trust By Retired Pastor Lee Hemen June 2, 2021 Sometimes we can become so myopic in our daily lives that we forget the people around us or the Lord who made us. Jesus reminded his listeners that the two greatest commandments were to love God totally and others like you love yourself. Fussing or fretting about things you have no control over can lead to anxiety and frustration with your circumstances. Yet when we focus on loving God as we should and loving others as he commanded the things we have no control over seem to fade into the background where they belong. I used to fret about family members who did not know the Lord and I began to wonder if God was actually listening to me when I prayed about my concern for them. I was gently reminded by a brother in Christ that perhaps my prayers were not really for the benefit of those I was praying for but to satisfy my selfish needs. Of course at first I was offended that he would claim I was being selfish w...

Ramblings from Retirement – Change Is Good By Pastor Lee Hemen April 30, 2021 As I was going through some old photos I got from my brother’s house I found some of an old dog we used to have; his name was Duke. He was a boxer and had the classic clipped ears and tail. Duke lived for about 18 years and was a good old dog but there was one thing he would do that was very hilarious. He would get downright contrite and embarrassed if you chastised him. He would hang his head, lie down, and roll his eyes and make light grumbling noises as if he were saying, “It wasn’t me, it’s not my fault.” My Mom would take great delight in asking him, “Duke! What have you done now?” even if had not done anything wrong he would be mournful, contrite, and go through his embarrassment antics. We would laugh and that often made him even more contrite. Now one thing that Duke loved to do was chase cats. He would streak after them like a madman on a mission. Duke would lose it all when he was chasing a cat. Ima...

Ramblings from Retirement – Deacon’s Wives and Kids! By Lee Hemen, Retired Pastor March 19, 2021 I remember when I had been a believer for several years when my church came to me asking if I would be considered to be a Deacon. I was surprised and flattered. Having served as a Yokefellow (Deacon in training), as a Deacon, Ministry Leader for College and Discipleship, and finally serving as a pastor for 35 years I have seen a lot of men called to the ministry and to be Deacons. I have served on many selection committees over the years for Minister of Music, Deacons, Associate Pastor and Pastor. And as I was sitting here having my devotion I was reminded of what Paul wrote Timothy concerning men who were being considered for being a Deacon in the church. Paul would write, “Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. They must first be t...

Ramblings from Retirement – Make God Known! By Lee Hemen, Retired Pastor March 17, 2021 How do you let future generations know about God? Reading your Bible and praying are good for you personally but doing these things even daily do not get you active in actually getting out and letting those around you know about God. Now do not get me wrong because I do believe in prayer and reading the Bible but if that is all you do you could actually be hindering others from knowing about God. The Psalmist declared, “I will sing of the LORD's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. (Psalms 89:1 NIV)” He took a stand to verbally sing of God’s love. Now you may not want to sing in front of others and this is not the case I am making and others may not want you to sing to them, however as believers in God we are to about the business of letting the world around us know about the love of God. The Psalmist related that he would actually speak ...

Christ’s presence in his church! – Ephesians 3:14-21 By Pastor Lee Hemen March 1, 2020 There are things in this world that are hard to comprehend completely. The love we have for our children, the joy of seeing something beautiful in God’s creation, or the smells that linger in our minds that bring back memories: Aftershave, baking bread, the fresh smell of spring rain. We could explain them scientifically but that kind of lessens their impact. Their presence is enough to make us wonder. As believers we can become so comfortable with the presence of Jesus we begin to neglect what this means. It is easy to do. We no longer think about how our smart phones, TVs, computers, microwaves or other devices we enjoy work. So not giving a second thought to a loving savior who died for us seems to be almost normal. Paul did not suffer from such familiarity. He wrote the Ephesians about the wonder of Christ’s presence in his church, let’s see how… READ: Ephesians 3:14-21 Paul knew that because of ...

The cost of sacrifice! - Matthew 10:34-42 By Pastor Lee Hemen November 17, 2019 When I was a teenager taking on my first regular job opportunity my father knew it would require that I give up a lot of my morning free time during the summer. I sold Spudnuts, a doughnut made from potato flour, door-to-door. I had to get up before sunrise, head down to the bakery, and purchase my allotment of Spudnuts, balance them on my bicycle and then go door-to-door selling these warm delicious treats. I earned good money because I was willing to count the cost. Counting the cost of something does not come easy in our day and age where we have been told that we must have what we want when we want it and not wait for anything. The term comes from Luke’s gospel whereby Jesus tells his disciples that “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he may have enough to finish it” (Luke 14:28 MKJV). The wording used denotes the idea of not just the financ...

Believers will be ill-treated! - Matthew 10:16-25 By Pastor Lee Hemen November 3, 2019 In today’s politically correct climate individuals can feel threatened by anything, everything, and anyone. If it makes you feel uncomfortable, then you have a personal right to whine about it and make a spectacle of yourself concerning your hurt feelings. It makes one wonder what these same wilting Willies would do if they were truly persecuted. Jesus knew that his message was not and would not be popular with the established religious leadership. And in fact they would do anything to silence it and its messengers including lying, threatening, and imprisoning those who dared share it. Evil does not like to be exposed and the world was enshrouded in evil. I believe this is why there are those who are emboldened in our day and age to not just disagree with the gospel message but to personally persecute in any way possible anyone who dares to try and share it. Jesus knew believers would be persecuted; ...

The flight, the slaughter, and the return – Matthew 2:13-23 By Pastor Lee Hemen January 13, 2019 There are some things in life we have to do even if we do not like doing them: paying taxes, going to school, working, or going to the doctor. When I was a child my family moved often, so much so that I began to hate going to the supermarket to get cardboard boxes. One year we moved four times when I was in 3rd grade in the same area! Most military kids understand what I mean. Here in these verses we discover Jesus’ family being directed by God to move for their protection. Sadly innocent folks suffered because of the ungodly choices of a madman. And yet the Lord brings this family back safely when it’s time to where Jesus can grown and be nurtured emotionally, physically, and spiritually among his own people. Let’s learn more about how God worked in the flight of a family, the slaughter of innocents, and the return of Jesus… READ: Matthew 2:13-23 There are those in our day who have become...

How to treat others! – 1 Timothy 5:1-16 By Pastor Lee Hemen January 14, 2018 One hurdle a nonbeliever has to jump over is when “Christians” do not live like it. Paul had just gotten through writing Timothy to “Watch your life and doctrine closely” because he knew that a true faith results in a changed life. Believers are to act like Jesus. Remember believers are to be “blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe”. (Philippians 2:14-15 NIV) How we treat others speaks volumes about our faith. Although Timothy was not to dwell on his youthfulness, he was to be mindful that he was still a young man; especially in dealing with folks who are older than himself, and also in his bearing towards young women. Paul begins with the treatment of older men and returns to it again later on. Between these two passages about men he gives directions for Timothy’s guidance respecting the women in his church, especia...

A deacon! -- 1Timothy 3:8-13 By Pastor Lee Hemen November 12, 2012 Often all you hear about, read about, or see in the movies and TV is a gross characterization of evangelical church leadership. In fact so much so that there is a societal mythos that is completely false concerning Christian leadership in evangelical churches; especially concerning deacons. The truth is there are literally tens of thousands of pastors and hundreds of thousands of deacons who serve in evangelical churches all across America and worldwide with grace and compassion as the servants of Jesus they are called to be. Paul is writing to his young friend in the ministry Timothy on how a church is supposed to function and how congregations were to choose their leadership. Were Paul’s suggestions supposed to be the absolute law for all time and all churches everywhere concerning how a local church chooses its leadership? No, I do not believe so, however, since his writing is Spirit-inspired we as believers wo...