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Matthew 13:1-9 - Scattering the Seed of the Gospel By Retired Pastor Lee Hemen May 22, 2022 We have always loved putting out birdseed for the wild birds in our yards. It’s fun to watch all of the different species that come to our feeders. Recently, a pair of birds called Evening Grosbeaks has been coming to our feeders, and they are pigs. They kind of force out other birds, scatter the seed everywhere, and remind me of uninvited relatives that show up for dinner. However, one of the things that they do by scattering the seed from the feeders is provide for the dozens of squirrels and smaller birds that hop around the base of the feeders searching for scattered seeds. And some of the seeds, being grass seeds, have made my lawn area thick and rich. We forget that when we scatter the seed of the gospel that it falls on many kinds of ground, and we never know who might benefit from the process. Like those Evening Grosbeaks we are not to be just about feeding ourselves the seeds of the gos...

Ramblings from Retirement - Are You No Earthly Good? By Pastor (retired) Lee Hemen  April 3, 2022 There's an old saying that a Christian can be "so heavenly-minded you're no earthly good". It means that believers can be so focused on being holy, that they've lost sight of the world around them. Now this can be a good thing when it refers to one's looking to Jesus as they live, but it can be bad if they're so focused on the things of heaven that they forget about those around them that need Jesus. It can be bad in the life of a church or preacher that becomes so focused on knowledge or themselves that they become blinded to the needs of a hurting and sinful world around them. Jesus berated the spiritual teachers of his day because this was exactly what they were guilty of doing. Jesus really got into it with them, and he bluntly told them, ‘Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cummin....

The Joy of Palm Sunday! – Luke 19:29-40 By Pastor Lee Hemen April 5, 2020 Do you think you would recognize Jesus if he came into your community? Sadly, the church today while it is supposed to be “Jesus” to their neighbors, family, and friends I fear few would see Jesus in them. What would you do if Jesus came to your town, your neighborhood, or your home? While we would all like to think we would immediately recognize Jesus if he came to our area we might not. People in Jesus’ day had longed for and prayed for generations for God to hear their prayers and it seemed as if God was not listening but he was. All of sudden in the midst of what seemed their darkest days, Jesus came healing, caring, and displaying how God works. For the average person it was a miracle of God and rightly so. The common people responded with joy, let’s see how… READ: Luke 19:29-40 We become witnesses of Jesus’ final days as we read the gospel of Luke and here we discover… I. The joy of Palm Sunday in sharing w...

Living for the Lord! - Philippians 1:18-30 By Pastor Lee Hemen June 22, 2018 We live in a day whereby some people actually think that “if you disagree with me then you must hate me” therefore you are a “hater”. Discourse or critical thinking is gone. It has boiled over into religion as well. There are those who say that if you disagree with another faith then you must dislike the people who are involved in it. And if you dislike them then you are not very compassionate or kind like Jesus. This is all so much tripe. (If you do not know what tripe is -- it is “the first or second stomach of a cow or other ruminant used as food” and is often thrown away as trash.) Paul did not care why some believers did what they did only that the outcome was glorifying to the Lord. Paul’s desire was that people of all ages “reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:13 NIV)” This is why he taug...

Over 5,000 Served! -- John 6:1-13 By Pastor Lee Hemen January 18, 2015 When the Super Bowl happens or there is a big college football game radio stations often have contests for their listeners in order for them to compete to get tickets for the game. I find it interesting that folks who never cared a thing in the world about football all of a sudden will do some of the most outlandish things for something that is free. But, I suppose, that is the way of the world. As someone once quipped, "Free is a very good price!" It is also interesting how some people will follow others for their fame, others for their fortune, and then there are those who follow someone for the free food! Food? Yes, food. We find Jesus ministering to a group of folks who were only interested in being fed for free. Kind of like many modern day believers who attend church simply to be "freely fed". Like a McDonald's of our day, we find Jesus feeding a whole lotta folks with very little food....

Discover, Decide, and Defend! – 1 Peter 3:15-16 By Pastor Lee Hemen July 20, 2014 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. (1 Peter 3:15 NIV) Loyalty, we all like it when companies, family, or friends are loyal to us but are we loyal in return? And what does it mean for you to be loyal? You have to believe in the person, place, or thing you decide to be loyal to. God desires our loyalty. This is why Peter reminds us, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.” We are to hallow; honor as holy, enshrining God in our hearts as Jesus reminds us in the Lord’s Prayer where he reminds us to pray, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name” (Matthew 6:9 NIV). God’s holiness is thus glorified i...

I Thank My God! - Philippians 1:1-8 By Pastor Lee Hemen February 15, 2009 AM I have attended many memorial services for folks over the years where people stand and share about how they were thankful for the person they came to remember and how that person had impacted their life with their presence. As I have sat in these services over the years I have often begin to wonder how many who have come could boldly stand and publicly declare their thanks for the Lord Jesus Christ in their lives? Could they stand and thank those who were dynamic witnesses for the Lord? What many in these crowds do not understand fully is the reality of the graciousness of God in their lives whether they believe in His Son or not. Paul understood this. He knew where he had come from and he knew what God had done in his life because of Jesus. He could confidently write or stand in the front of strangers and boldly declare, “I thank my God!” Can you? On his second missionary travels Paul came through Philippi an...