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Worship is, “loving” God! – Psalm 18:1-3; Psalm 8:1, 3-4; Psalm 144:3-4 By Pastor Lee Hemen November 24, 2013 AM How often do you tell the person you care about most in life that you love them? There’s an old joke where on their 50th wedding anniversary a farmer’s wife said she was leaving him. He asked her, “Why?” She replied, “Because you don’t love me.” He responded, “Why in the world would you say that?” She said, “Because you never say that you love me!” He immediately replied, “I told you that I love you on our wedding day; if I ever change my mind, I’ll let you know!” Sadly, for some this is exactly how they treat their relationship with God! Our worship is, “loving” God! Perhaps some of us have forgotten what our worship is to be. The Bible reminds us over and over that His people are to “love” Him. Jesus related that the greatest thing we can do as God’s children is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” In fact, worship ...

Worship: Going through the motions! – Genesis 4:3-7; Leviticus 10:1-2; Matthew 15:7-9 By Pastor Lee Hemen November 17, 2013 AM Last week, we talked about worship being God’s idea. I heard a story concerning a pastor and his first Sunday in a new church presenting the children’s message. It seems the sanctuary in the new church had some magnificent stained glass windows, so his message centered on how each of us is called to help make up the whole picture of life (the life of the community of the faithful). Like the pictures in the windows, it takes many little panels of glass to make the whole picture. And then he said, “You see each one of you is a little pane.” And then pointing to each child, “You’re a little pane. And you’re a little pane. And you’re a little pane. And...” It took a few moments before he realized why everyone was laughing so hard. Sometimes, we don’t realize that we are just going through the motions. Our worship can be like that as well. We can simply show up and ...

Worship is God’s idea! – 2 Kings 17:35-36; Numbers 28:1-2; Matthew 4:8-10 By Pastor Lee Hemen November 10, 2013 AM As a youngster, church for me was boring; it was full of weird sounding words, repetition, a lot of kneeling, standing, genuflecting, and symbolism that was beyond my comprehension. Later I learned that each part was symbolic and allegedly necessary if I desired to “know God” and come near Him. Of course, this simply was not true. Church was not meant to be a myriad of regulations and endless repetitions. Also, I used to think that church was worship, but I learned this was not completely true either. While we go to church to worship, worship is more than church. Worship is God’s idea! The king of Assyria had given an order: “Have one of the priests you took captive from Samaria go back to live there and teach the people what the god of the land requires.” He did not know the Lord, but he wanted his captured subjects to be placated. In doing so, the Samaritans maintained t...

How to live confidently! - James 5:1, 4-11, 13-20 By Pastor Lee Hemen November 3, 2013 AM In my early 30’s, I questioned what my future held. I was newly married, working at a good job, but I could not see the finish line. I wanted desperately to be “out there in the real world,” working in pastoral ministry. I observed people my age who were established in ministry. Soon, a ministry opportunity arose that was the beginning of a future I could not have imagined—one better than I could have drawn up. I wish I could say I never again lost confidence about the future, but I can’t. Yet in my journey, I have learned valuable lessons. God works on His timetable and I can trust Him. Disappointments make adults less confident about their lives. Some lose confidence and concentrate on the worst that could happen. They always wonder when the next shoe will drop! Other adults worry about the future. Limited incomes, aging, health-care, terrorism threats, the economy, and other concerns erode thei...

James 4:1-17 - Who Is Your Best Friend? By Pastor Lee Hemen October 27, 2013 AM How many close trusted friends do you have, not family, who stick with you “through thick and thin”? A number of years ago, an interim pastor read the opening verse of Philemon where Paul wrote “our dear friend.” He stopped reading and inquired: “If I asked you how many true friends you have—friends you can count on—what, would you say?” He paused for a few seconds and then shared how many intimate friends he had. Slowly, he held up two fingers. He had two friends to whom he could go at any time and share anything with the assurance of total acceptance and support! Folks want friends and would gladly welcome even more friends in their lives. This is also true of God. God desires everyone to be His friend. The first step is to become one of His children. Some folks are unwilling to make this commitment. Some do not care about being known as God’s friend, and do little to confirm they are! They never nurture ...

How to sail through life! - James 3:1-18 By Pastor Lee Hemen October 20, 2013 AM All Christians must deal with the issue of self-control. Many refuse to practice it, because they find it difficult. They do not like to be controlled, and they show this by refusing to control themselves. The recent events where Senate leadership accused their opposition of being "terrorists" and "anarchists" is an example where some will say and do anything in order to get what they want. Even when believers try to practice self-control, they often speak hurtful words and perform wrong actions. However, for Christians such control is a critical matter. Everything we say and do should reflect our relationship with Jesus Christ. On the PBS show Nova, they showed how we are trying to make things go faster, everything from the Internet to sailboats. In fact, the man who owns Oracle just recently won the America's Cup with a newly designed sailboat that uses a carbon fiber wing for its...

Show me your faith! - James 2:14-26 By Pastor Lee Hemen October 13, 2013 AM Some adult believers have the wrong idea about faith and works. Some feel good works are necessary to maintain their Christianity. Thus, they always try to keep busy doing something good and feel guilty if they feel they are not doing enough. They do not understand their salvation is secure on the basis of faith, not good works. For other Christians, this security creates a different problem. Their attitude can be, “I don’t need to do anything I don’t have to do.” They are content to enjoy the blessings of salvation now and to look forward to heaven one day. They do not understand genuine faith always leads to good works. James understood that believers who perform good works for the wrong reasons and those without good works need to evaluate themselves to see whether their faith is real. God wants us to do good works that demonstrate our faith in Christ. Some Christians are far to content to let others perform...

Let’s be fair about it! - James 2:1-13 By Pastor Lee Hemen October 6, 2013 AM I’ve noticed that even some four or five-year-olds have low self-esteem. Helping them build a healthy self-image as an important part of a parent’s task. It involves more than handing out stickers; it also involves nurturing them. All children need fair, impartial, and caring treatment to instill the self-confidence they need as they mature. Every child should be treated as a special gift of God. Although we can treat some people as special, that does not mean we should do so at another’s expense. Favoritism results from using superficial means to evaluate others and making that evaluation the basis for how we treat them. Favoritism is being kind or courteous to some but not to all. It is showing mercy to and forgiving some but being unmerciful and unforgiving to others. Even Christians can fall into the trap of showing partiality in their families, workplaces, and churches. They are drawn to people with whom...