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Ramblings from Retirement – Worship By Retired Pastor Lee Hemen April 6, 2021 We just celebrated Resurrection Sunday, Easter for those of you who are biblically illiterate, and I noticed that we had several visitors even during our National COVID scare. And this got me to thinking about when I first began to Pastor and how frustrating it was when folks saw their church attendance as an afterthought. Attending their children’s sports programs, doing their hobbies, simply waking up and feeling like going to the beach or because it was sunny was an excuse to miss their church worship. It was frustrating because many of these same people would get their feelings hurt because they were seen as “visitors” by those who did show up regularly or when they were not asked to do certain ministries in the church because of their fly-by-night attendance. Now if you are getting your feelings hurt by reading this what does it say about your church attendance and why you feel you have to make excuses f...

Ramblings from Retirement: Finding Rest in a Fearful World By Lee Hemen October 8, 2020 The dictionary defines alienation as “the state or experience of being isolated from a group or an activity to which one should belong or in which one should be involved.” If furthers goes on to state that there can be a loss of sympathy and an estrangement that occurs. This is evidenced by those who stay away from worship for any length of time and why the writer of Hebrews would state: “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:23-25 NIV)” When we stay away from those that we are told to fellowship with we become alienated from them. When we stay away from the One we are supposed to daily talk with we also become ali...

Fellowship Is A Beautiful Thing! – Acts 2:42-47 By Pastor Lee Hemen June 28, 2020 New things are exciting; new houses, new relationships, new cars or new toys – all of these things can be exciting at first. The same is true for new churches, new Sunday School Classes, and new pastors. But after the excitement wears off then there is the hard work of taking care of, maintaining, and developing some of these things. The church was brand new and it was exciting. Things were happening and God was moving to build his church in the world so it could be the witness he needed. Within the newness of the early church we discover that the disciples began to develop how the body of Christ was to operate in the world and in doing so we discover that fellowship is a beautiful thing. Let’s see how and why… READ: Acts 2:42-47 GBC is in the process of finding a new pastor and we should desire one that encourages fellowship, is willing to come alongside of others, and develop us as believers. ...

Why Worship Is so Special! -- Nehemiah 8:8-12 By Pastor Lee Hemen May 10, 2020 My mother was a character. She left home at an early age to seek her fame and future in the wilds of Alaska from the wilds of Wyoming! She was about 15 years old and it was right before WWII. She had a 7th grade education, could ride a horse, shoot a rifle, and roll a cigarette using the “fixings” with one hand. Now I am not commending that teenagers leave home at 15, smoke, and learn to ride a horse; but my mother like most Americans enjoyed her freedom and willingly went north. The Israelites had not enjoyed freedom for many years. They had been enslaved by the Persians and had only recently been allowed any kind of freedom. Ezra the Priest went to Jerusalem to try and get the people educated in the word of the Lord. Nehemiah came later to help rebuild. They both knew that with the Israelites new found freedom and not having temple worship they would soon stray from God. Here in Nehemiah we discover why wo...

Unity among God’s people is precious! – Psalm 133:1-3 By Pastor Lee Hemen March 22, 2020 There is nothing better than seeing a family that loves one another. As I was at the local park last summer I watched as a young family came down to the park to play. It was precious to see them play, laugh, and just be a family. In a world where we are now being encouraged to distance ourselves socially because of COVID-19 and some because they can’t seem to live without their online social networking it is good to experience the unity among God’s people and just how precious it is. David as Israel’s king I am sure often felt cut off from being able to just be himself. Like our President who gets negative response no matter what he seems to do, David felt the isolation of his office as Israel’s king. Yet in the midst of his loneliness and isolation he knew that unity among God’s people is precious! Let see what David wrote… READ: Psalm 133:1-3 As we face the days ahead as a church with what is go...

United! - Acts 2:42-47 By Pastor Lee Hemen June 11, 2017 Unity, what does it mean to be unified? I know as a military unit you have to work together to achieve the same objective in order to win the battle. As a company you have to be on the same page as to what your objectives, projections, and costs are. And if you are a church the Scriptures teach us that we are to be united as well in order to achieve the kingdom of God here on earth until Jesus returns, but what does that mean and what does it look like? In our day and age few churches teach about unity except as a spiritual concept or construct but few believers understand or know what it means for the body of Christ, his church, to be unified. In the book of Acts, which is the early history of the first century church we discover that they were united in purpose. Let’s find out what that means for us today… READ: Acts 2:42-47 If a group wants to achieve anything worthwhile the members have to be on the same page and work...

Of Potlucks, Power Rangers and People by Pastor Lee Hemen April 12, 2015 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:46-47 NIV) These men are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm--shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted--twice dead. (Jude 1:12 NIV) The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ… But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? ... The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the fee...

Jude - Be On Guard! By Pastor Lee Hemen February 17, 2013 AM What motivates you in life? When I was in a JNROTC program, we were stationed for several weeks at Quadra, a Canadian military base. We had to learn basic commands in French because of the cadets that were from Quebec that were there training with us. All I remember is “stand easy” was “repos,” “dismissed” was “écartée!” and “attention” was “garde à vous!” We were motivated to be alert because if we did not follow the commands quickly enough, we were punished for our lack of knowledge. Our drill instructors did not care that some of us did not know French. We had to learn them correctly and quickly. We were highly motivated. For the Christian, our motivation needs to be Jesus Christ. When Jude wrote his letter there were those who had begun to get discouraged because they thought Jesus was going to return any day. The signs were all there but He still hadn’t come back. Then, in the midst of mounting persecution,...

John 17:20-26 - Jesus prayed for us! By Pastor Lee Hemen November 6, 2011 AM “I’ll pray for you” are words often uttered as an empathetic gesture by many, yet they can have a tremendous impact on the life of a person. Have you ever had someone pray for you? Perhaps you were sick, maybe even in the hospital, and someone from the church stopped by and, after a brief visit, prayed for your recovery. Or perhaps there was a significant decision to be made, and someone from your family prayed with you and for you. How do you feel when someone prays for you? We discover that Jesus paused to pray for his disciples, but did you know he also prayed for each of us as well? On the night he was betrayed, the Son of God himself prayed — not just for the little band of Galileans who followed him across the Palestinian landscape for three years — but for each one of us here this morning! Let’s discover what Jesus prayed… READ: John 17:20-26 We may have forgotten that prayer is much more tha...

The principles of a powerful prayer meeting, Part 2 By Pastor Lee Hemen’ October 23, 2011 AM Last time, we asked why Elijah, Moses, Joshua, Jesus and Paul were so filled with confidence when praying about the impossible that they often announced that it would take place even before they prayed! How could they be so sure that God would answer their prayers? I believe it was because they had paid the price of being alone with God. They had come to know the very heart and intent of God. They began to see life from his perspective instead of their own. Fervent focused prayer surged through their spiritual souls and it beat with the intense intimacy they shared with the Father. They sought the Lord until they knew what he was doing and joined him in doing it! Therefore, they saw the power of God displayed in response to their prayers. This is the very essence of what Jesus meant by abiding in him, without which we will not know what God’s will is or what to ask him. We find that...

A Proper Christian “Hello!” -- Titus 1:1-4 October 19, 2008 AM By Pastor Lee Hemen Titus was a Gentile convert who had served and traveled with the Apostle Paul “to Jerusalem… with Barnabas.” Paul “went in response to a revelation” that he preach “the gospel… among the Gentiles.” The church leadership there felt that Paul “was running or had run [his] race in vain.” But he had not, because “not even Titus, who was with [Paul], was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.” (Galatians 2:1-3). Titus knew, like Paul, that his salvation was in Christ alone and not in following the law. Titus was therefore a “gentile” witness! (2Corinthians 7:6-7; 8:6). In approximately 63-64 AD, after leaving Timothy in Ephesus, Paul and Titus traveled on to Crete. Paul then left Titus behind to help provide leadership for the Cretan churches (Titus1:5). Afterward the apostle wrote this letter and had it delivered to Titus. Christians share a commonality of faith, knowledge, and eternal hope...