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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...

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...