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Ramblings from Retirement - Are You No Earthly Good? By Pastor (retired) Lee Hemen  April 3, 2022 There's an old saying that a Christian can be "so heavenly-minded you're no earthly good". It means that believers can be so focused on being holy, that they've lost sight of the world around them. Now this can be a good thing when it refers to one's looking to Jesus as they live, but it can be bad if they're so focused on the things of heaven that they forget about those around them that need Jesus. It can be bad in the life of a church or preacher that becomes so focused on knowledge or themselves that they become blinded to the needs of a hurting and sinful world around them. Jesus berated the spiritual teachers of his day because this was exactly what they were guilty of doing. Jesus really got into it with them, and he bluntly told them, ‘Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cummin....

Ramblings from Retirement – How to Live! By Retired Pastor Lee Hemen April 10, 2021 There are some truly disturbing trends in Christianity today; one is where folks think that God just winks and smiles at their “discretions”, otherwise known as sins, and those who think that if they follow a set of rules or guidelines then they will be loved by God. Neither is correct and will result in a false sense of spiritual security that will ultimately end in eternal death. Peter writes believers when he tells them to “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’ (1 Peter 1:13-16 NIV84)” Sure the writer of Hebrews tells us that we are t “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be h...

Great Is the Lord! – Psalm 145:1-21 By Pastor Lee Hemen May 3, 2020 How do you tell someone that they are doing a great job? Do slap them on the back and give them an “attaboy”? A high five or perhaps bake them cookies or a cake? We are all told to give out positive reinforcement to those we work with, our kids, and others but what about the Lord? Of course we often do not think that God needs our praise but nothing could be further from the truth because we are commanded to praise him. Here in this Psalm of David we find him praising the Lord and telling him just how great he is. During this time when we are faced with what seem dire circumstances, it can become difficult to praise the Lord but it is specifically during such times we should do so. And this morning as we look at the words of David’s Psalm we will discover just how great is the Lord… READ: Psalm 145 In the 1970s people were encouraged to “find yourself”. The idea was that with personal introspection you could discover w...

Stars! - Philippians 2:12-18 By Pastor Lee Hemen July 8, 2018 There was a kid’s cartoon TV show called Jimmy Neutron and one of the many characters was a guy who was the quintessential movie agent. He would tell other characters that he could make them “a super star!” Of course the whole idea was that he was trying to get people to think he could make anyone a “super star!” which wasn’t true. It seems however with the advent of reality TV and social media like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube and such that many think they can get their fifteen minutes of fame. But does that make you a “super star”? The definition of what constitutes stardom has been redefined. Spiritual stardom is quite different. We learned last week that humility plays a huge role in achieving this status. Paul wanted his fellow disciples to become all they were meant to be in God’s kingdom. There was and is however no easy way to the goal of spiritual stardom. Yet for those who strive for it the race and its finish is...

God is our judge! – Psalm 50 By Pastor Lee Hemen August 27, 2017 “Man, are you gonna get it when we get home!” my brother yelled at me as we ran as fast as we could to the house. I had been roping and branding the dog (more about that in a bit) and he had caught me. And being the kind, law-abiding, and honest person that he was he threatened to “tell Mom.” Well, the race was on to see which one of us would get home first because we both knew that judgment day was coming and Mom was the judge. Judgment is coming for the entire world but few give it even a moment of their time or thought. We discover here in the Psalms one written by Asaph a leading Levite musician who teaches us about God is our judge. Because God does not treat us as robots, slaves, or machines but rather he allows us to make our own decisions and to either be blessed or suffer the consequences of our choices. Let’s find out what it means that God is our judge for our world and us today. READ: Psalm 50 “Come ba...

The righteous person! – Psalm 1 By Pastor Lee Hemen June 18, 2017 Many base their entire lives on their feelings. Emotionalism will get one into trouble if it isn’t tempered by rationality. The one thing my Dad taught me was to rationally think things through, whether it was fixing something, doing a job, or my school work. Sadly, much of the church today is influenced irrationality. Colleges, the media, and politicians have all sold their souls on the altar of selfish emotionalism. Morality is often dictated by how it makes someone feel so personal sin is regarded in the same way. The Psalmist teaches us that the righteous person does not live their life this way. The Christian is to live their life by their faith in Jesus and his teachings not their feelings or how we think he might have felt. Feeling good or bad about something does not make it righteous. Believers are to live holy lives. Our foundation is not in people, feelings, or what makes us happy for the moment. Holiness is f...

A new hope! - Ephesians 1:1-14 By Pastor Lee Hemen January 1, 2016 It’s a new year, a fresh start, and a time to get rid of the old and in with the new, right? For some it is easier said than done. I have never even in my entire life seen and heard such a crowd of whining sore losers. I used to think that this nation would and could move forward no matter who was elected, and this was after Presidents that I thoroughly disagreed with and who abused and misused their offices to further their personal, sexual, and societal agendas. We have a nation that exhibits an immaturity that needs to be kicked in the rear and told to get over itself. A new President does not mean the end of all things; it only means you get to vote a different scoundrel into office in another four years! There is always a new hope! We live in a day and age where there is way too much emphasis on self. People would rather have others tell them what to think and do rather than actually figure out for their own selves...

Live by the Spirit not by sin! - Galatians 5:14-26 By Pastor Lee Hemen September 11, 2016 Semper fidelis is a Latin phrase that means "always faithful" or "always loyal". In the United States it is best known as the motto of the United States Marine Corps. "Be Prepared" is the motto of the Boy Scouts and Washington State's motto is "Al-ki" which means "Bye and Bye". What life motto do you live by? For some it is "Get yours before they get theirs", however for the believer it should be "Love God and love others". Of course this come from what Jesus taught about all the commands of God being summed up into: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:30-31 NIV) What is your life's motto? For Paul his mot...

Prayer for the Disciples! - John 17:14-26 By Pastor Lee Hemen December 27, 2015 If you knew your life was going to be cut short, how would you pray for those you care about? Perhaps you do not know what you would pray, but it is a good question to consider. I believe it is because so many of us say we will pray for others but few of us truly know what to pray or how to pray for others. Often we fall back into the trite and simplistic prayers we have often voiced. I have learned over the years that prayer is so much more than we realize. We should stand in awe of the fact that our prayer is our conversation with God himself. It is not some psychological or mystical crutch we use to sooth our guilty conscience. Here in John's gospel we find Jesus intimately praying for his disciples and for us! Why would Jesus pray if he was God? We have learned that although Jesus is God he willingly placed himself in human form, developed and taught by his example what it meant to walk closel...

Humility! - John 13:1-17 By Pastor Lee Hemen August 30, 2013 There was an old country western song by Mac Davis called, "It's Hard to be Humble." The chorus went, "Oh Lord it's hard to be humble, when you're perfect in every way. I can't wait to look in the mirror. Cause I get better looking each day." I wonder if our world today truly understands what it means to be humble. Humility is more than being nice or acquiescing your moral standards to be liked by others or being soft-spoken.  Jesus was humble but he was not weak or effeminate. He willingly displayed his strength in his personal humility. Here in John's gospel we find Jesus actively displaying for his inner circle of disciples what real humility is all about. He would teach, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." (Mark 9:35 NIV) and that "everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted....