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Forgiveness! - John 21:15-25 By Pastor Lee Hemen May 1, 2016 My father asked us what we should tell our mother when had not come home right away when she called. I grew up in a day and age when mothers would stand outside of their front doors and holler down the street for their children to "come home, it's dinner!" The only phones we had were the rotary dial kind and most children actually played outside and walked home by themselves! We both automatically responded, "Sorry." My Dad remarked, "Being sorry is not good enough, you need to apologize to your mother." Saying your "sorry" is totally different than being remorseful or repentant. The first is more of a response in order to deflect any consequences for our wrong doing or ungodly behavior, while repentance comes from being inwardly broken and open confession. Forgiveness cannot happen without repentance. Impulsive Peter had vehemently said he would never deny Jesus and of course...

The fishing trip! - John 21:1-14 By Pastor Lee Hemen April 24, 2016 There are a few things I really like to do that I do not get the time I would like in order to be able to do them. I like to shoot, draw, take photographs, hike, and I love to fish. Fishing is extremely relaxing for me, and whether I catch anything or not, it does not matter because I like the art of it and the ability to forget about everything else and just fish. Two guys can fish for hours and not say anything. I just love to fish. For most of the disciples fishing was a way of life. It was not just a way to earn money but it was a way to feed their families as well. Fishing was a matter of life or death and these men knew how to fish. As we finish out John's Gospel we discover that the disciples had returned to Galilee and while waiting for Jesus there they decide to go fishing. Let's take a look at the fishing trip. READ: John 21:1-14 There is a story told of an old Irish gentleman who was fishin...

Thomas the doubter! - John 20:19-31 By Pastor Lee Hemen April 17, 2016 No doubt about it there are some things that I just cannot believe in: Alien abduction, ghosts, lake monsters, or Sasquatch. Nope, sorry I just do not believe in them. Now least you think I am a total skeptic you need to know I was raised by a mother who completely believed in each of these things. In fact, she would drag us as children to haunted houses, buy hundreds of books on UFOs (which she read to us like bedtime stories), and walk the woods in hopes of finding Big Foot. None of which changed my opinion of any of it. In John's Gospel we are introduced to the disciple some call The Doubter, but of course he was not the only one who did. From the Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes, Chief Priests, and other disciples we have discovered over the past several months that there were many who doubted Jesus was the Messiah. Let's see what Thomas the doubter can teach us this morning… READ: John 20:19-31 T...

Mary Magdalene the witness! - John 20:10-18 By Pastor Lee Hemen April 3, 2016 We may at some time in our lives be asked to "tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God", but what does this mean? It means we are to relate the truth as we have witnessed it or experienced it and therefore it can differ from another's perspective of what they saw, heard, or experienced during the same event. This is in fact why we get some minor variations from the different Gospel perspectives of the same events, including the resurrection of Jesus. Simon Peter and John had headed home after witnessing the empty tomb for themselves and now we find Mary still there. What she sees and experiences gives us a fuller picture of what took place that Easter morning so long ago when the tomb of Jesus was found empty. Let look again at what occurred and discover for ourselves what it means for us this morning as discover more about Mary Magdalene the witness! READ: John 20:...