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Malachi 2:17-3:6 – Being hopeful! By Pastor Lee Hemen April 8, 2018 Being a parent is tough, but I cannot imagine being a single parent. When we were kids my mother, after a particularly hard day, would tell us, “You kids are going to wear your old mother out!” Looking back on this I find it kind of humorous since at the time she was only about 35 years old and she had the backup of my father! Perhaps it was the constant care she had to give to two young active little boys who were always on the go? Being a good parent can, at times, make one feel a little worn out. I wonder how God feels when his constant care of his children wears on him. Not that God can be worn out, he is God after all. However, when his children continually distrust, disobey, and disrespect him, God tells us he becomes “weary.” Malachi tells the Israelites that God has grown weary of their endless spiritual platitudes. Who were they trying to fool? They did not trust God. We discover that Malachi’s message is just...

Malachi 4:4-6 – Being prepared! By Pastor Lee Hemen January 29, 2012 AM Most of us on that Tuesday morning had not given much thought to what the day held. After all it was a pretty normal Tuesday. I was on my way to Morning Prayer and my thoughts were on what we would pray about when we met. I was not thinking about eternal things. This was true for most of those who boarded planes in Boston, went to work in New York City, or began their day behind a desk at the Pentagon. Few that day had any idea of what the next few hours would bring, yet with devastating swiftness we were all reminded just how quick death comes. Since 9-11, it has made me wonder how many folks are prepared for eternity. We find that the Prophet Malachi was very concerned about the subject of preparedness. It was in his thoughts as he wrote to the Israelites. He wanted them to consider the eternal consequences of their lives. He knew that if they did not think about their actions and faith now, there wou...

Malachi 3:13-4:3 – Being fearful! By Pastor Lee Hemen January 22, 2012 AM I sat amazed at the pictures of passenger jets smashing into the twin towers in New York. At first I was shocked, horrified, and then angered. I even wondered why it had to happen. One young man who witnessed the planes smash into the World Trade Center related, “I wonder what it will take to wake America up?” During the following days, I remembered the words of Malachi to a nation that had turned its back on the Lord, a nation that had become so spiritually complacent that they no longer had time for God. I could not help but wonder if this was perhaps true for America. The people of Malachi’s day had become spiritually indifferent to the Lord who had protected them and kept them as His very own. What would cause people who had been chosen to be God’s very own, change so dramatically? What was in store for this self-satisfied nation if they didn’t return to the God of Abraham, Jacob, and Isaac? They ...

Malachi 1:1-5 – Being responsive! By Pastor Lee Hemen December 4, 2011 AM My Mom used to play mind games with us kids when we did something bad. A lot of mothers do this. Here’s what I mean: Right in the middle of scolding us over our bad behavior, she would innocently ask, “Don’t you love your dear old mother?” Or she would declare, “I work and I slave and what thanks do I get?” It was a form of psychological warfare to get a response from us and to have us think about the consequences of our actions. It’s called guilt. Malachi is kind of like my mother. His message is for God’s wayward children. Didn’t they love God? Didn’t God love them? If that were true, then why were they acting the way they did? Had they gotten spiritually soft? God’s chosen people had gotten so lackadaisical about their faith that they forget what their relationship to God meant! Malachi’s message from the Lord is to illicit a response from his people. Malachi’s message applies to us as much as it d...