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Ramblings from Retirement: Do you live an easy chair faith? By Lee Hemen (Retired Pastor) November 7, 2020 “Give me liberty, or give me death!” is a quotation attributed to Patrick Henry from a speech he made to the Second Virginia Convention on March 23, 1775, at St. John’s Church in Richmond, Virginia. Henry is credited with having swung the balance in convincing the convention to pass a resolution delivering Virginian troops for the Revolutionary War. Henry knew that freedom often demands our personal sacrifice. However what many American Christians have conveniently forgotten is that our freedom was bought with a price and maintaining it can require a sacrifice from each of us as well. Jesus related to his disciples that a time would come when a “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecut...

The blind see and the mute speak! -- Matthew 9:27-34 By Pastor Lee Hemen October 13, 2019 Some folks go through life living each day without ever seeing what’s going on around them and others never hear the joys or sorrows of life either. I am not speaking about those who are hindered in some way from hearing or speaking but those who go through life without seeing or hearing because they are so focused on their selves, job, or family. I am so glad that Jesus was not one of these folks. Here in Matthew’s gospel we find Jesus continuing his ministry as he leaves the Capernaum area. On his way he is faced with helping those in need in what seems like in rapid-fire succession. The people are beginning to see that Jesus might be more than a itinerate rabbi going about doing good things; he just might be the promised Messiah and we see it when the blind see and the mute speak! Let’s discover what this means for us today… READ: Matthew 9:27-34 In the following passage we discover two blind ...