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The kingdom strikes back! - Ephesians 1:15-23 By Pastor Lee Hemen January 8, 2017 Kingdoms come and kingdoms go and the idea of colonialism is nothing new. We find it in the kingdoms of the Vikings, Celts, Saxons, Incas, Aztecs, Sioux, Shoshone, Egyptians, Zulus, Ethiopians, Romans, Greeks, Assyrians, Babylonians, Muslims, Russians, Mongols, Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Great Britain, and the United States. Any group of people, tribe, city state, or nation has always wanted to exert their influence on others whether they like it or not. It is part and parcel of our fallen human nature and Israel was no different. However, what all of these “kingdoms” forget is that the only kingdom that truly matters is the Kingdom of God. It has no boarders, boundaries, or political persuasion. It is founded in the very nature of God and those who are willing to enter into his kingdom become his children. And Paul’s message is one of where God’s kingdom has been established and citizenship brings about...

God's children! - Galatians 4:1-7 By Pastor Lee Hemen August 7, 2016 What rights do children have? Some would say, "Way too many!" while others would declare, "Not enough!" Yet how the ancient world saw children is quite different from our modern day perception of every child being an "honored child". This might be kind of shocking to our sensitive ears but children were considered a kind of property and in some cases they were seen only as a means to establish a heritage. By today's standards and how overprotective some parents are you might say, "We've come a long way baby!" Paul had just gotten through establishing the fact that we "are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus". However what did this mean for the Galatian believers and for us today? Some mistakenly think that everyone is a "child of God" simply because they exist and while we are all created in the image of God we are not all children...