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How we are to shepherd his flock! – 1 Peter 5:1-11 By Pastor Lee Hemen February 16, 2020 As look for a pastor to lead us it is vital that we find a man who can mentor and mature us as a church until Jesus returns. We live in a world where the church is dismissed, the gospel is seen as a truism, and Jesus as either a myth or at best a “good guy” who taught good stuff. Shepherding the church is tough task in today’s world and we need to look for a man who is up to the task. The title “elder” is used interchangeably for pastor in the New Testament and here in Peter’s letter we find him addressing the early church and its leadership. The church in Peter’s day faced troubling times due to Jewish leadership seeking to destroy the gospel and the Roman authorities who wanted to squash any dissent. The church stood out because its leadership and members were different because of their faith. Shepherding the flock properly was important let’s discover why… READ: 1 Peter 5:1-11 Michael Ray wrote ...

Mother’s Day – Ephesians 6:1-3; 1 Timothy 5:1-5 By Pastor Lee Hemen May 13, 2018 When we are taught that everyone is “special” then the final outcome is that ultimately no one is. It becomes meaningless. Let me try to explain a little bit. When I was a young boy my father taught me some very important life lessons on how to be a man but it was my mother who taught each of us how we were unique. Notice I did not say “special” because she never said we were special just to say so like a lot of folks do nowadays instead she said we were special when we did something that was truly special. That’s what moms do; they keep you in the real world. This Mother’s Day I wanted us to focus on why we should respect our mothers. Parenting in general has gotten a bad rap in America today and what I mean is good parenting. It seems as if there is no longer any consistency or heritage of what good parenting is all about. Recently I overheard a mother yelling at her preschooler to get her blankety...

Remain true! -- 1 Timothy 6:1-10 By Pastor Lee Hemen January 28, 2018 We truly have no idea what slavery is like unless we personally have been enslaved. We can theorize, emphasize, and philosophize about it but until we have experienced for ourselves we have no real clue what it means to be enslaved. It was and is one of the most horrendous things humans can do to one another. Christianity played a huge role in the abolition of slavery throughout the world. It still exists where the evil of mankind is allowed to go unchecked. Gangs, Islam, and socialist nations that rule through fear and intimidation we find enslavement still exists. When Paul wrote about slaves he was in no way endorsing the ungodly practice; instead he knew that those who were masters and those who were slaves that had been changed by Jesus Christ needed to practice a new way of life that reflected their change. Paul’s desire was that no matter what a person’s circumstance in life that they would remain true to thei...

A deacon! -- 1Timothy 3:8-13 By Pastor Lee Hemen November 12, 2012 Often all you hear about, read about, or see in the movies and TV is a gross characterization of evangelical church leadership. In fact so much so that there is a societal mythos that is completely false concerning Christian leadership in evangelical churches; especially concerning deacons. The truth is there are literally tens of thousands of pastors and hundreds of thousands of deacons who serve in evangelical churches all across America and worldwide with grace and compassion as the servants of Jesus they are called to be. Paul is writing to his young friend in the ministry Timothy on how a church is supposed to function and how congregations were to choose their leadership. Were Paul’s suggestions supposed to be the absolute law for all time and all churches everywhere concerning how a local church chooses its leadership? No, I do not believe so, however, since his writing is Spirit-inspired we as believers wo...

Parents and children! - Ephesians 6:1-4 By Pastor Lee Hemen March 26, 2017 A child rebelling is as old as well couples having children. Some think that it is worse today than years ago, but it probably isn’t it just may seem that way. However, there has become a shift in how children are disciplined. The issue is not in whether a parent spanks or not but rather in the teaching that there are consequences for one’s actions. Consistency in parenting has degraded in our society and it has infected the school system as well. There are actually folks who think it is harmful to tell a child “no” or to hold them accountable for their behavior. This is simply not true nor is it emotionally healthy for the child to not know their boundaries. When we look into the pages of Scripture we can sometimes be hard pressed to find good examples of parenting yet we do discover some of the best advice for raising healthy, emotionally stable, and spiritually sound children. And here in Ephesians Paul gives...

Wives and husbands! - Ephesians 5:22-33 By Pastor Lee Hemen March 19, 2017 Interestingly there have been some articles recently that show that marriage is coming back into vogue. In fact, research has shown that married couples live from 5 to 10 years longer than singles do. Married couples are more financially, emotionally, and spiritually secure. And contrary to what you may have been told about divorce, recent studies show that evangelical Christian couples’ divorce rate is around 10% and nowhere near the regurgitated story of 50% like you often hear. Contrary to what we may know about the Bible we are more often shown what not to do in marriage than what to do as we look at the lives of some of the biblical characters. This is because God deliberately gave us his words concerning his interaction with mankind with warts and all. However there are some great verses that do teach Godly concepts of how wives and husbands are to interact. Here in Ephesians Paul teaches us about the chur...

Esther 1:1-22 – Obedience and responsibility! By Pastor Lee Hemen April 7, 2013 AM The Book of Esther is entitled by the Jews, “the volume of Esther,” or simply “the volume.” In ancient times, it was always written on a separate roll, which was read entirely at the Feast of Purim. The Greek translators retained only “Esther,” which became the ordinary title with Christians. There is much controversy concerning the date of “Esther.” The extreme minuteness of the details and vividness of the portraits in “Esther” suggest it was written by the hand of a contemporary rather than someone who lived long after the events commemorated. The entire tone of the book is in accord with the history, which it narrates, and is not unlike that of Zechariah. Therefore, overall, there is no sufficient ground for placing the composition of Esther later than that of Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah. Esther is the only book of the Bible in which the name of God is not mentioned. The New Testament...

Are You Just A “Tenant”? - Mark 12:1-12 By Pastor Lee Hemen November 07, 2010 AM We like being in control. However, the Psalmist tells us to “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” (Psalms 2:12) Many have deliberately forgotten this Scriptural truth because the convoluted reasoning goes: “If I can ignore God in my life, then I can do whatever I want whenever I want, even if it concerns ungodliness.” This was true for Israel. Yet time after time God had tried to bring them back to himself. Rather than being the people of God they should have been, they became mere tenants, renters of God’s truth, despising God and desperately trying to control their lives without acknowledging Him. Harvest time, before the advent of modern computerized corporate farms, was a time of great community celebration. A good harvest could mean survival through the winter and being able to plan...