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Ramblings from Retirement – The Church, Jesus’ body in the World By Pastor (retired) Lee Hemen April 5, 2022 It is amazing to me that so many convoluted ideas have taken root in today’s Christianity. It makes me wonder if anyone, who calls them self a “Christian” truly takes the time to know what this means or if they ever read and study the Bible. Far too many churches have abandoned Bible Study, Sunday School, or whatever you want to call in favor of video symposiums or sermons in a second. And do not get me started on what people think and teach about the coming of Jesus. Most of it is founded on heretical teaching that has taken root like aggressive weeds in your lawn and has no basis in orthodox Christianity, the history of the church, or what the Bible actually says concerning the subject, anyway, this for another Rambling on another day. Jesus established the church for a reason, and we see this when he asked his followers, “Who do the people say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “Yo...

Ramblings from Retirement – How to Live! By Retired Pastor Lee Hemen April 10, 2021 There are some truly disturbing trends in Christianity today; one is where folks think that God just winks and smiles at their “discretions”, otherwise known as sins, and those who think that if they follow a set of rules or guidelines then they will be loved by God. Neither is correct and will result in a false sense of spiritual security that will ultimately end in eternal death. Peter writes believers when he tells them to “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’ (1 Peter 1:13-16 NIV84)” Sure the writer of Hebrews tells us that we are t “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be h...

The church is to remain strong! – Colossians 3:11-17 By Pastor Lee Hemen February 23, 2020 One of things that many senior adults do not do is to get enough exercise in order to maintain their muscle tone and bone density in order to remain healthy. While the number of senior adults living longer has grown, those who live active and strong lives have not. Keeping oneself strong later in life is extremely important and the same is true for a church. Paul wrote the church at Colossae between 60-62 AD while he was imprisoned in Rome the first time and one purpose was to correct the heresy that had sprung up in Colossae. This false teaching seemed to be the beginning of what later developed into Gnosticism. It contained specific characteristics. (1) It was Jewish stressing the need to observe Old Testament laws and ceremonies. (2) It was philosophical, laying emphasis on some special or deeper knowledge (gnōsis). (3) It involved the worship of angels. (4) It was exclusivistic whereby only ...

Two wonderful men! - Philippians 2:19-30 By Pastor Lee Hemen July 22, 2018 What qualities do you look for in a friend? Sometimes folks can ask a lot of friendship but give little in return. Winnie the Pooh said, “It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn't use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like ‘What about lunch?’” Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote that “The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, not the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when you discover that someone else believes in you and is willing to trust you with a friendship.” Paul understood friendship because he understood Jesus. He enjoyed the friendship of many people but there were those who he considered more than friends; Paul saw them as brothers and sisters in Christ. Friends with the common bond of Jesus are closer than any earthly friendship. In his letter to the Philippians he shares about two wonderful men of God who he con...

Humility! - Philippians 2:1-11 By Pastor Lee Hemen July 1, 2018 There was an old Country/Western song that stated, “Oh Lord it's hard to be humble, when you're perfect in every way” but of course it was a parody on how the singer viewed himself. However if you listen to some of the folks in today’s headlines you would wonder if some of them need to take a reality pill. Sadly it has infected Christianity to the point where we have begun to arrogantly think that everything about Jesus revolves around us instead of his eternal plan. Paul knew that each believer was part of God’s plan for the spreading of his gospel. He understood this because it was what he had dedicated his life to. Because of Paul’s adamant belief in the saving grace of Jesus and his single-minded focus there were those who thought he was arrogant. This can happen to someone who is totally focused in life as Paul was. Needless to say this kind of irked Paul and so he did not want others to think this was t...

Partners! - Philippians 1:1-11 By Pastor Lee Hemen June 3, 2018 Having a good partner is important in life whether it is in marriage or in friendship. A good partner can lift you up when you are down, they can be there for you when you need them to be, and a good partner knows when to correct you so you can be the best you can be. Partners are important. When we think of partners in history we might think of Orville and Wilber Wright, partners in old time comedy would be Abbot and Costello, and of course partners in the Bible would be Paul and Barnabas. Yet Paul had other partners as well and we see him writing to those he considered to be in close partnership with him in spreading the good news of Jesus Christ. Let’s see what Paul says to his partners in the gospel. READ: Philippians 1:1-11 Here we discover that… I. Paul understood where his partnership came from! (Vv. 1-2) Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the ove...

God is our guide! – Psalm 23 By Pastor Lee Hemen September 3, 2017 In our day and age few of us truly understand what it means to be a shepherd or even what sheep are all about. Of course if you have been around sheep you probably are still wondering what in the world sheep are all about. While a cow will walk into muck clear up to their hind tail and wonder how in the world they got there, sheep will freak out and happily run off a cliff together. I also realize that few of us would sit day in and day out through the cold, heat, rain, wind or snow watching a herd of grass-chewing wooly uncaring critters so understanding shepherding isn’t part of our modern day lives or personal experience. Now perhaps in our day we could understand what it means to be a guide instead of a shepherd. A guide helps someone to go from one place to the next, meet a specific goal, or to acquire a certain skill. In David’s day shepherds were common and since he had been one himself he understood what it ...

God is our judge! – Psalm 50 By Pastor Lee Hemen August 27, 2017 “Man, are you gonna get it when we get home!” my brother yelled at me as we ran as fast as we could to the house. I had been roping and branding the dog (more about that in a bit) and he had caught me. And being the kind, law-abiding, and honest person that he was he threatened to “tell Mom.” Well, the race was on to see which one of us would get home first because we both knew that judgment day was coming and Mom was the judge. Judgment is coming for the entire world but few give it even a moment of their time or thought. We discover here in the Psalms one written by Asaph a leading Levite musician who teaches us about God is our judge. Because God does not treat us as robots, slaves, or machines but rather he allows us to make our own decisions and to either be blessed or suffer the consequences of our choices. Let’s find out what it means that God is our judge for our world and us today. READ: Psalm 50 “Come ba...

Walk in love! – Ephesians 5:1-21 By Pastor Lee Hemen March 12, 2017 In 1993 there was a movie based on the life of the singer Tina Turner that used the title of her hit song “What’s Love Got to do With It”. The song deals with the confusion a person has between physical and emotional love. For her it is only a “second hand emotion” that is “a sweet old fashioned notion”. People have confused emotional love and sexual lust for centuries. Biblical love has been misinterpreted for generations as well. In fact there are those in our day and age who think that while God is love and that he so loved the world then he loves everyone equally the same. I hate to burst your politically correct bubbles but this is simply not true. When John taught that since God loved us then we should live in his love he did not mean some emotional state or an acceptance of ungodly sin. God’s love is sacrificial and we are to walk in that kind of love. READ: Ephesians 5:1-21 God sacrificially loved us s...

Micah 6 – What God requires! By Pastor Lee Hemen November 13, 2016 There hasn’t been a single person when faced with a difficult situation, choice, or hardship who hasn’t at some point asked what either God or life requires from them. This is a normal reaction when faced with life’s difficulties. And when faced with difficult choices how one responds speaks volumes as to what they believe and in what they place their trust. Micah asks this question and answers it for Israel and for us today and in fact gives to his listeners exactly why they are experiencing the difficulties they were. God was going to judge them as a nation and the people began to understand the outcome of their life choices. So here in Micah he asks and answers for us what God requires. Let’s discover what that means for us in our day and age… READ: Micah 6 When you think that your life is going nowhere and it seems as if your prayers are not getting through it is good to take a moment and ask, “What does G...

Live by the Spirit not by sin! - Galatians 5:14-26 By Pastor Lee Hemen September 11, 2016 Semper fidelis is a Latin phrase that means "always faithful" or "always loyal". In the United States it is best known as the motto of the United States Marine Corps. "Be Prepared" is the motto of the Boy Scouts and Washington State's motto is "Al-ki" which means "Bye and Bye". What life motto do you live by? For some it is "Get yours before they get theirs", however for the believer it should be "Love God and love others". Of course this come from what Jesus taught about all the commands of God being summed up into: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:30-31 NIV) What is your life's motto? For Paul his mot...