PastorBlastor

What do you think of the gospel? – Romans 1:1-17 By Pastor Lee Hemen May 27, 2012 AM Dan was the kind of man who always looked more for an argument than for an answer. He met every attempt I made to explain the gospel to him with a skeptical look and a question or two. Though Dan was willing to walk up to the line of faith, he was not willing to take that last step of trust. He focused on his doubts. Dan was unsure of the gospel and showed it by not trusting Christ, but he’s not by himself. Even Christians sometimes lack confidence in the gospel. Disappointments with prayer, a church, or life in general create a crisis of confidence. These believers may not realize it, but they have become the focus of their lives instead of Christ. The key to the Christian life is confidence in the gospel of Christ. Paul was someone who had complete confidence in the gospel. On the road to Damascus Paul met Jesus and discovered salvation by faith. The gospel through which he was saved had ...

Mary: Unwavering focus! – Luke 10:38-42; John 12:1-8 By Pastor Lee Hemen May 20, 2012 AM In 1941, Father Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish priest, was arrested by the Nazis and taken to Auschwitz for publishing “inappropriate” literature. In the horrific environment of the concentration camp, Father Kolbe ministered to his fellow prisoners. Then one day, after a prisoner had escaped, soldiers lined the men up and began selecting ten to die in the starvation bunker. When one prisoner was selected, he cried, “My wife and children! What will they do?” Hearing the man’s cry, Father Kolbe volunteered to die in his fellow prisoner’s place. The prisoner for whom Kolbe sacrificed himself survived Auschwitz. In fact, he lived another 53 years. However, he never tired of telling people what Father Kolbe had done for him. He stated that as long as he lived, he would consider it his duty to tell people everywhere about the heroic sacrifice Maximilian Kolbe had made for him. Shouldn’t believer...

Hannah, determined devotion! – 1 Samuel 1:1-20 By Pastor Lee Hemen May 13, 2012 AM My Mother taught me several different important lessons as I was growing up. Like LOGIC: “What were you thinking? Answer me when I talk to you! Don’t talk back to me!” HUMOR: “When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don’t come running to me!” She taught me about my ROOTS: “Where do you think you were born -- in a barn?” About ANTICIPATION: “Young man, just you wait until I get you home!” And, my all time favorite thing – FAIRNESS: “One day you will have kids and I hope they turn out just like YOU.” Yep, that’s my Mom. In the Bible we see examples of mothers as well. One in particular can teach us a lot of important things too. One who stands out among women of the Bible is a lady named Hannah. Her name literally meant “grace” or “mercy.” Its root meaning comes from the idea of someone humbly bending their knees in petition and asking for mercy. That is a good picture of Hannah. Hannah was on...

Lydia: Willing service! – Acts 16:11-15; Philippians 1:3-11 By Pastor Lee Hemen May 6, 2012 AM Have you ever met someone for just a few moments and later wished you had more time to get to know them? The other day I met a young father who was delightfully playing with his daughter at the park. We struck up a conversation about the park, children, and the joy of watching them grow. My grandson and I had to leave, and afterwards I caught myself hoping to see him again. In the Bible there are several folks like that. We meet them briefly, they are only mentioned in a few verses, and then they are gone leaving us with the feeling we would like to get to know them better. Lydia is just such a person for me. In a world where membership or serving in Jesus body, His church, has fallen by the way, and getting a momentary spiritual high has become the norm for equating faith, Lydia and the church she helped start teach us a lot about willing service. Interestingly, we discover that ...