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 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...

Goodbye! – Ephesians 6:21-24 By Pastor Lee Hemen May 7, 2017 There was a very schmaltzy song from the 1980s called “Friends” sung by Michael W. Smith that everyone and their monkey were singing. The chorus went: “And friends are friends forever, if the Lord’s the Lord of them. And a friend will not say never ‘cause the welcome will not end. Though it’s hard to let you go, in the Father's hands we know that a lifetime's not too long to live as friends.” I got sick and tired of hearing this over and over at every youth camp I did but it does express some spiritual truths concerning Christian friends and goodbyes. Paul became close to the people in the churches he established. He knew that because of their small size and how few and far between these congregations were Paul feared for them as friends. And when he had to leave them for whatever reason it was tough for him to say “goodbye”. Let’s discover what Paul wrote about this… READ: Ephesians 6:21-24 How would you say goodbye ...

The love of God! - John 15:9-17 By Pastor Lee Hemen October 25, 2015 Selena Gomez sings about how she is sick of the same old love, but the words in her hit song have to deal with how people mistreat one another in relationships. The artist Weeknd sings about being so deep in love his face goes numb. There must be literally hundreds if not thousands of songs that deal with love in some way or another. Love is such a frustrating and baffling thing for some of us that we sometimes misunderstand what real love is like. Here in John's gospel we discover the love of God displayed in the life of Jesus and now we learn what that loves is all about and just how truly wonderful it is. The love of God is complete, true, and open. When we see Jesus we see the love of God. Let's discover what this means for us… READ: John 15:9-17 If we say we love someone they expect certain things from us. Our words and actions should display what we say concerning our love for them, and our relationship...

What God Requires! - Micah 6:6-8 by Pastor Lee Hemen 04-13-14 AM Jesus was preparing to go to the cross and He only had a few days left to impart some last instructions to His disciples. Already He had planned how He would celebrate His last Passover meal with them. He already knew the significance of the bread and the wine He would share. He also knew what He had to do to provoke the Jewish leadership by going to the temple and driving out their wretched money changers. But before all that He would have to make His entrance into the City of David. He knew that some in the crowds that cheered Him today would cry for His crucifixion in a few days. Neither the leadership nor the common crowd understood just how far they had wandered from God and how He would provide a way back to Him. They did not understand what God required. The same could be said of what Micah teaches concerning Israel's wandering from the Lord and how they needed to return to Him. Israel misunderstoo...

James 4:1-17 - Who Is Your Best Friend? By Pastor Lee Hemen October 27, 2013 AM How many close trusted friends do you have, not family, who stick with you “through thick and thin”? A number of years ago, an interim pastor read the opening verse of Philemon where Paul wrote “our dear friend.” He stopped reading and inquired: “If I asked you how many true friends you have—friends you can count on—what, would you say?” He paused for a few seconds and then shared how many intimate friends he had. Slowly, he held up two fingers. He had two friends to whom he could go at any time and share anything with the assurance of total acceptance and support! Folks want friends and would gladly welcome even more friends in their lives. This is also true of God. God desires everyone to be His friend. The first step is to become one of His children. Some folks are unwilling to make this commitment. Some do not care about being known as God’s friend, and do little to confirm they are! They never nurture ...

Commitment: A path to fulfillment! - Micah 7:1-7, 18-20 By Pastor Lee Hemen July 14, 2013 AM "Jim" is a committed Christian who works in a large real estate office. He has been reprimanded more than once by management for being "too candid" about problems with the properties, he shows. Most of Jim’s fellow workers either are not Christians or are spiritually shallow. He does not join their conversations about movies because they usually discuss movies he avoids due to their content. He is not invited nor does he want to join them after work at the local bar. Because of his commitment to Christ, he feels lonely and isolated in this ungodly environment. Jim shared his frustrations with his pastor, who suggested he join a men’s support group that met each week for encouragement. Jim agreed and there he found other men who shared his frustration at their places of work. Does anything in your work environment cause you difficulty as a Christian? If so, how d...

Some that Are Blind See - Mark 8:22-26 By Pastor Lee Hemen May 2, 2010 AM There are those in the world, like the Cheshire Cat from Lewis Carroll’s “Through the Looking Glass,” who actually believe their mad rendition of life is a worthy philosophy to follow. It is a rather odd path to walk: Alice “began, rather timidly… Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat. “I don’t much care where…” said Alice. “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat. “…so long as I get SOMEWHERE,” Alice added as an explanation. “Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough.” And, sadly, that is what a lot of folks adhere to for their life’s philosophy. “If only you walk long enough.” Jesus would declared, “Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” (Matthew 15:14) Jesus knew that some of those who think they can see sp...

You Cannot Always Go Home - Mark 6:1-6 January 10, 2010 AM Pastor Lee Hemen Isn’t it funny how we often have fond memories of experiences that could have been quite awful, especially when it comes to our growing up years? I know I do. Here is what I mean: We could have had a very difficult time of growing up, say like being raised poor or facing some severe trials, but in retrospect we believe they were the best times of our lives! However, it can be a real shock when we try and “go home,” so-to-speak. We often find that going home can mean coming face-to-face with how people and places actually were and not how we fondly remember them to be. There have been numerous movies, plays, and books written, telling the tale of someone going home only to face the reality of their emotional, psychological, and spiritual past. One would think that the Son of God would be exempt from such self-examination, scrutiny, or emotional or personal confrontation that can come from going back home. Howeve...

When Family or Man Does Not Understand - Mark 3:20-35 By Pastor Lee Hemen October 25, 2009 AM During a Youth Camp I was directing one young teenage girl was deliberately creating personal drama all around her. Because of her self-centeredness and total self-absorption in boys, she was keeping the whole camp in turmoil. Of course, being the Camp Director, I had to be the one to confront her. At first she got really angry and tried yelling at me that I “just did not understand her and what she was going through.” So, I patiently asked her to explain it to me. As she got into her lengthy dissertation on why she was being a pill, she realized how totally selfish she was and how the whole camp had begun to not want to be around her. All of a sudden she went kind of pale, began to cry, and apologized. We have all seen in situation comedies, or have experienced for ourselves, a pouting child that storms off into the next room while shouting to their bewildered parents, “You just do not unders...

With Friends Like These! -- Mark 2:1-12 By Pastor Lee Hemen September 13, 2006 AM What kind of friends do you have? Are they fair-weather friends? Do they stick with you through thick or thin? What about you, what kind of friend do you make? How do you lookout for those who you consider a friend? Friendship carries with it responsibilities and true friendship demands accountability as well. Friendship can mean that you have to be willing to sacrifice for those you consider a friend. Jesus saw what true friendship means and what true friends will do for one another. Jesus has come back to Capernaum and the “people had heard He had come home.” So many began to show up where Jesus is living that there is hardly any room except for Jesus to preach from His own doorway. Here in Mark’s gospel we discover five conflicts Jesus has with the religious leaders of the day. They are not in chronological order because the writers of that day were not concerned so much with what order things happened...