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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 ...

When Jesus heals… -- Matthew 8:14-17 By Pastor Lee Hemen July 14, 2019 Sometimes it is the little things that make a big impact on people’s lives. A kind word spoken at just the right time, a helping hand when it is least expected, and an act of compassion when hope seems lost. I grew up in poverty because of my father’s health problems caused by smoking. His heart was slowly failing. Back then there were no governmental programs, a plethora of community aid organizations, or anyone whom you could contact in order to get help. It was during some pretty desperate times I remember sacks of groceries all of sudden appearing on our back porch, school clothes, coats or shoes showing up. It was these little blessings that had a huge impact. Here in Matthew’s gospel he records the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law and it seems as if it is almost a side note. Mark and Luke go into greater detail of what occurred and the circumstances involved. It is one thing to see Jesus healing lepers, a cent...

Jesus and the Temptations – Matthew 4:1-11 By Pastor Lee Hemen February 3, 2019 Sin is nothing to sing about and yet the world today takes a pretty casual view of it. I believe this is because many folks have swallowed the lies and deception of Satan. They either think that they were wrongly held accountable for the ungodly choices they made and they want the freedom to do whatever they want whenever they want or there are those who think that evil, sin, and the Devil do not exist. And they incorrectly think that if they simply ignore it or relegate it to “myth” status then it isn’t true. They’ve become too sophisticated and scientific to believe in “fairy tales”. Sadly, evil, sin, and the Devil do indeed exist and are very real and is nothing to sing about. Mankind does not have the capability to be good on its own. We are sinners by nature and choice. From the first disobedient behavior and decision by Adam and Eve to the present day predicament the world finds itself today we find t...

Luke 22:14-20, 24-27, 31-34 – We need to remember! By Pastor Lee Hemen April 1, 2012 AM We were moved when a little boy was last seen at his school and disappeared. Many vowed to never forget. We were saddened by the loss of innocent lives and destruction of September 11th, 2001 and vowed to never forget. Like Pearl Harbor, the Japanese Tsunami, or the sinking of the Titanic there are those who were so shaken, affected, and moved that they said they would never forget. But time moves on, memories fade, and people die. Hearts and wounds are healed, yet for some of us we try to remember and place these events in perspective. We realize that we need to remember. In a much greater way, the Lord’s Supper serves as a call to remember. As believers participate in the Lord’s Supper, we recall the sacrifice Jesus made so we could be freed from the guilt of our sins. Every time we share this ritual meal together, we proclaim that His death has changed our lives and behavior forever. ...

Nehemiah 6:1-14 - Building the Church -- How Satan’s snares work! By Pastor Lee Hemen June 12, 2011 AM When you’re ten years old, there is nothing better than trapping and catching your own wild animals! Now I am not advocating hurting God’s little creatures for fun, but when you’re 10 being a “big” game hunter is an adventure! My brother and I went after the wily chipmunk. Actually, it was my father’s fault. He was the one who showed us how to make the traps! We caught and released dozens of chipmunks that summer. The little guys never figured out the traps we prepared for them! In our spiritual lives there are snares set for the unsuspecting as well and those that have no relationship with Christ fall easily into them. Sometimes, the strongest believer can be snared. Satan sets his snares well. In Nehemiah, we see several different types of these snares that were used to discourage God’s man and make him ineffective. The same snares are used on us today. When we know how S...

Who is Jesus? - Mark 8:27-33 By Pastor Lee Hemen May 16, 2010 AM What you believe about something says a lot about you truly accept as correct. There are folks who believe that there are many ways to heaven, yet they cannot relate any one particular way. Often their explanations degenerate into a kind of blurred quasi-spiritual mumbo-jumbo about how one feels religious. I would venture that no sane person would accept the same kind of nonsense when trying to get his or her brakes fixed. “There are many ways to fix your breaks. We offer you several options from using a big rock tied to a rope, to whatever makes you feel comfortable within yourself. We here at Inner Peace Motors want you to connect with your car.” Doesn’t quite work, does it? As Jesus and his disciples were headed from one area of ministry to the next, Jesus pauses along the way and asks them a pointed question concerning who they think he is. Their answers of what others think and Peter’s open confession, t...

Of Pigs, People, and Demons - Mark 5:1-20 By Pastor Lee Hemen December 6, 2009 AM When we are presented with facts and figures we retain only about 5% of what we are taught. However, when we are given illustrations or parables, like Jesus used, we retain about half of them. If we become emotionally connected to the illustration used, we retain even more of the information given to us. This is why we remember stories like the one we are going to read today. The healing of a man that is totally out of control because of the demons in his life, frightens us, intrigues us, and helps us to indentify with him because we all fight some demonic influences in our lives. Seeing him completely healed gives us hope and a certainty in life. Last week we learned about how Jesus calms the storms of life. In this section we will look at today we will discover that after Jesus calms the storm-blown waves that frightened his disciples, he is faced with the personal storm of an individual whose daily ro...

Living Godly Lives In Ungodly Times! – 2 Timothy 3:1-9 By Pastor Lee Hemen September 21, 2008 AM People can be caught so easily in Satan’s snares and then become part of his evil will in the world. In Kenosha, WS two boys, ages 14 and 15, are being held for murdering a women for her Xbox. They were caught by a 51 year old woman in the act of robbing her home when they killed her and made off with the Xbox, jewelry, cell phone and her purse that police later recovered at the home of the boys involved. Then there is the case of a 33 year-old Green Bay, WS mother who faces felony identity theft charges for stealing her 15 year-old daughter’s identity to attend a local high school and join the cheerleading squad. Wow! What ungodly times we live in, right? Timothy, like all Christians are, was to “gently instruct” people caught up in these kinds of sinful deceptions so that they would repent of their duplicity and sin and “come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has ...