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Fellowship Is A Beautiful Thing! – Acts 2:42-47 By Pastor Lee Hemen June 28, 2020 New things are exciting; new houses, new relationships, new cars or new toys – all of these things can be exciting at first. The same is true for new churches, new Sunday School Classes, and new pastors. But after the excitement wears off then there is the hard work of taking care of, maintaining, and developing some of these things. The church was brand new and it was exciting. Things were happening and God was moving to build his church in the world so it could be the witness he needed. Within the newness of the early church we discover that the disciples began to develop how the body of Christ was to operate in the world and in doing so we discover that fellowship is a beautiful thing. Let’s see how and why… READ: Acts 2:42-47 GBC is in the process of finding a new pastor and we should desire one that encourages fellowship, is willing to come alongside of others, and develop us as believers. ...

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...

How We Can Encourage One Another! – 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 By Pastor Lee Hemen June 7, 2020 We’ve been talking a lot about encouraging one another lately and I think it is something we all need to hear. And with all that has been going on in the news recently many think that this is the forerunner of the end of days, but I assure you it is not. Rather it is the outcome of a world that has turned its back on the holy things of God. As Christians we need to focus on the One who holds the world in the palm of his hands. We need to encourage one another! Paul wrote a young church about the concerns he had for its future. They needed to focus on whom they had put their faith and trust in, how they should walk in him, and how they could encourage one another to live as God desired them to in a world that seemed to be destroying itself. Let’s learn this morning how we can encourage one another… READ: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 The death of a young man at the hands of those in society we...

The Word of God Instructs Those Who Love Him! -- Proverbs 15:12-16, 20-23 By Pastor Lee Hemen May 24, 2020 I remember well when I was in high school I developed pneumonia and had to miss over a week of school. When I got back I quickly caught up and studied hard in order to regain the ground I had lost. In a history class I had to take a midterm exam that I had missed. Afterwards I was accused by a classmate who took the exam with me of cheating. The teacher confronted me. I was shocked and hurt even though I was able to prove beyond any doubt that I had not done so. Her rebuke stung. Receiving a rebuke is never something we look forward to and most of us do not like going through one when it happens. Within the pithy statements of Proverbs we discover over and over both the rebuke of God and the wisdom of listening to him. In reading Proverbs we discover that the Word of God instructs those who love him, let’s discover how this morning… READ: Proverbs 15:12-16, 20-23 It is o...

How Good It Is to Sing to the Lord! -- Psalm 147:1-11 By Pastor Lee Hemen May 17, 2020 One of my favorite old time movies is “Singing in the Rain”. I like the simple storyline where boy meets girl, girl misunderstands, and boy finally gets the girl. Of course one of the iconic scenes in the movie is when Gene Kelly sings and dances in the rain outside of his girlfriend’s building. During this time all of us could do well to remember to not just sing in the rainstorm of life but rather how good it is to sing to the Lord! God’s grace and greatness is a couple of things all believers should be willing to sing to the Lord about. Singing to the Lord is a wonderful way of praising him. The Psalmist understood this and here in this song to the Lord we discover just how good it is to sing to the Lord. Let’s see how… READ: Psalm 147:1-11 We are not sure who wrote this Psalm but the verses are really good for us to remember. I have divided them by premise so that when we read them they...

Why Worship Is so Special! -- Nehemiah 8:8-12 By Pastor Lee Hemen May 10, 2020 My mother was a character. She left home at an early age to seek her fame and future in the wilds of Alaska from the wilds of Wyoming! She was about 15 years old and it was right before WWII. She had a 7th grade education, could ride a horse, shoot a rifle, and roll a cigarette using the “fixings” with one hand. Now I am not commending that teenagers leave home at 15, smoke, and learn to ride a horse; but my mother like most Americans enjoyed her freedom and willingly went north. The Israelites had not enjoyed freedom for many years. They had been enslaved by the Persians and had only recently been allowed any kind of freedom. Ezra the Priest went to Jerusalem to try and get the people educated in the word of the Lord. Nehemiah came later to help rebuild. They both knew that with the Israelites new found freedom and not having temple worship they would soon stray from God. Here in Nehemiah we discover why wo...

Great Is the Lord! – Psalm 145:1-21 By Pastor Lee Hemen May 3, 2020 How do you tell someone that they are doing a great job? Do slap them on the back and give them an “attaboy”? A high five or perhaps bake them cookies or a cake? We are all told to give out positive reinforcement to those we work with, our kids, and others but what about the Lord? Of course we often do not think that God needs our praise but nothing could be further from the truth because we are commanded to praise him. Here in this Psalm of David we find him praising the Lord and telling him just how great he is. During this time when we are faced with what seem dire circumstances, it can become difficult to praise the Lord but it is specifically during such times we should do so. And this morning as we look at the words of David’s Psalm we will discover just how great is the Lord… READ: Psalm 145 In the 1970s people were encouraged to “find yourself”. The idea was that with personal introspection you could discover w...

God Hears Us When We Call to Him! -- Psalm 86:1-13 By Pastor Lee Hemen April 26, 2020 I can remember my mother asking me, “Young man, did you hear what I said?” Of course no matter if I did or not the correct answer was always “yes”. Being distracted is the profession of teenage boys and unfocused believers. It is good to know therefore that God is never distracted and always hears us when we call to him. David, in this Psalm, was crying out to the Lord and if we just read what David says we might think that perhaps God had been distracted. The reason we would think this is because we often are distracted ourselves in how we talk with God, listen to him, and how we follow through with what he asks. David comes to the Lord asking that God hear him when he calls to him, let’s discover what this means… READ: Psalm 86:1-13 It is a curious thing but when we all of sudden need help we are often willing to humble ourselves in order to get a quick response thinking that we can perhaps fool God...

We Can Confidently Trust In the Lord! -- Psalm 25:1-14 By Pastor Lee Hemen April 19, 2020 There are certain poets that I like; most are those who tell stories. Robert Service was called “The Bard of the Yukon” because he wrote a lot of poems about the north like “The Cremation of Sam McGee” or “The Shooting of Dan McGrew”. I also like Henry Wadsworth Longfellow who wrote such poems as “The Landlord’s Tale, Paul Revere’s Ride” but of course one of my favorites is “There Was A Little Girl”: “There was a little girl, Who had a little curl, Right in the middle of her forehead. When she was good, She was very good indeed, But when she was bad she was horrid.” David from the Bible is also one of my favorite poets. He wrote many of the Psalms. One of my favorite Psalms is the one we will look at today. David boldly turned to the Lord for divine instruction and forgiveness from his sin. David knew he could because of God’s grace for Israel. This psalm is a meditation on the character of God th...

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 ...

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...