Ministry

Living As One Who Is FREE (Sermon Audio)
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Living As One Who Is FREE (Sermon Audio)

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This is audio from a live broadcast of a devotional recap of the July 4, 2021 sermon, “Living As One Who Is FREE”, shared by Tom Lemler at the North Wayne Mennonite Church.

Text:  John 8:31-51

When we live as those who have been set free by Jesus, we live as one who is:

  • Forgiven.  John 8:31-32, 1 John 1:8-10
    • Recognizing our sinfulness as well as God’s desire and power to forgive is a big part of the truth that sets us free.  Rejecting the truth and claiming that we are without sin simply keeps us enslaved to the sin we refuse to acknowledge.  When we experience Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life, we find forgiveness through the washing away of our sins by His blood  When we live as one who is forgiven, God calls us to also live as one who forgives.
  • Restored.  John 8:34-36, Luke 15:21-24
    • Living as one who is free through the power of Jesus restores us to the family as full heirs of all that belongs to God.  As those who were created by God, who were knit together by God in our mother’s womb, our freedom in Christ builds on the forgiveness of sin found through Jesus and restores us as sons and daughters of the King.  When we live as one who is restored, God calls us to also live as one who restores others.
  • Enlisted.  John 8:42, 2 Timothy 2:3-4
    • Living as one who is free means that we must live as one who has enlisted in service to the King.  Because we have enlisted, our freedom is not about is rather it is about the One we serve and the people He calls us to love in His name.  Our desire ought to always be about how we can please the One who has enlisted us to be His representative here on earth.  When we live as one who is enlisted, God calls us to also live as one who enlists others into the family of God.
  • Equipped.  John 8:49-51, 2 Timothy 3:16-17
    • I know of very few people, if any, who like to be given a task to be done without the resources to accomplish it.  Living as one who is free in Christ means we are equipped to to the very things we have been enlisted to do.  God’s promise is that He will never leave us nor forsake us and He has given us His Word and His Spirit to equip us for every good work that He has prepared for us to do.  When we live as one who is equipped, God calls us also to live as one who equips others with the truth of His Word.

Are you living as one who is FREE?
Are you helping others live as those who are FREE?

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Encouragement and Prayer: Set Free! (07/04/21)

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While I continue working on what a return to the live or recorded audio/video broadcasts will be, I will still leave some written encouragement for each day.  This week’s focus will be on praying for individuals as part of a family.

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
John 8:36 (NIV)

This week’s prayer focus will be about living as those who have been set free.  God wants each one of us to live free in ways that build up and encourage one another.  In God’s kingdom, our freedom comes through complete surrender to Him and an acknowledgement of our total dependence on the work Christ has done on our behalf.  Our freedom in Christ allows us to serve people in ways that benefit them according to their need.

As you pray this week, ask God to help you understand how the freedom that He offers is different from the world’s view of freedom.  Pray that you would be careful how you use your freedom.  Pray that you would know true freedom that is found through gazing into the perfect law of God’s Word and doing what it says.

Pray for discernment and wisdom to see beyond and through the divisiveness of this world so that you would love others as God loves both you and them.

In prayer,
Tom

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Encouragement and Prayer: Praying for Single Adults! (07/03/21)

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While I continue working on what a return to the live or recorded audio/video broadcasts will be, I will still leave some written encouragement for each day.  This week’s focus will be on praying for individuals as part of a family.

“I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.”
1 Corinthians 7:35 (NIV)

As a follow-up to last week’s prayer focus about God being a Father to the fatherless, this week we will be praying about being the family God sets the lonely in.  As you pray this week, pray with thanksgiving for the family God provides in your loneliness.

Some are single by choice, some not.  Pray that each would be filled with great peace and hope as they serve God and rely on Him to surround them with healthy relationships.  Pray that God would fill their desire as only He can — whether that desire is to stay single or be married.

Pray for discernment and wisdom to see beyond and through the divisiveness of this world so that you would love others as God loves both you and them.

In prayer,
Tom

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Encouragement and Prayer: Praying for Grandparents! (07/02/21)

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While I continue working on what a return to the live or recorded audio/video broadcasts will be, I will still leave some written encouragement for each day.  This week’s focus will be on praying for individuals as part of a family.

“Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.”
1 Timothy 5:1-2 (NIV)

As a follow-up to last week’s prayer focus about God being a Father to the fatherless, this week we will be praying about being the family God sets the lonely in.  As you pray this week, pray with thanksgiving for the family God provides in your loneliness.

Pray that grandparents would be valued members of the family and church congregation.  Pray that their wisdom and experience would be passed on to the next generation.  Pray for the humility to treat those older than you with respect and understanding.

Pray for discernment and wisdom to see beyond and through the divisiveness of this world so that you would love others as God loves both you and them.

In prayer,
Tom

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Encouragement and Prayer: Praying for Marriages! (07/01/21)

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While I continue working on what a return to the live or recorded audio/video broadcasts will be, I will still leave some written encouragement for each day.  This week’s focus will be on praying for individuals as part of a family.

“Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.”
Hebrews 13:4 (NIV)

As a follow-up to last week’s prayer focus about God being a Father to the fatherless, this week we will be praying about being the family God sets the lonely in.  As you pray this week, pray with thanksgiving for the family God provides in your loneliness.

Pray that the marriages in your congregation and community would be strengthened and protected.  Pray that both husband and wife would feel loved and valued.  Pray for the courage to live in purity in all of your relationships.

Pray for discernment and wisdom to see beyond and through the divisiveness of this world so that you would love others as God loves both you and them.

In prayer,
Tom

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Encouragement and Prayer: Praying for Dads! (06/30/21)

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While I continue working on what a return to the live or recorded audio/video broadcasts will be, I will still leave some written encouragement for each day.  This week’s focus will be on praying for individuals as part of a family.

“The father of a righteous man has great joy; he who has a wise son delights in him.”
Proverbs 23:24 (NIV)

As a follow-up to last week’s prayer focus about God being a Father to the fatherless, this week we will be praying about being the family God sets the lonely in.  As you pray this week, pray with thanksgiving for the family God provides in your loneliness.

Pray that dads would be involved in the lives of their children in positive and wholesome ways.  Pray that they would teach their children about God by their words and actions.  Pray that you would live in such a way that you are a delight to your father.

Pray for discernment and wisdom to see beyond and through the divisiveness of this world so that you would love others as God loves both you and them.

In prayer,
Tom

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Encouragement and Prayer: Praying for Moms! (06/29/21)

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While I continue working on what a return to the live or recorded audio/video broadcasts will be, I will still leave some written encouragement for each day.  This week’s focus will be on praying for individuals as part of a family.

“May your father and mother be glad; may she who gave you birth rejoice!”
Proverbs 23:25 (NIV)

As a follow-up to last week’s prayer focus about God being a Father to the fatherless, this week we will be praying about being the family God sets the lonely in.  As you pray this week, pray with thanksgiving for the family God provides in your loneliness.

Pray that the work done by moms, both in and out of the home, would be filled with satisfaction and joy.  Pray that mothers would have godly patience with their children.  Pray that your life would give your mom, and the women around you, reason to rejoice.

Pray for discernment and wisdom to see beyond and through the divisiveness of this world so that you would love others as God loves both you and them.

In prayer,
Tom

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Encouragement and Prayer: Living as Children! (06/28/21)

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While I continue working on what a return to the live or recorded audio/video broadcasts will be, I will still leave some written encouragement for each day.  This week’s focus will be on praying for individuals as part of a family.

“Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him.”
Psalm 127:3 (NIV)

As a follow-up to last week’s prayer focus about God being a Father to the fatherless, this week we will be praying about being the family God sets the lonely in.  As you pray this week, pray with thanksgiving for the family God provides in your loneliness.

Pray for children to be brought up in the fear and knowledge of the Lord in a safe and nurturing environment.  Pray that each child, of any age, would honor their parents.  Pray for the wisdom to help children know they are valued greatly by God.

Pray for discernment and wisdom to see beyond and through the divisiveness of this world so that you would love others as God loves both you and them.

In prayer,
Tom