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Ramblings from Retirement – Why Struggle? By Lee Hemen, Retired Pastor March 23, 2021 Have you ever known someone who seems to constantly struggle in life? They struggled on the playground trying to find someone to play with, they struggled through Middle School and High School trying to fit in, and they struggled in college trying to find themselves. When they get a job they struggle with coworkers, bosses, and trying to get ahead. When they look for love they struggle trying to find the “right” one to love and they struggle raising their kids and being partnered in a marriage. And they certainly struggle with their relationship with God. Esau was this kind of a person who struggled all through his life from his birth to his inheritance. We could make excuses for Esau and say that his twin brother Jacob was a grasping deceiver but we forget that we all make choices in life and perhaps this is where many of our struggles come from? Esau was impulsive and knew he should have safeguarded...

God Hears Us When We Call to Him! -- Psalm 86:1-13 By Pastor Lee Hemen April 26, 2020 I can remember my mother asking me, “Young man, did you hear what I said?” Of course no matter if I did or not the correct answer was always “yes”. Being distracted is the profession of teenage boys and unfocused believers. It is good to know therefore that God is never distracted and always hears us when we call to him. David, in this Psalm, was crying out to the Lord and if we just read what David says we might think that perhaps God had been distracted. The reason we would think this is because we often are distracted ourselves in how we talk with God, listen to him, and how we follow through with what he asks. David comes to the Lord asking that God hear him when he calls to him, let’s discover what this means… READ: Psalm 86:1-13 It is a curious thing but when we all of sudden need help we are often willing to humble ourselves in order to get a quick response thinking that we can perhaps fool God...

The unrepentant will suffer! - Matthew 11:20-24 By Pastor Lee Hemen December 29, 2019 With the New Year coming there will be those who celebrate it by getting drunk, making silly resolutions that they cannot keep, or by thinking that it will give them a magical reboot on life. None of these make any sense nor do they solve any problems until one addresses what the real root of their personal problems are they will continue to rely on getting high, making faulty promises, and hoping for change that will not come. Jesus had just gotten through declaring that the unrepentant Jews would not listen to God’s prophets, John the Baptist, or the Messiah who was standing right in front of them! He now gives them the example of unrepentant cities that faced God’s wrath and how they would also face similar judgment unless they repented. Jesus tells them that unrepentant cities will suffer, let’s discover what he meant… READ: Matthew 11:20-24 Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of...

Mercy! -- Matthew 9:9-13 By Pastor Lee Hemen September 1, 2019 When the great Puritan preacher Thomas Hooker (1586-1647) was on his deathbed, a friend tried to console him by saying, “Brother Hooker, you are going to receive your reward.” “No, no!” he breathed. “I go to receive mercy!” What is this mercy Hooker longed to receive? God’s mercy is found in every act of Jesus, his every kindness, and especially in the unmerited favor we find when we come to him as Savior and Lord. It is sacrificial in its very nature. We set aside ourselves, our desires, and our needs to give everything to another just as Jesus did when he willingly sacrificed himself for our sins. Here we find Matthew a tax collector who others felt did not deserve God’s favor finding it in the unlikely place. Matthew finds mercy. Let’s see how… READ: Matthew 9:9-13 In our pride we think we know it all or have all the answers but we do not. In fact we discover that… I. Mercy is found in submission! (Vv. 9) As Jesus went o...

Praying! – Matthew 6:5-15 By Pastor Lee Hemen April 7, 2019 When asked what believers need to do the most the answer always is to “pray” and this is good advice. If one’s prayer life is nonexistent their relationship with God is basically nonexistent. As a new believer having been brought up in a faith that taught that prayer was by route, meaningless, and automatic to discover that it was actually speaking with God was amazing to me. It changed my life dramatically. Praying is the heart and life of a Christian’s faith walk with God. In Luke’s gospel we learn that “One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.’ (Luke 11:1 NIV)” And here in Matthew’s gospel we discover the same prayer being offered by Jesus as part of his sermon. Jesus did not mean for his example to become a formula or a mantra we were to use until it became a mind-numbing chant. Let’s discover what Jesus tau...

Anger! – Matthew 5:21-26 By Pastor Lee Hemen March 10, 2019 Angry words can never be taken back. Society’s standard of foul and angry words has declined in recent years, but we don’t have to decline with it, we should think about how to honor God with our speech. We please the Lord with our tongue when we show discernment. Proverbs 10:19 reminds us that “He who restrains his lips is wise”. When we do speak, we are to filter the words that escape our lips: “Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles” (Proverbs 21:23 NIV). Paul’s warns us to “let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth” (Ephesians 4:29 NIV). How can we keep our anger contained? How do we remain calm in a world that seems to be filled with hatred, evil, and ungodly behavior? Jesus in the Beatitudes sets an almost impossible situation where we are to speak right and think right all the time. Jesus did this to startle his listeners and to shock them into listening to what he was teaching about himsel...

Salt and light – Matthew 5:13-16 By Pastor Lee Hemen February 24, 2019 What would you consider the absolute necessities of life after food and water? For some it might be their cell phone, big screen TV, clothes or shoes. One of things that help put perspective on what you value in life is to do an extensive list of your top 50 priorities. It can show you in a very real way what you value in life and what you focus on or not. In Jesus’ day a couple of absolute necessities were two things we often take for granted, salt and light. Salt was used for many things from seasoning, preservative, sterilization of wounds, and as currency. It was considered an absolute staple for everyday life. Light was a means of continuing to work later, see your way, keep warm and keep out the darkness of night and long winters. Jesus understood the dependence and importance folks of his day placed on these two things; let’s discover how he uses salt and light this morning… READ: Matthew 5:13-16 According to...

No matter what, preach the gospel! - Philippians 1:12-17 By Pastor Lee Hemen June 10, 2018 What is important in your life? I mean to the point where you would be willing to leave your home, family, friends, and do what you knew was the most important thing in the world. For some it is sports, some it is music or writing, for others it might be acting or art but for the believer who has given their life to Christ everything should revolve and focus on him who gave everything for them. For Paul life was Jesus and Jesus was life and this is why for Paul in his life he considered it the greatest thing in the world to preach the gospel. He gave up family, friends, and everything in life to follow him and following him meant telling others about Jesus’ mission and message. Therefore for Paul it meant that no matter what, preach the gospel! Let’s find out how Paul encouraged others to do the same… READ: Philippians 1:12-17 Someone once said that “The most important thing you have to realize i...

The expression of God’s love! – John 3:16-21 By Pastor Lee Hemen February 4, 2018 How do you express your love? Since February is the month when we celebrate love because of Valentine’s Day I thought it would be good for us to pause and reflect on what love truly means for the believer. And being able to express, know, and understand what love is supposed to be is extremely important. Far too many carry false notions and understanding of what love is all about therefore it is important for Christians to be able to help others truly know the expression of God’s love. When I first meant my wife she was my best friend’s kid-sister who took perverse joy in teasing us. Being the “mature” High School freshman I was I was not impressed by a 13 year old Junior Higher. Now for 42 years I am very impressed and interested in my best friend’s kid sister. Of course it took a lot of time, effort, and commitment for me to express just how much I care about her. It still does and I still do! God did t...

2nd Sunday of Advent - Peace! - Isaiah 52:6-10 By Pastor Lee Hemen December 10, 2017 Last week we spoke of how the Messiah would be called by the names of Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. There were those who incorrectly thought that the Messiah would bring about the end of war or that everyone would find bliss. Interestingly, there are those in our day who still have misconceptions of who the Messiah is and the peace he brings. Isaiah introduces us to a Messiah who would bring peace to all mankind. He begins these verses by calling the nation of Israel to “Awake, awake, O Zion, clothe yourself with strength. Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, the holy city. The uncircumcised (ungodly) and defiled will not enter you again.” Jerusalem’s pagan conquerors — the uncircumcised and defiled — would never again invade and pollute the holy city after the Messiah came. This is part of the peace he would bring when he came. Let’s discover t...

1st Sunday of Advent – Hope! - Isaiah 9:2-7 By Pastor Lee Hemen December 3, 2017 In seminary we used to tease one another with a little ditty that went “My hope is built on nothing less than Scofield’s notes and Moody Press”. Of course this is a takeoff from the old hymn however it makes one think about what their hope is built upon. Christmas is based on hope and the celebration of the first Advent, the coming of the Savior, the Messiah, of the world! As believers, we celebrate the birth of Jesus. But we also wait eagerly for the Second Advent when Jesus returns! A large part of our lives center around anticipation. The enjoyment in many of life’s events is built on the fact that we have time to anticipate them. Whether it is Christmas, vacations, trips, or sporting events, all grow in value because of the hours we spend looking forward to them. Now imagine the anticipation of the salvation the hope of mankind coming to earth. That is what the first Sunday of Advent is all about, ...