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Acts 1:1-14 – We have a mission! By Pastor Lee Hemen April 15, 2012 AM Do you remember that old TV program “Mission Impossible” and later they made several movies with Tom Cruise? How serious do you think Christians are today in carrying out the Great Commission? Do you think it is “Mission Impossible”? For some it is second nature to reach the world, yet for others they never give it a second’s thought. Why is that? I believe perhaps that some of us have lost sight of the mission Jesus commanded His followers to take up. In every Gospel and the Book of Acts we find Jesus challenging His followers to take up His mission to reach the world. Luke, the author of the Book of Acts and the Gospel took very seriously Jesus’ call to mission. Many Bible students believe the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts made up two parts of a single literary project. Both were written to his friend Theophilus (Luke 1:3). In the opening verses of Acts, Luke summarized his first narrative as a w...

Malachi 4:4-6 – Being prepared! By Pastor Lee Hemen January 29, 2012 AM Most of us on that Tuesday morning had not given much thought to what the day held. After all it was a pretty normal Tuesday. I was on my way to Morning Prayer and my thoughts were on what we would pray about when we met. I was not thinking about eternal things. This was true for most of those who boarded planes in Boston, went to work in New York City, or began their day behind a desk at the Pentagon. Few that day had any idea of what the next few hours would bring, yet with devastating swiftness we were all reminded just how quick death comes. Since 9-11, it has made me wonder how many folks are prepared for eternity. We find that the Prophet Malachi was very concerned about the subject of preparedness. It was in his thoughts as he wrote to the Israelites. He wanted them to consider the eternal consequences of their lives. He knew that if they did not think about their actions and faith now, there wou...

Building the Church--Allowing Time for Proper Preparation Nehemiah 2:1-10 By Pastor Lee Hemen May 7, 2011 AM I had received one of those plastic model airplanes! This was going to be great stuff! With eager anticipation I opened the box and out fell hundreds of pieces of tiny little plastic parts, decals, and plans. What had started out as eager anticipation was reduced to utter disappointment. How was I going to build this thing with all of its hundreds of parts and pieces? My mother happened to come into my bedroom delivering a pile of clean clothes, she inquired why I was so depressed looking. I showed her the hundreds of plastic pieces and she responded, “You’ve just got to allow time for proper preparation. Read the directions and take it one piece at a time.” Now a ten-year-old kid doesn’t have a lot of patience with details, but I learned that spring that if I planned properly I could build a pretty detailed plastic model airplane! A church can be a lot like a ten-ye...

The Passover Made New -- Luke 22:1-23 By Pastor Lee Hemen February 8, 2009 AM There are several terms for the last meal Jesus shared with His followers. Some call it “Communion,” others “the Eucharist,” “the Lord’s Supper” or “the Last Supper.” Each carries with it a perception of what this meal was supposed to mean and what it is supposed to relate to those believers who observe it. The pathos of the meal and what occurs strikes a chord with anyone who happens to understand what is taking place, the characters involved, and the setting. As we look at this meal what Jesus shared, not only with His followers then but with all of us who claim Him as Savior and Lord, we can be renewed in our faith, in its significance for our lives, and what it means. Luke introduces his section concerning the meal by telling us: “Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for the...