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Do you share the Good News? – Matthew 28:1-10, 16-20 By Retired Pastor Lee Hemen August 1, 2021 As a family drove home from worship the mother exclaimed, “What a wonderful service we had this morning!” The oldest daughter from the backseat asked, “So, what do we do about Christ’s resurrection?” “What do you mean, honey?” “I mean Christ’s resurrection supposedly changed everything. We say it changed our life. It seems to me we should be doing more to indicate Christ has made a difference in us and he wants to make a difference in others.” It made the mother realize that she needed to share the good news with others joyfully and more consistently. Let me ask you, “How does your worship influence your daily service for Christ?” As Sunday morning dawned, two lowly women walked to the tomb of Jesus. An earthquake occurs, and an angel of God rolls back the stone at the entrance of the tomb and sits on it. He tells the women not to be afraid because Jesus had risen from the dead. What occurs ...

Ramblings from Retirement – Worship By Retired Pastor Lee Hemen April 6, 2021 We just celebrated Resurrection Sunday, Easter for those of you who are biblically illiterate, and I noticed that we had several visitors even during our National COVID scare. And this got me to thinking about when I first began to Pastor and how frustrating it was when folks saw their church attendance as an afterthought. Attending their children’s sports programs, doing their hobbies, simply waking up and feeling like going to the beach or because it was sunny was an excuse to miss their church worship. It was frustrating because many of these same people would get their feelings hurt because they were seen as “visitors” by those who did show up regularly or when they were not asked to do certain ministries in the church because of their fly-by-night attendance. Now if you are getting your feelings hurt by reading this what does it say about your church attendance and why you feel you have to make excuses f...

Ramblings from Retirement – Better than a Lifetime Guarantee By Retired Pastor Lee Hemen April 3, 2021 If you have not learned the simple and hard lesson that there is nothing guaranteed in life you had better learn it fast. What the Jewish people understood was the fact that life was fleeting. Many hoped there would be an afterlife but most believed there was not and that you would just “sleep” in the bosom of Abraham forever. Jesus changed all of that though. Jesus related to Nicodemus, “No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven--the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, bu...

Nothing in life is free! -- John 6:22-33 By Pastor Lee Hemen July 12, 2020 There is a tale that the great circus promoter P. T. Barnum once quipped, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” There is a lot of doubt as to whether he actually said this or not, but one thing I have heard over and over again is the old truism “nothing in life is free.” This is true of anyone who wants to sell you the latest get rich scheme, diet pill, or quick spiritual fix. Nothing in life is free. However, the Apostle Paul wrote, “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:22-24 NIV)” In other words, we receive the gift of salvation freely from God because of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Nothing in life is free, except salvation from God through Jesus! And here in John’s gospel we find that ...

How to Find Comfort In a Harsh World! – Luke 24:31-40 By Pastor Lee Hemen June 14, 2020 Sometimes example can be so much better than a lecture. Some of the best teachers I have had growing up were those who were willing to come alongside of me and show me how to do something rather than just tell me how to do it. While the Bible teaches us how to live; and whom we should believe in -- it cannot mentor us like someone who has already been there and done that. This is how we can learn to find comfort in a harsh world! If you think your world is falling apart just remember the disciples who had followed Jesus for three and a half years and now had to come to terms with his death. Some were in hiding in fear of being discovered by the authorities, captured, and tortured or crucified, and others had just dejectedly decided to head home. For them, everything they had believed in had come to a horrendous end, what was left? Jesus decided in his wisdom to show them how to find comfort in...

The Joy of the Resurrection! – Luke 24:1-12 By Pastor Lee Hemen April 12, 2020 The message of Easter is the resurrection of Jesus as an event that means much more than a historical fact. His victory over death brings peace and comfort to all who have trusted in him as Lord and Savior. Further, Jesus’ resurrection is the basis for the believers’ resurrection and living with him forever. It is the joy of the resurrection! After Jesus’ death, Joseph buried the body hastily in a nearby tomb. A large stone rolled in front of the entrance was meant to keep out marauders and wild animals as well as Jesus’ disciples (Matthew 27:62-66). All day Saturday Jesus’ followers grieved, but they could do nothing. Sunday morning dawned, the first day of the week, and some of the women who had followed Jesus went to visit his grave. They could not have imagined what they were about to experience. Their initial response was fright, but soon they realized the joy of the resurrection! Let’s rediscover this ...

Luke 24:1-8; 36-48 -- We have a risen Lord! By Pastor Lee Hemen April 1, 2018 AM The message of Easter is the resurrection of Jesus as an event that means much more than a historical fact. His victory over death brings peace and comfort to all who have trusted in him as Lord and Savior. Further, Jesus’ resurrection is the basis for the believers’ resurrection and living with him forever. Therefore, this is the beautiful truth of Easter: We have a risen Lord! After Jesus’ death, Joseph buried His body hastily in a nearby tomb. A large stone rolled in front of the entrance was meant to keep out marauders and wild animals as well as Jesus’ disciples (Matthew 27:62-66). All day Saturday Jesus’ followers grieved, but they could do nothing. The Fourth Commandment prohibited work, including preparations for burial, on the Sabbath. Finally, Sunday morning dawned, the first day of the week and some of the women who had followed Jesus went to visit his grave. They could not have imagined what th...

Resurrection! - John 20:1-9 By Pastor Lee Hemen April 16, 2017 We are at a spiritual crossroads in history. We live in a day and age whereby folks do not use critical thinking but rely on their instinct or passion. This is dangerous because we are then motivated to think that what we feel is more important than facts. Or worse, that we can distinguish what is right or wrong in life simply by how it feels to us. From personal relationships, what we believe in, or to whom we vote for is a matter of feelings and not what we truly know. We end up hurt and confused when our emotions have steered us in the wrong direction. The resurrection is not a matter of emotion or personal feelings. It is a historical physical fact. This is why later when Mary is crying by the empty tomb and the angel rebukes her by reminding her of the facts, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son ...

Mary Magdalene the witness! - John 20:10-18 By Pastor Lee Hemen April 3, 2016 We may at some time in our lives be asked to "tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God", but what does this mean? It means we are to relate the truth as we have witnessed it or experienced it and therefore it can differ from another's perspective of what they saw, heard, or experienced during the same event. This is in fact why we get some minor variations from the different Gospel perspectives of the same events, including the resurrection of Jesus. Simon Peter and John had headed home after witnessing the empty tomb for themselves and now we find Mary still there. What she sees and experiences gives us a fuller picture of what took place that Easter morning so long ago when the tomb of Jesus was found empty. Let look again at what occurred and discover for ourselves what it means for us this morning as discover more about Mary Magdalene the witness! READ: John 20:...

Resurrection! - John 20:1-9 By Pastor Lee Hemen March 27, 2016 We are at a spiritual crossroads in history. We live in a day and age whereby folks do not use critical thinking but rely on their instinct or passion. This is dangerous because we are then motivated to think that what we feel is more important than facts. Or worse, that we can distinguish what is right or wrong in life simply by how it feels to us. From personal relationships, what we believe in, or to whom we vote for is a matter of feelings and not what we truly know. We end up hurt and confused when our emotions have steered us in the wrong direction. The resurrection is not a matter of emotion or personal feelings. It is a historical physical fact. This is why later when Mary is crying by the empty tomb and the angel rebukes her by reminding her of the facts, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 'Th...

The way, the truth, the life! - John 14:1-6 By Pastor Lee Hemen September 20, 2015 In the book Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a "trilogy" of five books published between 1979 and 1992, relates the story of a race of hyper-intelligent pan-dimensional beings who built a computer named Deep Thought to calculate the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything. When the answer was revealed to be 42, Deep Thought explained that the answer was incomprehensible because the beings it was speaking to didn't know what they were asking. Of course this was nonsensical science fiction, but the question of what the secret to life has often been discussed. There are those who look for some secret or mystical sign from God or anywhere in order to discover for themselves what this might be. There are folks who think that the secret to life is in unwrapping the hidden god in you, finding some esoteric teaching that will bring everything together in one cosmi...