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Ramblings from Retirement – Jesus and Freedom of Speech By Pastor (retired) Lee Hemen April 14, 2022 My father would remind us that “Words mean things”, usually when my brother and I were in the midst of calling one another morons or some other teenage moniker. Words are important. Many in today’s America have forgotten a fundamental right that is guaranteed by our Constitution: Freedom of speech. This is a core right that should be protected at all costs. You may not like or agree with what someone else says, writes, or films but you can turn it off, not read it, or respond to it. It is your freedom to do so. Lease we forget this is why Jesus was persecuted as he was. He openly proclaimed the truth of God which stood in stark contrast to the false narrative of the religious leaders of his day. Over and over, we hear Jesus telling his detractors, “You say” and then telling them the truth. Using his free speech eventually cost him his life. In Matthew’s gospel we find a perfect example ...

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...

Nothing in life is free! -- John 6:22-33 By Pastor Lee Hemen July 12, 2020 There is a tale that the great circus promoter P. T. Barnum once quipped, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” There is a lot of doubt as to whether he actually said this or not, but one thing I have heard over and over again is the old truism “nothing in life is free.” This is true of anyone who wants to sell you the latest get rich scheme, diet pill, or quick spiritual fix. Nothing in life is free. However, the Apostle Paul wrote, “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:22-24 NIV)” In other words, we receive the gift of salvation freely from God because of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Nothing in life is free, except salvation from God through Jesus! And here in John’s gospel we find that ...

Christ’s church is not confused! – Galatians 5:6-16 By Pastor Lee Hemen March 8, 2020 Have you ever thought you were doing the right thing but in reality it was for the wrong reasons? We can fool ourselves into thinking that God’s will is what we like or what we want and when we do we might be guilty of trying to do the right thing for the wrong reasons. As we search for a new pastor we want to make sure that we are not trying to get our way instead of seeking the Lord’s will for our church. We should not be confused in doing what God desires. The church in Galatia had gotten itself all tied up in what they thought was the correct way of living for the Lord but in reality it was from the wrong reasons. They were confused and not doing what the Lord desired. Paul wanted them to come together in the Lord to do the will of God, let’s see how Paul clarified their confusion… READ: Galatians 5:6-16 Paul understood that all believers were God’s children “through faith in Jesus Christ” (Galati...

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...

Who do you know? – Matthew 7:21-23 By Pastor Lee Hemen June 16, 2019 There are those who think they are Christian because they were born in America; there are those who think they are Christian because they are nice people and do nice things; and there are those who think they are Christian because they have a relative who was a believer, a pastor, or a deacon in a church -- yet, none of these beliefs makes one a Christian! And like my father used to say, “It’s not who you think you know, it’s who you actually are that matters.” Jesus understood this as well. Jesus knew that there were those in the crowd that day and perhaps his own disciples who thought that those who expressed piety or those who regularly observed all the festivals, ate the right foods, and kept their selves pure were God’s people. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Jesus knew that even being part of the High Priest’s family did not guarantee your relationship with God! We discover here that the be...

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...