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Tripped up by pride! -- 2 Kings 20:1-19 By Pastor Lee Hemen November 18. 2018 A religious leader was talking to a group of people who were about to enter a new phase in their lives. They had been poor and restricted in opportunities and were headed for lives of unparalleled prosperity. These people also had made recent commitments to the Lord. The leader warned they would face new temptations of pride when they became successful and began to accumulate material things. They would congratulate themselves on their abilities and forget the Lord. The speaker Moses proved to be correct. Most of the Hebrew people in their pride forgot God. These verses show how King Hezekiah responded to God’s miracle of healing in his life. Instead of remaining humble and grateful to God, he became filled with pride and focused on his possessions and his prestige. What occurred with Hezekiah can happen to any of us when we forget that what we enjoy in life is graciously given to us by the Lord God. Le...

3rd Sunday of Advent - The Joy of our worship - Matthew 2:1-12 By Pastor Lee Hemen December 11, 2016 Though not everyone agrees on the timing of the arrival of the Magi from the East, they apparently came sometime after the birth of Jesus. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, though still in Bethlehem, were now in a house (oikia) which can also mean place or residence, and could have been used generically by Matthew to describe where Mary and Joseph were simply staying. Jesus was also called a little child (paidion) rather than a newborn infant. This however is not the focus of our verses, but rather the Magi’s joyous worship. When my wife and I first began to date, I would drive hundreds of miles, often times during very bad weather just to see her. I wrote her letters where I had painstakingly taken hours to draw cartoon characters just to make her smile. I was and am willing to sacrifice anything for her happiness and contentment. Why would I do such things? Because I love her. She is the joy o...

Third Sunday of Advent – The Joy of our worship! - Matthew 2:1-12 By Pastor Lee Hemen December 15, 2013 AM Though not everyone agrees on the timing of the arrival of the Magi from the East, they apparently came some time after the birth of Jesus. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, though still in Bethlehem, were now in a house (oikia, Matthew 2:11) but it can also mean place or residence, and could have been used generically by Matthew to describe where Mary and Joseph were simply staying for the moment. However, we also discover that Jesus was called a little child (paidion, Matthew 2:9, 11) rather than a newborn infant (brephos, Luke 2:12). Whether this is true or not is not the focus of the verses, but rather what was the focus of the Magi's worship. In fact, we discover what the joy of our worship is to be as we study the story of the Magi. When my wife and I first began to date, I would drive hundreds of miles, often times during very bad weather just to see her. I wrote her letters whe...