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Remain true! -- 1 Timothy 6:1-10 By Pastor Lee Hemen January 28, 2018 We truly have no idea what slavery is like unless we personally have been enslaved. We can theorize, emphasize, and philosophize about it but until we have experienced for ourselves we have no real clue what it means to be enslaved. It was and is one of the most horrendous things humans can do to one another. Christianity played a huge role in the abolition of slavery throughout the world. It still exists where the evil of mankind is allowed to go unchecked. Gangs, Islam, and socialist nations that rule through fear and intimidation we find enslavement still exists. When Paul wrote about slaves he was in no way endorsing the ungodly practice; instead he knew that those who were masters and those who were slaves that had been changed by Jesus Christ needed to practice a new way of life that reflected their change. Paul’s desire was that no matter what a person’s circumstance in life that they would remain true to thei...

False teachers exist! – 1 Timothy 1:1-11 By Pastor Lee Hemen October 1, 2017 We live in a day where any convoluted and faulty theology is readily accepted and protected by a non-critical thinking society. My Daddy used to say that it is “okay to be open-minded but not to the point where your brains fall out and you step on them.” Far too many think that acceptance of the individual means we can never disagree with or question what the individual thinks, says, or does. I say “hogwash!” There are false teachers who want you to believe or follow their latest form of theological perversion. Take for instance the recent proclamation that the world was supposed to end last week or is it next week or the week after? Who knows? And do not get me started with those who come up with the latest and greatest end-times scenario, bleah! False teachers exist! The Apostle Paul wrote his friend and new pastor Timothy in order to mentor and help him in his new ministry as a young pastor. Evidently h...

The scolding! - Galatians 1:6-10 By Pastor Lee Hemen June 5, 2016 What would you do if a family member or friend was about to join a cult that would cause them and their family a lot of distress? Sometimes there is nothing one can do because most folks are often unwilling to admit they are wrong and especially about what they believe about God or their spirituality. I have learned in the 30 plus years of pastoring that you can often have the answers, know all the counter arguments, and even understand how to witness to someone involved in a heretical situation but it often does little to sway them unless you are willing to go the extra mile and be there each time they need to be confronted or have their questions answered. Sometimes what works best is a direct confrontation, maybe even a personal scolding. Paul was deeply concerned for what the church at Galatia had fallen into. After accepting the good news of Jesus as Messiah, they had readily forsaken the truth and supplanted ...

2 John – Walking in the truth of God’s love! By Pastor Lee Hemen June 9, 2013 AM In some cultures, the elderly are venerated and are respected for their wisdom and long life. When I was younger, I thought all older adults were wise, moral, and never made mistakes. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that not all senior adults were wise, very moral, and in fact had wasted their lives in ungodly living! I discovered this to be true from a great uncle who drank like a fish, swore like a merchant marine, and no one liked him because of his constant anger. Yet, there are wonderful truths we can learn from godly senior adults in our church. We should listen to those among us who are older that exhibit a holy lifestyle. They can teach us a lot about walking in the truth of God’s love! The little letter of John that we will look at today is one of the shortest letters in the Bible, containing only 245 words in the Greek text. History, tradition, and the wording itself give testi...

Jude - Be On Guard! By Pastor Lee Hemen February 17, 2013 AM What motivates you in life? When I was in a JNROTC program, we were stationed for several weeks at Quadra, a Canadian military base. We had to learn basic commands in French because of the cadets that were from Quebec that were there training with us. All I remember is “stand easy” was “repos,” “dismissed” was “écartée!” and “attention” was “garde à vous!” We were motivated to be alert because if we did not follow the commands quickly enough, we were punished for our lack of knowledge. Our drill instructors did not care that some of us did not know French. We had to learn them correctly and quickly. We were highly motivated. For the Christian, our motivation needs to be Jesus Christ. When Jude wrote his letter there were those who had begun to get discouraged because they thought Jesus was going to return any day. The signs were all there but He still hadn’t come back. Then, in the midst of mounting persecution,...

Beware of False Piety! - Philippians 3:1-6 By Pastor Lee Hemen May 17, 2009 AM How often have you seen children at play and some little killjoy just has to retort, “That’s not how you are supposed to do that!” or “You’re not following the rules!” Could this be the first glimmers of legalism in the life of this juvenile Pharisee? How would you describe legalism? Where does it come from and why does it occur? I suspect that we begin to allow legalism to creep into our lives, and especially our theology, because we have an unfounded sense of self-doubt or guilt. We then find security in following a set of guidelines or rules. What one person says is living a holy life can be a way to try to get you to adhere to their preconceived piety and their own brand of legalism. Scripture teaches us to be aware of false piety. Paul would shout, “Beware of false piety!” because it often finds comfort in legalism. We discover that the Philippians had their legalistic detractors as well. They were a gr...