PastorBlastor

Worship: Going through the motions! – Genesis 4:3-7; Leviticus 10:1-2; Matthew 15:7-9 By Pastor Lee Hemen November 17, 2013 AM Last week, we talked about worship being God’s idea. I heard a story concerning a pastor and his first Sunday in a new church presenting the children’s message. It seems the sanctuary in the new church had some magnificent stained glass windows, so his message centered on how each of us is called to help make up the whole picture of life (the life of the community of the faithful). Like the pictures in the windows, it takes many little panels of glass to make the whole picture. And then he said, “You see each one of you is a little pane.” And then pointing to each child, “You’re a little pane. And you’re a little pane. And you’re a little pane. And...” It took a few moments before he realized why everyone was laughing so hard. Sometimes, we don’t realize that we are just going through the motions. Our worship can be like that as well. We can simply show up and ...

Mary: Unwavering focus! – Luke 10:38-42; John 12:1-8 By Pastor Lee Hemen May 20, 2012 AM In 1941, Father Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish priest, was arrested by the Nazis and taken to Auschwitz for publishing “inappropriate” literature. In the horrific environment of the concentration camp, Father Kolbe ministered to his fellow prisoners. Then one day, after a prisoner had escaped, soldiers lined the men up and began selecting ten to die in the starvation bunker. When one prisoner was selected, he cried, “My wife and children! What will they do?” Hearing the man’s cry, Father Kolbe volunteered to die in his fellow prisoner’s place. The prisoner for whom Kolbe sacrificed himself survived Auschwitz. In fact, he lived another 53 years. However, he never tired of telling people what Father Kolbe had done for him. He stated that as long as he lived, he would consider it his duty to tell people everywhere about the heroic sacrifice Maximilian Kolbe had made for him. Shouldn’t believer...