PastorBlastor

Do You Take God at His Word? - Isaiah 7:1-14, 16 By Pastor Lee Hemen January 26, 2014 AM James had to lay off some workers, there was no other way for his store to survive but he refused. He told his accountant, "I know it makes good business sense to layoff some workers at the store; but I can't. Take Fred, for instance, his wife is pregnant with their second child, and he needs this job. Fred cares about our customers, and I care about him. James' accountant told him to do whatever he thought was best, but he did not see how they would survive. James Cash Penny responded, "We'll find a way. We can trust God to get us through this tough time. God always has proven faithful, and I trust Him to help us again. Let's pray now." While this tale about JC Penny is fanciful, it reflects who the man was. After the 1929 stock crash, Penney lost virtually all his personal wealth, and borrowed against his life insurance policies to help the company meet its payr...

Protecting human life! -- Exodus 1:15-20; Jeremiah 19:3b-6; 33:6-9; Romans 8:1 By Pastor Lee Hemen January 19, 2014 AM Imagine that a 16-year-old girl from your church comes to you for advice. She knows you well and needs to talk to someone outside her family. She tells you that she recently discovered she is pregnant. She has not told anyone, not even her boyfriend. She is a Christian and has grown up in your church. What advice would you offer this girl? What options does she have? What should a Christian do in this situation? This story is imaginary, but I expect some of us have encountered similar situations. Some people in our society would condone an abortion. Others would suggest the girl give her child up for adoption; still others might insist that the girl marry and raise her child. Many people in today’s world view life as cheap. Entertainment, including books, TV, movies, music, and video games, frequently exalts violence and killing. Constant exposure to portrayals of brut...

Do You Serve? - Isaiah 6:1-11 By Pastor Lee Hemen January 12, 2014 AM Are You Being Served was a quintessentially British comedy that ran from 1972 to 1985. It was about a department store in London, which was very traditional. The social class structure within the store’s workforce, and how the clerks viewed and served its customers, was the source of the series character interaction. Sadly, what was often portrayed is exactly how many in our day view the service of others. Don’t you hate it when you go into a store and the clerks treat you as if it is your privilege that they serve you? Much of Christianity has morphed into such a ungodly notion as well. Instead taking the message of God to the lost, we ignore His call, and ask that the church to serve us! Isaiah was either ministering or worshipping, or perhaps doing some other thing in the temple when God called him in a very vivid way to a life of service. Most of God’s folks are not called to serve Him in such a dramatic way, how...

Am I a rebel? - Isaiah 1:2-5, 11-20 By Pastor Lee Hemen January 5, 2014 AM I have always wondered why the opposite sex has found those who are rebellious fascinating. Perhaps it has to do with the what I call the “Eve Gene.” There are those who are attracted to rebellion, thinking that in it they will find some kind of freedom. As a teenager, I found it downright humorous when many of my contemporaries wanted to be different yet often followed the same fads, dressed the same, and did many of the same things everyone else did! Kind of like tattoos and body piercings are today! Those who desired to be different soon were the same as everyone else! We may desire to think of ourselves as rebels without a cause when in fact we are just being disobedient. God’s people are never to desire to be part of the crowd. In fact, we find that we are to be in the world but not of the world! When a child of the King desires to appear or appease themselves at the sake of their life in Christ, they are n...