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The Disciples Get Schooled! -- John 4:27-42 By Pastor Lee Hemen November 30, 2014 The Get Schooled Foundation (also Get Schooled or getschooled.com) is a non-profit organization dedicated to using the power of media, technology and popular culture to motivate and inspire young people, their families and teachers to improve high school graduation rates and college-going rates. Get Schooled combines powerful national content and programming (on-air, on-line and on the ground), with school-based engagement strategies to ensure both a broad reach and a measurable impact. Sounds good doesn’t it, yet we learn it is founded and funded by Viacom and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, with significant support from AT&T. Why is this important? Before receiving assistance in getting kids to learn parents and guardians need to be aware of the social and political philosophies some of these organizations have and how they use programs like these to reprogram your children. Getting schooled is a...

The Tainted Lady at the Local Watering Hole! -- John 4:1-26 By Pastor Lee Hemen November 16, 2014 Recently one of the local news outlets did a series on prostitution in Portland, Oregon. The people involved are younger and more dangerous than ever before. They enslave their victims, often abusing them physically, mentally, and emotionally. Police are trying to get a handle on the human trafficking in order to gain control of illegal guns on the street as well. Interestingly, no one ever mentioned the fact that the criminals involved did not register their weapons or submitted to background checks. I digress. Some call it the oldest profession, but it is a dirty, nasty, crime-ridden, and immoral blight on society that needs to be eradicated. In Jesus' day we discover that many women were placed in this horrendous position simply because they had no other means of support. Pimps, drugs, and illegal weapons were not necessarily a part of the trade back then, however it did carry a soc...

The Understanding! -- John 3:22-36 By Pastor Lee Hemen November 9, 2014 We may think we know something to be true when in fact it is not. This can cause jealousy, anger, or misunderstanding. Kind of like those biblical sayings that are not really in the Bible but folks think they are: “Spare the rod and spoil the child,” “cleanliness is next to godliness,” “God works in mysterious ways,” “pride goes before the fall,” or “moderation in all things.” None of which are found in Scripture. Folks need to read their Bibles more in order to know their Bibles more! Here we discover that the disciples of John the Baptist were not immune to misunderstanding what God desired and how he was working through John and through Jesus. It resulted in an interesting discussion and following statement by John that clarifies for his followers and others exactly who Jesus is and who John is and what their ministries were meant to be. John wanted his disciples to come to an understanding about Jesus, let’s fi...

The Interview! – John 3:1-21 By Pastor Lee Hemen November 2, 2014 I hate interviews because I often do not know what I should say. And surprise interviews are the worst. When someone all of a sudden springs questions on you that you're not prepared for it can be a bit disconcerting to say the least. That's why in school I never did well on pop quizzes. For me it was like having a big old bear jump out of the bushes when all I was doing was minding my own business. I can honestly say that I never liked interviews. Jesus has a surprise interview by someone his disciples would never have suspected, one of the leaders from the Jewish High Council. What surprised everyone is that he came at night to interview Jesus. What occurs and how Jesus responds to his inquiry is very interesting as it is also instructional. Let's discover what occurred during the interview... READ: John 3:1-21 We discover that… I. The interview began with an introduction to a new birth! (Vv. 1-4) Now ther...