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The Uncompromising Christ - Mark 9:43-50 By Pastor Lee Hemen July 25, 2010 AM Whenever we hear the word “uncompromising”, we often get the notion it means someone is ridged, narrow-minded, or strict. Yet if folks throughout our Nation’s history had not been uncompromising, we would be British citizens or saluting a swastika. Being uncompromising is not necessarily a bad thing. We live in a day and age where people have swallowed the lie that you must compromise in in life order to “get along” with others. While compromising on how to do something might be a way to get some things done, compromising on one’s theological views can lead one into dangerous areas and even eternal death. Jesus never compromised on his spiritual or religious views. In fact, we could say that Jesus was an uncompromising Christ, Messiah. Here, in Mark’s gospel, we find some very tough words uttered by Jesus on what it means to follow him as his disciple. Some of us this morning may have problem with...

The Cause of Christ – Mark 9:38-42 Pastor Lee Hemen July 18, 2010 AM There are many “causes” in the world today, everything from saving whales to wearing natural clothing. Someone once said, “When folks do not have a life, they find someone else’s life or something else to make their life have meaning.” I believe there are so many causes in our world because people have lost what should be their true focus in life – the Lord. I have to laugh when I see the parade of Hollywood elites heading out on publicity vacations in order to discover some new cause they can wrap around their lives. Simply because you play a farmer in a movie, does not make you an expert on the plight of farmers. And while there are many good causes in the world, as Paul would say, “‘Everything is permissible’--but not everything is beneficial. ‘Everything is permissible’--but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.” (1 Corinthians 10:23-24) However, is d...

What’s so great about America? - Psalm 33 By Pastor Lee Hemen July 4, 2010 AM There are cynics today who demand that we, as Americans, ask ourselves, “What’s so great about America?” They think that because we live in a country of plenty where over half the world goes to bed hungry, cold, and without proper shelter, that we should not enjoy the freedoms we do in this nation. Homemakers in much of the world will never see in their entire lifetime the abundance and quality of food which the American housewife can choose from in one trip to the grocery store. To be able to step into a Safeway for them would be a dream come true! Is this land of plenty, this freedom of ours merely by chance? Should we ask ourselves, “What’s so great about America?” Benjamin Franklin was leaving the Constitutional Convention and a lady stopped him and asked, “Well, Dr. Franklin, what have you given us?” He replied, “You have a republic, Madame, if you can keep it.” America was formed as a const...