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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...

The flight, the slaughter, and the return – Matthew 2:13-23 By Pastor Lee Hemen January 13, 2019 There are some things in life we have to do even if we do not like doing them: paying taxes, going to school, working, or going to the doctor. When I was a child my family moved often, so much so that I began to hate going to the supermarket to get cardboard boxes. One year we moved four times when I was in 3rd grade in the same area! Most military kids understand what I mean. Here in these verses we discover Jesus’ family being directed by God to move for their protection. Sadly innocent folks suffered because of the ungodly choices of a madman. And yet the Lord brings this family back safely when it’s time to where Jesus can grown and be nurtured emotionally, physically, and spiritually among his own people. Let’s learn more about how God worked in the flight of a family, the slaughter of innocents, and the return of Jesus… READ: Matthew 2:13-23 There are those in our day who have become...

Condemned by conformity! -- 2 Kings 14:8-14; 15:10, 13-14, 16 By Pastor Lee Hemen October 28, 2018 I used to go fishing for crawdads. As we caught them we would put them in a bucket of water. As the bucket got full of crawdads they would try to crawl out but the ones trying to get out were pulled back in by others trying to get out. As parents we warn are children about the influence of peer pressure. Peer pressure can be just like those crawdads that pulled others back into the bucket. I have learned however that peer pressure does not end in childhood, it continues into our adult life. There are those in our Christian lives who try to pull us back into conformity rather than live the lives God desires. 2 Kings 14–15 contains a brief history of the reigns of 3 kings over Judah and 6 kings over Israel. Their reigns were characteristic of life in Judah and in Israel. The reigns of the kings of Judah did okay but they compromised God’s requirements. They allowed people to offer sac...

Line up with God’s purposes! -- 2 Kings 11:1-3, 12, 15-20 By Pastor Lee Hemen October 14, 2018 Sam was the president of the bank in his town. He and his wife enjoyed the excitement and popularity of their community positions. In the eyes of many he was a successful husband, father, and community leader. However, almost every time Sam passed a church on his way to and from work, he felt a twinge of guilt. He knew he and his family were not living up to the standards his father and mother had taught him. Though he and his wife were nominal church members, they were not actively working in the church to accomplish the Lord’s will in their community. Each year, that fact weighed more heavily on his conscience. Believers are called to yield to and act in line with God’s purposes in the world and in their lives. The verses we will look at this morning we will discover two women, one of whom pursued an agenda directly opposed to the purposes of God. The second woman determined to act in line ...