PastorBlastor

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...

The Uncompromising Christ - Mark 9:43-50 By Pastor Lee Hemen July 25, 2010 AM Whenever we hear the word “uncompromising”, we often get the notion it means someone is ridged, narrow-minded, or strict. Yet if folks throughout our Nation’s history had not been uncompromising, we would be British citizens or saluting a swastika. Being uncompromising is not necessarily a bad thing. We live in a day and age where people have swallowed the lie that you must compromise in in life order to “get along” with others. While compromising on how to do something might be a way to get some things done, compromising on one’s theological views can lead one into dangerous areas and even eternal death. Jesus never compromised on his spiritual or religious views. In fact, we could say that Jesus was an uncompromising Christ, Messiah. Here, in Mark’s gospel, we find some very tough words uttered by Jesus on what it means to follow him as his disciple. Some of us this morning may have problem with...