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Hope: A path to fulfillment! - Micah 4:1-4; 5:1-4 By Pastor Lee Hemen June 30, 2013 AM Many years ago when I worked in a nursing home, there were folks who talked about the joys of years that slipped away too quickly. Some of them were Christians who raised their families, worked faithfully in their churches, and retired from their occupations. In some cases it was difficult for these folks to realize that they must depend on others to do for them what they once did for themselves. Some were discouraged, knowing the effects of aging and illness while others realized that God has given us a hope and a future that will be greater than all the joys of this life combined. Our greatest days await our arrival in heaven or the return of our Savior Jesus Christ! We all must decide how we will deal with painful and difficult circumstances in this life. Some stoically try to tough out the difficult experiences, while others attempt to push the experiences deep into their subconsciou...

Corruption: A path to nowhere! - Micah 3:1-12 By Pastor Lee Hemen June 23, 2013 AM One of my assignments for a course in seminary was to observe different kinds of worship services. They do this in order for students to not only experience different kinds of worship, but to also see how not to do worship. In one instance, students went to a church that met in an old theater. The service began with upbeat music that lasted about 30 minutes. The pastor came out following the music and announced he had received a vision from the Lord that 20 people would give him $20 and those who did so would receive a special blessing. He asked everyone to close their eyes and told those who would give the $20 to raise their hands. He then pretended to count and announced falsely that 20 had raised their hands. He then made the same false claim for those who would give $10! We live in a world where greedy people use unscrupulous methods to reap dishonest gain. Pretended good is often an ef...

Rebellion: A path to ruin! - Micah 1:1-9; 2:1-4a By Pastor Lee Hemen June 16, 2013 AM Susan was a beautiful, intelligent young woman with a bright future ahead of her. She started spending time with an on-the-edge group from work. Her father tried to warn her of her choices, but she refused to listen, thinking she knew what was best for her life. At a party she should never have attended, Susan made a tragic decision. A young man she wanted to impress gave her a taste of a dangerous drug known as Meth. Her immediate addiction took a devastating toll on every facet of her life. One year later the once beautiful girl was not heading up the corporate ladder but off to prison. Her teeth were rotting, her complexion was ruined, her hair was thin, and she was near starvation. She would have given anything to go back and make different decisions for her life. Few adults like to be told what to do. Many prefer to reject authority, especially any that limits their freedom. They wan...

2 John – Walking in the truth of God’s love! By Pastor Lee Hemen June 9, 2013 AM In some cultures, the elderly are venerated and are respected for their wisdom and long life. When I was younger, I thought all older adults were wise, moral, and never made mistakes. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that not all senior adults were wise, very moral, and in fact had wasted their lives in ungodly living! I discovered this to be true from a great uncle who drank like a fish, swore like a merchant marine, and no one liked him because of his constant anger. Yet, there are wonderful truths we can learn from godly senior adults in our church. We should listen to those among us who are older that exhibit a holy lifestyle. They can teach us a lot about walking in the truth of God’s love! The little letter of John that we will look at today is one of the shortest letters in the Bible, containing only 245 words in the Greek text. History, tradition, and the wording itself give testi...

Courage is remembered! -- Esther 9:1-5, 18-23, 26-28 By Pastor Lee Hemen June 2, 2013 AM God frequently operates within the sphere of the human situation. In performing supernatural deeds, God often uses such forces as nature (the wind in the parting of the Red Sea). Likewise, He commonly works through imperfect servants (David) or even evil human beings (Nebuchadnezzar). In Esther God limited His work to an edict that used a unique feature of Persian law. This does not lessen the miraculous nature of His activity. Rather, it ought to cause God’s people to recognize His presence and power in everything that happens. If I were to ask you this morning, “In what ways is God working in your life today?” could you give me an answer? How God works through those He loves demonstrates His devotion. We should respond in courage. Paul encouraged others to “Fight the good fight of the faith.” (1 Timothy 6:12 NIV) And he wrote about himself, “I have fought the good fight, I hav...