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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...

How God grows his church! – Ephesians 4:11-16 By Pastor Lee Hemen February 9, 2020 Family is important. It is important because it is the foundation for a stable society. This is why families that are secure, stable, and functional are a necessity. And it explains why our society is so fractured, insecure, and dysfunctional. Healthy relationships and a healthy view of self is where and how we as individuals have healthy lives, learn to function, and mature. It is how we grow. I have shared before that the church is a sacred thing that we as Baptists often take for granted. The reason we do is because like most evangelicals we think that church is about us and that is should meet our needs and make us feel better when in fact that is not what a church is supposed to be at all. Church is not a social club, fraternity, or a secret society. It is where we as believers are to develop a healthy spirituality, learn to function, and mature. Let’s learn how God grows his church… READ: Ephesians...

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,...

Hebrews 13:7-17 – We’re following the Leader! By Pastor Lee Hemen February 3, 2013 AM In the Walt Disney cartoon “Peter Pan”, the Lost Boys sing a song entitled “Following the Leader.” The lyrics are “Following the leader, the leader, the leader; we’re following the leader wherever he may go! Tee dum, tee dee, A teedle ee do tee day. Tee dum, tee dee; It's part of the game we play! Tee dum, tee dee, The words are easy to say. Just a teedle ee dum a teedle ee do tee day!” It continues by relating, “We're one for all and all of us out for fun! We march in line and follow the other one! With a teedle ee do a teedle ee di tee dum!” And sadly, this can be the mantra of far too many in our day and age as they blindly follow politicians, the media, and superstars. We want to be very careful when we blindly follow earthly leaders. Hebrews is ending his sermon and desires to leave his listeners with some advice they won’t soon forget. With all the voices trying to gain thei...

Hebrews 5:11-14 – You’re the immature one! By Pastor Lee Hemen August 19, 2012 AM The other day when I went swimming at the lake two young women, who were cooling off by standing in the water, were talking to one another about a mutual acquaintance. You could not help but overhear what they were saying because they were not very silent. One remarked, “She is so immature!” The other readily agreed and then they proceeded to act like a couple of junior high girls and gossip about the person they thought was “so immature”! None of us is immune to such childish behavior. I caught myself at the Fair the other day acting like a tired, hungry, and cranky toddler! What is truly sad are folks who claim faith in Christ and supposedly have been Christians for years who still do not understand basic biblical concepts. Recently I interviewed a young couple who although had been missionaries in the field, they did not comprehend the basic concepts of church membership, how their de...

How Do We Display Godliness? - 1 Timothy 4:1-16 by Pastor Lee Hemen May 11, 2008 AM I can still hear my mother calling after us, “Boys, stay on the trail!” What? Did she think we would go and wander off and get lost? Please! We lived in the woods, we grew up in the woods, we ate and slept in the woods. We were the wild boys who owned the woods! ARGH! ARGH! ARGH! However, her concern was not so much that we would wander off and get lost, because that could have been a blessing in disguise for her, but rather we would fall, hurt ourselves, or that someone or something would grab us and haul us off and eat us. Then, she would have to clean up the mess or look for us, and she did not want to do either. I am not sure why, but when we were younger my mother was always worried about “wild animals” eating us while on picnics. Sadly, we read in the news today that there are many who wander off the trail and get lost, hurt, or eaten by “wild animals”! Maybe Mom was right after all? One reason Pa...