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Ask! - Matthew 7:7-11 By Pastor Lee Hemen May 19, 2019 Most parents want their children to have the best there is in life even if it means they sacrifice for themselves. Good parents do that, however, some parents can focus so much on getting their children everything that they fail their kids and make them into self-absorbed and selfish individuals. We live in a nation of abundance and even the poorest among us, including the homeless, live better than many in other nations. We have become a nation of receivers rather than givers. The problem is we have taught our children and society to ask for the wrong things in life. We ask so much that we have become so self-absorbed that even our faith has morphed into a “what’s in it for me” attitude instead of one of humility and service. Jesus addresses the notion of asking. There is nothing wrong with asking as long as we know what we are supposed to ask for and how we are supposed to ask. Let’s discover what Jesus taught his listeners...

Judging others! – Matthew 7:1-6 By Pastor Lee Hemen May 12, 2019 One of the first justifications people will use to excuse or defend their poor choices in life or ungodly lifestyles are the verses we will look at this morning. I have found it interesting that while they never read the Bible, often neglect church, and have no clue who God truly is they can quote this passage almost verbatim. What they fail to realize is that it doesn’t expose Christians for “judging” them incorrectly but rather the hypocrisy of their choices and ignorance of Scripture. The Pharisees were some of the most judgmental people in history. They were quick to judge the actions, spiritual behavior, and the cultures of others around them while neglecting their own spiritual ineptitude. They were the Muslims and Mormons of their day. While some believers can be seen as having the same judgmental attitude we need to fully understand what Jesus was teaching and why. Let’s take a fresh look at what Jesus taught abou...

Why worry? – Matthew 6:25-34 By Pastor Lee Hemen May 5, 2019 We worry and fret about so many things in life: Clothes, money, family, relationships, how others see us, our schooling, jobs, and on and on and on it goes. My wife will tell you I am a grade “A” number one worrier. I know that I shouldn’t be but sometimes it just creeps up on me and takes over. I know it comes from when I was kid and our financial uncertainty and migrant home status growing up. God has done a lot in my life to help me to not worry so much. The Hebrews of Jesus’ day had good reason to worry about a lot of things: daily food, housing, if their clothing wore out, and often finding daily work in order to pay the bills and feed their selves. Then there were the Romans, the pagan influence that surrounded them, and their own spiritual and governmental leadership which exacted harsh taxes and personal demands from them as well. Yet in the midst of this Jesus teaches his followers that they truly did not need to wor...