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When Chaos Hits Home, Go Home! – Luke 1:26-50 By Pastor Lee Hemen November 30, 2008 AM What do you do when you hear news that will change your life? When the chaos of life hits home? Most of us immediately turn to those who love us, our family. For many of us when we are going through a tough time in life, like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, “There’s no place like home!” I can remember being far from home in California and wanting more than anything to be home for the holidays. That is the way family should work, when times get chaotic you immediately think of heading home because those are the folks who understand you and love you the most. For the believer our home and family is not just with our biologic loved ones but also with our Heavenly Father as well. We discover that no matter what happens in life or where we are, God is right there and we can head for His loving arms anytime we desire. We discover that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was no different. When she was faced with the r...

Productive and Proper Living -- Titus 3:8-15 By Pastor Lee Hemen November 23, 2008 AM There is s difference between “goodness” and “godliness.” One is defined as the quality of being good, while the other is displaying the divine qualities of God. It is interesting to note that the English term for “goodness” was derived originally from the Old English word “godness,” but there are too many folks in our day that confuse goodness with godliness and there is a danger in doing so. Why? It implies a reward for your actions as in “so be good for goodness sake!” When the first Pilgrims landed on the rocky cold shores of North America they had a truly tough time. Many, over half, died within the first year of exposure, starvation, and disease. They determined from the beginning that since they were in this all together they would share everything they had equally, but there was one problem they forgot to bank on, not everyone in their community was godly, and not everybody would work hard eno...

Proper Christian Citizenship – Titus 3:1-7 By Pastor Lee Hemen November 16, 2008 AM Mark Twain wrote in an article published in Collier’s Magazine in 1905, “Is there such a thing as Christian citizenship? No, but it could be created. The process would be quite simple, and not productive of hardship to anyone. It will be conceded that every man’s first duty is to God; it will also be conceded, and with strong emphasis, that a Christian’s first duty is to God. It then follows, as a matter of course, that it is his duty to carry his Christian code of morals to the polls and vote them. Whenever he shall do that, he will not find himself voting for an unclean man, a dishonest man. Whenever a Christian votes, he votes against God or for Him, and he knows this quite well. God is an issue in every election; He is a candidate in the person of every clean nominee on every ticket; His purity and His approval are there, to be voted for or voted against, and no fealty to party can ab...

Proper Christian Teaching -- Titus 2:11-15 By Pastor Lee Hemen November 9, 2008 AM Christians have adopted a convoluted myopic self-centered view of what the grace of God is all about. Some have bought into the idea that God has got to love us no matter what, forgetting we are called to holiness. Holiness is not a “sacred” feeling. We cannot do whatever we want, worship however we want, and think we can enjoy “the grace of God!” This is sickening in its spiritual stupidity. God’s grace certainly is his love extended to sinners, but we dare not presume upon it. God is not some elderly gentleman who winks at our indiscretions and dotingly waits for his wayward children to “come home.” God’s grace is found in Jesus who died for us when we did not care, did not deserve it, and did nothing to show we loved him for it. The grace of God is wrapped up in his plan to redeem mankind. Grace is the extension and expression of God. This is why Paul would write Titus: “For the grace of God that brin...

Proper Christian Behavior -- Titus 2:1-10 November 2, 2008 AM By Pastor Lee Hemen “Behave” is kind of a strange sounding word. I mean, listen to it as you say it slowly: BE…HAVE. It comes from Middle English “behaven,” meaning “to have” or “to hold.” Perhaps this is why “to have and to hold” was originally inserted into our marriage vows? Could it have meant to “behave,” to have or to hold onto someone else? To mind them? The Old English was “behabban” and it meant to keep oneself in check. We get the word “behavior” from this. My mother used it to mean we were to reign ourselves in and be good. She would say, “Behave!” and we knew immediately what she meant. If we did not, there would be consequences. Proper behavior is important and this is certainly true for the believer as well. Proper Christian behavior is important for the believer to understand its “consequences” for their lives and the blessings it brings. God loves us and desires we live holy lives for Him. Going back to his i...