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Psalm 34:1-3 Magnify the Lord, Putting the Emphasis on God! Retired Pastor Lee Hemen What do a telescope, a microscope, and magnifying glass all have in common? They all make things bigger so you can see them better! For some people it doesn’t matter what they use they just can’t seem to get God into focus for their lives. Sadly, we live in a day and age where YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat or Discord are the main ways a lot of young people and others get their information, is it any wonder our attention spans are about the same as a squirrel’s? This is why I am glad Vacation Bible School is focusing children on God. It’s a time for them to come and have fun while learning Biblical truths about discovering and magnifying God in their lives. According to the Bible Knowledge Commentary “This song of praise is attributed to David when he escaped from Abimelech by feigning insanity (1 Samual 21:11). In the psalm David called on the congregation to praise the Lord for their salvation. And after ...

In the Wild! – John 20:30-31 By Pastor Lee Hemen July 21, 2019 Life is filled with incredible encounters. As we go through childhood, we are constantly discovering everything about the world around us. When we make friends, discover the beauty of nature, and become more aware of everything around us, we begin to realize the world’s vastness. We also begin to grasp that an entire globe of opportunities awaits each of us! God made us to encounter his love and to enjoy a personal relationship with him that lasts not just for a lifetime, but for eternity. All through his Word, God introduces himself in incredible ways, showing himself to be perfectly faithful, true, compassionate, and merciful. Even though people aren’t perfect, God has a plan to forgive us of our sin and bless us with a relationship with him. As Jesus’ earthly ministry began, he made it clear that his purpose was to make a way for every person to have an opportunity to receive his forgiveness and to enjoy eternal life wit...

2 Peter 1:3-8 -- Game On! By Pastor Lee Hemen July 15, 2018 Sad to say but most Christians do not have a good grasp of theology. In fact for some churches they have taken arrogant pride in not being associated with any particular theology. This self-inflicted spiritual ignorance has become a disease that hinders the spiritual growth of believers. Churches and individual believers have lost their focus. When sports teams lose focus there is a cry that often is heard in the dugouts and sidelines: “Game on!” It means they are ready, willing, and able to do whatever it takes to win the game before them. I believe it is time for Christians to get their game on! Gregory Camp wrote a song a few years back where the chorus went: “Hey now, you're an all-star, get your game on, go play. Hey now, you're a rock star, get the show on, get paid. And all that glitters is gold; only shooting stars break the mold!” Of course he was writing about living for the moment but it kind of applies for ...

The God of the Universe! – Colossians 1:15-16 By Pastor Lee Hemen July 16, 2017 We know that God in his natural state, for lack of a better phrase, “is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24 NIV) and “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind” (Numbers 23:19 NIV) contrary to several heresies. However, folks have wondered for ages just what God might look like if one could see him and because of this he came in the form of Jesus to show himself to all mankind. Paul teaches us about God through Jesus Christ. He wanted his readers to be enlightened to who exactly Jesus was and is. Recently I read an article that twisted the use of Lifeway’s VBS literature to teach Modalism where the persons of the Trinity represent only three modes or aspects of the divine revelation, not distinct and coexisting persons in the divine nature; Lifeway uses three states of being in an illustration of ice, liquid, and gas f...

Submerged! - Psalm 139 By Pastor Lee Hemen July 17, 2016 How confident would you be to have someone follow you around for a month and write down everything you did and then publish it online for the entire world to read? Now I know some of you are thinking, "They would be really bored!" Some of you might say, "Who cares?" And then there are those of you who already do this, it is called Facebook and Twitter! Yet even these social media sites are not the same as having someone expose your every waking moment. And what if they included your private thoughts as well? Now that is a whole different matter, isn’t it? Yet the Psalmist David was willing to have God do this very thing. How in the world could he be that confident with his life? I mean if we read what has been written about David you would think he would have been a bit more circumspect about wanting God to search him and know him. David was not always a nice person nor did he always honor God so how in ...

Isaiah 30:21-- This is the way, walk in it! By Pastor Lee Hemen July 19, 2015 During the time of Isaiah the Prophet, the Israelites had continually turned from following God. When they did, they suffered the consequences of their disobedience. God reminded them through Isaiah that if they would remain in him, he would stay close to them. In our world today we have the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives when we trust Jesus as our Savior and Lord. He remains with us no matter what, and because of this we often take following God for granted. We begin to think that it does not matter what we do in our lives since God loves us there will be no consequences. Nothing could be further from the truth. LifeWay's VBS 2015, Journey Off The Map™, is based on Isaiah 30:21. Children will explore uncharted territory where they will begin to understand that obedience to God can lead them beyond the expected. So, toss the map, stick close to your guide, and prepare to listen for God's dir...

Romans 10:17 – Where faith and life connect! By Pastor Lee Hemen June 26, 2011 AM There are those who actually think that Vacation Bible School is old fashioned. Some in fact have tried to kind of “lie” about it and rename it “Summer Day Camp,” or “Children’s Week.” Vacation Bible School is still VBS, no matter how you try to repackage it. Nevertheless, is it still important for a church to continue to do? After all, it does take a lot of time, effort, and money. I believe it is extremely important for any church to do VBS because it is where faith and life connect! In our modern world, we have become disconnected because of the advent of electronics and the use of things like E-mail, Twitter, Facebook, or Skype. We can stay kind of connected by these means, but they tend to be impersonal, fragmented, and an excuse not to know one another face-to-face. While some of these things can be used to keep loved ones connected, they are poor substitutes for the real thing. The same ...